REDBACKS FC PREMIER LEAGUE 2011

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FOUR GAMES, FOUR WINS AND A 12 POINT WEEKEND FOR THE MIGHTY REDBACKS !!!

Saturday v West Pennant Hills
First Grade Win 2-0
Res’ Grade Win 3-1

Sunday v Thornleigh Thunder
First Grade Win 1-0
Res’ Grade Win 2-1

It has been a long and tough season for our boys in the top division this year and for First Grade it comes down to the final game this Saturday to determine their final placing in season 2011. It will either be 4th or 5th spot depending on the results and is going to be a massive game down at the Spider’s Web. And Reserve Grade has all but wrapped up 5th spot on the ladder after their slow start to the season.

Going into the double header weekend this week, the squad knew it was going to be tough and even though the opponents in both grades were out of contention for the finals, they knew that none of the games would be walks in the park.

Reserve Grade, out of contention for the finals were playing for 5th spot on the table. The slow start to season 2011, as they adjusted to the quicker and tougher game than the Super League competition ended up putting their chances of a top four finish to bed with 4 games to go. But that was not going to stop our boys playing for their shirt in the top squad in the final games.

Guilty of allowing too many soft goals this year the first game against cross town rivals West Pennant Hills looked to be heading down the same path. After going up 1-0 in the 32nd minute thanks to a perfectly taken Adam Robinson corner, which curled into the back of the net, Reserve Grade again went to sleep with 18 minutes to go and allowed WPH to equalise. But Reserve Grade dug deep and in the 75th minute took the lead back again thanks to a Chris Dogulin finish. And then the win was sealed with 9 minutes to go as Matt McDowell grabbed the goal of the season in reserve grade with a blistering shot from 22 yards out from the left of field which beat the keeper on the opposite side and slammed into the post and bounced goalwards into the back of the net.

The win saw Reserve Grade move to equal 5thplace with Thornleigh who were the opposition for today’s game. Tired and bruised from the previous day’s game and with a few players out with injury it was going to be a hard 90 minutes. But our boys started well and for the first 35 minutes completely dominated the opposition. The Thunder keeper was forced to make a number of saves to keep the ball out of the net and his efforts paid off as the Thunder grabbed the opening goal against the run of play with 8 minutes to go after some loose defence in the box saw a free man hammer the shot at keeper Jim who got a hand to it but only enough to deflect it into the back of the net.

Down a goal at half time the boys knew they could strike back and came out firing in the second half. Again, they dominated the flow of the game and after another Thunder late challenge the equaliser was scored. Super sub Adam Robinson stepped up to take a free kick from the left hand sideline, some 35 yards out. It was a perfect cross which sailed through the air and found its way onto the head of Adrian Low who put it into the back of the net in the top left corner. So 1-1 with 25 minutes to go and our boys sniffed victory and continued to apply the pressure. And finally, with 17 minutes to go the lead was taken with Jimmy Laids slotting home the eventual winner.

But it wasn’t over and the Thunder started to look for their equaliser and pushed forward all their players. But the Redbacks defence, shaky at times this year held strong. With 8 minutes to go, keeper Jim who had a relatively quiet game thanks to his defenders, was forced to make a match winning save as he tipped a Thunder player’s scorching shot from 22 yards out over the cross bar.

This was enough to spur our boys to hold on in the dying minutes and the final whistle blew with a 2-1 scoreline in our favour. It was another hard fought win and moved the team to outright 5thspot with one week to go.

First Grade, sitting in 5thspot needed to win both games this weekend to give themselves any chance of making the top four this year. The clash against West Pennant Hills was a keenly awaited game as it was WPH who three weeks before shocked our boys with two early goals and took the win against the odds. Even the WPH keeper had tipped against his own team that week ! So there was alot to prove this week as well a game to win.

