Match Reports
Metro 5 KPR v Clairvaux 11/04/10
Result: KPR 1 Clairvaux 0
Date: Sunday 11/04/10
Kick Off: 11:00
Conditions: Marble Bar hot!
The first Super Sunday of the season and a must win for KPR Met 5 after the disappointment of a mid week loss to Slacks Creek. Some unexpected Friday night results (Slacks Creek 2 Bethania Rams 3 & Eastern Suburbs 7
A good win from the girls got the day off to a flyer and the Metro boys took the field aiming to make it 2 from 2, and to run Clairvaux ragged in the heat with their passing game.
As is often the case, a game plan on paper is all well and good, but there’s always the small matter of the quality or determination of the opposition to take into account! Despite a winless start to the season, Clairvaux were quickest out of the blocks and made it very difficult for the home side to find any sort of rhythm. The piney bobble was also in full effect and combined with the unseasonal heat to make this contest more a war of attrition than an eye catching spectacle …..
Highlights were few and far between in the first half, with the water break on 25 minutes a stand out. KPR were a little lop-sided, with Des Ward and Josh Cameron arguably the busiest 2 players on the park, as the majority of their play was channelled down the left flank. The long ball was employed once too often, much to the annoyance of the KPR midfield, and the half finished goalless with both sides seeking some much needed refuge from the midday sun.
Coach Graham Cameron threatened to bring himself on in the second half if the home side didn’t pick up, but the Clairvaux boys must have eaten their spinach during the break, and came out firing on all cylinders for the first 20 minutes. Centre forward Chris Rojek, dropping to right back to fill the spot vacated by James Kelleher, had a cracking last 45 and Des Ward was equally solid on the left. Keeper Grant Preston was dominant in the air, particularly from corners, as KPR dug deep to keep the hard running visitors at bay.
Very few clear cut chances were manufactured by either side in the second period of play. Midfielder Niall Clancy produced a bit of magic, dancing around 3 players into the box, before running out of steam and skewing his shot wide of the upright. Brent Compton rose well to head a corner kick just over the bar and Danny Zumaeta hit a close range free kick into the Clairvaux wall after being chopped down on the edge of the area.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, coach Cameron made good on his threat, subbing himself on and pushing an extra man up front, as KPR went hunting the win. Despite these changes, the game looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw, when the Clairvaux bench made a decision which was to land their side in more trouble than an Egyptian brick layer, making a substitution that Barry Hall might refer to as a ‘tactical brain snap’.
Defending a KPR free kick next to the corner flag, they took off their giraffe of a centre back, leaving Danny Zumaeta spare to pounce on a pin point delivery, placing a well directed header low to the keepers left.
You had to feel for the visitors after a hard fought contest in extreme conditions, but credit to KPR, who proved that they are just as capable of grinding out results and winning ugly as they are of passing teams out of a game. A very pleasing win!
