On the Calwell playing fields last Saturday (April 23), the sunny afternoon was overshadowed by the first defeat of the season for the Yass Division 3 Redbacks.
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Having convincingly won the previous three matches against Burns White, Gungahlin United, and Canberra City, leaving their opponents with just one goal each, the Redbacks went down to Canberra Olympic 2-5.
“We knew it’d be a tough game,” coach Grant Taylor said.
“They haven’t lost a game, and scored heaps of goals in previous games, and their team was a lot older and more experienced than our team so they just let us have it.”
Canberra Olympic scored their first goal in just 50 seconds and were strong on possession, leaving the Redbacks to do a lot of chasing.
After 15 minutes the score was 3-0, in favour of the opponents, and at half-time it was 4-0, but Grant saw some positives in the rest of the match.
“You could say that we warmed into the game because they only managed one more goal in the second half, during which time we scored two goals, so we actually won the second half 2-1.”
The first goal was scored by Brad Nielson and the second by Brett Darmody. Brett is currently the top goal scorer for the entire competition, having delivered a total of six goals across his four games.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with the season so far and for me, personally, last Saturday wasn’t unexpected,” said Grant.
“We’re still planning to be in the top four for Division 3; that’s our aim and hopefully we’ll manage it.”
Players’ player for the game went to Cameron Betts, and best and fairest were John Mannweiler, Ryan Wing, and Cameron Hodge.
In Division 4, the Redbacks lost to Brindabella 0-1, making this their third game with a zero score.
“It was a tight game,” said Grant.
“Our guys had a penalty in the first half and our goal keeper Rex Stacey saved it, which kept the score at nil all, but they managed to slip past our defences and score a goal before half-time, taking it to 1-0.
“We had a few chances in the second half but couldn’t manage to put the ball in the back of the net, unfortunately.”
Players’ player went to Andrew McLean and Cameron Betts, with Cameron also being nominated for best and fairest.
In games this Saturday (April 30) on Kambah oval, Division 3 will face Burns Blue at 3pm, while Division 4 is up against Tuggeranong United at 1pm.