Langy 'Heads' Home with Royal Point
Posted: 29 May, 2008
| Bullen Royals | 1 | — | 1 | Langwarrin |
| B.Caffrey | ||||
Round 8: Bullen Royals v Langwarrin — 26 May, 2008
After an unusual Saturday spent away from the pitches by the Langy players and supporters, Monday night finally arrived and many made the trip up to Bulleen in search of a Langwarrin victory. The opposition was two former premier league teams in the Essendon Royals and Bulleen Zebras which had merged into the Bulleen Royals, a team sitting five positions ahead of Langy on the table before this fixture.
The boys in blue would have to do the job without the big man Caleb who was sitting out a one match suspension for receiving five yellow cards although we did welcome back Karl Cochrane into the sweeper role. It was a frosty night by the time 8 o'clock came around and a healthy crowd (mainly in blue) had grown in anticipation of what turned out to be a thrilling 90 minutes of football.
It was an intense opening 15 minutes to the game as many of the 22 on the field threw their bodies about, making for some solid challenges, some of which warranted a booking or worse from the referee. Unfortunately the man in black had forgotten his cards as we on the sidelines were to discover not long after kick-off. A shocking challenge on Quinny saw the defender end up on the turf, his teammates quick to defend him, rushing in to help out one of their own. To the disbelief of the Langy faithful, after all had calmed down the ref restarted play without taking any further action. Though, the disappointment was far outweighed by pride at the boys flying the flag and showing a bit of passion. Cheers lads!
So that set the tone for the first half, a few more minor scuffles and little in the way of clear cut chances, though any signs of danger were swiftly dealt with by the Langy defence and the infallible Jonesy. That being said, it was the boys in blue that had most of the ball, far from being intimidated by the former powerhouses in Bulleen, we seemed to thrive amongst it, ensuring a tight and at times cagey affair.
So after 43 minutes the away team looked to have worked a nil all score line going into the break until disaster struck. As a Bulleen corner was whipped in, Jamie Heard was judged to be holding the shirt of his opponent. Despite the fact that it looked to be both players holding each other, it was the penalty spot that the referee pointed to, ensuring a following tense few minutes for the Langy bench and supporters. Though we needn't have worried as the Bulleen player had obviously paid far too much attention to the Royals reserve team, stepping up only to miss everything from 12 yards. So neither team taking an advantage into the change rooms, the first half ended at 0-0.
After the fifteen minute interval, both teams came out to attack with Bulleen starting to push forward and cause worry amongst the Langy defence. But a few corners and long shots amounted to nothing as the away team stood firm, doing whatever necessary to keep from conceding first, something that has plagued the first team all year. Unfortunately it was same story as on 65 minutes Bulleen broke the deadlock.
Again, just as the week before, it was an individual effort from the opposition that opened the scoring. The Bulleen striker received the ball on the run, took it around two of our players and played a through ball to the other striker who finished neatly past Jonesy who could do little but watch the ball hit the back of the net. So 1-0 to the Royals, and signs of déjà vu as the derby result seemed to be repeating itself.
This woke the boys up as they started to attack in search of the equaliser. Some good balls by Jamie Heard and hard work from the Gooner up front helped the cause, but it was Ben Caffrey that gave the Langy faithful a reason to cheer just 5 minutes from time.
A cross by Shane Tagliaferro was cleared by the Bulleen defence, the ball landing straight at Jamie Heard's feet. The silky skilled number 7 ran with the ball towards goal, lining up what looked to be a shot from 30 yards. But he fooled us all as it was all just a dummy for a pass to Barry Tulloch, wide on the left wing. The Scotsman took a touch, looked up and hit a perfect ball the big man Caffrey who was standing on the 6 yard box. Contrary to what he has shown us in the reserves, Caff proved that he can use his head as well has is feet, heading home the equaliser and a valuable point for the traveling Langy.
So that was how it finished, 1-1 with Langy more than matching the 4th placed Royals and the away crowd certainly the happier on the way home. And on that, congratulations once again to our supporters who out numbered the home teams considerably. Let's hope to see the same effort form the supporters, and the boys next week when Langy host bottom side Keilor Park.
Team: Jones, Cochrane, Quinn, Cullen, O'Donnell, Herd, Tagliaferro, Poole (Rasimi 84), Tulloch, T Ahmadzai (Caffrey 75), O'Donahue (A Ahmadzai 89).
Best: Cullen, Tagliaferro, Tulloch
Unused Sub: Skelly
