Maroubra United 1 - 1 Pagewood2

Solid Performance

For our last home game of the season, an eager crowd had gathered well before kickoff
We were fortunate to have a number of players back from injuries as well as Pete back from his European
adventure.

The first task was to find a ref as ESFA hadn't allocated one, Frank tried the O45s who declined so things weren't looking good. Leo then had a go and found a ref from Queens Park which was a relief.

We started with our usual defense of late with a midfield trio of Rod, Steve and Yoshi, Nap right and George left, Tom up front. There was a strong crosswind and it was slightly against us in the first half.
The opening exchanges were evenly match with both teams working hard to get on top. Maroubra were putting in a very disciplined performance,neutralising any attacks that Pagewood could throw at them. At times we put together some quality flowing moves.
Midway through the half, Nap drove towards the Pagewood goal, drawing a foul right on the edge of the penalty box. Yoshi and Steve both stood over the ball and once the ref gave the ok, Yoshi bent it over the wall but unfortunately it failed to drop enough to be on target.
With the half drawing to a close drawing to a close, a Pagewood sortie to edge of the box was followed by an attempted cross, however with the strong wind assistance, the ball was swept past Karl. 0-1 at the break.

The mood was still good at the break, helped by the jelly snakes on offer.
After our sugar fix, we bounced back onto the field immediately taking the fight to Pagewood. They did however win a freekick in a good position on the edge of the box and there was concern from the sidelines. But there was no need to worry, the Pagewood player skying his shot.
I'm not sure how many snakes Kevin consumed but the guy was in hyper-mode in the second half, bombing
forward from fullback and putting in a quality pass to the back post to Terry which held up nice in the breeze as Terry rose to meet it. Unfortunately he couldn't quiet get over it to keep on target and his effort cleared the bar.
Then the ref blew and ponited to the spot for a push in the back on Terry, so upsteps Tom, short runup and bam - 1-1.
The Pagewood defender was incensed and continued to argue with the ref, it looked like he was going to talk himhelf into a red. From there on, Maroubra played some quality football, continually finding space on the flanks but clear cut chances were at a premium
We did tire in the last few minutes, allowing Pagewood a number of half chances but we hung on for a very
deserved draw - Well done everyone!