It wasn’t the most pleasant of days to play football in.  The afternoon of rain had moistened the pitch (to say the least) leaving parts of the pitch coated with a sheen of water.  

The first half was a hard fought battle between the two sides; neither one could quite find the necessary quality in the final third of the pitch to open the game up though.  Roberto had a couple of excellent runs down the slightly drier patch in front of him on the left.  However, the best of those saw him round the keeper before striking the ball directly into the path of their sliding defender who cleared the ball off the line.  Charlie also had an excellent chance in the box before being felled by the keeper (and leaving the game with a gash down his leg).  Fortunately he managed to earn… a goal kick. It was one of those halves. 

The team battled hard though.  Every player fought for the ball well and we defended stalwartly in front of the safe hands of Luke (see what a good night’s sleep can lead to!)  Everyone left the pitch muddied but with the feeling that soon the game would open up.  The first goal would be crucial in these conditions.

In the second half we were attacking the “drier” half of the pitch.  And the difference was quickly apparent.  Finally we were able to string a few passes together but still the vital opening we needed was proving to be as hard to find as Shawn’s clothing at the end of a Saturday night.  The back line continued to hold resolutely and the few chances they created were quickly cleared.

Finally we caught a break as the ball broke over the top of their back line and into the path of the marauding Dan Calvert.  He chipped the ball on the bounce over the outstretched arms of the onrushing Eagles keeper to give us a deserved 1 – 0 lead. 

Moments later Dan was through in the box again before being brought down from behind while in the act of shooting.  The referee pointed to the spot and then (harshly in my opinion) reached into his pocket and pulled out a red card for the defender.  Davo stepped into the box and rolled the ball past the diving keeper with all the calm one would expect from a man who has regularly faced off against sharks, stingrays and various other deadly aquatic creatures with only a long board and some sharp Aussie wits to protect him.

The two goal cushion made the next few minutes much easier to handle as the Eagles, undeterred by being a man down, came at us in waves of attacks.   However, the defense continued to play with great assurance and we managed to turn the game back in our favour and close out the match comfortably.

Man of the match: Warren Pugliano.  A truly monstrous performance at the heart of our defense that kept the Eagles without much of a chance all game.