Organisation gives Langwarrin the win
Posted: 3 July, 2007
| Dandenong Thunder | 0 | — | 1 | Langwarrin |
| Caleb Nicholes | ||||
Round 12: Dandenong Thunder v Langwarrin — 30 June, 2007
On a cold a wet Saturday night the Langy faithful made the trek to George Andrews Reserve, home of Dandy Thunder. The number of blue jackets on display was a credit to the travelling supporters and the jackets were put to good use as the rain cleared and the temperature plummeted!
Langy came in to the game sitting in 5th spot looking for a good result to keep them in touch with the top teams. Thunder, however, were our bogey team last year taking all 6 points off us. Langwarrin had some measure of revenge for that by winning against Thunder a couple of weeks ago but the full 6 points is what the faithful was after.
Even though Thunder were in the relegation zone they had a couple of games in hand and had been active in the last few weeks of the transfer period signing 9 players, 2 of whom had reportedly been at A League teams.
The only change for Langwarrin from the previous week was Stuart Craig in for the injured Matty Hakvoort. Langy lined up with Karl Cochrane playing up front with Tim Paton and Caleb Nicholes sitting just behind him. The midfield was Shane Tagliaferro, Thomas Ahmadzai, Stuart Craig and Adam Poole with the back line of Dave Breslin, Chris Quinn, Brian MacNicol and Chris Jones in goal.
Langy started strong and created a chance early on when the ball was crossed in by Tagliaferro to Craig for a header at the front post. However the header was directed straight at the keeper. Then Thunder started to get into the game and a one on one with Jones allowed Simon Bell to shoot which Jones saved only for the ball to drop to another forward who could not direct his header on goal and MacNichol cleared.
Tagliaferro then made a great run into the opposition box and appeared to be knocked down by a defender as he was lining up a shot but the ref called play on.
Another quick move from the Dandy midfield saw the ball played to a Thunder striker who's quick pass created another one on one, but once again another great save by Jones.
Langy had a few more chances just before the break with the most dangerous being a Caleb run and through ball to Ahmadzai that was blocked by the Dandy defender.
On the balance of play the contest looked as though it was going to be close. Langy were doing well and looked dangerous with Cochrane, Paton and Nicholes causing problems for the Thunder defence. Ahmadzai looked as though he had been given another challenging defensive role to go with his play making job and was working very hard to keep the Thunder No 7 out of the game. Tagliaferro continued to work very hard up and down the park continuing his very good season. Poole and Craig were working very hard in the midfield creating chances and putting intense pressure on the Thunder midfield. Despite the two one on ones the defence looked very solid and more than capable of holding the Thunder attack. A great start and the faithful were looking forward to the second half with some confidence.
In the second half Thunder came at Langy but were unable to break past the strong defence, Breslin doing very well in his make shift role as defender.
A long clearance from Jones found Cochrane just in the opposition half of the park, he controlled it well and laid the ball back to MacNicol who humped it up to Caleb on the wing. Caleb went past two defenders to get into box and hit a strong shot which cannoned off the post and went straight past a lunging Paton on the 6 yard box.
Then 20 minutes into the 2nd half a long ball from Quinny found Nicholes who headed it in to the path of Cochrane who knocked it into the box only to have the Thunder defender bring him down right in front of the ref who pointed to the spot. Big Caleb steps up and bang!… he doesn't miss them! 1-0 Langy.
Gus then made a series of changes as some of the hard working players began to tire. Ali Medmedovski on for Craig and immediately began to cause Thunder issues with his pace up front. Thunder began to press for an equaliser and the Langy players lifted their defensive intensity. Another change with Caffrey jinking off the bench and on for Cochrane who had had a great game in his more natural attacking position displaying great pace and skill that is improving with every outing. More Thunder pressure was forced onto the Langy defence but as they had done all game Langy defending resolutely and were now able to cause trouble on the break. Gus then made his last change of the game bringing Vernon on for an exhausted Pooley, who had run himself to a standstill. Thunder continued to pile on the pressure but Langy stood strong until the final whistle blew.
This was a great win for Langy, not just for the three points but also for the way that they played. Make no mistake, this was a great win and the boys showed that they are ready to attack the 2nd half of the season with some great football and traditional Langy passion. Thunder will beat teams in the 2nd half of the season as they have some good players and will improve in the next few weeks.
For a short period we moved to fourth but now sit fifth after Bentleigh's win on Sunday. Next week we are home to Westgate who are just below us in table. We need to break away from them and keep pace with top two clubs Frankston Pines and Coburg. Thanks to all the langy supporters who braved the cold conditions, you were a big help in getting us over the line.
Thanks to the Langy players who gave us a display to be proud of.
Bring on the 2nd half of the year!