The Redbacks came out firing and applied the early pressure and were unlucky not to go ahead early on. As the game progressed their dominance showed and finally, in the 30th minute they grabbed the opening goal. A fantastic cross was met by Aidan Williams who put away a powerful header into the back of the net. And then it wasn’t long before the second goal was scored as George Best applied a sneaky touch to slot the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net.

The second half was much of the same but in the 58th minute, disaster struck as keeper Steve Munari found a rabbit warren when taking a kick and went down like a sack of potatoes. He had bent his knee against its will and was helped from the field in much pain. This saw keeper Jim come onto replace him, which gave Jim a chance to erase the painful memories from the Ravens game from a few weeks back.

WPH pushed hard to get a goal back but the First Grade defence was rock solid and denied the attackers any opportunities for a clear shot on goal in the final third of the game. The Redbacks were unable to find the back of the net in the second half despite creating a heap of opportunities, but in the end it didn’t matter as the final scoreline finished 2-0. And as the news filtered through that Kenthurst had lost to Epping Eastwood there was a sense of opportunity with the boys now sitting one point behind Kenthurst with two games remaining.

And so the game against the Thunder on Sunday was a must win to keep the pressure on Kenthurst and to keep the finals hopes of the team alive. And the boys came out with that in mind as they began the game. But it was the Thunder who had the first chances and forced keeper Matt Eaves to make some early saves. But it didn’t take long for the Redbacks to take control of the game and the chances started to come their way. In the 30th minute it looked like the Redbacks had taken the lead thanks to Adam Meguid only to have a late offside decision result in the goal being disallowed.

The Redback defence continued to hold strong in the first half with the Thunder attack unable to penetrate and gain any clear opportunities to go up on the scoreboard. The half finished 0-0 and the game was in the balance. Either team could grab the lead in the slippery conditions and this could be a game where a mistake in defence would be the difference.

The second half proved to be the same arm wrestle that was seen in the first half. But the Redbacks attack were controlling the game through the midfield and this was giving them the better share of the chances. A period of 15 minutes saw our boys mount wave after wave of attack down the left hand side and the Thunder keeper was forced to make numerous saves to keep his team in the game. But finally the pressure paid off as Adam Meguid broke his drought and after having two previous shots saved, slotted away the opening goal with a powerful left foot finished and put the Redbacks in the lead.

The goal spurred the Thunder attack on and they worked hard for the equaliser. Their persistence paid off when in the 70thminute they were awarded a penalty for a hand ball in the box. The odds were against the penalty being saved, with every penalty against our boys being put away this year. But sometimes in football individual brilliance can shine through and as the well taken penalty was hammered into the bottom left corner just inside the post keeper Matt reacted like lightening and with his outstretched hand parried the ball away and saved what should have been the equaliser. In return, this spurred our boys on as they knew they could not let this save go wasted.

The game continued for another 11 minutes with another two or three chances for our boys to get their second goal but they were either saved or just went wide of the post. In the 81st minute the heavens opened and visible lightening strikes lit up the sky and the referees had no choice but to stop the game to wait and see whether the storm would pass. When the lightening increased and rain poured even harder the referees made the decision to end the game and the final result was a win 1-0 to the Redbacks.

So it was a perfect weekend with four wins from four games and for the second time in two days the team song was sung. After a mixed bag of results for the entire season, it was great for the squad to grab two doubles in succession.

News came through shortly after that PHD had lost to Kenthurst and so our boys remain in 5th spot, one point out of the top four. This week is crunch time and is a grand final for our First Grade team who must win and hope that Kenthurst either lose or draw to sneak into fourth spot. But it is going to be a huge task as the last game of the season sees us up against second placed Pennant Hills who have come out on top in both of the previous clashes this year. But that means nothing as the teams step out onto the field on Saturday.

So if you are a true Redback this Saturday you will be nowhere else than down at the Spiders Web at View Street to cheer on our boys as they fight for a finals berth in the clubs first season back in the GHFA Premier League. Reserve Grade kicks off at 1:15pm and First Grade 3:15pm. Be there….!!

THE REDS…..THE REDS…..