Match day six of the SASL and Balmain Rovers were facing the Dobroyd Lions at Algie Park. Both Reserves and Firsts produced admirable performances to come away with a point each from their matches. The squad is going from strength to strength, and this is reflected in the fourth place position of Reserves on the ladder. Well dones fellas! Firsts continue to gel as a unit and the results are coming and we are set to make a real run at the top four, so watch out!
We have a bye this weekend (22/5) so enjoy the day off and please make it to training on Tuesday 25/5. The new floodlights are now functional and the results are amazing, which means we won't go blind by the end of the season! Don't forget that the team that started as a spinoff from Rovers, the Thirstie Thirds, are having a $40 dollar-a-head all-you-can-eat-and-drink FA Cup do at the Different Drummer this Saturday from 8pm-2am. Check with Ricky if you're interested. See you soon and keep up the great work!
Sydney Amateur League Round 5
Balmain Rovers v Dobroyd Lions
Algie Park, Haberfield
Sunday 15 May 2004
Reserves Kick-off 1pm
Firsts Kick-off 3pm
Reserves: Match Report by Jeff See
A return to sunny Algie Park today to take on the Dobroyd Lions, and judging from our previous game at this venue we were hoping for a good win. However, we had to guard against complacency, as (master tactician) Serge pointed out, just before we postponed our warm up to take some team photos.
Eventually we made it out on the field and into a fairly even first half. An early injury to Nick resulted in a reshuffle, with Michael Penman coming on to provide some strong running in the midfield. Both teams had chances to open the scoring, but it was the Rovers who had the upper hand and the better of these chances. The best one of the half fell to us, coming from a great cross by Ruben which was met by yours truly at the back post. I headed it onto the bar and, unfortunately, it bounced out.
So nil-all it was going into half-time, but we all felt that we could get them in the second half. Both teams made a substitution at the break, with Rick Currie coming on for us. Much like last week, Rick was flying down the wing and creating plenty of chances for us. Unfortunately none of them went in, and as the players tired, the game became more open with plenty of opportunities at both ends. Their long goal kicks in particular gave us trouble, as well as their "experienced" winger. I'll admit that he may have gotten the better of me once or twice, but I feel I had his number. It was 14: I saw it enough times as I chased after him.
However, despite the multitude of chances, and thanks to some great keeping at both ends, the game finished goalless. While we could point to some dubious refereeing, especially the most probable penalty on Ruben, or the absence of our super striker Dave Griffiths, in the end the draw was probably a fair result.
Pele points:
3 - Miles
2 - Michael
1 - Rick
Firsts: Match Report by Les Clarke (from notes by Ruben Davis)
We were briefed before the match by Disco Stew that in order to cause Dobroyd some problems the width of our attacking potential should be utilised. This wasn't necessary in the opening seconds as Rob Liney lined up a shot from the kick off and scored. You little beauty! With the momentum that a Liney moment brings, we sought another goal, and it came from that same man in the 16th minute. A throw in from Les met with a thundering yet thoughtful shot that went in at the near post. A 2-nil lead was ours.
In the following minutes numerous attempts at goal were made by the Lions as they sought their first goal. It came thanks to some unlucky coincidences that saw the ball in the back of the net off a Rover's head. We were still good by a goal.A goalmouth scramble saw us concede another after 27 minutes, bringing the
scores to 2-2. The rest of the half was mainly end to end football with some flashes of Balmain brilliance and resolute defending from Dobroyd. Numerous runs by Benny Jones went unrewarded, but the boy was causing them trouble!
The biggest positive was the vibe around the team at half-time. Unlike last week, our boys knew what they had to do, and they were prepared to do it. Lots of hard work was the order of the day and Jim was up for that. With Dean replacing Dom (injured) and Brendan making way for the introduction of Dave G into the game, the scene was set for a great Balmain assault on Dobroyd and we nearly achieved the desired result, but for an EXTREMELY dubious call from the referee. What seemed to all a legitimate goal by Ben was disallowed and we felt robbed of the result we deserved.
A great performance from the entire squad, with great keeping from Stew, fantastic solid defending from Marshall, Bruce and Glenn and plenty of toil from Jim,
Brendan and Dom. Dave and Dean proved to be great subs and Ben and Rob just kept plugging away all match. We really deserved the win!
Goals:
Rob (2)
Pele Points:
3 - Jim
2 - Ben
1 - Stew
Futsal Report by Marshall Moir
Rovers v Sydney Five-0, Thursday 13th May
Game three for Rovers in Div 2 of the Sydney Uni comp run by NSW Futsal. Exact details are a little sketchy, but I do know it was a 6.40pm kick off and for the first time ever we had a full team ready a solid 5 minutes before the game. Thats about where the finer details end.
The other team, Sydney Five-0, were pretty good, as you'd expect from another team unbeaten in the comp so far. On the night though, we were better and we won 4-2. In among the blur of activity, I know Rob scored all our goals and Stew saved our butts a lot at the other end. What happened in the middle is anyone's guess. The only other thing I can remember was Allan's prematch, half-time and end of game speeches, and that's just because he says the same thing every week.
Oh yeah, Rob tackled Sergio in a ball-and-all hit that wouldn't have been out of place in the Super 12, just to make sure he got his name on the score sheet once more. Rob's tally now is 13 goals from 3 games out of our total of 14.
Next game: 8:40pm Thursday 20 May, vs Wear Dark (wonder if they do?) NSW Futsal site
Award Standings
Pele Medal
7 ---- Miles Martin
6 ---- Ben Jones, Dominic Salomoni
5 ---- Chris Daley
4 ---- Dave Hull, Rob Liney, Jeff See
3 ---- Steve Adams, Les Clarke, Sergio Fiorenza, Marshall Moir, Ricky Onsman, Jim Wragg
2 ---- Simon Bush, Brendan Coutts, Ruben Davis, Dean Lenz, Michael Penman, Stewart Shaw, Radan Sturm, Kristian Wiles
1 ---- Rick Currie, Matt Linton
Golden Boot
11 --- Rob Liney
3 ---- Dave Griffiths, Jeff See
2 ---- Sergio Fiorenza, Dom Salomoni, Radan Sturm
1 ---- Simon Bush, Chris Daley, Dave Hull, Ben Jones, Marshall Moir
Next Match
Saturday 29 May 2004:
Away to Balmain Wanderers @ Easton Park, Rozelle
balmain rovers
