A tough and determined Eastern Lions team were our Round 7 opponents at Wembley Park today. Great conditions made for a very enjoyable morning and both teams were eager to play. The game got underway with Box Hill attacking from the first whistle, good runs from Sam and Charlie gave us many entries into the the 18 yard box. Eastern Lions defended in numbers and their tenacity proved to be successful early in the 1st half.
Once again Box Hill hesitated when close to goal, preferring to look for that extra pass to another player. Our first goal was more the result of a defensive error by the opposition than effective work on our behalf. Jesse was just outside the 6 yard box when he decided to pass the ball to Alex, rather than pull the trigger himself. Luckily Alex's shot spilled into goal after a defender and the Keeper failed to clear the ball.
Other chances were created, but we were rushing our shots and allowing the Lions to muscle us off the ball. 1 nil at half time could have easily been 3 or 4 but all credit to the Lions for their continuous hard ball contests and determination.
The 2nd half saw Box Hill dominate play with a strong possession game that forced the Lions to chase the ball. Our defenders, Ben, Bob, Aaron S, Paul & Jordan worked hard to clear the ball wide and where possible switch play across the back line. We started to run some nice combinations and our midfielders, Nick, Jesse, Aaron D & John worked hard to provide some good forward momentum.
Up front Kosi was seeing a lot of the ball and using his skills to outfox the Lions defenders. We managed to win a couple of corners and the delivery of the ball to the front & Back posts was spot on. As such Aaron S & Sam were unlucky not to have converted some good chances, their shots just going wide of the goal.
Alex also had a great chance to score but was closed down well by the Lions Keeper, who muffled his shot.Eventually it was Jesse who scored our 2nd goal after Sam sent him through with a pinpoint pass that split 2 defenders.
Eastern Lions had a couple of chances late in the match, their tactic was to try and catch us the counter with a long ball. We cleared effectively until a scrappy ball ping ponged around in the box and the Lions forward had a good shot from close range. However Billy dived brilliantly to his right and with arms extended made a save that would make Guss Hiddink proud.
So 2 nil at the final whistle, which given the circumstances could have easily been 5 or 6 if we had finished effectively. Interesting to see that Monash won against Ashburton (3 - 1), which keeps us at the top of the ladder by only 1 goal. Next weeks game at Caloola Reserve is shaping up to be the match of the round, so lets work hard this week to give ourselves the best preparation possible.
Life is tough at the Top !
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