BTH Raiders vs. Forest Killarney
April 15th @ Melwood Oval
First Grade
Win 5-0
A game described as “a potential banana skin” by head coach Nate Gray against a youthful Forest side and coming on the back of a week off.
Truth be told it was a comfortable win against an enthusiastic side. BTH again started slowly, letting their opponents have plenty of the ball in the opening 10 minutes although they rarely threatened. It wasn’t until a call from the sideline of “these aren’t very good” seemed to kick us into gear. Steeley was causing problems upfront and we looked dangerous when we played into his feet and we may have taken the lead earlier but for some fairly dubious off side flags. The opening goal came on 20 minutes, Goldy pinged a 30 yard pass out to George Harle on the left, he beat the full back before slotting home at the near post, his first for the club. We then started to knock the ball around well, Jack ‘the colossus’ Brown and Skipper TG marshaling the back line and Marty and Goldy winning the midfield battle. Second goal came from a Forest corner that Harle picked up and skipped pass a few players before being mauled down on the edge of the area. After dusting himself down he scored the resulting free kick in the bottom corner, only Steeley knows where he really meant to put it. Half time 2-0.
Second half was played at a fairly comfortable pace, Jacko came on and looked dangerous on the right, Ocky went about his business as usual and the game was put to bed on the hour when Steeley rolled his marker before expertly chipping the Forest keeper, lovely finish from the Darwin Destroyer. A fourth was soon to follow, some neat passes down the left before the ball was fed into Steeley who held off his marker and delightfully back healed the ball into the path of the on rushing Goldy who finished easily. There was still time for Harle to complete his Hattrick, latching onto a great ball from TG, turning inside his marker and finding the top corner.
A great performance but Ratko will still want more from his men as tougher opponents await, but another clean sheet from Massey and another 3 points on the board.
Ressies
Loss 4-1
BTH Ressies travelled to Melwood to face Forestville, whose young side looked like they were more prepared for Year 11 than a game of football. Given the confidence amongst the squad and the fresh legs from the bye BTH had high hopes for a good result, however some harsh lessons were handed out by the opposition. The opening exchanges of the game were played at a panicky pace and this was highlighted by many changes in possession and huge tackles by both sides. Forest responded to the challenge and pressed BTH with a high defence that caused numerous turnovers. Unfortunately, these turnovers resulted in 3 quick fire goals from Forest that left BTH shell shocked at half time. The first half belonged to the boys in green as BTH were left to rue too many missed opportunities and turnovers in possession.
Spirited Kim Jong–Un type speeches at half time from coaches Ratko and Niko left the playing group with more spray than a huge offshore swell at Manly. Following this a more positive BTH stepped out after the break in an attempt to regain some respect and make an impact on the game. The second half saw a much-improved performance from our Raiders. Playing with fewer touches on the ball enabled BTH to move the ball quicker and negate the high pressing Forest game. A goal kick bomb from Keeper Ed Shaw put both Mark Lawther and Sam Savage on towards goal. Lawther’s effort on goal was parried by the keeper into the path of Savage who, with the advantage of an open goal, netted his first of the season. We heard after the game that pieces of the net from this shot on goal were being collected back in Terry Hills. 3-1 the score and game on.
Celebrations were short lived as a lapse in concentration allowed Forest to add a 4th goal sealing the result. Not to be outdone and to the credit of the boys, BTH continued to create chances thanks to Man of the Match Sam Savage, however the game was too far out of reach. Despite the disappointing 4-1 defeat there was plenty of positives from the second half and lots to work on during the week at training.