Game 5: Suburbs Warriors 21/6/08
As we arrived at Saxton field we realised it was the first time the Magpies had ever played there. The boys were keen and everyone was on time. We warmed up and were looking good.
We knew that this game was going to be harder than the previous week so we were trying to mentally prepare for this. The game on our pitch was running late so we agreed to play on number 3. We kicked off and the fun began. We scored an early goal which was a good sign. However, the game fell to pieces for most of the first half. The Warriors scored an outstanding goal from a beautifully crossed ball which was volleyed into the back of the net. We couldn't get any combinations going and we struggled with our positional play. There were glimpses of hope but we were definately not in top form. The Warriors scored another goal from a nice corner to take a 2-1 lead into half time.
The boys got a little rev up at half time about the fact that they looked like they had all been up till 3 in the morning on the booze. The call was made to step it up in the second half and play out of their skins for the remaining 25 minutes. I was to ref the second spell so some of the boys frustrations about inappropriate language and questonable tackling would be alleviated. The guys turned on an impressive 25 minutes of attacking football. They had excessive amounts of shots at goal and had it not been for an outstanding game from their goalie a large score line would have resulted. The boys clawed their way back to a 2-2 draw and with about 5 minutes remaining scored what looked like a game winner. The Warriors had not looked like scoring and had barely made it out of their own half. As sport goes, it took only one break away which resulted in another corner. It was beautlfully taken again and put pressure on our defence. Somehow (wink) it made it over our goal line with only a couple of minutes left on the clock. Desperation took over as the Magpies tried everything to try and seal another goal before the final whistle. Unfortunately, the ball didn't make it into the net again with the final score being 3-3. Matthew (3) Player of the Day: Riley Merthens- solid in defence and put pressure on in attack. Great corners.
Things to work on: Sleep on Friday nights, corners (for and against), shooting at goal (all).
