Match report

Season Date Round Venue
2020 U16 8th August 8:30am League Round 7 BHSFFC Blackwood High School
Goals
N/A

Best
N/A
Goals
N/A

Best
N/A
Match report

The Hahndorf U16 boys found themselves in the unfamiliar surrounds of Springbank Secondary School at Pasadena for their round 7 clash against the new team in the AHJSA competition, BHS Forest.

Whilst Hahndorf were undefeated to date, there would have been some nerves coming into the game. Regular captain, Eddie ‘the hardman’ Hardingham was doing penance for his prior week’s indiscretion, rapidly improving forward Toby ‘turbo’ Boekel and the ever-reliable Angus Mason were both unavailable, meaning Hahndorf were without the luxury of any substitutes. Added to this was that upon arrival at the game, it was found that BHS Forest also don the black and white, so having to change into the seniors 'away' yellow tops for the game meant the magpies suddenly were more akin to canaries.

With a goal to BHS in only the third minute of the game, the omens looked like they might be in play, but Hahndorf responded almost immediately with a great combination when Xav Kell crossed a lovely ball to the versatile Jackson Doley who, playing forward, reliably found the back of the net to bring scores level, and then bagged a second to put the visitors in front.

From there, Hahndorf controlled the remainder of the first half. Benefitting from having played with each other over a number of years, experienced Hahndorf forwards and mid fielders, Kane Gibbs, Kell and Kyle ‘scissors’ Fenlon are all having excellent seasons. They are being ably assisted by Hayden Abrahams who has shown great improvement and the tenacious Alex Montagu who drifts between mid-field and defence. This strong combination gave Hahndorf the upper hand and, whilst not all one-way traffic, they were able to add another 4 first half goals before a late BHS goal saw a half time score line of 6-2.

Whilst Hahndorf has the good fortune of having some great attacking players this year, a good team is built on the back of having reliable defence. Hahndorf’s ‘brothers of the watch’ had the combination of Kit Erhart-Bruce and Oakley Lockyer on the flanks with the mid field guarded by David Nielsen and Josh ‘not on my watch’ Rayner, all working hard and smart to thwart what were quite a number of attacking breakouts from the BHS boys.

Hahndorf’s final line of defence is goalkeeper James Bagley. Bagley only re-joined the team recently after having been with them last year. His skill, ability and reliability is a very welcome inclusion for the team, and there is a great sense of relief to have him back with the boys.

The second half again saw Hahndorf in control and another 3 goals were added to the score. With Hahndorf in such a strong position, coach Kerr was able to give a number of his players the opportunity to play in non-regular positions which will be of benefit to all in future games. BHS tried valiantly for the whole game but were not able to add to their tally, which didn’t truly reflect the competitiveness of the game that was played in a very good spirit.

Hahndorf in yellow against Blackwood, high fives before the game
Photographer: Dean Bagley

Hahndorf players - Hayden Abrahams and Kane Gibbs
Photographer: Dean Bagley