| Match Report |
Blue Mountains did well to recover from a half time deficit of two goals against the run of play. Well-taken second-half goals from Mitchell H and James C evened the score giving an exciting last 20 minutes with Blue Mountains pushing forward and winning a series of corners but failing to find a winner. After an even start, St Mary’s scored after 7 minutes following a corner. This led to a sustained period of attack by Blue Mountains. 11 minutes into the game Mitchell C’s through ball found Liam who won a corner. The ball fell to Samantha after the ensuing melee but her on-target shot was saved. A minute later Mitchell C found Mitchell H whose shot was pushed behind by the SMSC ‘keeper for another corner. 3 minutes later James C passed to Stephen who made a good run up the right, winning yet another corner. But no equaliser. Throughout the game Blue Mountains defence of Cameron, Ferret, Mitchell C and Ben held firm limiting St Mary’s attacks to breakthroughs by a couple of fast forwards. Midfielders Stephen and Liam and wingers Justin and Samantha made many runs forward and provided good service to forwards James C and Mitchell H. Goalkeeper James B effected some brave run-outs to stop opposing forwards and his well-placed clearances initiated many attacks. After 23 minutes, James C’s cross from the left found Stephen in the centre but he couldn’t connect properly and his header went wide. A minute later Mitchell H’s cross found Liam whose shot went just wide. In the following minute another cross from Mitchell H led to a goalmouth melee from which Stephen’s shot was saved by the ‘keeper for yet another corner from which Liam’s header was pushed by the SMCS ‘keeper on to the post. 2 minutes later James C broke through the centre, beating a defender into the penalty area but his shot went just over the bar. The following minute saw James C make another run this time down the left to win yet another corner. But again none of this pressure was rewarded by an equaliser. 2 minutes before half time St Mary’s extended their lead with Blue Mountains players distracted by uncertainty about what they thought was an offside decision, the half-time score of 0-2 by no means reflecting the relative dominance of the two teams. The second half opened with further BM pressure, Nick winning a corner in the first minute. After 11 minutes Nick won another corner after which Stephen found Mitchell H who beat a defender and his strong shot found the back of the net to reduce the deficit to one goal. 5 minutes later Mitchell H was the provider, passing to James C in the penalty area who made no mistake, this time using accuracy rather than power. Blue Mountains continued to push forward looking for a winner. Only a minute after his goal, James C had a strong shot saved, the ball falling to Nick who couldn’t connect properly and his shot went just wide. The last 20 minutes saw Blue Mountains continuing to attack, winning corners and forcing saves, but the scores remained level at full time. |
