Match Day 5 – 10/05/2008 – First Team

MAY

13

Well it was time for the long drive to Hahndorf. This match could not come any sooner as the horror of last Saturday was still sitting deep in the heads of all players.

Coach Nick “The Nose” Nicou gave a couple of players a spray during the week and it seemed like it had worked. We started off the game from the opening whistle with some promising attacking play it all looked good when Aaron “Laundromat” Willing was given a through ball. Using his pace he beat the last man and went one on one with keeper only to have his shot saved.

They knew we had come to play, and we had that feeling that it was going to be another one of those days…… We seemed to be working hard at the ball and dominated play for long periods but couldn’t find our final touch. Johnny “Handbags” Caputo and Dimi Premier League kept firing shots from outside the box but the Hahndorf keeper seemed to be in fine form.

Although we dominated play the Hahndorf boys, to their credit, kept persisting and soon managed to get a corner on the right of the pitch. The corner came in, Ange “The Spartan” jumped, it hit him on the shoulder, the ball looped over the keeper and into the back of the net. The Spartan then realised that he was supposed to be defending. 1-0 to Hahndorf.

We continued to press and persistence paid off when Aaron pounced on a loose ball in the box and finished with precision. 1-1.

Both teams kept pressing but the result stayed till the break. We started off the second half slow. You could say it was like running up hill. Literally! We went into our shells for the next 20 minutes and it looked like we were going to settle for a draw.

Then Nicou made the change, the long awaited return of Stevie G to the centre of midfield. You could see the eyes light up on Phil “The Gentleman’s” face. The Georgiou cousins were back! It was like a spark had ignited and we all started to lift a gear.

Our defence held like the Great Wall of China. Simmo played through the pain like Hawthorn great Dermot Brereton, Frank “2 Points” Vaka and Captain Comet marshalled their troops and Syed “The Assassin” showed why the allied forces have not broken down the Taliban.

With 5 mins to go Nicou pulled out another strategic move and Captain Comet went forward. Premier League won a free kick, played it short, got it back, and crossed to Captain Comet. He stumbled over the ball, deceiving his defender, and nicely and calmly showed why he has 5 championship medallions, placing the ball into the back of the net.

With only a couple of minutes to go we kept attacking. Soon there was a goal scramble and The Assassin crept into the box in stealth mode. The ball fell to him, he side footed it into a clear and open goal, and then Aaron, seeing an opportunity to catch the Spartan on the leading goal tally, decided to claim glory even though the ball was going in. Aaron was celebrating before a stunned crowd (stunned because they knew he was offside) when the referee disallowed the goal. The game finished 2-1 to FC Adelaide. You could say the Referee didn’t help either side but it was now time for the long drive home with the 3 points.

Nicou was so excited about the win that he left the Spartan behind to find his own way home.

By Steve Georgiou