Premier League Write up Vs Manly Vale
It was a glorious day for football with the sun shining brightly down on Kitchener Park with the Prems boys enjoying the prospect of another game on home soil. Captain Nathan Casey, was hoping to have a game as good as his BBQ and canteen duty skills, leading from the front and teaching local loose unit, Jonny Walker, the key to a perfectly cooked sausage.
After the resounding success of Aiden Currie’s team talk, the job of firing the boys up was given to last week’s hat-trick hero, fully financial Jack Ratcliffe. Billy Benton was in awe of every word coming from his mouth, lapping it up like no man’s business. This saw him start from the get-go, thundering home a header from 2 yards out after Bozza remarked about our lack of scoring capabilities from corners… Bozza was quiet after that.
Not to be outdone after his rich vein of form, David Lensick again found himself on the scoresheet, being ‘Mr Cool’ and slotting home one of his 756 chances on the 18 minute mark. Heading to the sheds at 2-0 to the good, the boys were keen to put their rivals to the sword with Adam Israel asking for an up in intensity. Regular grub, Joel Ramisch was buoyed by the talk and having his brother by his side and upped the intensity from the start of the second half, earning himself a yellow card with his only challenge of the game.
Our rabid wolverine, Sam Walling, playing his old club, needed no extra motivation after it was heard he told his former Vale brethren over an ale or two that he’d single handedly send them packing back to David Thomas with their tails between their legs. His prophecy started to ring true after a tidy finish on the 50th minute mark. The wolverine then went into full beast mode, running around 10 players, tracking back to take them on again, before smashing the ball into the old onion bag at 72 minutes.
With the game beyond doubt and the floodgates opening, the greens were awarded a penalty. With the choice of letting one of the defenders get a pity penalty and off the nudie run or bragging rights later at the Steyne, Sam went for the latter and slotted home for the hat-trick.
Another week down and the boys are 3 points clear with 3 to play and Nathan is still getting club president Val pestering him for BBQ tips.
Premier League
On the surface of it, last Saturday was like any other this season. For the third match in a row, a glorious sunshine bathed the hallowed turf of Kitchener Park. Reserve grade had just spanked their opposition, and a healthy crowd of faithfuls dotted the sidelines. However, despite the familiar regularities, this was not just a run-of-the-mill league match. With anything better than a loss, Adam Israel’s men would secure the major premiership.
Up against a struggling Manly Vale side at the foot of the ladder, perhaps there was an expectation that the result would take care of itself. 30 minutes in at 0-0, things were certainly not panning out. Despite a raft of chances, Pittwater lacked precision and Manly Vale’s stacked defence was proving effective at disrupting any rhythm. A mishap at the back forced a sharp reaction save from Pittwater’s custodian Dean McCreath.
However, as so often has been the case this season, continual pressure reaped dividends with Tom Reeves pouncing on a clever ball into the box from Dom Reason to break the deadlock. Surprisingly this did nothing to shift Manly Vale from their defensive holding pattern as they continued to pile men behind the ball. However, in the end it proved nothing more than damage control as they were simply outclassed. Goals from Dom Reason and Cam White rounded out a 3-0 win and the major premiership with 3 competition rounds remaining – a remarkable achievement reflective of the attractive brand of football the squad have played this year.
Champions of champions awaits, but for now all eyes turn to finals season.