Finals Hopes Fade With Devils Victory

Red Devils 4
Team WoW 2
(Kidd, Bryan)

Team WoW's finals chances were dealt a severe blow on Sunday night after falling short against old foes the Red Devils. The boys in black had their fair share of possession but couldn't make it count on the scoreboard, clearly lacking a finishing touch with the absence of star striker and leading Team WoW scorer Sol Foster after he sustained his season ending injury a fortnight ago. Phil Gale was also absent, on loan to Byron Bay Wanderers for the remainder of the season, and the reserve squad was called in to fly the Team WoW flag.

The game started in an interesting fashion, with Michael Riske, Jordan Scott and Jonathon Bryan all late for various reasons, completely in keeping with most major and international futsal teams who also do that type of thing. At the start of the game, Andy Thompson found himself with only two other team-mates in the form of George Cass and Alec. Bryan arrived as the buzzer sounded to start the game, and found Alex Kidd rushing to put his boots on, as Team Wow tried to keep possession while all their players showed up.

Bryan hopped on court thirty seconds later, but showed signs of lethargy after dozing on the couch at home while watching the cricket, and needed a bit of time to get into the game. Kidd was added shortly after, and when Riske turned up the team was almost complete.

With no sign of Scott, Team WoW were rushed early on in the game (as has been the pattern for many of their games this season) and conceded two early goals. Once he had gotten to the stadium, Scott came on for Bryan, and tried to stem the tide. The tide was certainly stemmed for a while, although observers were not sure whether it was a direct result of Scott's addition. Whatever the case, Team WoW started to create more chances, and ended up having more of the possession for the last 8 minutes of the half, despite conceding once more. Thompson was doing a lot of work in attack along with the other strikers, but the team seemed to lack flow and couldn't find the penetration to create many quality chances, despite a quality nuts from Bryan. Alec had two or three good opportunities towards the end of the half but sprayed wide. At half-time, the scoreline was 3-0.

The team talk from the captain was overwhelmingly positive despite the less than positive scoreline, as the boys were urged to keep doing what they were doing. The defense was holding up well, with Cass having a great game in support of Kidd, and Alec very solid at the back with his limited game time. The encouragement lifted Team WoW and they came out determined to make a contest of the second half.

Thompson started on the bench, placing Bryan and Scott together up forward. They made several strong attacks which were defended well by the Red Devils but resulted in corners or kick-ins in attacking positions, and it was Scott who finally made one count. His ball from the left side line found the great run of Alex Kidd, who had made his way up from defense. Team WoW's spirits were visibly lifted as his shot flew into the back of the net.

Not long after it was the Devils keeper who made an error, taking too long to release the ball and allowing Team WoW a free kick in a very dangerous position. It was indirect, and Scott touched it to Bryan, who hammered it goalwards. It hit the keeper, but bounced straight back to Bryan's left foot; his lofted shot lobbed the defender on the line and found the roof of the net, and Team WoW were within touching distance.

Buoyed by the two quick goals, Team WoW looked to have the initative, but were almost shut down a few minutes later. A quick counter attack found the Devils striker one on one with Riske, and he would have scored but for a great save from the keeper. A minute later, the shotstopper was at it again, pulling off a miraculous save with his left arm fully outstretched to deny the opposition. Riske's second half was outstanding.

As the clock counted down, Team WoW became more urgent and started to take more risks, throwing men forward in search of an equaliser. But they overextended and allowed their opposition in behind them, who proceeded to score a fourth and final goal. The game ended 4-2. Team WoW's second half was much better than their first, and were it not for the opening 6 or 7 minutes they could have easily drawn or beaten their rivals.

The loss leaves the boys struggling to make the finals, and their last match is clearly a must win game if they are to have any hope. The fixture starts at 5:30 at Aurora, and fans will be excited to hear the news that attacker and playmaker Tim Parrott will be making his first appearence for Team WoW this season on Sunday night. Parrott is a popular figure amongst followers of Team WoW, and has played with them in past seasons.