Match report

Match report

Blackwood arrived very early to a sodden Rob Kilpatrick Park, and their extensive warmup paid off, with an early goal in the first few minutes catching the Hahndorf players off guard. It wasn’t long before the Hahndorf team found their groove, with methodical passing in the midfield between Louis Moran and Eli Parkyn, who were able to get the ball to Emlyn and Rowan Gilroy. This led to early chances for Lawson Shotton, who managed to hammer a long range shot toward the Blackwood keeper, who couldn’t secure the ball and it found its way into the back of the net to make it 1-1. Blackwood then managed to fight back, with several moves forward that tested Jackson Bidgood in goal. Eventually Blackwood managed to get one through to put them 2-1 up. Hahndorf quickly responded with great ball movement from Caleb Earley and Chris Haynes that managed to set Shotton up for his second on the day. The back and forth continued with Blackwood managing to get another past the Hahndorf defence to take them 3-2 up. Some positional changes and substitutions got Cohen Winfield involved, who opened up the Blackwood defence with some excellent passing. Parkyn moving to right midfield tested the Blackwood defenders with his pace. The increased Hahndorf pressure resulted in Shotton’s third of the half and had the teams back on level terms going into half time.

The second half saw these two evenly matched teams continue the battle in their respective midfields, with Blackwood not making the most of a couple of opportunities in the Hahndorf box. The Hahndorf defence then really tightened the screws, strangling Blackwood’s ball movement and beginning to push further into their attacking half. Whinfield and Haynes gave their Blackwood opposition little room to move whenever they tried to move the ball forward. The reintroduction of Moran into the mid field proved pivotal, with his calm and decisive ball movement in the midfield consistently finding Ashon Broadbent deep in the Blackwood defence. This constant pressure resulted in several Hahndorf corners and opportunities to score. Eventually the Blackwood dam broke with Emlyn Gilroy putting one past the keeper to make it 4-3. The Hahndorf players weren’t content to sit on a 4-3 lead, figuring the best form of defence is attack, with Moran again finding space in the midfield and finding Emlyn Gilroy who put the result beyond doubt with a long range shot to make it 5-3. This was how it remained at full time. The boys pulled off a thoroughly deserved win against a very good side in Blackwood in what was at times atrocious conditions on a very heavy pitch.