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“THE
DEN” – Match Report |
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Game 12 CC Strikers Lionel Watts 2 |
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First Grade – Sheather Strikes Again Score: 2-1 Goal Scorer(s):
Nick Sheather ’35, ‘65 Match Report: First
Grade continue their good form by getting maximum points against a resilient
CC Strikers team that are always tough to break down. After trailing 1-0 to a
goal against the run of play, the Tigers equalised only minutes later and
eventually took the lead after some persistent pressure on the Strikers defence. The boys had one of their best starts to a game but
weren’t rewarded on the scoreboard as they peppered the Strikers goal
in the first 20 minutes. The boys were camped in the Strikers half but
couldn’t create any clear cut chances and capitalise on their field
position and dominance of possession. Joerg Dierkes
started for the first time this year and was wreaking havoc on the Strikers
defence. He beat his opposite number pointless in the penalty box by chipping
the ball over his head, but was pulled back by a mysterious refereeing
decision. Hopefully this wasn’t a sign of things to come as the same
referee gifted the Strikers two goals in the same encounter in the first
round. As is always the case, one of the first attacking raids by the
Strikers against the run of play resulted in a goal as their centre half
picked up a loose ball in the penalty box and converted from close range. To the boys credit they equalised soon after with Joerg doing superbly on the left hand side and Nick Sheather
making a telling run into the 6 yard box to get his head on the resulting
cross giving the keeper no chance. The second half was a tight battle with neither team
gaining the ascendancy. The boys struggled to string consecutive passes
together which was in stark contrast to the first. This resulted in our
forwards being starved of ball and fewer chances on goal. Tim Sheather stepped up for a corner and towered over the
defence only to see his resulting header strike the crossbar. Fortunately his
brother, Nick, was in the right place at the right time and hooked the
rebound from high behind his body, with his back to goals, into the unguarded
net. A scuffle broke out as the Strikers weren’t too happy about
conceding the goal but the boys had the last laugh and ended the game as 2-1
victors. Other results meant the boys jumped up another place on the
ladder into third spot as Brookvale drew with a resurgent Man of the Match: Nick Sheather Reserve
Grade – Enrolments for “Lone Striker” Diving School Score: 1-0 Goal Scorer(s): Adrian
Ogg ’90 (Penalty) Match Report: An
unfortunate send-off in the second half saw Reserve Grade reduced to 10 men
with 20 minutes remaining on the clock. With scores locked at 0-0 the result
was in the balance. Instead of playing for a draw, the boys dug deep and
continued to push forward and were rewarded with a last minute penalty to
snatch an unlikely victory. As in a lot of games after a team is reduced to
10 men, the team with the numerical disadvantage tends to lift to the
occasion. This was the case for the Reserve Grade lads who were justly
rewarded for their efforts. The second round started with a tough encounter against CC
Strikers who were lying fourth on the table. With some patchy form over the
previous weeks the boys had to lift to come away with the points against one
of the best defensive teams in the comp. To the boys credit they played one
of the best first halves of the season with Darren Leach and Rich Cuthbert
playing well out wide in midfield and our defence being impenetrable as
usual. Neither team had any clear cut chances in the first period as
both defences negated the oppositions’ attack. Andrew Reid has gone
from strength to strength in recent weeks and is enjoying playing upfront in
Dwayne Beazley’s absence. I nice ball was played to his feet just
outside the penalty box, with his back towards goal a superb first touch saw
him beat the defender easily and cut the ball across goals to set up a left
foot shot. Unfortunately he couldn’t get enough power or accuracy to
trouble the keeper. Darren “Playmaker” Leach was wreaking havoc
down the left hand side and a trade mark “outside of the right”
cut the defence in two. Rich timed his run superbly but the resulting shot
didn’t hit the target. In the slippery conditions another innocuous shot by Leachy
from distance skipped off the surface catching the keeper off guard. The
Striker’s custodian somehow managed to parry the ball off his knee,
past the post for a corner (Rumours have it that the shot was travelling so
slowly that the keeper actually dived too early). An unfortunate incident in the second half saw a frustrated
Ben Molyneux back chat one too many times and was
given his marching orders with two yellows in a world record 0.2 seconds. The
coach was instructing “Refund” Sorbara
to don the gloves but he quickly passed the buck to Burls who slotted in at
keeper after playing all of 1 minute up front. Enter “Lone Striker” Charlton, who in the dying
seconds used his electric pace to breeze past his defender, only to be
unceremoniously dumped in the penalty box. Contact was questionable but
Charlie made the most of it by screaming like a $2 pro, rolling around the
pitch grasping his right trunk (Those diving classes sure have paid off). Up
stepped Oggy who used all his experience (and hair
product) to calmly slot the resulting penalty into the right corner. The Ref
instantly signalled full-time and a 1-0 victory to the Tigers. In the scheme of things this was a massive result for
Reggies as fellow frontrunners, Pittwater, lost in an upset against Mosman. A
great start to the double-header long weekend! Man of the Match: Darren Leach |
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