Game 4, 7 May 2011 - U13A
After last week's washout we were at Parklands for an 8:30 game against Bannockburn Clark Rd, and with Nikki back we fielded our full squad for the first time. Rob told the players to be careful because BCR were also undefeated, and had scored more goals than us in their first 2 games. The plan was to watch our defence and look for opportunities to counter. The plan went out the window, almost from the whistle, when our midfield took control and we camped in their half. Looking good, then they countered and swept downfield. Matthew stopped a stinging shot; hand, face, behind for a corner. Another shot followed the corner and one of our defenders put his hand up reflexively to stop copping one in the face. Matthew got both hands on the resulting penalty but couldn't control it. Down 0-1 inside 3 minutes.
At the restart we swept down the left, and Aynsley was on the spot to side-foot the equaliser. More ebb and flow, and Nikki slotted his first goal. 2-1. At this point we were dominating but not getting much reward. Cam K had one shot come off the left goal post, a couple of other shots went wide, and their goalie was having a blinder, including one save where he tipped Aynsley's shot over the bar. Two things really stood out in this match. Firstly, everyone was getting stuck in. Lachlan made a huge covering run on the right flank and was proving to be a real nuisance to the BCR attackers, continually slowing them down. Along with Nick, Greg and Sam H (and later in the game, Bonnie) they gave BCR very few decent chances. Secondly, it looks like the guys have learned to pass! Time and again you could see a player looking for, and more often than not, picking out, an unmarked team mate. It made for a fast-moving and entertaining match.
After half time, still 2-1 up, we kept the momentum going but BCR had found a second wind and Matthew had a lot more work to do in goals. He timed a couple of charges very well, giving BCR no angle to work with, and stopped a point-blank shot midway through the half. But we still had a better than even share of territory. Sam B, Cameron N and Nikki were providing a great link between defence and attack, and Cam K, Aynsley, Josh and Georgina were getting plenty to work with. Numerous chances went begging; wide, over the top, at the keeper, or snuffed out when the setup took too long. Finally, the reward. Nikki took a long run downfield and let go with a speculator from the right. For the only time in the match their keeper fumbled, and we were 3-1 up. You had to feel sorry for him; his efforts had kept them in the match to that point, but it was a good shot from Nikki.
The last 10 minutes were intense. No goals came out of this period but both teams had opportunities. It definitely wasn't in the bag until the final whistle blew, to the great relief of 13 Mt Colah players and their supporters. This is shaping up to be quite a team, and picking players for the awards was not an easy task. In the end they went to Matthew and Lachlan, but half a dozen others would have been worthy recipients too.
So, 3 from 3. A fantastic start to the season, let's see if we can keep it going! Thanks to Mario, our first black and ref for the season, and to Helmut for running the line.
Denis (Manager)