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“THE
DEN” – Match Report |
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Game 9 Pittwater Lionel Watts 4 |
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First Grade – “Pitt”iful
Mistake Gifts Game to Tigers Score: 2-1 Goal Scorer(s):
Ashley Mathieson, Nick Rainey Match Report: Pittwater
had a long drive home to Mona Vale after the Tigers put on an impressive
display to beat their more fancied rivals 2-1 at “The Den”. It
was a crucial victory for the The first half was a replay of last week with the Tigers
creating several chances to take a 1-0 half time lead. We were lucky not to
concede an early goal, after a powerful long range shot by Roland Webber
caught Benny slightly of his line. To his credit, Ben scrambled back well and
pulled off an outstanding save, tipping the ball over the bar with an
outstretched hand while diving backwards. We took the lead after some good
pressure by Nick Sheather on the Pitts defence saw the keeper try to clear a bouncing
ball outside his box, only to head it straight to Ash Mathieson
who cracked a first time volley into the unguarded net. We should have gone into the break a few more goals to the
good after Nick Rainey found himself with a free header off a Dave Sutherland
corner but directed his shot straight at the keeper. Tim Smithies was
wreaking havoc down the right hand side and troubled his opponent all day. At
one point he beat his opposition number easily to see his pin point cross and
the subsequent shot saved by the keeper. At half time the boys were keen to make amends for a poor
second half against Manly Vale the previous week and were determined not to
let the game slip against Pitts. Unfortunately we conceded another soft goal when
the replacement Pitts forward had too much time to shoot from close range and
equalised. In previous games this year, conceding a goal would have spelled
the end, but to the boy’s credit they battled on and were rewarded with
a goal to Nick Rainey. For some unknown reason, Pitts forward Tim Bennett was
moved from striker to sweeper, which proved costly as he miss-kicked a
clearance which was pounced on by Rains who crunched his shot first time into
the back of the net. Rains had another great chance to put the result beyond
doubt but pulled his shot wide with only the keeper to beat. You’ll be
glad to know that he was suitably relieved of some “hard earned”
by the fines committee. Our defence was back to its best with Robbie Eaton in
outstanding form at left back. He didn’t give the opposition an inch,
beating them to the ball and cutting off supply to their dangerous forwards.
Tim Sheather was a tower of strength at sweeper and was unbeatable in the air
when we were under pressure late in the second half. Ash also worked
tirelessly up front and had his best game of the season, combining well with
the two Nicks up front. Benny was outstanding in goals and continues his good
form. By far the most pleasing aspect of the game was the way the
team put last week’s troubles and disappointment behind them to play
controlled and disciplined soccer especially when we were reduced to 10 men.
Claiming this crucial victory showed the real character and spirit of the
team. Man of the Match: Robbie Eaton Reserve Grade – Reggies Find a New Striker J Score: 1-1 Goal Scorer(s): Lone
Striker Match Report: Crunch
time for Reserve Grade as they came up against fellow competition leaders,
Pittwater. Goal scoring machine, Dwayne Beazley was unavailable with a groin
injury and obvious substitute, Simon Burch, was also absent due to work
commitments. This left us short in the forward department so to add some
extra muscle up front Oggy moved forward. The boys had a first half that was best forgotten as
Pittwater dominated for long spells. Their passing through the backs left Guy
and Oggy chasing the pill aimlessly and produced
overlaps that the midfield couldn’t deal with. There was a distinct
lack of communication around the park and it looked like the boys
weren’t interested in a game that could be crucial to how they finished
at the end of the season. Everyone knows that if you don’t communicate on the
park then you can’t play good soccer and this was obvious in the first
half. Pittwater deserved their lead but were fortunate in the process as
their goal was deflected off Kane into the back of the net after trying to
block the shot. If it wasn’t for Andrew Stahl in goals, who pulled of
some exceptional one on one saves, we would have been more than 1-0 down at
half time. The only positive at half time was that after playing so badly we
were still in it score wise. We didn’t look like threatening the Pitts goal so
some changes had to be made. Burls replaced Reidy
at left half and in an inspirational move the coach put himself up front.
Some quick thinking saw Nathan Hope take an early throw-in and like a bolt of
lightning, the coach used his blistering pace to get in behind the defence
and beat the keeper with a delicate chip. The aforementioned almost made it 2-1 five minutes later
when he stepped up for a free kick just outside the Pitts penalty box. After
ruining Stahly’s confidence at training on
Thursday night (free kicks were flying in from alls angles) there was only
one place the ball was going. It wasn’t to be though as the resulting
free kick curled around the wall only to hit the upright and bounce away to
safety. After a poor first half performance the boys were happy to
finish with scores tied and remain equal first with Pitts. With 2 games
against the bottom teams to finish off the first round the boys are very well
placed. Man of the Match: Andrew Stahl |
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