Bay 2 Game 2 - Papamoa FC v Otumoetai 4

After a decent performance without the deserved result the previous game I think we were all looking forward to this game and a chance to rectify our last result. One late team change due to the loss of Dave Maris to a toe injury after his scorcher of a winner in training on thurs eve created a reshuffle at the back but the return of recently married Stew Woodin in centre mid gave us a strong line up with pace and youth out wide and up front.

Another beautiful, middle of summer to us English folk, late summer's day without any wind gave us the prospect of another open attacking game. Great to see both Papamoa teams playing alongside each other for the first time and a real sense of togetherness ensued during the pre match warm up and photos. All the best to the Raingers for their season and I'm sure all of us are already looking forward to our head to head battles.

Pretty much a carbon copy of the last game for the first 20 mins as we battled hard, passed the ball well but failed to convert any of our chances. We were certainly knocking the ball about well and surely only a matter of time before we got on the score sheet. And so we did, with Reubens pace unsettling their back 4 he raced clear to slot home a couple of well taken goals and give us the advantage we deserved. Excellent work from Tristan and Gregg out wide with the goal scorer and his strike partner Joey making decisive runs and life extremely uncomfortable for their defence. Stew in the middle expertly controlling the game and laying of quality passes all the way.

Half time and 2-0 to the home side, the only slight critisism being our inability to score the 3rd which would have given us the lead and security we deserved. Not much mention of the back 4 so far as they all looked so composed and untroubled (even playing against 3 up at times). Shane and Curtis are like the kiwi version of Hansen & Lawrenson with the toon army impressing again at right back and Mrs Ian looking as comfortable at left back as he does in the kitchen during after match.

2nd half under way and we carried on as before with Stew slotting home early, which I believe gave us the extra confidence to control the rest of the game, Brad coming off the bench and showing us how to turn and score with his wrong foot, Joey's opportunistic finish with some help from their keeper and finally but not least Tristan returning after spilling some blood for the cause and showing us the difference it makes when you hit the target.

Overall, a good performance by all, everyone contributed with Wayne managing the subs to great effect and one we can build on for tougher tests ahead. We still need to improve our ball retention, first touch and making sure we hit the target when we create chances. Hate to think how many goal kicks they had in comparison to us.

Thanks again to all those involved especially the supporters and helpers.

Final score - Papamoa FC 6, Otumoetai 4ths 0
Goals - Reuben 2, Stew, Brad, Joey, Tristan.
Booked - Nathan
POD - Nathan

Cheers
Simon