22 August 2011

FERNHILL YOUTH OUTFOX BULLI

Fernhill 2 vs Bulli 1

The Round 21 clash was an important game for both teams as they started the day in equal 5th position on the League table. The Foxes got off to a bad start when they lost possession in the Bulli half and with a few quick passes, Bulli’s shot on goal wasn’t held by Josh Timpano and despite Adrion Djukic’s efforts to clear Bulli pounced on the rebound to put them ahead 1- 0 in the 5th minute.

The Foxes fortunately quickly settled down after the goal and got back into their rhythm with Christian Armour leading the frontline they started to make inroads past the Bulli defence. In the 8th minute a poor challenge by Bulli 45 metres from their goal gave Scott Simpson the opportunity to drive a ball into the Bulli penalty box. Christian Armour bravely attacked the high ball and was felled by the Bulli keeper but the rebound dropped to Lachlan Blayney who calmly placed the ball into the top right hand corner of the goal to even the scores.

From this point central defenders Ben Kearton and Michael Tame took control of the Bulli strikers and Bulli weren’t able to trouble the Fernhill goal. In midfield Godfrey Franko, Kevin McDonald  and Matt Kellett showed their determination as they started to win the ball and play out of defence to wingers Zac Noel-Strang and Lachlan Blayney.

As Fernhill started to take control of the game, Bulli started to lose their patience and gave away numerous free kicks. The Foxes capitalised with Lachlan Blayney breaking down the right wing and his shot was blocked and the rebound fell to Christian Armour but his shot was saved by  the Bulli keepers legs but Zac Noel-Strang was right on  the spot to put the Foxes ahead 2 – 1.

The second half began with the Foxes on the attack but as was the story for the rest of the game, they weren’t able to take their chances. In the 62nd minute Christian Armour was replaced with Andrew Breslin. Andrew’s fresh legs tried to ignite the Fernhill attack but he couldn’t find a way past the Bulli keeper.

With Bulli throwing everything at the Fernhill goal, Simon Habak replaced goal-scorer Zac Noel-Strang as the Foxes reshuffled their midfield to try to regain control of the game. As the clock ticked away Bulli’s desperation resulted in a late tackle on Godfrey Franko and he was replaced with Nick Djukic for the final 5 minutes as Bulli swamped the Fernhill half with long balls.

This was definitely not one of their best games but to the relief of the Red and White supporters, the Foxes clung on to their 2 –1 lead.

Man of the Match was Scott Simpson.