Match report

Match report

Football away days. The thrill of going to a different town to watch your team in front of hostile fans. The idiosyncrasies of the other teams’ grounds, like Glebe Park in Brechin, where there is a stand on one side but the opposite terrace is less of a terrace and more of a very-well-tended hedge. Or Gayfield in Arbroath, perfectly located such that the wind off the North Sea means it is literally the coldest place in the northern hemisphere outside the Arctic Circle. Some football fans make it their life’s ambition to visit grounds like these, taking in the journey, the atmosphere, the people, the local pubs…

Despite all the thrills of finally being on the road to support their team there was only one question on the minds of the Warriors faithful at Birdwood Park on Saturday morning: Was it going to rain? Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long for an answer on that one, with the threatening drizzle turning to a heavy shower right at kick-off. We didn’t have to wait long for the first goal either, with Woodside winning possession straight from the Torrens Valley kick-off, and Leo Tucker winding his way through the defence to find the net with barely seconds on the clock. That moment set the course for most of the rest of the game, with Leo showing how deadly he has become by adding a further three to his tally before half time. Forward Jock Mills was unluckily not to see his hard work and good positioning pay-off with a couple of well-taken shots that were denied only by some very solid goalkeeping from the Rams. Torrens Valley managed to break through the Woodside defence on the 20-minute mark, with a screamer of a shot that found the net through a gaggle of Woodside defenders. The Warriors tightened their grip on the match on the stroke of half time though, with this week’s Captain Tommy Garden latching onto a neat through pass and applying a clinical finish to score his second goal of the season.

Football, it is sometimes said, is a game of moments: a touch of individual brilliance that leaves several defenders totally at sea, a passage of great teamwork that takes apart a previously impenetrable opposition, a 50-50 call for offside that is talked about for years afterwards. For the coach sometimes these are moments of frustration but often are moments of joy as the techniques and tactics from training sessions are realised on the pitch. The teamwork that led to Noah Peach’s second-half goal was one of those moments of joy, as the Warriors began a passing movement from central midfield that went out to the right wing before culminating in a cross into the box. Noah, for his part, found a great position in space and struck the ball well to open his Warriors account for the season and cap-off two earlier second half Warriors goals. The scoreline belies the fact that this wasn’t a one-sided affair, and Torrens Valley would certainly have added to their tally without Arthur Lean’s hard work as a defensive midfielder, winning possession and passing out of his own half to turn the game back to attack. Woodside brought the game home with a few rotations to rest tired legs and bring some of the less-involved players into play, and there were smiles all around as the final whistle blew and the Blues recorded their first result of the season in style.

We are back to the familiar territory of the Woodside Rec grounds next week to play Mount Barker United Red. The Mount Barker team we played in the first round has cleaved in two, so we wave farewell to the occasional lazy Saturday morning because there are no longer any byes in the fixture list. More football! More away days! More idiosyncratic away grounds! More standing on the touchline in the rain! How could anyone not be happy about that?