U14A Whitehorse vs Doncaster Rovers 25th May
On a mild autumn afternoon with no wind Whitehorse hosted Doncaster at Terrara Park.
Conditions were ideal for this clash of two teams vying for second position on the ladder.
The game started at a fast pace and both sides were pushing the ball around with slick passes, with Whitehorse attempting the through ball whenever they could but Rovers defence stood firm and repelled everything that came their way. With Alex, Phil and Chris on top through the centres Rovers mounted some good attacks as well. Damien and Drew were holding the ball in and when Drew was paid a free Nick Dinakis put the ball right into the box area where Phil was able to use his height on the goalie and put away a contested header into the net. What a great start by the boys and this put Whitehorse into an aggressive frame but good saves by Luke twice and pressure by Chris, Jansen, Michael Piccoli, Joel, Matt and Elliot kept Whitehorse at bay. Damien had a crack at goal but was saved by the keeper. The ball was moving from end to end quickly with good team play however no real pressure was applied to the goalie’s in the last moments of the first half.
Half-time score: Whitehorse 0 : Rovers 1
The second half continued on just where both teams had left off with Whitehorse mounting the first two attacks on goal and Rovers counter attacking with Alex making a good header after a long Nick D throw but this was saved by the keeper. Whitehorse then attacked again and received the first of several corners, but kicked out to relieve the pressure. Matt and Steve combined well down the right for Steve to make a good shot on goal only to be thwarted by the keeper. Good pressure by Elliot, Alex and Steve kept the ball moving forwards for Rovers. James, Dion and Nick Vass were also in the play up forward but scoring chances were hard to come by.
Whitehorse kept mounting challenges and received a free 25 metres from goal, however the kicker rushed the shot and it went too long and wide. Good play through the centre again allowed a loose ball right in front for Rovers and Alex banged the ball hard just above the keeper but it hit the cross bar and bounced straight out. Ohhh so close!
The play was very entertaining as was the Whitehorse coach who had done nothing but moan to the ref all day, since the header goal that he thought was obstruction. When he wasn’t giving it to the ref he got stuck into Steve for being so biased, calling him “yellow eyes” to which Steve replied “You can’t talk blue eyes”. Well I was pretty close to both benches and take it from me their coach looked nothing like Frank Sinatra!
Whitehorse counter attacked and banged in a hard shot on goal that Luke managed to fend off only for Whitehorse to bang it in again. Another great save by Luke but the free ball was swooped on again by Whitehorse to kick the equalizer. A good game by both teams was played for parents to enjoy and appreciate the skills and teamwork development.
Scores at full-time: Whitehorse 1 : Rovers 1
GO ROVERS !!
