Dee Why has always fielded quality teams and the fact that they were in second place on the table meant that this year was no exception. To make it slightly harder, we were low on numbers due to injuries, travel and work commitments.
The opening 10 minutes, we played with intensity and pressed high up the pitch creating a number of chances. However, lady luck was not shining on us and we hit the bar too many times. Dee Why retained most of the possession and opened up a few of their own chances, which were all duly saved by Jordan Daly. Before the end of the first half, Dee Why picked up a corner and despite a good save from Jordan, one of the Dee Why players latch onto the ball and smashed it in. We wrapped up the first half down 1-0.
We exploded out of the box in the second half and created several good chances. Dee Why settled in though and thankfully, were unable to actually finish several good chances that they created, mostly due to quality defending and some extraordinary goal keeping saves. In the 18th minute of the second half, Chuddy launched a beautifully weighted cross to by Howie on the edge of the box. Howie chested the ball down and took a first time volley to level the scores! The team was growing in confidence and used the momentum to create a few more chances.
With 20 minutes to go, Dee Why pressed forward and after repelling the ball a few times, Daniel attacked the ball, but unfortunately, took a swing with his elbow and gave away a free kick on the edge of the box. The Dee Why’s player’s Premier League pedigree was on full display with a beautifully taken free kick into the top right hand corner of the goal. 2-1.
Despite a sustained attack in the final 20 minutes, we were unable to get a second and wrapped up the game with a genuinely undeserved loss. The massive positives from the game were a phenomenal work effort from the entire team and a brilliant attitude, even when we went down. The performances are getting stronger across the park and we’re starting to get to a really good position. If we keep this up, it’s only a matter of time before we start posting points and the results match the effort.
