Young Guns vs. Bulleen Lions 29.08.09 (A) - 3:0 (2:0)
For the 2nd time of the year the Young Guns had the opportunity to have a come back win against the club they had a loss the week before. And like against Richmond they successfully did so again in Bulleen as well. Like last week the Guns had the honour of playing on the artificial pitch again. And although it was drizzling quite a bit before the game the signs were all set for another good match.
With Nick and Callum having to pursue other duties our numbers were down to only one sub. And as Victor went into the game with a severe foot injury we only had 7 fit players on the pitch today. However, fit or not, that doesn’t stop Victor to bite his teeth, swallow the pain, and at least have a go at goalkeeper. Skipper Bobby, Moritz, and, and Ryan featured in defence, with Josh, Corey, Alex, and Justin taking turns further up front in midfield and attack.
With 98 goals for the seasons the Guns were highly motivated to star again and finally crack the century which has been in reach for a couple of weeks before. Accordingly they started the game with a lot of passion, power, and speed. For the first few minutes Victor got no chance to show how good a goalie he really is. Bobby and Ryan shut down the backline completely to give Mozza the chance to get our game going from the engine room. Josh, Al, and Corey caused a lot of confusion and worries in the Lions’ backline.
The first clear scoring shot developed from a corner for Bulleen. Josh stole the ball off his opponent and started a dribbling across the whole pitch curving around another 2 Lions, only to miss the goal with a ripper shot by just 30 centimeters. The next one was Alex who first came close with a free kick from short distance and even closer with the rebound. Only a few minutes after that Ryan put the ball through to Justin whose acceleration was just too much for the Lions’ backline. He only got stopped last second before he was ready to knock the ball over the line. However, the game went on for 15 minutes, and the scores were still level at 0-0.
Then it was time for another goal kick after Bulleen had missed the target by a bit. Moritz put the ball down and kicked it long to the right wing. I don’t know how, but somehow skipper Bobby Scholes got a foot in and tipped the ball into open space to Alex who had an open run towards goal. A few more steps and then a smasher from 7 meters. Lucky for the Lions’ goalie, he couldn’t reach the ball. Otherwise he might have suffered some broken fingers. Finally the Guns had broken the ban and made it 99 for the year.
Thereafter the game was a bit more even with the Lions coming up front a bit more often and with more pressure. The result of that were a few dangerous shots towards Victor which he didn’t mind. Why? Because he was keen to show how quick he is with his hands and also how brave he puts his body on the line to hold the clean sheet for his team.
The next highlight had Corey written all over it. Justin managed to win a corner for our team. Corey put the ball next to the corner flag, his team mates were ready to storm into the box to tip the ball over the line. However, Corey must have seen that the goalkeeper was a bit out of position and, sneaky as he is, curved the ball to the far post from where it tipped into the net. The second goal of the day completed the Guns’ mission to complete the century for the season.
Shortly thereafter Moritz had one of his many highlights when he returned a long throw from the Lions’ goalie volley with his left foot. Lucky for Bulleen the ball missed the target by only a little bit. But we could now clearly see which team was back in the driver seat of this game. Was it a one-two combination between Corey and Moritz on the left wing, a strong run by Alex on goals, another skilful dribbling by Josh, or a quick run through the Lions’ defence by Justin. The Guns were now all over the Lions. But they didn’t manage to score another major, and so the convincing ref blew the halftime whistle to finish the first half off with a 2-0 lead for our boys.
For a change, we didn’t change goalie at halftime this week. Given that Victor was still limping (and off course because he is outstanding in that position) it was an easy decision to keep him between the goalposts. In defence we now had Justin, Corey as engine, and Josh. And the backline of the first half went further upfront seeing Bobby, Moritz, Ryan, and again Alex in midfield and attack. The instructions during the halftime vitamin C feast were clear: Don’t make the game too tight, open it up over the wings and so create lots of space for the own team. Avoid the congestion of crowded huddles in the corners of the pitch.
And… the boys seemed to have listened very well, because they started the 2nd 25 minutes with a lot of drive over the wings. Especially Bobby Scholes started to play one of his best halves for the Guns. Within a couple of minutes he used his turbo at exactly the right minute, sprinted passed his opponent and perfectly crossed the ball into the center to Ryan who missed the goal twice by only a little bit.
But also the Lions must have had some good oranges. They started quite a few dangerous attacks. And geez, it was good to know to have little Victor in goals. Again and again he had to put his body on the line and he had to swallow a few knocks against his head and hands. Our backline with Justin, Corey, and Josh found their structure very quickly and were in control most of the time.
The Guns on the attack had a few great combinations with Moritz putting a few nice passes through to his team mates. They created quite a few more scoring opportunities, but had to wait for quite a while to finally kick the decider. Ryan set up James in the center who smashed the ball low against the right post. The rebound bounced straight in front of Moritz feared right boot. Not hesitating for a second he bombed the ball from 5 meters into the back of the net. After the 3-0 there were still a few nice attacks, and also some dangerous situation to survive. But with no goals for the rest of the game the final whistle ended an other nice performance by the Young Guns with a well-deserved victory for our boys.
Today’s individual highlights in just a few words…
Victor: His performance as goalkeeper in today’s match is quickly summed up: Outstanding! Limping into the game he copped a few heavy knocks. With a few brilliant saves he secured the team’s 7th clean sheet for the year.
Bobby: As skipper he displayed some real role model capabilities today, keeping his position as full back in the first half and playing a strong attacking game after the break. His best moves certainly were the two quick runs down the left wing each followed by precise passes into the center.
Moritz: Besides his stunner goal, he had another variety of peak performance moves. Some of his through passes in both halves were like a copy paste from the best soccer tactics book. And the 2 volley return shots from halfway did not find the target, but were a both a beauty to watch.
Ryan: Mr. Persistence and Consistency did it again. Cleaning up the left back position, setting a few pinpoint passes, keeping a cool head in almost every situation rounded up a great performance as defender before the break. In half 2 he missed the target by only a little bit on some occasions.
Josh: His highlights? Have a guess… Just give him a ball, and he will show you. As so often this year, Josh again delighted us with some brilliant dribblings. Like a whirlwind he sneaked his way through the Lions defence over and over again and came very close on a number of occasions to put his name up on the scoreboard.
Alex: With 2 halves in midfield and as forward he was the cause of a lot of attacking momentum for our team. Whether it was his bombing free kicks or his precise crosses, Bulleen was always nervous when Al had the Ball. Against his rocket to secure our team the 1-0 lead, there was no recipe available for the Lions to avoid the goal.
Corey: With a goal directly from a corner, Corey not only created his own highlight of the match, but he also fulfilled a big milestone for the team. It was the 100th goal for the Guns this season which is a fantastic result. But as good as this goal was, his performance as engine after the break was even better.
Justin: His speed makes Justin a very dangerous player which is hard to keep to his limits over a whole game. So also today when he managed to sprint passed his defenders on a number of occasions only to miss a few shots at goals. As defender after the break Justin gelled perfectly with Josh and Corey to become an unbeatable backline.
That was it for today. With only one more week to go it is hard to believe that the season is almost over already. Next we will match up against Box Hill in the final game for the season. See you all out there, this time not at Larpent, but at our training venue Glen Waverley North.
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