Umina 5 – 0 Toukley
Our Round 11 Match of the Round was between the undefeated Umina United Eagles, who have completely dominated Men’s Division 1 this season, and the Toukley Gorokan Gunners on Col Gooley Oval.
The Eagles looked to make it a perfect 10 wins from 10 games, while the Gunners looked to do whatever they could to halt the host’s dominance. The result was a great display of resilience from the visitors, but once the resistance cracked, Umina would walk away big winners once again.
From the outset, it was apparent just how aggressive and fast Umina were going to play.
They would start out smart, rolling the ball along their backline, often through Rio Leasa at centre-back, who would scan ahead for any progressive pass.
Then, once that first ball was played, whether it was a long ball over the top of the midfield or a drilled pass to the feet of a winger, the whole Eagles frontline would sprint forward; everyone was pushing to be an open option.
Watching them make overlapping runs and pass each other into space was exciting, and in terms of the first half, it’s also what made the Toukley defence all the more impressive.
Lead at the back by Mitchell Pearce and Bodee Hemers, the Gunners’ defence was immaculate for the vast majority of the opening half.
The Eagles had scored an astounding 58 goals coming into this fixture, but inside the first 30 minutes, they had none.
In fact, the first noteworthy specific play came down the right for Toukley when Owen Church slipped past two defenders to enter the box and attempt to lay the ball back.
However, when Umina intervened, the counterattack that followed was a sign of things to come for the rest of the afternoon.
Once out of the box, the ball made its way to Aaron Walters, who played it along to Jack Driscoll down the right wing and shot just across the face of goal.
It happened in the blink of an eye, and it would continue to happen repeatedly. However, Toukley managed to hold them off, delaying the league leaders’ attempts and forcing their shots wide until they finally managed to get a shot on target.
This moment came after some excellent team play, marking the beginning of Chris Payne’s impact. A multi-time NPL Champion and one-time A-League Champion with Sydney FC, Payne returned to his boyhood club in Umina this year, and he put in a terrific performance on Sunday afternoon.
The first shot on target came from Walters stealing the ball up-field and quickly laying it into Payne, who held it up centrally before playing Hayden Tucker as he stormed in and shot directly to Robert Ryan in the Gunners’ goal, who confidently saved.
This one didn’t go in, but it cemented the tone of the match, and eventually, the opener did come.
Toukley’s attacks throughout were largely counters by Dean Pepper in the midfield as he tried to play Church or his other winger, Zachary Ristov, in behind the Eagles’ defence, but that was easier said than done.
The opening goal came when one of these attacks broke down the Toukley left wing, and the ball was instantly played from the right into the path of Walters, who was through on goal.
Pearce tried to tackle Walters and showed great pace to run him down, but Walters displayed his strength and stayed on the ball, continuing to run centrally into the box. Once just inside, Walters chipped it over Ryan as he rushed off his line, giving Umina a 1-0 lead.
The final chance of the half would then come from a left-sided corner taken by Umina’sMathew Fulwood, who sent in a ball that found the head of Jay De Courcy as he leapt high into the air uncontested and got great contact but sent it just over.
Halftime would soon follow, with the Gunners holding the normally free-scoring Eagles to just one goal, but upon the resumption, that brilliant defensive effort would begin to waver under the constant pressure.
Payne was the catalyst for many of the chances in this half and would hit both posts and the crossbar in what was a relentless search for a goal.
His first effort came from the penalty spot that Umina won when Pearce fouled their attacker in the box.
Payne stepped up to take it and, with only a step to the ball before striking it, sent his shot into the bottom of the right post, where it rebounded to safety.
For a brief period after this, the Gunners would hold firm; one particular tackle from Max Hewitt in the box on Tucker was particularly eye-catching as he stayed on his man down to the byline before lunging it with impeccable timing to send the ball out.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Hewitt would leave the game injured shortly thereafter.
With the amount of possession they had, Umina could have easily become frustrated from this point, but they kept their composure, and the goals began to flow.
The second of the afternoon arrived when Payne held the ball up in front of the goal and played a sublime pass out to Driscoll as he charged into the right side of the box.
Driscoll was through the line and one-on-one with Ryan, so he got close to the near post and belted it home. Ryan did get contact on the ball, but the shot was too close and too powerful for him to keep it out, bouncing off the keeper and into the net for 2-0.
The third was strikingly similar in the buildup, but this time, Payne played it to the left to Walters, who produced a stunning strike across to the far side of the goal and in for 3-0.
The fourth allowed Payne to finally get his name on the scoresheet courtesy of a freekick just inside the arc at the top of the box. Payne struck it sweetly and kept it low and down to the left of the goal, where it was too hard to track, and went in for 4-0.
Payne would complete his masterclass performance in the second half with yet another assist, this time a cross from wide right into the perfect area of the box right in the path of Tucker, who was sprinting in. The cross went through the ideal attacking corridor Umina, with Ryan not knowing whether to rush out and get the ball or stay on his line and dive for a save. In the end, the keeper rushed, and Tucker slipped the ball around him with a perfect touch, allowing him to then roll it home into the empty net for 5-0.
Toukley Did have one opportunity late on when Pepper took a free kick, but his shot struck the left post, and full-time soon followed.
Talking to Umina coach Pete Graham after the match, he commented on the excellent performance on the day as well as the remarkable season he and his side are putting together.
“It was a particularly difficult challenge for us to break Toukley down.” Graham began.
“We got a few towards the backend of the game that killed it off and made it five, but it was a really tough challenge to break them down.
“I’m extremely proud of the players and the club. We made it a mission this year to play really good football, and I think we are achieving that.
“But most importantly, it’s the hard work, our guys are putting in really hard work at training and they’re putting in big efforts on the field as well”.
While Toukley coach Peter Ward paid full credit to his opposition, noting he was happy overall with the effort his side showed.
“I thought we set up fairly well. I thought we held them for a long time, and they got a lucky goal to go one-nil up,” Ward said.
“And then after that, for a 20-minute period in the second half, they just went for the jugular and got us”.
“They are a very, very good side. They are a juggernaut that’s just going to keep going”.
Written by Mark Goodyear
All Round 11 Results –
