Seaford United v Glen Waverley - Round 2 - 4/4/09
Match Report & Highlights Video

 

Round 2 v Seaford United
Venue ... North Seaford Reserve (aka HowdidtheygetapitchlikethatDome)
Weather ... Perfect (eventually)
Crowd ... 150'ish (they heard we were in town)

Reserves
Result ... 2-1
Scorers ... Eduardo, Tony G (pen),

After all the whinging about having to travel to the western suburbs and all
the city link charges last season, our first away trip was down the Eastlink
to Seaford. And yes, more toll charges. Anyway, it was only a 20 minute
drive so no harm there. Would our travel be worth it? Read on to find out.

So proudly decked out in the new white away kit, the reserves took to the
pitch. Except Alistair, who was decked out in the sponsors training bib.
Apparently the ref (or at least the guy in black) thought the grey was too
close to white and may cause confusion. Hmmm. I would have thought wearing
gloves and cap along with long keepers pants would have been enough of a
contrast, but there we were. There's no arguing with pedants, and if it was
an attempt to unsettle us, it didn't work.

By the way last week, we mentioned the 5 Giannikos' on the pitch. This week
we saw them all arrive in the same car! We wondered what might happen if
that car ever broke down. Can we travel separately next time please, like
the Royal family. Also check out the suspension on the car while you're at
it.

I digress. On with the game and so it went on. The crowd was buzzing,
although decked out in yellow and black they did look like a load of wasps.
Both sides had early chances, but the boys from Larpentland, started to move
the ball around nicely, enjoying playing on the fantastic new pitch.
Pressure was applied and both Matey and Sam had plenty of joy on the right
hand side. A couple of early chances fell to Matty Soon and Bill G, but
neither timed their runs well enough to trouble the keeper. However the
visitors finally got reward for all their endeavour, in rather fortuitous
(lucky) circumstances. A freekick was delivered into the box and the home
side keeper collided with Bill G as both went for the ball. With the keeper
on the ground wondering what day of the week it was, Eduardo latched onto
the loose ball and chip into an empty net.

After the arguments settled down, Eddie and Matey continued to dominate the
midfield, ably supported by a super-confident Yurie. Again pressing and
attacking the box at pace, Sam managed to pressure the home side into
conceding a penalty for handball. This time up stepped Tony G, to slot home
the second and give us some breathing space. And that's how we went into
halftime, 2 goals to the good.

As we all know, 2-0 is one of the more dangerous score lines as the
opposition generally has to chase the game. From about the 60 minute mark,
the pressure came continually from Seaford. Bill O marshalled his backline
magnificently, with Eyyup and Theo both putting their bodies on the line.
Even though the home side pulled a goal back, they couldn't quite crack the
Glen Waverley lines. New boys Sean and Prashan were introduced in the second
half and it was Prashan who should have (or could have) sealed the game
earlier, putting a shot wide.

With the clock winding down, time almost stood still as the ref allowed play
to continue on and on and on and on ... Another 6 minutes of injury time was
played and when it was clear Seaford were not going to get the equaliser,
the ref had to concede and finally blow for fulltime. Reluctantly. He would
have played until midnight if he could.

So a magnificent gritty performance for the reserves this week and a richly
deserved 3 points. Second place on the ladder and looking good. Special
mention this week has to be Matey. Awarded best on ground by Seaford he won
himself a 6 pack (for his Dad). Top stuff Matey, along with Sam they
certainly add drive to the team.Bill G was available for interview but we didn't ask him anything. Enjoying
Scottish sausage in a roll with all the trimmings, we waited with excitement
for the Seniors to enter the arena
Seniors
Result 1-2
Scorer:- Greg (aka Sunsilk)

So with the Reserves munching greedily on their Scottish sausage sandwiches,
the Seniors squad entered the arena. Dazzling everyone with their whiter
than white new kit, they hoped they could produce dazzling football to
match.

This time we had a proper referee, who started the game with a shrill blast
on his tootlestick. The boys from the Glen started well and in confident
manner took the game to Seaford. A couple of early chances went begging and
little did we know this would be our eventual downfall. In fact we've not
seen so many misses since the last Moonies wedding ceremony. Nanos,
returning after his one game suspension, gave the home side defence a torrid
time. Again and again, finding himself one on one with the keeper failed to
convert any chances. It was left to Greg to get the score board ticking over
with a cool finish midway through the first half. Seaford offered little in
attack but an aimless cross field ball was picked up on the left hand side.
The midfielder cut inside and unleashed a shot which cannoned off Steve's
crossbar. A warning sign of how easy it is to be caught on the break.

Further pressure from the boys in white gave them an opportunity to extend
the lead. For the second week in a row, Alex M drew a penalty, but this week
Greg mistimed his hairflick and put a weak effort straight at the keeper.
Metin couldn't capitalise on the rebound, so 1-0 it stayed up until
halftime. This would prove a costly miss as the game panned out.

Steve was pleased with the effort and the standard of football being played.
"I'm happy with the way we're playing and the standard of football is good"
he said as we caught up with Steve. So leaving things as they were, the boys
continued to control the game from the start of the second half. However
Seaford are an experienced team and never panicked at any stage. Pulling a
couple of our lads out of position, another crossfield ball saw their centre
forward isolate Kon and he let fly a blistering finish to pull the scores
level.

The Larpent legends though continued to push forward and chance after chance
fell to Nanos, Met, Greg and eventually Steve V. On another day, the lads
could have scored 6 or 7. And maybe this week they should have, but it
wasn't to be. Check out the video highlights for a selection of the best.
Steve's probably takes top honours, but there are others that make you
wince. As for Metin, we're still unclear as to why he didn't get a penalty
when he was cleaned up by the home keeper. A good header from Met, was
rewarded by a full-on whack from the keeper.

More often than not, this generosity in front of goal is generally punished
and sure enough, Seaford snatch victory late in the second half. A shot,
which in the end turned into a pretty good cross, was nudged in past a
helpless Steve. More chances fell our way, but continued to be wasted.

So with a final blast the ref brought proceedings to an end, but although
the result didn't go our way, the lads have nothing to be ashamed of in the
way they played. Savva bossed the midfield always making space for himself
and releasing players with accurate and smooth passing. Petey, Julian and
Alex ran their legs off all day. Michael N and Steve V will have nightmares
about the chances they missed, but they can look forward to games where
they'll grab a hatful. Keep creating chances and you'll always be in with a
chance.

Well done boys, a great game to watch. You showed that we belong in this
league. Roll on 2 weeks time when we get another chance to get our season up
and running.

Enjoy Easter and we'll see back at Larpent on 18th April.