Men’s M1W v Essendon (R6)
Essendon 1 drew Kew 1
Goal – Drew Morrison
Fourth plays fifth. A big challenge for the Sopranos as our illustrious captain stated in his pre-match speech, especially as only percentage divided the top four. Was the team up to the challenge?
The first five minutes were slow. Par for the course as this is usually our warm up time. We were lucky not to concede a goal during this time, but thanks to a solid defence that kept concentration most of the game, the Bombers were denied. During the next ten, we were unlucky not to score from a number of chances, but then a brilliant passage of play in which the ball touched half the Kew team’s sticks was finished off deftly by Drew Morrison.
The game was hard, with some tough battles being fought, and mostly won by the good guys. One Bomber in particular (who actually resembled a B-52) was involved in a majority of the fracases. Dabber wasn’t making friends with either of the umpires as we went into the half-time break 1-0 up, and pleased with our position.
The second half began with a renewed vigour from the boys from Essendon, but the Sopranos held them back with pride. Pat Nicholls had turned up by now, and the fresh legs looked like a team tactic. B-52 continued his tactics of bullying, but they didn’t work, with Ben “the Chief†Hartung and Cuz holding him and the rest of the forwards back vehemently. Fitzy was seeing them like they were in slow motion, until one spinning ball found it’s way over the line.
As usual, Charlie Mac was everywhere, and Hillsy was unfortunate not to convert a couple. Young guns Tim and Luke showed some young courage and skill while the brothers Allen showed the same. Well, the mature kind at least…
The 1-1 score line didn’t really reflect the game, with us having to defend a lot more short corners than we won, despite having a lot more of the attack. However, a post game refreshment in Ange’s new beverage coolers (only $10 for a piece of KHC history) certainly helped us look toward next week. Oh, and Pat Nicholls buying everyone a beer after the game has almost ensured that no-one will be late for a game again.
