21 August 2011
PORT RETURN THE PAINE TO FOXES DEFENCE
Fernhill 1 Vs Port Kembla 2
A poor defensive start to the Foxes gave Port an early advantage in the 2nd minute as Peter Gaffney capitalized on some ordinary defence and then his shot some how deceived the normally reliable Savo Maric, as the young scoreboard attendant was called upon early to put the number one next to the visitors name.
It was going to be a tough game on a heavy pitch regardless and this early set back would once again test the Foxes mental approach towards the game and make a game of it before a good crowd at Ray Robinson Field. The first half balanced out evenly despite the goal difference as both sides adapted well to the conditions as the Foxes Dane Treneski and Andreas Franco starting to cause a few problems for the Port defence but the final pass didn’t find it’s mark and allowed Port to counter attack at various stages as Fernhill’s Willy Alarcon & Nathan Thompson started to stand firm and repel Port’s advances.
The second half was a good arm wrestle as Sam Gordan’s battle with Matt O’shea tried to steer the ship in the home teams favour and as Jamie de Ferri started getting more involved, the game started looking bright for the home team. Both teams traded attacks with Port having a good opportunity to increase the lead but their chance was blasted over the bar and the Foxes had a similar opportunity however Dale Whites fine cross saw Sam Gordan just fail to connect with his head to level the scores.
With 15min to go Port brought Andrew Paine on, and his presence didn’t take long as he took an opportunity to put one past Savic from close range to increase the lead and perhaps the game looked over for the Foxes. This time it was Fernhill’s replacement Tim Parker who made a difference as his powerful 20m rocket breathed new life into the game to make it 2-1 and make an interesting final 8 minutes but the experienced Port side held out a courageous Foxes outfit who once again fail to be rewarded for their hard work ethic.
Man Of The Match – Willy Alarcon and Nathan Thompson
