BUFC Fs vs East Gosford

Coming off a 4-2 defeat last week on a muddy Wyoming pitch, the Fs were heartened by the sight of a solid green field of good grass at Bateau Bay. After a solid training effort on Wednesday night practising 5-on-5 attacks, the Fs were feeling slightly more organised than in the opening game.

East Gosford started with nine players and, just minutes before they achieved their full complement, Justin O’Malley-Jones stormed in off the right wing to score the opening goal for Barnstoneworth. East Gosford came back hard through the centre, showing some class passing and a fair bit of physicality, and in goal Simon Ashley-Binge was kept pretty busy fending off attacks.

Conditions were hot and humid, but with five reserves we had plenty of opportunities to substitute players, and everyone got a good run. Just as well, because with ten minutes to the whistle, East Gosford broke through after a confused melee in the centre, and evened the score. In the remaining time, the Barnstoneworth forwards managed to miss two sitters, and at half time the scores were locked up at one-all.

In the second half, some stand out efforts from Adam Chandler in defence, stealing the ball and bringing it forward, enabled Steve Head on the left wing to make a series of raids, while on the right Trevor Husk often found himself right up front and passing in to the forwards. Despite numerous attacks down the wings, nothing stuck, even some strong long kicks from centre-field by Ben Johnson and Ryan Bush finding only the goalie.

With ten to go Jason Bush took a penalty right in front. It was a solid stroke but the forwards failed to bounce it in. A few minutes later Dave Prakash came in with a strong run—in his fifth or sixth attempt to nobble the goalie—and went down in a pile of limbs, getting a boot in the back of the neck for his trouble.

Despite playing with just eleven men, East Gosford finished strongly, with a series of attacking runs on the goal in the last ten minutes of the game and one shot that hit the crossbar and went over.

Final result: a one-all draw.