OK, pressure is on, the Professor has made the art of match reporting something akin to a Harry Potter movie, so when the call was made for me to fill in while he was enjoying China, fear set in.
I tossed up whether l do something so bad that no one else has to go through this sort of pressure & Ian takes back his rightful role. Something like, great game, 6 -2, everyone played well, see you next week. But that wouldn’t be right & so here goes the match report.
The location surprised everyone, playing Ringwood in Wantirna, at a ground set amongst farmyard like surroundings. This would normally be good, except the fog & a temperature of 6degrees ensured everyone knew what it was like to be a diary farmer. A couple of fathers were seen loitering around the Canteen in the hope of pressuring the opposition parents to open early & start serving up the coffee & croissants. Unfortunately a bag of chips is all that was handed out.
The game started in strange circumstances, the Knights & Ref were lined up ready to go but unfortunately Ringwood had no team jumpers, so with a flurry of activity a bag was found & after a change of clothes, the game started. The Knights had decided to change around the starting line up and with Philip trading places with Adam in goals and slotting into the right side, the new formation started well. There was a lot of activity up forward with Felix and Ben BS running hard and creating chances, and before long Ben slotted one into the net to give us the lead. 1 – nil.
After the kick off Ringwood attacked a couple of times & it was the presence of Aussie, James & Luke in defense that repelled the attack each time. One of the notable changes to the way the Knights played was they were passing off out wide quickly and effectively which caught the Ringwood defense out a number of times. It has to be mentioned that Philip played a great role in driving time & again down the right side and feeding the ball into the forwards. The second came as a result of some great quick play & it fell into Ben I space & with a couple of turns saw that the keeper was out of position & drove the ball high & over his head. With everyone assuming it was going in, they watched &, like slow motion, it rolled into the net. 2 – nil.
The third goal came about with some great work by Adrian from a throw in, where he went pass one defender & crossed it into the box where Felix & Ben BS were waiting. With a shot been taken by Ben it cleared the pack & hit the back of the net. 3 – Nil.
As any good side will know (just ask Collingwood on Anzac Day), the mind games kick in & players start to think this is going to be an easy game and a comfortable win. Unfortunately the Knights fell into this trap. Within the space of a few minutes of the first half, Ringwood had a number of chances and with Captain Zac, Michael, and Ari all valiantly defending, Ringwood were able to slot one into the net seconds before the Ref blew the half time whistle. 3-1.
Coaches Ross & Andres decided that it was time to get the boys heads back into the game plan and gave them a half time talk about the need to continue to pass off wide quickly & let the run up the sides continue.
The second half started and the game was anyones to win. Unfortunately the Knights were cruelly deemed to have hand balled within Ringwood’s box & the Ref gave a penalty. Adam at this stage started to wonder whether his unselfish decision to swap with Philip was worthwhile. The net obviously becomes twice as big when its just you Vs the opponent. With a swift kick the ball went into the net for a goal. 3 -2.
Ringwood were now pumped & obviously thought that they were in with a real chance. Much to the credit of the Knight’s though, they stuck with the game plan & continued to move the ball quickly out wide. With Karan slotting into the right side in the second half and Michael supporting from defense, there were a number of attacking runs seen. The fourth goal may have been a pay back by the Ref for Ringwood’s earlier penalty, with Ben BS deemed to have been fouled in the box & given a penalty kick. He calmly slotted in for his hat-trick and the Knight’s parents breathed a sigh of relief as we gained a 2 shot buffer. 4 -2.
The Knight’s seem to find their team work and the backline, lead by James, continued to repel any attack with long hard clearing kicks out of defense to set up the run of the midfield and forwards. Ben I had a number of chances to slot in some goals, however it wasn’t until Felix made a run from a Ringwood kick out that he placed the ball into the back of the net. 5 -2. We were on a roll.
The final goal came about from some passing down the right and Karan did some neat foot tricks around one of the central Ringwood defenders & placed the ball outside the keepers outstretched arms & into the goals. 6 -2.
At the final whistle, it was gratifying to see that after last week’s effort where we just didn’t seem to be mentally there, that this week they followed the game plan that was practiced during the week at training, of passing quickly out wide and opening up the defenders. Ross and Andres re-emphasised after the game for the boys to continue with this style as we face some of the teams higher up the ladder over the next few weeks, who will put a lot more pressure on us and our ability to perform.
Special mention must go to Frank for volunteering (by his son) to be linesman. Unfortunately the Ref must have had some grudge against him because he was ignored in the first half when he raised his off-side flag a couple of times. Also to the parents who braved the cold foggy conditions to support the team, the Hanlon’s for bring just enough lolly snakes for all the kids after the game and for the coaches for developing a game plan which work nicely today.
As for Tammie, well she continues to turn up with a smile on her face and keep the operations ticking over, which is much appreciated. As for me, l’m happy that Ian has only gone for one week and Customs have now been advised to hold onto his passport until the season finishes.
Well Done Knights – a great team game.
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