Match Report

Semi final

Second Semi Final - FJFC U-14 Blue 7.9 (51) d St Marys 5.6 (36) at Canterbury Reserve, August 15, 2010 Finals football is different: it's intense, it's unforgiving, it's fierce. Finals matches are contests that reveal a team's strengths and peel back their weakness: finals tell you about a footballer's character because when all else is gone - when your body is exhausted, you're covered in the mud, and the ball weighs as much as a weekend schoolbag - the only thing that matters is character and the courage to keep trying. That's what every coach wants from his team during the finals, because there may not be a next week. The Roys and St Marys had the double chance but it's a card you don't want to have to play. And on a chilly Sunday afternoon, haunted by the spectre of rain, St Marys charged out of their rooms with what looked like intimidating focus and energy. The Roys had a full list and Connor had won the toss so that the boys kicked to what looked to be the scoring end. The middle of the ground was a black bog that could swallow small boys whole. The umpires wisely decided to toss it up on the wing, and that's how the game started, slightly off-centre and to the left. Yet the Roys settled first. They looked intent. They looked switched-on. They knew what they wanted to do. And sure enough it happened: Connor and Jaquan combined to get the ball in to the goal square where Alex - the Roy Boy pickpocket - slipped the ball through the first major of the day. All across the ground there were signs that the Roys were in the zone: Kent and Josh applied tackles that stopped St Marys in their tracks. Luke made a couple of tremendous spoils in marking contests that relieved the pressure and then set up Pat up with a run on the outskirts of the gluepot. More than ever, the Roys were getting to the ball first and Wiz won a free and registered a behind. Mu made a breathtaking interception and the long roost to the goalsquare found the Pickpocket lurking again for the Roys second. Once again, Al was charging out of defence, a man inspired, while Seb shepherded through the corridor to help smooth the way forward. The rain came and stayed, belting down for a while but it didn't stop the Roys. Connor dobbed the boys' third and Mu sneaked the fourth. Jesse took a vital mark to keep up the forward momentum and Charlie was already busy, charging to boundary contests and tapping the ball expertly to the Roys' runners. At quarter time, the Roys had done all the scoring and led by 26 points. On the resumption, the boys maintained the forward pressure. Rebounding out of the half-back line where Lochie, Pat and Luke gave the drive, the Roys kept pressing hard. There were a rash of points, but Connor kicked his second goal from a snap, deep in the forward pocket. It was not easy. The boys were working hard and Kieran put his body on the line in a boundary line clash that saw him rewarded with a free. Digby seized on a loose ball and found Wiz, who slotted it for the Roys' sixth. But St Marys are never really beaten and in the dying minutes of the second quarter, they kicked a point and then their first goal. That's how the third quarter started, with St Marys registering a point. For the next few minutes the ball ebbed and flowed between each side's half-back lines, and the ball became increasingly heavy and the boys more desperate with each passing contest. Kai was good in the tackles and Nix was presenting up forward but there was just a hint that the Roys were about to enter the game's danger zone, when a lead starts to fall away. St Marys added a goal, and then the Roys lost their focus and gave up a couple of frees, which lead to St Marys' shots on goal. The pessimists felt the advantage was swinging toward St Marys, and they kicked their fourth goal before Wiz kicked the Roys' only score for the quarter, a lonely point. It was tricky now. It was still 16 points to the Roys' advantage at three quarter time but the momentum was with St Marys. The rain made footy difficult and there were signs that the Roys weren't as assured and focussed as they had been at the start of the match. It was time to see what the Roys were made of. Almost instantly, the Roys rushed a point and then Ahmed earned a free to add another point. The footy had turned ugly. It was all about who wanted it more now. In the minutes that followed, Josh and Charlie were mighty figures, tapping, clutching and punching the footy where they could. Metres were won here and there. Sometimes the ball went back in to the St Marys forward line where the defence tried to hold firm. The clock ticked and ticked - 23 minutes in the final quarter. St Marys rushed a couple of points, and then with about 13 minutes gone, St Marys goalled again. The Roys led by 10 points. Who could dig deepest? Digby hit the pack hard and Luke again spoiled a vital contest. Will off the interchange bench took an important mark on the wing but it was Kent - who had played like a lion all day - who was the linchpin. At the critical moment, at a ball-up on the Roys' half-forward line Kent waited for the Charlie tap that arrowed straight for Kent's hands. Quick as a blink, Kent loaded up and sent the ball forward where Max judged the chest mark perfectly. He was not far out and the angle was OK for a left-footer but the ball was heavy and the legs were tired. Max went for home but the ball went in to a slow loop and fell in to Ahmed's waiting arms on the edge of the goal square. Ahmed made sure of it, and that was enough to seal a spot in the grand final. It was tough. It was full of character. It was finals football.

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