Sunday, August 8, 2010

Round 15, v Plenty Valley Lions, home

Such was the drama and excitement of our win against Fitzroy you’d think we’d be hard pressed to find ourselves up to our necks in another epic encounter just one week later. And you’d be right. Sunday’s match against Plenty Valley Lions was, by comparison, about as memorable as the trip you made to the supermarket on June 16th. Can’t remember it?* Exactly.

Some football games, like many days in life, are mere gap fillers. And that’s okay. If every game or every day of our lives was bursting at the seams with action and adventure soon even those days would seem run of the mill. It’s the unremarkable that gives context to our highs and lows.

This isn’t to say Sunday’s game was a bore, merely that it lacked tension. By as early at the 20th minute, in fact, it appeared we had the game in the bag after the Lions helped us to a 2-0 lead. The first came after Emily challenged for the ball near the Lions’ penalty spot and the panicking centreback looped a clearance over her goalie and into the net. Then, in the 20th minute, Rosie had a strong crack on the edge of the area (that sounds like a euphemism but Rosie is not the type to air her dirty linen in public if you know what I mean) and a Lions defender got a leg to it, only to deflect it past her keeper. I would have put them both down as own goals but the referee, obviously feeling magnanimous (to both attacker and defender), credited the goals to Em and Rosie.

With the sun and a strong wind at our backs we continued to dominate for the remainder of the half and added two more goals, both to Rhi. Rhi’s second goal was nice. Too, ahhh, laconic to sprint back into position after the Lions’ keeper got the ball in her mitts Rhi at least had the presence of mind to stick out a boot and intercept the keeper’s punt. The ball fell nicely and Rhi skipped inside two defenders and thumped the ball home from near the penalty spot.

A sweet goal no doubt but the biggest cheer of the first half came at the other end of the field when a Lions striker cut inside our defence and fired a shot toward the corner of our net. Spotting the danger Deb, wearing her son Jack’s boots, dove to her left like an especially agile jungle cat allowing her to get an outstretched hand to the ball; just enough to push it around the post. It was a marvellous save that would have got me to my feet had I not already been standing, and Deb influenced the game further some 15 minutes later when she deflected a goal-bound shot around the other post with an outstretched leg doing a wonderful impression of a boom gate.

Despite the wind in our faces we went on with the job in the second half and there were pleasing performances all round. Marian stuck to the Lions’ no.7 like a tick, Helen and Jane were impregnable at the back, Jess kept the midfield in order, Merissa and Jo ran hard and laid off some telling passes, and Timmy was having one of her best games in ages. The Socceroo-loving, gluten-intolerant, funny-blue-beanie-at-training-wearing mental health professional beat defenders consistently, made a couple of excellent through balls that created for Em and Frannie one-on-ones with the keeper, and got herself on the scoresheet with a well-placed drive from inside the 18-yard box. After Em added a second for herself, our sixth, we could even afford to help the Lions to a consolation goal toward the end.

So in the end a comfortable 6-1 victory and a measure of the excellent season we’re having that I could call it unremarkable. How we would have loved some unremarkable wins like that in seasons past.

* In the unlikely event this was the unforgettable day you got into a take-no-prisoners fist fight with a hatchet-faced grandmother over the last packet of frozen peas then pick another date. Say, April 29th. If that was the day you locked eyes with a ridiculously good looking bargain shopper and you ended up getting it on in the delicatessen stock room … well, good luck to you.

[Result: 6-1 win. Goals: Em, 2, Rhi, 2, Rosie, Bridget.]

NEXT MATCH: Sunday, August 15, v Northern Roosters, Gibb Reserve, Blair St, Dallas, 10am.

3 comments:

  1. I think yesterday was one of Deb's finest matches as keeper, and what a spectacular dive, Deb! You're the best! It was a great game, lots of fun and just a joy to play in the sunny and dry conditions.

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  2. Hmmm... Ah yes, that was the day I bought pickles on special. Aisle 6.

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  3. Fabulous game Deb!! Lots of great saves but that dive really took the cake!

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