U12 Match Report - 18 July 2009

Dayboro Dingoes 5 vs Grange Thistle 4.

The line was drawn in the sand and the battle set to commence on yet another wonderful winter day. Our last match was a hard fought win to Dayboro by only one goal, and despite being top of the table, Dayboro had a hard task ahead.

Within the first few minutes the expectant onlookers were treated to a fabulous attempt at goal by Jayden who sent the ball rocketing across the goal face to hit the bottom left post. Dayboro maintained the pressure and Alex scored a few minutes later to open the scoring…………..and what a treat we were in for in that regard.

Grange Thistle replied soon after to square things up. This was followed by great attacking play from both teams with equally fierce defense. Franz as usual was doing an exceptional job in goal with staunch support from Jeremy, Travis and India. Finally, a beautiful cross from Oliver was rewarded by Jed finding the net to put Dayboro in the lead again. This was consolidated not long after by another lovely cross from Oliver to Alex who touched the ball in to further extend our lead. Dayboro was on a roll, and nothing was going to stop Jed who made a breakaway off clever passing from Eddie, Jake and Bradley, scoring convincingly to take the score to 4:1. Subsequent play from both teams featured skillful mid field passing resulting in a few inaccurate and some well defended attempts at goal. India showed some fancy footwork in both attack and defense. Great resistance was provided by Travis, Bradley and Jeremy as well as Eddie, who seemed to have found the secret to cloning as he appeared to be everywhere. Despite the strong defense, Grange Thistle was lucky enough to sneak through an accurate shot close to half time, closing play for the first half two goals behind.

The opening few minutes saw a lovely lob by Grange Thistle find the net, closing the gap further to only a single goal. This triggered immediate counter pressure by Dayboro with Jayden rocketing another pearler towards the net. Unlucky to find the crossbar, the rebound was swooped upon by Oliver whose attempt unfortunately sailed over the posts. The quick action drew excited cheers and disappointed groans from the anxious Dayboro spectators who sensed that the game was far from over yet. Our team showed some good ball skills and great reading of play, but in all the excitement Grange Thistle managed to dribble one over the line to even up the scores at four all. The pressure was mounting on the field while the excitement and anxiety was mounting on the sidelines. Constant pressure by Dayboro with several unlucky shots at goal with some near misses frustrated both players and spectators alike, heightening the tense atmosphere. As he had all game, Kade made some lovely runs up the side with some accurate passes into the centre which we could just not finish off. FINALLY the deadlock was broken by some deft passing between Jayden, Alex and Eddie resulting in a neat pass to Jed who made no mistakes to get Dayboro over the line a few minutes before the final whistle.

The game certainly ended up the cliff hanger we expected, but the team spirit and perseverance Dayboro showed resulted in a well deserved victory. Player of the Match was awarded to Oliver for excellent passing and crossing which setup the first 3 goals.