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“THE
DEN” – Match Report |
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Game 22 Belrose Lionel Watts 2 |
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First Grade – Belrose Belted on Score: 4-0 Goal Scorer(s):
Jeorg Dierkes ’45
& 60, John O’Leary ’55, Ash Mathieson
’85 Match Report:
A big day at Lionel Watts with the Local Derby between the Tigers and
Belrose. Even though the boys had already secured a spot in the semis,
bragging rights were at stake and the last thing anyone wanted was to lose
against Belrose. With pride at stake, it was surprising that the first half
was fairly quiet, with the usual intensity and passion of the local derby not
at usual levels. This didn’t stop a few cheap shots from the Belrose
players with several unsavoury challenges with little intention of winning
the ball. The Belrose right-half demonstrative his best attacking move by shoulder
charging everything in sight. Unfortunately the referee didn’t put a
stop to this early on which would have had ramifications later on. From all accounts the first half was incident free with
neither side playing to their potential. Our forward line was relatively
quiet with no real clear cut chances. Benny was also seldom troubled with our
midfield and defence rarely letting the opposition into our danger zone. The game came to life in the second half when a free kick was
awarded to the Tigers in Jeorgy striking distance
just after the resumption of play. He spotted a gap to the left of the wall and
drove his shot low and hard beating the outstretched keeper’s hand. 1-0
Tigers. Shortly after John O’Leary found himself free at the
far post with an open goal and no keeper in sight. Everyone expected a
traditional Pommie skew of the side of the boot
followed by a “C’mon John”, but to everyone’s
surprise, he timed his shot perfectly to increase the lead to 2-blot. Rumours
have it, after a year long barrage of verbal abuse from Ash; Pommie envisioned the ball to be Ash’s head just prior
to shooting and struck it clean as a whistle. Before you say it Ash… Don’t
mention last year’s game against Pittwater. Joerg came to life in the second half
and was starting to cause trouble with the Raiders defence. It was inevitable
he would score again as his opposition started to tire and increased the lead
to 3-0 on the hour mark. With the match all but over, Belrose started to show their frustration
and constantly mouthed off to the opposition and referee. It was only a
matter of time before the ref lost his patience and as a result two ex-Wakehurst players, Luke Grigg
and Sam Williams were expelled in quick succession. Several substitutions were made to ensure players didn’t
further aggravate existing injuries and the game opened up with Belrose down
to 9 men. We created several chances towards the end of play with the Belrose
keeper making several fine saves. Ash scored late in the game with an easy
tap in from close range to round up proceedings and a well deserved win. Man of the Match: Adam Townsend Reserve Grade – Champions!!! Score: 2-1 Goal Scorer(s): Eddy
Fong ’20, Adrian Ogg ’35 Match Report: Reserve
Grade had it’s knockers at the start of the season after losing several
keys players, it was expected the team would do well to make the top four. With
several players elevated from last year’s AL1’s squad which
finished towards the bottom end of the table a top four finish would have
been more than satisfactory. To the boy’s credit, they gave themselves a chance of
taking out the title on the last day of the season which is a massive achievement
especially considering the fact they were up against quality sides like
Pittwater and Brookvale. Even though we were playing lowly ranked Belrose, it
was always going to be tight and they would love nothing better than preventing
their arch rivals from winning the championship at the final hurdle. We got of to a solid start and pressured the Belrose goal
early on. Some sustained pressure amounted to a great finish from Eddy Fong
to give us the lead. Fongy managed to pick up a
loose ball in the penalty box after the keeper fumbled a long range shot. He still
had plenty of work to do from a tight angle but finished well and managed to
avoid the oncoming defenders. It looked like we were awarded a penalty as the referee
pointed to the spot after Dwayne was brought down but for some unknown
reason, changed his mind and gave a free kick just inches outside the box. Oggy stepped up a struck the free kick low and hard into
the far corner to give the boys a 2-0 lead. There were some anxious moments towards the end of the
first half after a near post throw-in was missed by all. A reflex reaction
saw Oggy try to flick the ball to safety but was fortunate
to direct it straight at the keeper instead, avoiding an embarrassing own
goal. Guy had a good chance after making a run to the near post
but was unable to control a delightful through ball from Leachy. With 20 minutes to go Belrose scored an unlikely goal which
sent shock waves around the ground. The boys started getting nervous and their
play suffered accordingly. Defensive clearances started to go awfully wrong
and simple passes and ball control disappeared. Another goal to Belrose and resulting draw would see the
title slip but the lads did just enough to hold on during the last nail
biting 20 minutes. Fongy played exceptionally well and
troubled his opponent all day. Several late chances could have sealed matters
but 2-1 was enough to win the game and take out the reserve grade
championship. It was great to see the champagne flowing after the game as the
boys bellowed out the Tiger’s victory song!!! The lads can be extremely proud of their season which was truly
a team effort. There were no standout performers or stars in the team but a
solid all round team performance instead. Our defence was outstanding all
year round with Charlie, Lenny, Oggy, Kane and Tim
E playing well all year. Andrew Stahl had a great debut season in goals only
letting in 14 goals in 22 games. Joe Kotevich and
Dill were the finds of the season and did exceptionally well in the middle of
the park with Nath helping out in between injuries.
Guy was consistent up front and enjoyed combinations we several different
striking partners like Dwayne, Reidy, Burls and “Lone
Stiker”. Fongy was solid
all year at left half and thoroughly deserved the man of the match. Well done lads enjoy!!! Man of the Match: Eddy Fong |
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