Monday July 7th 2008

A Lesson in Concentration                                                                                           by Andy Craig

In an exciting encounter that had the fans on the edge of their seats, Hahndorf ultimately let Flinders Uni off the hook as two late goals by the hosts resulted in a 3-3 final score.

  The SAASL11th round of Division 2 pitted the 4^th placed Uni against an improving Hahndorf unit looking to pull itself up the league table. With injuries again a concern for Hahndorf, Coach Peter Cottle gave starts to Kyle Eglinton and Stephen Ness on the flanks, with youngster Jack Farrimond put into central midfield.

  The defence centred on the settled line up of Danny Pace in goal with veteran Andy Craig, the in-form Tyrone Blunt and experienced Wayne Forrester providing cover. Midfielders Ash Parr and Craig Cottle supplied the linking balls to forwards John Lawler and the Argentinian “Wiz”, Martin Moran.

Flinders got off to a confident start, pushing the ball around well on their home turf and showed a few genuine threats in the final third of the ground. The Magpie defence weathered the early storm and Hahndorf began to push the ball wide to Ness and Eglinton with support from Parr and Cottle.

Hahndorf drew reward for their endeavour with a sustained move involving five players that moved the ball across both sides of the pitch. The penultimate pass arrived with Cottle and he fired in a dipping cross for Lawler to head at goal. The Flinders’ goalkeeper stretched to prevent to ball going inside the post but could not hold the ball. Following up, Lawler won the loose ball and bundled into the net to the joy of the visiting faithful.

Flinders Uni bounced back with some attacking moves but often over hit their passes and they were forced to take long shots as the Magpies worked hard to deny them space near goal. Parr and Farrimond applied pressure to the midfield and Cottle was able to release Ness and Moran with regularity.

With fifteen minutes left in the half, Flinders were handed a goal as Pace parried a good shot. In an attempt to clear the ball, a defender belted the ball against a team mate and it ricocheted into the Magpie goal. The score was a setback for Hahndorf but they battled on for the rest of the half, looking to add to their tally.

With scores locked at 1-1, Hahndorf continued to push their higher placed opposition after half time. Ness was in outstanding form and worked well with Cottle and Craig to forge attacks down the flank while also putting in his defensive duty. Blunt was also having a fine game, intercepting the Uni attacks and distributing the ball to midfield and forward options.

Cottle commandeered the midfield, working well with Moran and Lawler as Hahndorf were looking the better team. Despite this, Uni remained a threat but their wayward shooting let them down. In perhaps a lucky break for the Magpies, when Flinders did get the ball into the net it was disallowed for a foul on Pace.

Twenty minutes into the half, Hahndorf struck a second goal. Employing some Route One football, Pace launched the ball forward and it was poorly dealt with by the Uni defence. Moran latched onto the long ball and pushed it past the advancing ‘keeper just before he was cleaned up by a desperate defender. The ball finished in the net with Moran on his back, and he needed medical attention before he could retake the field.

 At 2-1, Hahndorf were full of belief and needed to be as Flinders started to throw players forward searching for a second goal. They missed several chances as the intensity picked up and both teams were desperate for possession. Hahndorf made a change, bringing on Vin Chow for Farrimond who had battled hard all game.

With the play going from end to end, Hahndorf looked to have sealed the three points when Cottle added a third with a great strike directly from a corner, the ball curling inside the far post. The Magpies were jubilant but in the remaining ten minutes faced a determined University side. Both teams made substitutions, Hahndorf bringing on the raw running of “the Albino Yeti”, Lachlan McQueen and Uni throwing a towering beanpole up front.

 Hahndorf were defending deeply as Flinders pumped long, high balls into the Magpie penalty area and with minutes left the hosts scored, the tall forward getting enough on his header to breech the Magpie goal. Uni continued to attack, throwing everyone forward and gained a corner. Again Hahndorf could not counter the tall Uni player and with his header they equalised with seconds to go.

A shocked Hahndorf then had a chance to score in the final few seconds but with Parr putting the ball in the net, the referee found a push off the ball and ruled out the goal.

 The result was a bitter sweet moment for the Magpies, playing well to lead their more fancied hosts all game but falling just short of getting a valuable three points. In a match where the Magpies gave their all, best player votes went to Cottle, Blunt and Ness, all outstanding on the day. Hahndorf have continued to improve and no doubt will upset a many of their rivals as the second half of the season gets underway.

Reserves

The Hahndorf Reserves struggled to cope with form and injuries in the first half and conceded six goals but redeemed themselves with the only score of the second to finish 6-1 down.

The Magpie Reserves went into the match with regular goalkeeper Nathaniel Brooke and a young defence of Ben Wells, Matt Medley, Captain Rupert Lindon and Sam Gowan. In midfield, Andrew Kenny, Luke Jones, Angus Coulls and Lachlan “the Albino Yeti” McQueen battled for control but found the wet, wide pitch a little slick and struggled to hold on to the ball.

Young forward Jack Goodfellow joined Vin Chow up front and they had a few opportunities but could not put the score on the board. Uni opened the scoring after a back pass was not adequately dealt with and fell two goals down soon after when Brooke was caught out of position, allowing a simple tap in.

Hahndorf tried to put Flinders under pressure but the bounce of the ball did them no favours as their hosts hit long balls wide and forward looking to exploit the height advantage they had up front.

Jones smashed a free kick from distance that the Uni ‘keeper struggled to hold but the ball was cleared before Hahndorf’s forwards could put in a challenge.

At the other end everything was going the host’s way, a cross from out wide dropped into goal and a fourth added when a great double save by Brooke saw the loose ball knocked in. A further two ended in the Hahndorf net as the half concluded.

Rising from the previous half’s carnage, the Magpie Reserves applied themselves and started to make inroads to the Uni goal. Chow won a ball from a corner and skipped past a defender but blasted his shot over the bar.

Substitutes Edmondo Palombo and Michael Stevens, the latter making his return after a long injury spell, added some assured touches and Hahndorf retained some midfield possession.

Goodfellow showed some nice touches and beat several opponents in one of many forays forward for the Magpies and was rewarded for his persistence with the only score of the half. A good build up through Stevens sent the ball wide and deep where Goodfellow won the challenge. Opening up the goal as he moved toward the middle, Goodfellow struck the ball with the outside of his foot to beat the ‘keeper at the near post.

The goal was a just reward for the Reserves as they put their best foot forward in the second half. Best on the day were Lindon, Medley and Goodfellow.

There is a feast of football with a triple header on next week at Pine Avenue. Hahndorf will be looking to put a score past the Cougars at the Magpies Nest and the Super C’s host the second placed Sturt Marion. Action starts at 11.30am.