|
|
Phil Hodges, the apparent leader of the army, agreed that the party might be over. "The way the guys were going, we were thinking this was going to be the best season for some time. They just chucked away the script. I'm devastated. At least they spoilt the record by winning."
It appears that up until now they had won, lost won, lost won. If this had continued it would have been a good season for them. Now, winning two in a row, their season is in disarray.
The signs were not good from the start. Canobolas Pink have not beaten Ottershaw since June 2001. The game was at Stadium Barnstoneworth and to top it all off, Ottershaw lost the toss. These are all signs of a win and so we shouldn't be surprised at the result.
The Ottershaw dominance of Canobolas Pink is odd, as on paper it should not be so. Pink have more pedigree and younger, fitter legs on the whole. Ottershaw were hit by injuries and retirements at the start of the season but recent signings, who were an unknown quality have proved to be worth the money paid.
Ash McAleese and Drew 'Rooster' Haydon have both proved valuable doing the running that traditionally Barnies don't bother with. They have brought an impetus to the team that the rest are trying to understand.
The match was very evenly balanced throughout and it was a Trent Brown strike that broke the deadlock. Brown continued a tradition of first time scorers for Barnies this year. Ottershaw have scored 14 goals so far his year with 11 different players, 7 of whom had never scored a goal before.
The Pink boys came out fighting after the goal and it was only minutes later that Ryan Bevan again embarrassed keeper Powell by heading a corner through the big guy's legs.
The second half saw end to end play but it was the fancy footwork of Dan Kennedy that fooled Pink. Kennedy was pleased as he had been hampered by injury and lacked a little desire so far this year.
Again the Pink Boys came out fighting but this time the attacks were repelled and Barnies ran out 2-1 winners.
It should be mentioned that Mal Key's travelling fan club filled many of the seats in the Stadium. Their vocal support has been a feature of Barnies games this year. The difficulty for Key is to live up to their expectations.
So the Stadium increases it's hold over visiting teams and Canobolas Pink again scratch their heads over their inability to overcome Ottershaw. The deviation from form and consistency is unexpected and supporters may not be happy but at the least the deviation was on a positive side. Let's hope it's not the thin end of the wedge for a return to mediocrity.
If you have a comment about the report the why not put it in the Guestbook
- Like this report? Then have a look at other reports.
- Ottershaw v Canobolas Blue, Blayney, Kinross 2nds, East Orange Red, Kinross 3rds