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Reserves v
Warragul
The
lads had trained well during the week, and were looking forward to
the game. We came up against a quick and determined Warragul side,
who clearly worked harder, and wanted the ball much more than
Monbulk. Alex and Jack were spending the majority of their time
defending out wide, rather than getting forward, which made it
difficult to create chances. Az, Owen and Richo were working hard in
the middle, but Warragul seemed to have spare men running through on
a consistent basis. Against the run of play, Monbulk got a free kick
within range which was taken by Dane. The keeper fumbled, and from
the rebound Az smashed the ball into the bar from close range.
Warragul's response was quick. After some good work from their
experienced striker, he was able to turn Matty in the box, and as he
tried desperately to recover gave away a penalty as he clipped the
strikers heel. There was no mistake from the penalty spot, Ozzie
being sent the wrong way. Straight from the kick off the pressure
was on again. Best on ground Jack "The Barbarian" Coenen was
fantastic at the back, and was covering well for the tired old legs
of Choc, who was making his full debut for Monbulk. A goal mouth
scramble saw a shot bounce over Ozzies hands, and through Choc's
legs to make it 2 nil, after it looked like Ozzie had it covered.
With a couple of minutes to go, the Warragul centre half was sent
off for his second bookable offence, with a foul on the hard working
Jezza. The half finished at 0-2.
After
a rev up, and some tactical changes, the boys came out firing. The
midfield was getting into the game, and was taking advantage of the
extra man. As the pressure was building on Warragul, Monbulk hit the
bar after another scramble. The pressure was taking its toll, and it
was not long before Dane got one back with a clever strike, taking
his season tally to 3. The half wore on, and the Monbulk players
were inspired. The introduction of Josh and Norman added some spark,
and both were good. As Monbulk went man on man at the back, and
pushed more men forward, Warragul started to create chances of their
own on the counter attack. Good work by the brilliant Barbarian,
Matty and Ozzie managed to keep them at bay. Unfortunately, with all
the good work of the second half, and excellent play, Monbulk could
not find the equalizer. Even Choc managed to find some energy for a
20 meter surge, but that run came to an end abruptly as he
remembered his age, and the pain surging through his body.
Overall an excellent second half by the lads and something to build
on for next week. Hopefully we don't need to concede a goal before
we start playing, as has been the case so far this season.
Seniors v
Warragul
Monbulk were full of confidence going into this one, despite the
loss of Daine Adams to suspension. Sammy made his first start of the
season and was solid all day. With Andy Cowie back at the club, and
Johnny Kennedy recovering from ankle surgery, the bench looked to
have depth. The first 15 minutes was a bit of a stalemate, with both
teams looking for the edge. After about 20min, a deliberate elbow by
a Warragul defender earned him an early shower, and Monbulk a
penalty. Up stepped the ever reliable Chris Cullimore, only to hit
the ball wide of the post. That seemed to be a confidence crusher
for Monbulk. Although Chrissy and Noodles worked hard in the middle,
not a lot was created for the strikers. Wellsy and Brechan worked
hard, and tried to make something of their half chances, but were
thwarted by a stingy Warragul defence. Some great play by Brechan
down the left resulted in him committing the goalkeeper and knocking
it past him, and in-between three Warragul defenders for the opening
goal. In the mean time, Warragul were knocking some great long
balls, and causing problems of their own. Stubbs was called on on a
number of occasions to clear either by foot, or by making a save.
The half ended at 1-0.
The
boys were asked to start knocking the ball about, and to play it out
at the back to have the Warragul team do all the chasing. This
didn't quite go to plan, and Monbulk resorted knocking long ball
after long ball to Brechan and Wellsy, which became predictable for
Warragul. At this point, it looked as though Warragul had the extra
man, as they ran hard, and knocked the ball around well, using their
flanks to good effect. A dubious free kick was awarded to Warragul
about 30yards out. It was hit well, and landed in the sand in front
of Stubbsy, only for the ball to stay low, and roll underneath him
for the equaliser. The introduction of Johnny and Cowie in the hope
of sparking the boys to life, again proved fruitless. Although all
the lads were working hard, the game plan just couldn't be followed,
and it made for hard work for Monbulk. Simon was brought on for the
last 10 minutes to try and snatch something for the injured Chris,
but was unable to make an impact. Taury continued to work hard down
the right, and Brechan was relentless up forward, but Warragul were
playing with confidence. The game ended at a disappointing 1 all for
Monbulk, who will be wanting to play a lot better next week, away to
the high flying Brandon Park.
Good
Luck lads.
Written
by Paul
Psathas (Choco) |