Monday, June 04, 2007
Match Report Round 8
U6 Merrylands SFC Cahill 0 DRAW U6 Ermington United Cahill 0
The best game of football to be had on Saturday wasn't Australia versus Uruguay, it was Ermo versus Merrylands. Not only was it the best game of football on Saturday, it may well have been the best game of football ever. All of the familial spectators stood agog, the ladies in the canteen were riveted to the action and even the Merrylands club president commented on the quality of the match. It was a spectacle for the ages about which sagas will surely be written. The final result of a draw was inconsequential. If it had of been the usual double digit drubbing it would have have made no difference - the game itself was an inspiration.
The theme running through this week's match was teamwork. Never before have these guys produced such a synergistic effort. Every member of the team produced superlative efforts in both attack and defence. On the field there was no one faster than Geordie. When he hit an gap in the defence you would only see a red blur followed by his shadow as it tried to keep up with him. Lachlan played his best match ever providing some useful changes of direction. The goals were kept well by Joel and Fraser who both had great runs when they were on the field and made difficult saves when they were in the nets. Unlike previous games all of the guys worked hard to keep the ball out of the goals and extended their defence all the way back to the goal line. Just before half-time AJ made a stupefying sliding tackle a hair's breadth from the post that saved an almost certain goal. In the second half he very nearly scored with a couple of A-league quality runs. James used every ounce of his potential in a mid-field effort they could (and should) write textbooks about. Seb was once again everyone's shadow providing essential backup as well as making some important runs of his own while Jack got to know the opposition goalie so well he will likely be receiving invitations to his birthday party. Lexie received the player of the match award this week for an outstanding defensive effort. She blocked and tackled and put all of herself between the goal and the ball. She even found herself out in the open a few times and had some lovely runs. Beautiful work!
The final whistle blew a few minutes before we were sure to score a goal. The players shook each others hands and grinned with the joy you feel when you realise you have just done your absolute best. The smiles on the faces of everyone there told the story; a glorious day, a determined opposition and a manifestation of the spirit of the game. Given the "performances" I have seen recently in international and professional club matches, I would take the half-hour of pure sports-person-ship I saw on Saturday over anything the pros can offer. Next week I know that without contracts, without agents, without stupidly inflated pay cheques and without ego, our titans in red will be trying as hard as they can.
The best game of football to be had on Saturday wasn't Australia versus Uruguay, it was Ermo versus Merrylands. Not only was it the best game of football on Saturday, it may well have been the best game of football ever. All of the familial spectators stood agog, the ladies in the canteen were riveted to the action and even the Merrylands club president commented on the quality of the match. It was a spectacle for the ages about which sagas will surely be written. The final result of a draw was inconsequential. If it had of been the usual double digit drubbing it would have have made no difference - the game itself was an inspiration.
The theme running through this week's match was teamwork. Never before have these guys produced such a synergistic effort. Every member of the team produced superlative efforts in both attack and defence. On the field there was no one faster than Geordie. When he hit an gap in the defence you would only see a red blur followed by his shadow as it tried to keep up with him. Lachlan played his best match ever providing some useful changes of direction. The goals were kept well by Joel and Fraser who both had great runs when they were on the field and made difficult saves when they were in the nets. Unlike previous games all of the guys worked hard to keep the ball out of the goals and extended their defence all the way back to the goal line. Just before half-time AJ made a stupefying sliding tackle a hair's breadth from the post that saved an almost certain goal. In the second half he very nearly scored with a couple of A-league quality runs. James used every ounce of his potential in a mid-field effort they could (and should) write textbooks about. Seb was once again everyone's shadow providing essential backup as well as making some important runs of his own while Jack got to know the opposition goalie so well he will likely be receiving invitations to his birthday party. Lexie received the player of the match award this week for an outstanding defensive effort. She blocked and tackled and put all of herself between the goal and the ball. She even found herself out in the open a few times and had some lovely runs. Beautiful work!
The final whistle blew a few minutes before we were sure to score a goal. The players shook each others hands and grinned with the joy you feel when you realise you have just done your absolute best. The smiles on the faces of everyone there told the story; a glorious day, a determined opposition and a manifestation of the spirit of the game. Given the "performances" I have seen recently in international and professional club matches, I would take the half-hour of pure sports-person-ship I saw on Saturday over anything the pros can offer. Next week I know that without contracts, without agents, without stupidly inflated pay cheques and without ego, our titans in red will be trying as hard as they can.
# posted by David and Melissa @ 00:51 
