Match report

Season Date Round Venue
2021 U13 29th May 10:00am League Round 8 RJSC Main Pitch 1, Ashton Oval
Goals
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Best
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Goals
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Best
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Match report
Woodside Warriors U13 Blue travelled to the Ranges home ground on a morning that was still thawing out from the overnight chill.
 
Woodside, decimated by injuries, parachuted some last minute emergencies from lower leagues who rushed their way to Ashton to ensure that a bear starting 11 was possible and arrived just before kickoff. Phewww!
 
Despite the onlookers shivering on the sidelines, the Warriors started the must win match positively and, in the second minute after a brilliant run through midfield, Elliot Klein registered the first goal for the game. Shortly after Josh Constable stepped up for a penalty kick which was awarded for a handball in the box. Constable expertly caressed the ball to the left hand side of the goal with a stunning kick that allowed the Warriors some breathing space. Things seemed to be going all the Warriors way with the team in complete control for the first 15 minutes. However, the Rangers rallied digging deep they swung the momentum back in their favour registering the next 2 goals of the game. Going into half time, Warriors coach Jason Vassos requested the team take a breath and soak in the pressure, the first half had been a tricky affair where the Warriors had to adjust to their back four defenders who hadn’t played together before and found the fast running Rangers through balls very hard to negate.
 
The second half saw Rojo Nambiar and Klein work tirelessly through the midfield with Nambiar covering all areas of the pitch. He was either launching an attack, providing strikers Constable and Jordan Virgara with plenty of supply or, he was running back to the last line of defense to mop any danger balls that were on the way to threaten Warrior’s goalkeeper Axel Vassos’s penalty box. Troy Murray provided some good support and allowed the Warriors to try and control the tempo of the game. Constable scored another goal to give the Warriors a slight advantage however, this triggered a Rangers counter attack which saw 2 quick goals which saw the Warriors defenders in disarray as non-marked striker lined up and peppered the Warriors goals. The Warriors, behind by one goal, were staring at the reality of defeat and in the past this would have opened the floodgates for more goals to be recorded against them. Constable, the Warriors captain for the day, took it upon himself to change the narrative and started imposing himself up front causing chaos in the Rangers penalty box. The Warrior’s started to dominate the balls in dispute and put huge amounts of pressure on the Rangers defenders. Wave after wave of attacks continued with many balls getting bundled out for corners showed signs of an unlikely recovery. Quinn Klein settled into his first run with the u13’s and despite his age and size he stepped up and provided some crucial intercept passes that kept the Warriors defensive half safe and provided the supply back to the Warriors midfielders. Lewis Moylan, the other emergency inclusion grew with confidence and assisted Casper Cox with some through balls up the wing that allowed some important clearances. Constable (who finished with 5 goals) netted a hattrick of devastating goals which broke the shackles and finally allowed the Warriors to wrestle the game back into their favour. Xavier Varelias popped up late in the game and assisted with locking the ball deep into attack for the Warriors. The final whistle saw the Warriors take the 3 points with a final score 6-4. Despite the high scoring, the game wasn’t the prettiest to watch, credit to the Rangers who pushed the Warriors all the way in a game that could have gone either way.