Match report

Match report

Woodside Warriors Soccer Club U9 Blue vs Mount Barker United U9 Red

Spring is well and truly the air, which always means two things: 1) it’s time to get the lawnmower out again, and 2) it’s the end of the football season. All ten teams in the AHJFA Under 9 league went into this game on exactly the same number points making for an unbelievably close end to the season that could see any or all of these teams promoted to play in the Under 10s next year. Rumours rippled through the crowd that the AHJFA, like all major football governing bodies, had the league trophy sitting in a helicopter at a convenient location near the Princes Highway, ready to be dispatched with an engraver and coloured ribbons to the team that ended the day on top of the league.

Except, except, except … with the under nines being non-competitive everyone ended up as winners: the kids, the parents, the clubs, the coaches, the kids (again) and the beautiful game itself. Everyone, that is, apart from those intrepid football correspondents whose typewriters will gather dust, trilbies will sit neglected on lobby hat stands and press passes will hang forlorn on the back of the study door, waiting for that fateful day next autumn when the season kicks-off again and the adrenalin courses through our veins as the match report filing deadline looms.

So, onto Mount Barker United Red’s visit to the Woodside Rec grounds. Woodside’s previous meeting with them came so long ago that United were still plying their trade at Anembo Park and that game ended pretty close. This time around Woodside had the upper hand for the early part of the first half making some incisive forward runs, and despite carrying an injury Lachlan Mitchell put in his best performance of the season as a Forward with some darting runs down the right wing. Woodside were encouraged by this and the team were drawn forward, which United began to take advantage of by finding space in the final third. Lucas March-Feltham was called back to play as a defensive midfielder to nullify the threat and as ever he put in some great blocks but United’s persistence paid off and Woodside came into the half time break trailing but with plenty of hope.

Woodside again started the second half brighter and before long had the goal they were looking for with a neat backheel from Captain Jock Mills finding Noah Paech, who played a through ball that Theo Nicholson latched onto, dribbled upfield and fired past the Barker keeper to level the game. Teams are often at their most vulnerable after scoring a goal and this proved to be true for Woodside, who were caught napping in defence twice in quick succession allowing Barker to reestablish their upper hand. Woodside didn’t stop trying, and Calum Magee found himself in a good position late-on but his shot was blocked by the Barker defence. Second half keeper Leo Tucker grew in confidence as the second half went on and made some fine saves, at one point scrambling back to stop a loose ball from crossing the line. Woodside were unlucky not to take more out of this game but there have been a lot of positives in the last few games, including Woodside managing to score in all but one of their last five games and they have proven increasingly difficult to score against.

So, all that remains is to thank the players, the parents, Stewart and Stephen the coaches, Sally the manager, Andrew, Lui and Peter our referees this season, the volunteers at Woodside Warriors who make the club so awesome, and you dear reader for finding a few moments in your week to read these somewhat fanciful, often nonsensical and unnecessarily verbose flights of whimsy that just about pass for match reports.

Your intrepid football correspondent, signing off for the season.