The Yass Men’s Redbacks divisions 3 and 4 travelled to Nicholls to take on the Gungahlin United boys at the weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Division 4
The Reds Division 4 side took to the field at 1pm against a Gunners side that are in top spot and they definitely showed why.
Yass started well and came agonisingly close to opening up the scoring with an early chance, which Russ 'The Terrier' Farnell glanced a shot wide from inside the 18 yard box. From there, the skies darkened over the Reds defence and Gungahlin scored three quick goals before the half finished with Paulie 'the Monster" Jephcott receiving a yellow card.
Heading into the second half, the Gungahlin side started fast and things went from bad to worse for the Redbacks when Paulie 'the Monster' Jephcott got on the wrong side of the referee’s whistle and received his marching orders with a second yellow after a controversial decision. Left with only 10 men on the pitch, Yass was in damage control, trying to keep the Gunners from stretching their lead further.
Cameron 'Eveready' Betts and Grant 'the Veteran' Taylor, put up some good defence but were unable to stop the onslaught. Oliver 'Gunner' Watson popped up on the wrong side of the score sheet and blasted home one hell of an own goal, which left keeper, Rex 'Brickwall' Stacey with no chance.
In the end, Gungahlin finished the game with 7 goals against Yass's 10 men.
"We knew it would be a tough game from the start, they're a really good team and they definitely showed it today," coach John Mannweiler said.
Player's player went to Cameron 'Eveready' Betts.
Special mentions to Dewey and Roachy for going to Domino's, and farewell to Oliver Watson, who departs for greener pastures in Newcastle.
Division 3
The Yass Redbacks Division 3 side had it all to do and looked the goods coming off the general bye this week. The side started the game with all the possession, but by the end of the first half, were still left wanting with chances from the forward line.
Jarrod 'the Sniper' Porter and Daniel 'Spider' Taylor came close, only to be denied by a stalwart Gungahlin keeper.
Gungahlin decided to come out and play in the second half and the momentum quickly swung back their way with the Reds finding it hard to move the ball around and create chances.
Ten minutes in and Yass finally found the score sheet when a high cross to the back post found Brad 'Boy Scout' Nielson, who headed home from close range, making it 1-nil to the Reds and relieving the pressure.
The goal, however, did nothing to change the momentum of the game and the Gunners were pushing ever closer to finding the equaliser and with 20 minutes to go, they were helped out with a controversial decision to show a Red card to midfielder Mitch 'the General' Darmody.
Through sheer determination and desperation, Yass held out for an agonising 20 minutes with some miraculous saves from, Stacey and Ryan 'the Terminator' Betts, frustrating the Gungahlin attack.
"When Ryan cleared a ball of the line deep into the end of the half, I think the Gunners knew they would have to do something special to beat our defence today,” Grant Taylor said.
"Our commitment to winning the game after the red card was pretty clear, everyone was determined to not let the game go and it was good to see us fight to the end for the win."
Yass held on until the final whistle taking three well deserved points on the day.
Ryan 'The Terminator' Betts took out Player’s Player followed closely in the voting by Rex 'Brickwall' Stacey.
Special mention goes to Andy 'Sharky' Maclean, who also played well at the back.