Balmain Rovers v Dobroyd Lions
Bark Huts Reserve, Belfield
Sunday 18 July 2004
Reserves Kick-off 1pm
Firsts Kick-off 3pm
Reserves: Match Report by Michael Penman
It was a barmy day in mid-July when the men from Balmain jumped into their cars, turned their heaters on full and drove far far West into uncharted territory. The new home ground for the Rovers was wide, exposed, hard on one side and boggy on the other. The general consensus was that it was better than Callan Park, but then the Southern Alps back home in New Zealand play truer than Callan Park!
The game started well for the men in orange with Big Ricky coming forward from the back for the first corner of the game and slotting away his first goal in seven years with his trusty right boot. Soon after the Dobroyd Lions found the ball at their feet but had nowhere to run due to tight Balmain defence, so they had a random shot at goal which Morgan unfortunately mistook for one of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Pets - just too hot to handle so he let it slip on through. But in true Morgan fashion he redeemed himself with three world class saves that were certain goals, even for one Mr D Beckham.
1-1 at half-time saw the boys come out with renewed vigour, even though the temperature had dropped into single digits with 90km gusts of wind consistently taking the ball out into the trees. Not fazed by the typically Welsh weather Dave ran down the right, got oh so very excited by the flock of sheep in the distance, and unloaded a cross from the corner which ever so sweetly sailed over the keeper's head into the back corner. Never any doubt from the Welshman, where back home the men are men and the sheep are scared.
The boys then started to take control as the sweet smell of grass wafted across the field filling the now empty lungs of 11 dedicated young men. The ref continued with her dubious decisions - or lack of, as the case often was. A Balmain defender was taken out in his own penalty box by a two footed sliding tackle which the ref from her permanent halfway spot did not see, but fortunately the unofficial assistant ref on the sideline raised his flag whilst the Dobroyd Lions slotted home a goal over Morgan’s head. The ref had a chat with the linesman, but the goal counted. The boys then fought hard to the bitter, cold end but couldn’t find the winner.
Goals:
Ricky, Dave G
Pele points:
2 - Morgan
2 - Steve
1 - Richard
1 - Matt
Firsts: Match Report by David (Jake) Giacobbe
It was a cold and windy afternoon and the Firsts arrived in tracksuits freezing from the cold weather. I'd say that the team's slow start had something to do with this. As the game progressed ,the boys warmed up though and showed the opposition that they were there to play and nothing else.
The defence played very well holding strong but unfortunately were caught unawares by the opposition from one of a series of corners they were awarded and we conceded a goal, but this only made the team stronger. With the pressure on, the boys started working together better and the ball was being pushed up to the attack. Unfortunately they were not able to do anything with the wind blowing so hard against them.
The second half was a different story. Having the wind with them, the boys fired up quickly and soon enough we found ourselves 1-1 through a nice goal from Brendan who tucked it into the bottom left hand corner, giving the keeper no chance of saving it. Despite some more good efforts coming from Jeff, Gotaro and Dave (Jake), Rovers were unable to slip the ball past the keeper again. The whole effort was supported by a brilliant performance from Stew who kept the Rovers in the game with all of his spectacular saves and also pressured a Dobroyd penalty taker to hit the post and miss.
All in all Rovers came out with a 1-all draw, well deserved by their brilliant comeback to level the score.
Goal:
Brendan
Pele Points:
3 - Stew
2 - Brendan
1 - Jeff
Futsal Report by Allan Frydman
The Final: Rovers v The Jets, Thursday 15 July
At the start, things looked good for the Rovers: all team members were present a whole 15 minutes prior to kick off and our cheer squad had grown considerably to a total of one.
In true Rovers Futsal fashion, we weren't quite ready to play at kick off. In fact, it took about 2.5 hours and 5 to 6 jugs of beer for our competitive nature to kick in (for those who don't know, A futsal game lasts 40 minutes and is best played prior to the consumption of beer).
By this stage, we were playing great, knife balancing contests and coaster flicking / catching contests were in fierce competition. The debate over whether Marshall caught the pile of 10 coasters prior to the coasters touching the table outlasted the beer and ran well into the spirits run. The answer was never truly resolved, although it became clear that designated drivers had an unfair advantage. We all became worried when the designated driver who started the contests (also a devout Christian) linked the coaster flicking to poker playing. We knew we were not in the same league. This did not stop Marshall and Michael from mastering the art of coaster flicking, and as far as we know the contest is still running at this moment.
The coasters and knives lasted until last drinks were called. At this stage we realised, 1 - Marshall had brought the spectator along to drive him home and not to watch Futsal and 2 - beer and alcohol will always soothe
For those that are interseted in the actual game, Rovers suffered their worst defeat in their Futsal history (11-1 according the official website). But it's nothing the Rovers spirit and lots of alcohol can't fix in the future. NSW Futsal site
Note - for all those interested in playing Futsal, the next season starts in the week commencing 2nd August. If we get enough interest we can get some teams into the competition. There are competitions running on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Each competition generally runs for approximately 12 weeks, and there are 3 to 4 competitions per year. Please email me with all nights listed in order of preference, and I will get back to you all with the next steps.
Award Standings
Pele Medal
16 -- Ben Jones
12 -- Stewart Shaw
10 -- Gotaro Uematsu
9 ---- Rob Liney, Marshall Moir, Jeff See
8 ---- Morgan Bowling, Chris Daley, Sergio Fiorenza
7 ---- Miles Martin, Ricky Onsman, Dominic Salomoni
5 ---- Steve Adams, Simon Bush, Les Clarke, Brendan Coutts, Dave Hull, Richard Raward
4 ---- Michael Penman, Nick Vince, Kristian Wiles
3 ---- Ruben Davis, Dave Giacobbe, Dean Lenz, Matt Linton, Dan Whaite, Jim Wragg
2 ---- Dave Griffiths, Radan Sturm
1 ---- Rick Currie, Pier D'Angelo, Bruce Fackerell, Allan Frydman
Golden Boot
18 -- Rob Liney
10 -- Sergio Fiorenza
5 ---- Dave Griffiths, Jeff See
4 ---- Gotaro Uematsu
2 ---- Simon Bush, Ben Jones, Dom Salomoni, Radan Sturm
1 ---- Brendan Coutts, Chris Daley, Ruben Davis, Dave Giacobbe, Dave Hull, Marshall Moir, Ricky Onsman, Kristian Wiles
Next Match
Sunday 25 July 2004:
Semi Finals of the Amateur Cup @ Bark Huts Reserve, Belfield
12.30pm Balmain Rovers v Prestons Racing
2.30pm Balmain Rovers v Arncliffe
The amended second half of the draw is now up on the website under Fixtures
balmain rovers
