Umina 2 – 2 Wyoming
Our match of the round this week was, for the second time this season, Umina vs. Wyoming, this time on Eagles turf at Umina Oval.
It was a vital affair for both teams as they sit third and second, respectively, on the Division One club championship ladder.
The match was played with intense fervour, with both teams fully aware that a win could help secure their promotion to the Premier League. This was especially true for Umina, who had just witnessed their reserve grade side’s first loss of the season to the Tigers 1-0 and who were coming off three successive defeats into the match.
Ultimately, it was an excellent back-and-forth game, with the hosts equalising late in the piece to share the spoils and keep things tense on the ladder.
As the game began, Wyoming unleashed a frantic press on the Umina backline, winning the ball up field and looking to steal an early lead.
This work was done mainly by Reegan Carins as a striker and Patrick Mills, who started on the left wing and quickly began to trouble the Eagles down his flank, earning the first chance of the match.
It came when Mills earned a free kick just on the corner of the box after some slick footwork down the left. Jarred McNee stepped up to take it and went for an in-curling shot towards the top left corner. Liam Hill in the goals for the Eagles was equal to it, keeping things level.
For the opening few minutes, Wyoming maintained their pressure, but Umina weathered the storm, and soon enough, the Tigers’ press faded, allowing the Eagles to strike.
As it began to ease, Dylan Pardey almost took full advantage down the Umina left wing. He charged down on the counter before cutting inside. Just as he entered the box, he sent a strike that earned a solid save from Wyoming keeper Joshua Byrnes, sounding the alarm that Umina were here to play.
The game then opened up on both sides of the field as each team pushed to find the opening goal, and the hosts struck first.
It was a brilliant goal that began when Pardey found himself just in field from his left wing with limited options ahead of him, so he laid it off to his left-back, Jack Keenan, who was close to the sideline back deeper than the box. Keenan took advantage of the open space he had and controlled the ball before putting in a soaring cross to the far post where Aaron Walters threw himself towards goal entangled with a Wyoming defender, but Walters won out, making contact and sending it past Byrnes into the net for 1-0.
In the aftermath, Wyoming swapped their wingers, with Mills heading out to the right and Panashe Mudavose coming out to the left, a move that would prove to be a masterstroke.
Now that their press was weakened, Wyoming’s strategy was to get the ball out to their wingers as fast as possible and then have them drive in to create with Cairns in and around the box.
This looked solid for most of the half, but it wasn’t creating the chances they wanted, with Jack Irving and Mathew Fulwood defending well at right-back and centre-back to keep Umina in control.
As such, when Wyoming did strike, it came from a spectacular effort just on the cusp of halftime.
The move began with Byrnes taking a freekick due to a Umina offside on the edge of his box. He played a perfect long ball to the feet of his midfielder Branko Bojanic, who held the ball up well before turning and getting it out to the left, where Mudavose found himself matched up against Irving, who he beat this time around and now found himself just outside the box. Hence, he then put the ball in, and whether he meant it or not, it flew over Hill’s head and into the net to make it 1-1 in remarkable fashion.
That was enough to send the game into halftime, leaving the hosts frustrated after they handed over their lead just before the whistle sounded.
The resumption of this game felt vital as both teams headed back out, and it was clear they felt the same, with both maintaining their intensity and desire to win this crucial clash.
Umina would take the first chance though, and it resulted in the best goalkeeping I have seen this season.
Nicholas Johnson began the move from the Eagle’s midfield, putting in a nice pass to Walters in a bit of space, running in a smart channel on the left inside his winger, and driving into the box.
Once he got there, he struck it with his right, aiming for the far corner and drawing a great save from Byrnes; however, he only managed to parry it to another Umina attacker who sent it straight back at goal, aiming for the top right corner where it was going to cross the line before Byrnes managed to get up high and complete a miraculous double save to keep his team level against the odds.
The saves sent the Wyoming bench and fans erupting into well-earned cheers, and it seemed to drive the Tigers on.
On the back of this, Wyoming made a substitution, taking Cairns off for Michael Carson, who went to the left wing. As a result, Mills moved to striker, and Mudavose was sent back to the right, and again, this would prove pivotal.
The key moment arrived when Mills took a sly low shot just at the tip of the box that earned a corner once Hill got his hands to it down to his right.
Bojanic took the corner and sent it to the near post, where Mudavose rose up similarly to Walters earlier and threw his head towards the ball as he battled the defence. Then, in heartbreaking scenes for the Eagles, Mudavose got just enough on it to send it up and loop over Hill into the far side of the net, making it 2-1 with his second of the afternoon.
In response, Umina made their own substitution, bringing fresh legs down their left wing taking Pardey off and adding Darcy Doran.
Now, time seemed to fade fast on Umina, and they began to send everything left to take advantage of the energy they unleashed there. Trying this started well for them, as Doran had a couple of nice possessions, winning a corner and earning a solid sight of goal before putting a shot over the bar. Yet the clock kept ticking away, and the ball wasn’t in the net.
Then, as injury time beckoned, their other left-sided player would produce a moment of magic.
Keenan, who had toiled at left back for Umina, earning an assist and battling the crafty Wyoming wingers all game, got possession of the ball just into the final third. The box ahead of him was loaded with nearly every member of his team, but the momentum of the play felt gone after Wyoming had already cleared it out once.
So, Keenan did the only thing he could: He sent the ball in, and suddenly, havoc reigned in the box. Everyone went for the ball, just trying to get anything on it, and it looked to me that it somehow missed everyone and went into the back of the net to add another stunning goal to the scoresheet and make it 2-2.
The game then entered injury time, where both teams still fought, but nothing came, and the final whistle sounded, ending a great match 2-2.
Speaking to Wyoming coach Ian McAndrew after the match, he noted the fair result and his opponents’ great efforts while rueing missed chances.
“The draw was a very fair result; both teams butchered some clear-cut scoring opportunities”, McAndrew said.
“In the second half, the game opened up with both teams throwing everything at each other we scored early on, but Umina never quit.
“Well done to Cameron and his team, good luck for the rest of the season”.
Umina coach Cameron Stone echoed McAndrew’s sentiments on the result while also giving credit to his opposite number.
“Today was our best performance for a few weeks. We had a few good chances early on in the first half and thought we deserved our lead, but it was disappointing to concede a few minutes before halftime,” Stone began.
“A draw was a fair result for both teams in my opinion, and it was just nice to be involved in a game where both teams actually tried to play football.
“I thought it was Grand Final quality, and I give credit to Macca (McAndrew) for the way he’s set his team up and look forward to our next challenge against them later in the year.”
Match Official – Trent Dickeson
Written by Mark Goodyear
Men’s Division 1 Results –
Women’s Division 1 Results –
