Langy Secure A Point, Coming From Behind Twice

Posted: 20 May, 2010

Round 6: Langwarrin v St Albans – 15 May, 2010

The day was cold and cloudy, the football exciting and supporters for the visiting team, St Albans Saints, surprisingly quiet for the round 6 match at Lawnton Park. Neither side managed to completely dominate the other, producing a stale-mate with the score settled at 2:2.

Seany was in goals with Carl, Ray and Danny taking charge of defence. Filling out the middle were Simon, Boris, Driver, Jo and Caff, with Buzza and Matty up-front. Kris, Caleb, Junior, Alex and Blaz were all on bench with Mladen, Jonsey, Quinny, Ben Cullen and Reha all still injured.

The first half was quiet on the goal scoring front but not from lack of trying. In the early minutes of the match Boris played it back to Danny, Danny dribbled it up and placed a cross to Matty, Matty got his head to the ball and sent it toward goal but the St Albans's keeper was on his toes and caught it before it could do any harm.

St Albans also had a healthy share of early chances with the 10th minute bringing them a free kick in an imposing position. Taken by Tomi Razov, it was placed right in the box but headed out by Carl. The ball didn't make it far though, with St Albans players lined up around the edge of the box. One slammed the ball powerfully towards the goal but Driver was positioned perfectly and it rebounded off him and out to safety.

Jo came off in the 15th minute with an injury to his foot and was replaced by Junior. Junior took over Ray's position in the back and Ray pushed up into midfield.

Driver delivered a through-ball to Buzza in the 20th minute. It looked perfect and the crowd willed Buzza on as he ran towards it. However, the ball was just too quick and the St Albans keeper met it first. Driver won possession again soon after and placed a cross from the left hand side of the pitch. Ray was waiting and ready on the right. He timed it beautifully and jumped up to meet the airborne ball then flick it towards the goals. Again, the St Albans keeper plucked it out of the air before it could do any damage.

St Albans produced a mirror image of Langy's play in the next minute. A midfielder crossed it in from the left-hand side of the park and a striker took a shot. However, it sailed over the goals for a Langwarrin goal kick.

Next up was Boris with a pass to Matty, who played it to Buzza. Buzza crossed it back to Matty but a St Albans defender stopped the ball in its tracks. Driver took him on, won the ball back and passed it to Simon, but the defenders were all over it and the ball went out for a throw in.

The boys in defence did their job well, Danny remaining calm as two St Albans players made their way up the park. He intercepted a small pass and as the players fell down around him he took the ball up and out of danger. Seconds later the ball was back. This time Caff and Junior worked together to get rid of it, Caff chasing the striker down, winning the ball and tapping it to Junior who cleared it out of the half.

Both teams frequently produced promising looking attacks and looked like scoring several times throughout the half, but both sets of defenders stayed solid making the game tight. At half time, the score was 0:0 and it seemed like either side could walk away with the 3 points.

The second half saw both sides come out aggressively. Buzza was quick off the mark as soon as the whistle blew, intercepting the ball from kick-off and placing a through-ball to Matty. Matty took a shot and the keeper saved it but fumbled. The ball rolled out to Buzza who looked up to find a partially open goal in front of him. He placed a shot right on target but a St Albans defender cleared it in a nick of time, right off the line.

A free kick for St Albans soon after was placed right in the box but punched out by Seany. George for St Albans won possession and controlled the ball enough to take a shot, but it rebounded off Caff. Matty pounced on the ball and took it out of the danger zone up to Langwarrin's attacking half. He made it to the edge of the box before the referee blew his whistle, disrupting his attack, for a fight that erupted a full minute earlier. He awarded both teams a yellow card and St Albans another free kick. It was taken but did no damage, cleared out by Boris.

St Albans began to dictate the play and in the 55th minute produced a quick a series of passes that led to the first goal of the game. No.11 won the ball in the middle of the park and played it out to the right where a striker placed the ball through the Langwarrin defence. A St Albans striker ran onto it and put it away for a1:0 lead.

The visiting team speedily launched another attack several minutes later. A midfielder brought it up on the right and placed a shot which was just wide. Langy had to scramble to keep it together a few times as St Albans picked up some momentum.

The 65th minute saw the ball up in Langwarrin's attacking half. Boris placed the ball precisely across goal. Before anyone could make a move, the referee blew his whistle, picking up on a hand ball by a St Albans defender. This awarded Langwarrin a penalty and Driver put it away with minimal fuss to even the score out at 1:1.

Seany was called upon seconds later when a St Albans attack made it into the box. Tomi Razov placed a shot but Seany's reflexes were in check and he flicked his foot out just in time to block the ball from entering the goals.

It didn't take the visitors long to build on their lead however. A corner for St Albans was cleared out by Junior but the ball sailed over the goals, awarding them another. The subsequent corner was well placed and found Max in the box who headed the ball straight into the goals to gain a 2:1 lead for St Albans in the 73rd minute.

It wasn't over though. With 10 minutes to go, Langwarrin won a free kick right outside the box. It was taken by Caleb, who came on for Caff in the 75th minute; he tapped the ball to the side instead of blasting it towards the goal. This surprised everyone, but most importantly the St Albans defence who, in their moment of confusion lost the chance to walk away with 3 points. Driver took control of the ball, crossed it in and it ricocheted off a St Albans defender into the goal for a 2:2 score.

St Albans tried desperately to win back the lead, looking dangerous from free kicks and corners, but when the whistle blew, the score remained 2:2 and both teams walked away with a point each. It was a thrilling match with the outcome unpredictable to the very end!

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