Gosford 4 – 1 Kincumber
Our match of the round for Magic Round came in Men’s Division One as the second-placed Gosford City Dragons faced off against the last-placed Kincumber Roos, who are still searching for their first win of the season.
The result was an up-tempo, entertaining affair that saw plenty of chances fall Gosford’s way. Kincumber showed remarkable resilience to keep them out, especially their Goalkeeper, Ryan Saunders. Ultimately, though, Gosford would pull away in the second half and build upon their impressive result in their last game to earn back-to-back wins.
The game would start perfectly for the Dragons, with a shot from their first possession and, soon after, a goal within 4 minutes.
The opening goal came from a free kick taken by Gosford’s left wingback Henry Rodgers.
Wide left and deep just beyond the final third, Rodgers stepped up to produce a picture-perfect cross to the back post where Mark Johnstone, centre-back for Gosford, had lost his man and made no mistake with his head to nod the ball home for 1-0.
This was only the first in a barrage of dangerous crosses from Rodgers in the early stages. Moments later, he took another free kick from almost the same spot and found Jackson Jacobs in the box, but his header went over the bar this time.
After this start, Kincumber had cause for concern, but in attack for the Roos, Charles Reed was slowly building pressure on the counter and produced a couple of warning shots that called Gosford keeper Ethan Giles into action.
Anytime Kincumber would get any flow going, though, Gosford would be quick to shut them down, and yet another Rodgers cross from the left nearly doubled their ascendancy.
Targeting the far post again, Rodgers found Kevin Gallagher on his chest in the box. Gallager controlled it down and struck the ball on the half-volley, forcing Saunders to make a spectacular save at his near post.
This was the first in what became an outstanding repertoire of saves from Saunders, and his encounters with Gallagher throughout the match were enthralling as the Dragons attacker fired shot after shot only to see the Roos keeper make save after save.
Buoyed by the excellent defensive work at the back, the Roos then began their best period of the game, and in the 17th minute, they would draw level.
To this point, the Kincumber game plan was to play it from the back with short passes, refusing to risk losing possession with longer balls forward. However, when the goal came, it came on a rare occasion when they won the ball higher up the field.
As Reed received the ball just past the halfway line, he found himself in open space while the Gosford defence scrambled to regain their positions. He passed the ball to Jamie Birchall, who had sprinted forward from his holding midfield role to provide an additional option. This decision proved the best, as the defence couldn’t catch up with him. Now in a one-on-one situation with Giles, Birchall made no mistake and skilfully slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, making it 1-1.
Kincumber would now push hard to take the lead and so nearly took it when Reed and Charlie Hollibone attempted a one-two into the box that Hollibone almost got to before Giles rushed out to stop it.
However, just before the 30th minute, Gosford would retake the lead, and Gallagher would get his goal.
Capitalising on a poor back pass from the Kincumber defence, Gallagher pounced and got it around a rushing Saunders to tap it home past the retreating Roos defenders for 2-1.
Gosford would play out the rest of the half in control, forcing Saunders into more great saves, with one in particular from a shot by Dragon’s right wingback, Emerson Baratto, needing a great stop as it headed high for the top right of the net.
This would see out the half with Gosford leading 2-1.
The second half would see the Dragons remain in control, which meant even more work for Saunders, who would do everything he could to keep the ball out of his net.
Early on, he made a great rushing stop at the edge of his box to stop Benjamin Runge from taking it around him, and this proceeded the most exciting sequence of the match.
It began with what was almost a catastrophe for Kincumber at the back. As a Gosford attack petered out, the ball appeared to be slowly rolling to Saunders, who was back near his line. Just before Saunders could get to it, Kincumber centre-back Brendan Witt threw his foot at it to stop the ball, but when he did, he flicked it around Saunders, leaving it headed straight for goal. Not wasting a moment, Witt sprinted back to the line and performed a dramatic goal-line clearance to keep his side down only 1.
Saving himself some blushes, Witt blocked the shot that soon followed from Gosford, and the chance faded.
But not for long. With their next attack, the ball would be cleared off the line again.
This time, the chance came when Jacobs played Gallagher through on goal with a ball over the defence. The ball was bouncing, and so Saunders rushed to it allowing Gallagher to attempt a perfectly weighted chip from the edge of the box that would’ve sailed into the net if not for the spectacular effort of Morris Vegter, who gave his all to get back and managed to belt it off the line just in time.
Saunders would then make his best save of the game, once again from a Gallagher shot, who was again played through the line, along the ground this time from Jacobs. In space, the forward looked to curl it from the left to the far corner, and he nailed the shot only for Saunders to dive full stretch to his left and keep it out; it was a remarkable save.
During this intense period, it felt like Gosford might not find a way through again, and maybe there was hope for the Roos to slowly get more expansive, but the goals did come for the Dragons.
Their first of the second half came from a rare Gosford counter that saw Andrew Morris break away down the right behind the Kincumber line. Runge kept pace with him and got to the middle of the box, where Morris passed him the ball for him to tap it home, finally getting past Saunders again for 3-1.
And a fourth would soon follow when, around the 75th minute, a Dragons foray forward resulted in a Harry Vodicka shot from inside the left side of the box. Saunders parried the first shot onto the post, but the rebound went straight back to Vodicka, who simply needed to tap the ball in from well inside the 6-yard box to make it 4-1 and finally put away the Roos.
Kincumber would continue to fight, so nearly clawing a goal back when Elliot Harriman put a ball across the face of the goal from the right that nearly found the head of Reed at the back post, but it just sailed by, leaving them three down.
Soon enough, that would be that, and despite a goalkeeping masterclass, the Roos would fall to the might of the Dragons 4-1 to finish off the Magic Round for Division One.
Speaking Gosford coach Shae Taylor, he was proud of his side’s dominance and noted the difference between this game and their losses against Doyalson and Uminia this season.
“I thought we were on top from the first minute until the last minute; I don’t think there was much pressure, and I think we controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish”, Taylor said.
“It wasn’t as clinical as I would’ve liked for us to have been, but it was a 4-1 result, so that was good enough for me”.
“There are times when you don’t score, and you lose, and that’s what’s happened in the Umina and Doylo games.”
Taylor also gave special mention to his wingbacks Rodgers and Baratto and his captains Andrew Morris and Jarrod Galante, who he called the “heartbeat of the team”.
Meanwhile, Kincumber Philip Batey felt the game was closer, particularly in the first half.
“Overall, I think the game was a lot more even than the scoreline suggests,” Batey said.
“Both teams had good chances, and the game was fairly even, especially in the first half.
“Unfortunately for us, Gosford was more effective in the areas of the pitch that count and took their chances well.
Batey also praised his keeper and was not surprised at all to see the great work he did.
“Our Goalkeeper, Ryan Saunders, is the best in the league. He pulls off saves like that every week, and we are very lucky to have him”.
Match Official – Hugo Fonseca
Men’s Division 1 Results –
Women’s Division 1 Results –
