Chatham Cup Glory
Old Boys 3 vs Thistle Timaru 1 – Chatham Cup Round One
When the Chatham Cup draw was announced the Coaches were both happy and unhappy with it. Happy with the draw vs Thistle Timaru, a team that we believed we could beat and unhappy that we had to make the longest 1st round road trip in all of NZ.
The trip throws up a couple of logistical issues and also causes a few issues with player availability due to work and family commitments. Ultimately we decided on an overnighter staying in Dunedin on Friday night. Players wise we were forced to call upon two players from the Southland U18 team and following a late withdrawal the coach would even get on the team sheet. Thankfully the boys were well behaved in Dunedin and apart from the usual dose of snoring, flatulence and a couple of alarms going off very early it was smooth sailing getting to Timaru.
Reasonable conditions in Timaru for the game. Thistle started the game at a frantic pace and we found ourselves on the back foot early. Several corners in a row tested the backline and stand in keeper Scotty D. However it would be the men in red who would score first inside 10 minutes with a counter attacking goal coming from a solo run and hustle and bustle from Brandon up front.
He was combining well with Ben Clixby up front and they were pressuring the Thistle backline. Pops and Kyle were finding themselves overloaded often but the final pass was lacking and the backline were clearing all trouble especially Danny who was a monster in the air. A serious injury to their left back seemed to provide a further opening for Old Boys. First Ben was able to find space on the right with a pinpoint cross finding Antoine at the far post to lash home a shot in the 30th minute. Next up was Ethan on the right delivering with a nice cut back for Brandon to curl home his second in the 35th minute.
The team survived through to half time and despite not having a lot of possession were comfortably ahead on the scoresheet. We knew they would come at us hard after half time and thats exactly what we got. The second half was a battle of attrition as we defended valiantly and then attacked on the counter. Notable mentions for Oscar who made a goal line clearance and Scott who made a couple of really good saves.
Thistle eventually got on the scoresheet with 10 minutes to go through a well taken volley on the edge of the box. Perhaps too little too late at this stage of the match as Old Boys dug in deep to finish the game off. The game nearly finished with a 4th for the men in red as they countered one final time.
An enjoyable win for the team achieved with little possession and a massive defensive effort required. The team enjoyed the long trip home with a couple of purple goannas and a big feed of Maccas. The 2nd round draw is out and fortunately we are playing at home and have a good draw against Grants Braes. Come down and support on Monday.
