Match report

Match report

As the Red and Blue faithful waded through a thick McLaren Vale fog to reach their Round 16 clash with Willunga they had retribution on their minds. The first time these two sides met, it is fair to say that Woodside dominated the contest, with twice as many shots on goal. Despite this, they found themselves on the wrong side of a 3 – 2 result. The outcome would be identical this time around, with another thrilling game going right down to the wire, but the way we got there was some kind of spectacle.

With a stiff wind blowing down a fairly sloping pitch, it was important to win the toss and get off to a good start. This advantage went to the locals, who knew exactly how to harness the conditions. Despite both teams being evenly matched, getting out of your own half was an endless battle if kicking into the wind, and Woodside found themselves under constant duress throughout the first half. Despite the relentless pressure, the visitors were defending well, with the back four refusing to yield and the midfield racing back to help out. But with the wind driving the ball behind them, it was inevitable it would find its way over the goal line. On the ten minute mark, the visitors lined up to defend their first corner of the day. The ball was hit beautifully into the box, with the wind curling in towards its ultimate target. But Woodside had set themselves up well and appeared to have the ball soundly covered for an easy clearance. Unfortunately, when the wind is blowing thirty knots, there are no easy clearances, and as the hard-working midfielder attempted to clear the ball off his line, it collided with the wrong part of the boot and cannoned into the netting. He was devastated, but in true Warriors spirit his team-mates (and even a couple of his opponents) got around to console him and lift him up for the rest of the game. Before long, Willunga scored a second goal from a corner, when the ball got through everyone and sat perfectly for their striker, who knocked it in to extend the lead. The visitors were battling the elements as well as a spirited opposition, who were bang up for the challenge and had their tails wagging high in the air. And before long, the home side broke through again. This time the Woodside backs were drifting too high up the pitch in an attempt to find a goal of their own. Unfortunately, with the elements against them, it wasn’t the right moment and the ball got behind their line. This created a 1 v 1 with the keeper that was dispatched with classy precision. Three – nil is quite a deficit in football, and Woodside had every excuse to drop their heads and give up for the day. But there was none of it. With twenty minutes still to play in the first half, they redoubled their efforts and finally broke out of their own territory. Driving the ball down the left wing they looked certain to score, but as the shot was whipped in, the wind got hold of the ball and sent it across the face. On the stroke of half time they produced a carbon copy of this chance, with the ball again sailing across the face of goal. These chances hadn’t registered on the score-card, but they had a profound bearing on the psyche of the Warriors in Red and Blue. And they went into half time with an element of belief – They could take this game on, and run over the Willunga locals.

With the wind and slope now in their favour, Woodside began to enjoy some time outside of their own half. They goaled after five minutes of play in the second half, and again after 11, when their left mid fired in the cross of the season. It was finished beautifully to put them one goal away from a remarkable comeback. Now the Warriors were playing the brand of football that they have been working towards all season. They were relaxed on the ball, and intense off it. They were executing beautiful short passes through traffic, then going long to use the full width of the pitch. It was beautiful to watch, and it was working. With this brand of play, they created a procession of genuine opportunities. Another nine shots peppered the Willunga nest, including two that beat the keeper only to hit the post. Surely one would slip through to give them the draw. But with every missed opportunity, the clock continued to tick down. And although they threw themselves into the fray, and supporters of both teams thought a goal was inevitable, it just wasn’t to be. As the final whistle sounded, the home side breathed a lengthy sigh of relief. It will long puzzle viewers of the game how Woodside didn’t at least draw this one. And all in attendance agreed that a draw would have been a fitting outcome. But that’s football… The Warriors will take it on the chin and move forward, sound in the knowledge that they had just played a beautiful game of football and are developing as fine young players of the round-ball game.