Mount Colah v Hornsby Heights, Round 2
A beautiful day for a game. Clear skies, and the dew mostly gone before play got under way. We were 3 players down (Nikki and Cam K away, Sam H injured) so we called for reinforcements and got Sam M, Nick S and Tom from the U12's. They were dying for a game because they had a bye last weekend. The way they fitted in, they are welcome back any time.
Hornsby Heights have given us a couple of hidings in past years, and can pile on goals quickly so Rob made sure that our players didn't give them any time on the ball. It worked a treat. Our midfield is starting to work together very well, with Sam B and Cam N in particular developing a good understanding and pushing the ball forward. Bonnie, Georgina, Josh and Sam M played up front and gave the Hornsby Heights defence plenty of work, and they definitely enjoyed the distribution from the midfield. The defence was covering well too, with very few holes appearing and players plugging the gaps quickly.
After 10 minutes we had our third corner, and a scramble in the goalmouth fell to Josh who found the net. 1-0, and looking good. We had a few other half chances, including a long-range speculator from Sam B that almost came off, but a sign of our dominance was that Matt only handled the ball once in the first half.
The second half was a more even affair, with Hornsby Heights building some nice combinations and putting a few players through gaps. But we had some pace up front and pushed up regularly. Not long after the resumption Sam M raced down the left touch line and fired in a shot from an acute angle. It took the goalie by surprise, and he got one hand to it but not enough. Thank goodness for the net; the ref initially didn't think it was a goal. 2-0.
Cam N was everywhere, and took one great run down the middle that left him with only the goalie to beat. But he came off his line, cut down the angle and Cam was forced to shoot straight at him. Good save. Josh wasn't finished yet. With about 10 minutes to go Aynsley had a shot, and Josh put the rebound into the bottom left corner. 3-0, and that's where it stayed. A few minutes later Josh sent in a beautiful pass from the left, but it just eluded the other forwards and was cleaned up by the Hornsby Heights goalie. Almost on the stroke of full time one of their forwards got the ball in the open, loped down towards goal and netted it... offside.
Come full time everyone had just about run themselves into the ground. More importantly, they had run Hornsby Heights off their feet and not allowed them to get any fluency. A well deserved win, with everyone making a contribution. Josh was man of the match for a great all-round performance to cap off his two goals, and Bonnie was a deserving runner-up. Now for a couple of weeks off, and then back into it.
Thanks to Tim for reffing the second half, and Gordon and Helmut for running the line.
Denis (Manager)