After our enforced week off due to the weather, we resumed our season which has now turned into a relegation battle facing Vic uni stallions that are 2nd in the league and have near enough secured promotion.
Again for Elmo it was a struggle to find a fully fit team to face these guys, the fact that the 1sts were away playing at the same time made us even more stretched and Sargie having had a few weeks off with a bad back decided on lifting a bag of cement into his car on Saturday morning thus hurting it again and leaving him 60% fit at best (Bend the knees while lifting sargie its basic manual handling haha). It has been an on-going thing with us this year and one that has made it not an enjoyable campaign.
In our last fixture against the stallions (we lost 3-2) they were much the better team for most of the game and are a well drilled outfit proof of that is in them getting promotion. We decided with going with a 4-5-1 formation to counter their midfield and protect ourselves a bit and we all agreed that we needed to fight hard in every aspect of the game if we wanted to get the 3 points.
Again for Elmo it was a struggle to find a fully fit team to face these guys, the fact that the 1sts were away playing at the same time made us even more stretched and Sargie having had a few weeks off with a bad back decided on lifting a bag of cement into his car on Saturday morning thus hurting it again and leaving him 60% fit at best (Bend the knees while lifting sargie its basic manual handling haha). It has been an on-going thing with us this year and one that has made it not an enjoyable campaign.
In our last fixture against the stallions (we lost 3-2) they were much the better team for most of the game and are a well drilled outfit proof of that is in them getting promotion. We decided with going with a 4-5-1 formation to counter their midfield and protect ourselves a bit and we all agreed that we needed to fight hard in every aspect of the game if we wanted to get the 3 points.
The conditions were bloody freezing wind and rain and we were not impressed by the fact that KCDC hadn’t fixed the showers so we had a nice cold shower to look forward to after the game..
1st Half
We kicked off and our intensity from the 1st whistle was a lot better than in recent weeks we wanted the ball all the time and our communication was better than usual, we were stretching the opposition with good wing play by Mitch and Evans. The stallions came into the game though with a shot that was saved well by Robin then dropped by Robin, then caught by Robin, then dropped, then finally made secure by Robin. Jesus H Christ Robin you are going to give us all a heart attack with that kind of carry on so stop it mate!!!
Robin then followed that up with one of the best saves I’ve seen at Weka following a ball inform the left wing the stallions striker smashed it from 8 yards and for all money it was going into the top corner but Robin dives and sticks out a strong right hand to tip it over for a corner, bloody outstanding mate.
At the other end we were making inroads just our final decision making letting us down but we seemed in control and on the 20 min mark Jarrod spotted me losing my marker (Editors note: Aaron throws his hands up in the air - 'who me?' and put in a great 30 yard diagonal ball which I took down 20 yards out shifted it onto my left boot and drilled it into the bottom corner. 1-0 KCU. We were on the front foot now and started attacking using Mitch down the left with his pace and Evans/Mark down the right with their lack of pace (sorry lads) but they were working well together as an attacking and defensive unit. Our back four were stopping everything coming at them very calmly and looked in total control. We had a few more chances and a few balls in that no one could get on the end of but we finished the half strong to go in at the break 1-0 up
At the other end we were making inroads just our final decision making letting us down but we seemed in control and on the 20 min mark Jarrod spotted me losing my marker (Editors note: Aaron throws his hands up in the air - 'who me?' and put in a great 30 yard diagonal ball which I took down 20 yards out shifted it onto my left boot and drilled it into the bottom corner. 1-0 KCU. We were on the front foot now and started attacking using Mitch down the left with his pace and Evans/Mark down the right with their lack of pace (sorry lads) but they were working well together as an attacking and defensive unit. Our back four were stopping everything coming at them very calmly and looked in total control. We had a few more chances and a few balls in that no one could get on the end of but we finished the half strong to go in at the break 1-0 up
Half Time Score KCU 1-0 Vic Uni Stallions
At half time we knew that we still had a lot of work to do but if we got a goal early then it would put us in a good position to take the 3 points. At this point I was joined by my eldest boy Thomas for the team talk and all I can say is that if he starts using the language that was used during it I will not be best pleased!!!!! He found the words used hilarious as only a 4 year old can J
Also the guys up on the deck still thought it was 0-0 and didn’t realise we had scored, Coppo and Ox I think you need to go to Specsavers!!!!
2nd Half
The stallions kicked off but we continued our pressing game and making them make mistakes and about 2 mins into the half Mark went down the right and whipped in a great ball, there was some confusion between the Keeper and the centre back which resulted in the centre back heading the ball past the keeper and into the empty net. (Editors note: 'Some confusion - thats generous!) 2-0 KCU
Mark actually tried to claim the goal saying it was a shot on target but sorry mate I can’t give it to you!!! (Editors note: Milky, don't even think about it)
They kicked off and upped their game and started playing some good stuff down and passing the ball around really well and with the lack of training for us we started getting a little ragged (Editors note: ha!) but our defence was playing magnificently and staying calm and reading every situation very well. At the other end we were now playing counter attack football and doing ok without actually having real clear cut chances on goal, Blocker had one that I flicked onto him but just couldn’t get a shot away and I had a poor effort saved by the keeper after the ball came back to me from a clearance but I could sense that we were not to be denied today.
With 15 mins to go Connor came on for Evans who had run his arse off all day for us down the right and done a great job, fair play to Connor for playing for us again this week as he’s still coming back from a knee injury and at that tentative stage about tackling which is fair enough but he’s got the minerals (cockney reference see the movie snatch) to give his all for this team and that means a lot to all of us.
We had a few scares towards the end with the stallions hitting some long balls into the box but Robin was having a stormer and never looked like getting beaten and he never did, the ref blew his whistle and the game finished 2-0 KCU
Mark actually tried to claim the goal saying it was a shot on target but sorry mate I can’t give it to you!!! (Editors note: Milky, don't even think about it)
They kicked off and upped their game and started playing some good stuff down and passing the ball around really well and with the lack of training for us we started getting a little ragged (Editors note: ha!) but our defence was playing magnificently and staying calm and reading every situation very well. At the other end we were now playing counter attack football and doing ok without actually having real clear cut chances on goal, Blocker had one that I flicked onto him but just couldn’t get a shot away and I had a poor effort saved by the keeper after the ball came back to me from a clearance but I could sense that we were not to be denied today.
With 15 mins to go Connor came on for Evans who had run his arse off all day for us down the right and done a great job, fair play to Connor for playing for us again this week as he’s still coming back from a knee injury and at that tentative stage about tackling which is fair enough but he’s got the minerals (cockney reference see the movie snatch) to give his all for this team and that means a lot to all of us.
We had a few scares towards the end with the stallions hitting some long balls into the box but Robin was having a stormer and never looked like getting beaten and he never did, the ref blew his whistle and the game finished 2-0 KCU
Final Score – KCU 2-0 Vic Uni Stallions
Scorers – Paul McKillop & OG (Mark Rutherford assist)
A great battling performance from us to secure a win against a very good side, we all gave everything and it showed. I got home Saturday night thinking we were safe from relegation (we sit in 4th spot) but the results didn’t go all our way so we still need 1 point from our last two games so there’s still a job to be done.
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