Match Report AA3 v Waverley 04/05/14

Next up for Barnstoneworth was Waverley on a very bobbly Moore Park pitch on a glorious winter’s day in Sydney.  Nothing more than three points would do as the barney boys looked to get back to winning ways.  The return of John Rhodes meant the barney boys were pretty much back to a full strength squad apart from big Dave Thompson who had parked his car all the way back in Wollongong!

All the lads turned up at 2pm rearing to go, apart from Ross who had either come from a 1998 River Island fashion show or had been chased by a very hungry dog.

Either way the gaffer had a tough choice of picking the starting eleven, he went with a 4-5-1 formation, Kenny in the sticks, along the back were Ste, Ross, Downer and Downey.  Midfield were Nick, Patsy, Mark, Dan and Buttsy, up top was of course Mango with his new boots!

The game started at a pretty fast pace, both teams trying to take control of possession.  Unfortunately it was Waverley who broke the deadlock after 5 minutes, due to an error and lack of communication at the back from the barney boys.  A long ball was played over the top, Downer looked like he was going to head it clear but unfortunately miss-read it.  The ball went over his head and the Waverley winger latched onto it and put Waverley in the lead.

Barnstoneworth needed to bounce back quickly and that’s exactly what they did.  Some good work on the left from Downey, played a ball over the top for Dan who managed to chase the ball down and win a corner.  The Corner was taken quickly to Ste who whipped in the ball and was met by Mango who buried it into the net to make it 1-1.

The rest of first half was pretty even, both teams putting in the effort to take control of the game.

The second half started and again both teams were battling hard for the ball.  After 60 minutes the gaffer brought John on who replaced Mango upfront and then replaced Buttsy for Iano.  This seemed to lift the game with Barnstoneworth getting more possession of the ball and starting to play some nice football.

The barney boys were then in front on 65 minutes, some good work down the right from Nick who played the ball to John, he turned his man only to see Dan making a run behind him who shouted for John to leave the ball.  Dan struck the ball first time with his left peg which nestled in the bottom corner for a tidy finish.

Waverley started to pressure the barney goal but some great defending from the back four and some good saves from Kenny kept them at bay.

The gaffer then brought on fresh legs with Brendan and Gerry, who both battled hard in midfield along with Patsy and Mark.

With the clock ticking down Waverley were pushing for a goal, in the end the equaliser did not come.  All in all it was not the prettiest of games but everyone gave it 110% and it was a good three points on the board.

Speaking to the gaffer at the pub who was Man of the Match he said nobody really stood out but said it was either Pasty or Dan.  Taking into consideration Dan’s tidy finish to seal the three points, Man of the Match goes to Dan “the bagman” Eeles.