MATCH REPORT: by Norman Kang

Match: Balmain AA6B v Five Dock
Venue: Timbrell Park No 3
Date: Saturday 18 April 1998
Time: 1.00pm kickoff

Last Saturday was our first competitive game as a team together - and boy did it show. We lacked cohesion and there was no communication between each other. This may take time, and in order for us to prove we will need to play plenty of matches together.

The first 15 minutes looked promising, but after the first goal we fell apart. Our backs had to continually defend, and it was just a matter of time before they scored again, which they did just before half time. At half time, we felt it was still possible to save the game, but 10 minutes into the second half Five Dock scored again, and we knew we had lost the game. The final score was 4-0. Full credit to our players for putting in 100% effort throughout the whole game. However, that was not enough, and we lost to a better team.

Glenn Bacic played a starring role in the backs, with his fearsome defence and long goal kicks. Others to play well were Ricky Onsman, who also defended well, and Russell Borman, who as a forward constantly chased the ball around.

Overall, we need to tighten our defence, and our midfielders need to be more involved in order to get the ball to the forwards so they can score goals.

Bear in mind, this was our first match and we WILL get better. The first game exposed many of our weaknesses (and not many strengths). This should inspire us to focus on the basics at training on Thursday nights. So - chin up, back straight! There’s a long season ahead, and our goal is still to get to the semis in late August.

The Pele Medal points go to:

Glenn Bacic 3 points
Ricky Onsman 2 points
Russell Borman 1 point