The Back Page
In the UK in the 70’s The Saint (Ian St John) and Greavsie (Jimmy Greaves) used to present a weekend football show. Asked on one program what he thought of a game, Saint turned to Greavsie and said, “it was a game of two halves, the first half and the second”. After watching the Knights latest outing, away against Nunawading City, I know what he meant. In the corresponding game earlier in the season at Larpent, the City goal led a charmed life and the boys were held to a goalless draw, so it was time to make amends.
The Knights were still labouring with injuries that were stretching our resources to the limits. James’ heel and Ari’s ankle prevented them from taking the field; despite being unable to train with his knee injury, Ben 1029 gamely fronted up and played half the game. The team was bolstered (or should that be Polstered?) by recruiting Felix’s younger brother Moritz, who provided good backup and did not look out of place amongst boys a couple of years older than him.
So a fine day for Round 14 at Mahoney’s Road with the boys looking to build on their impressive 3:0 win against the Eastern Lions last week. A few enforced changes needed this week, with Ben Irvine and Felix starting up front, Ozzie, Adrian, Michael, and Karan in midfield, John in the stopper role, Zac, Adam, and Luke in defence, and the ever reliable Filip in goal; Ben 1029 and Moritz started on the bench, with Moritz coming on into midfield midway through the half.
Nunawading played a similar tactic to the previous game with a packed defence and a couple of quick players up front hoping to catch the Knights on the break. Not the most attractive way to play football, but one that obviously suits their strengths as a team. For the first half, the ploy looked good – the Knights were closed down in attack and midfield, and despite having a good deal of possession, they could not get clear of the defence and were forced to shoot from a fair way out. A whipped cross in from Ben Irvine on the left and a shot from Karan that flashed wide of the Nunawading goal was our best chance. Nunawading almost caught the Knights on the break – a long ball over the defence and two forwards who were either 10 metres offside or level when the ball was played (depending on which side of Burwood Highway you were from) bore down on the Knights’ goal. Filip advanced to cover the angle and the ball was fired into the side netting. As the halftime break approached, it looked like being deja vu all over again with few threats to the Knights’ goal, but little to show for long periods of dominance.
Halftime and a chance to regroup and reassess the tactics – Ross and Andres stressing the need for composure in the final third. Ben 1029 came into the game to renew the striking partnership with Ben Irvine. The Knights continued to press forward and after 5 minutes got their reward. A ball from midfield by Adam found Ben 1029 who released Ben Irvine through the left channel; accelerating away from the defence, Ben Irvine waited until he was inside the box before slipping the ball past the advancing City keeper. Going 1:0 down, meant that Nunawading needed to become a bit more adventurous and they launched a number of attacks that kept Zac, Luke, Adam, and John busy at the back with Filip clearing up on a couple of occasions. The Knights were keen to press home their advantage and once again Nunawading payed the price for trying to defend too deep as a ball spilled to Michael unmarked at the edge of the box and he fired a left foot shot over the defenders and keeper into the top of the net.
2:0 and the Knights were looking good – two goal leads in the second half offer a measure of comfort. Karan, Felix, Ozzie, Moritz, and Adrian looked to be comfortable in the midfield and were pushing forwards with the Bens whenever possible. It is hard to play a defensive game, and Nunawading were starting to tire with their defence showing the sort of gaps that you see in a 7-year old’s smile – so a third goal was always on the cards. Ben Irvine duly obliged, cutting in from the left again and pushing it past the keeper. There seemed to be more space on the pitch as the half wore on with players from both sides starting to feel the pace and the game was at its most open. A wicked cross in from the right from Ben 1029 and one from the left by Ben Irvine both just failed to find Knights’ players straining to get on the end of them. An attack by Nunawading resulted in a free kick on the edge of the Knights’ box and the free kick was lofted over the wall and agonisingly wide of Filip’s goal.
Finally, as the fat lady was warming up for the final aria, Adrian got on the scoresheet with a fine solo effort – running at the defence and deftly slipping it low into the bottom right corner. Just time to finish the cappuccino and reflect on a game where the Knights kept on trying and were justly rewarded for their endeavours. So two wins in a row (as a West Brom supporter, that counts as a winning streak) and the Knights playing some cohesive attractive football. The team photo at the end of the probably says it all with a mixture of relief and joy.
OK time for a bit You Tube – since he got a mention at the start, we can’t go past a bit of Greavsie.
Until Next Week, Rest Up, Train Hard, and Go Knights!
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