Match Reports
Metro 5 Southside Eagles v KPR 27/03/10
Result: Southside Eagles 1 KPR 1
Date: Saturday 27/03/10
Kick Off: 17:00
Conditions: Sunny………..then dark!
If you believe in bad omens, this wasn’t the game for you! Firstly, striker Marcus Chamo was a late withdrawal because of unexpected work commitments. Then, when KPR took the field for the pre-match warm up, there seemed to be some sort of giant bear trap surrounding their goal which had to be carefully dismantled in a scene reminiscent of the Hurt Locker.
The boys couldn’t hit a cows arse with a banjo in the warm up and seemed to struggle during a basic passing drill. Maybe the general malaise amongst the players was due to the late afternoon kick off? Or maybe some of them already had one eye on the bar over the road where the post match drinks were scheduled to take place? To make matters worse, the KPR captain lost the toss (sack him!!) and as a result, the visitors had to play the majority of the first half blinded by the setting sun.
When the game finally got underway (after a 5 minute search for a match ball – which was flat!), KPR probably had the lions share of the play, but couldn’t quite recreate the flowing football and deadly finishing that had put Logan City to the sword the week before. There were a few too many hopeful long balls aimed at the forwards. Their short game was erratic at times, with promising moves often breaking down on the final pass, and several players were guilty of taking one too many touches and surrendering possession cheaply. In short, a lot of endeavour and intent with very little end product.
El Presidente Tim Moore, playing in his first Metro game after a fast track promotion from the Ressies, broke the deadlock on the half hour mark with something straight out of the (unintentional) top drawer. After linking up well with Tommo Ishiguro on several occasions down the left flank, he changed tack and lobbed one towards goal from the half way line for Chris Rojek and Danny Zumaeta to chase. Even though it was a relatively still evening, the partially deflated ball was picked up by a high pressure system rolling in from the
The home side nearly hit back before the break when a free kick from just outside the area thundered against the cross bar and looped up high in the air. The KPR defence reacted quickly, clearing the rebound out of the danger area, and as the half time whistle sounded, the Rovers jogged off for a well earned rest with their noses still in front.
The visitors immediately found themselves in more trouble than Tiger Woods at a swingers party as the Eagles kicked off the second half. In slightly suspicious circumstances, the home side seemed to gain an extra (and much better) striker during the break and he set about terrorising the Rovers defence for the opening 10 minutes before they got the measure of him.
The second half was played at a much more frenetic pace than the first as one side strived to extend their lead and the other attempted to claw back the deficit. The Rovers slick passing game finally kicked into gear, with the boys comfortably spraying the ball round at the back and the midfield engine room starting to dominate possession. However, very much against the run of play, Southside manufactured an unexpected equaliser, with an inch perfect speculator from distance somehow managing to beat the keeper and a defender on the line for height.
The remainder of the second half was nearly all one way traffic, with the visitors creating chance after chance and at one point winning half a dozen corners in quick succession. Danny could have won at least 2 penalties after being hacked at in the box but he chose to stay on his feet and didn’t quite manage to put the ball in the back of the net (where’s John A Muhammad when you need him?).
Chris Rojek had a powerful effort saved well by the keeper and Brent Compton narrowly missed getting on the end of an easy tap in as the ball spun agonisingly away from the goal mouth seconds before he could get a toe on it. Graham Cameron also produced 2 moments of magic late on, firstly putting a beautiful cross on a penny for the Rovers forwards and then striking the cross bar from wide out on the right. Sadly for Kangaroo Point, much like Stephen Hawking trying to explain the finer points of Astrophysics to Alf Stewart from Home & Away, nothing was going in!!
A good sign of things to come at the end of the game, with the home side seemingly a lot happier with the point than the visitors. Next stop for KPR, a tricky midweek away game at Slacks Creek.
