U14A Doncaster Rovers vs Bulleen 8th June
On an ideal day for soccer with no wind and bright sunshine, Bulleen came to play the “local derby” with bragging rites at stake as well as a place in the four.
The game started out with an even contest all over the field with both teams mounting attacks but falling down in front of goal. The ball was sweeping from end to end with Bulleen applying more pressure on the ball carrier and the Doncaster passing became more erratic as the half proceeded.
The more physical pressure applied by Bulleen also resulted in a few free’s for Doncaster as hands in the back were used by the defenders. Nick had a rough chance when he almost got onto a free kick but his left foot was well wide. Most of the half was spent in the Rovers half as the Bulleeen centres were on top and some through passes put our defence to the sword as many fumbles were made. The Bulleen forwards had their chances with a lot of balls in the attacking zone but not much method. Rovers defence was sporadic with only solo efforts by Nick, Michael P, and Luke keeping the ball out of the net.
Just before half time Rovers had their best scoring opportunity when Alex controlled the ball down the left and put in a great pass across to Steven on the right but he just could not control the ball and the chance passed, mopped up by the defence.
Half-time score: Rovers 0 : Bulleen 0
After half time Bulleen got further on top, with plenty of aggression at the ball this not helped by some ball watching by Rovers. The passing game almost disappeared as there were no clear winners for Rovers and teamwork became non existent. After a few minutes of constant attack, Bullen were rewarded with a loose ball in the box neatly put away to take them into the lead.
With a few rotations off the bench not a lot changed and Bulleen continued to control the game and do most of the attacking. It appeared as though Rovers had left their confidence in the change rooms as it had evapourated on the field pretty quickly. Even when Rovers had corners the ball was put into the zone but there was never any challenge on the keeper as he took the ball several metres in the clear with simple catches. The umpires whistle could not come soon enough for Rovers who took several steps backwards today. Hopefully they can take stock during the week and come out firing next weekend.
Scores at full-time: Rovers 0 : Bulleen 1
GO ROVERS !!
