Match report

Match report

After kicking 25 goals in their first three encounters, Mt Barker U12 Blue must have had some confidence when they travelled to the mighty Warriors Fortress for their Round 4 encounter. They may have been expecting another goal fest, but the hosts had other plans…

Right from the outset, this was a tight contest. Time and again Mt Barker surged forward with an air of well-deserved confidence, but time and again they were repelled. The Warriors, kicking into the wind, repeatedly turned defense into attack, and when they advanced they looked dangerous! For 28 minutes, the game maintained a frantic rhythm as the ball surged from end to end. Eventually, it was Mt Barker who broke the deadlock, capitalizing on a scrappy ball in the 6 yard box to hack one past the keeper. Moments later the whistle sounded and we went to the break.

The second half started with a completely different momentum. The pendulum had now swung in favor of the home team as they pushed the ball forward and created multiple shots on goal. Soon enough one found the net and the game hung in the balance at 1 – 1. The game held this momentum as the home side repeatedly attacked the goal, but the visiting keeper’s mits kept getting in the way. Not once, but nine times, the keeper was put to the sword, and nine times he got in the way. This herculean effort was enough to keep the visitors firmly in the race and as the game wore on and legs got tired, small spaces opened up in front of the home net. Eventually a well guided shot slid past the keeper to put the visitors up 2 – 1. But the Warriors, keen to live up to their namesake, kept pressing. Every one of the 12 home players strove for victory with every ounce of their being. But although they finished with 10 shots on target to the visitors 4, it was Mt Barker who got the choccies with a 2 – 1 victory.