Best Defence In The League Holds On

Written by eil Mattinson Thursday, 08 September 2011 12:05

Match Reports - Under 13

Geographe Bay Seasiders- 0 v Margaret River Power- 1

Last Saturday saw the last round of the league played out in gritty style at Busselton’s Barnard Park. The hosts needing only a draw to win the league from the Angels, who had lost their final fixture in the preceding game, must have felt quietly confident as they have ridden on the back of a huge goal difference that most clubs could only dream of.

When these teams last met in was M/R taking the honours and we were not fazed by the task on this day. If it were a draw we would have finished in fourth. Unable to finish second the Power were keen to hold onto third place so nothing less than a win was acceptable.

As expected both teams were solid in defence and busy in attack but chances were hard to come by. Both midfields were competing hard, cancelling one another out so the trend was to play wide and try and build a chance. The Power, with a slight wind advantage were inching out the best chances and when a hard running Kai Emslie ran on to a great through ball from Creed McKinon the crowd held its’ breathe to see what this novice player could produce.

The Margaret River crowd erupted in cheers as Kai, with his first goal ever, put his team in front late in the first half. The Seasiders kept the pressure on and were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area just prior to the break but the wall of defence held firm and we kept our lead.

Tyron Bradshaw was replaced by Tarn Staveley in goals for the second term and as usual was “too cool” in goals stopping several shots and frustrating the opposition. Both teams were defending as if their lives depended on it and Geographe with that slight wind advantage were looking dangerous.

The Seasiders, used to scoring goals were at a loss to crack the Power defence that was well marshalled by Hamish White. In a half that seemed to drag on the final whistle blew breaking the Seasiders hearts and reinforcing M/R’s status as the best defence in the league.

The Power can look upon their third place finish with mixed feelings however every player can hold their head up and be sure that they have earned the respect of their team mates, opposition and their supporters every time they have played this season.

Well done young men.

We now await news of who our opposition is in the upcoming “Knock-out Cup”; a separate competition that runs for the next three weeks but your survival is result based. Lose and you are eliminated. Keep up the hard work and we’ll be there in the final. Well done Power.