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Potholes, Pitches and Penalty Kicks

» Posted by Spud on 19-Apr-04

40 years ago, Earlwood council designated an area of vacant land unfit for housing construction due to the steep slope and the numerous potholes. Thus we found ourselves playing at the picturesque rolling hills of Earlwood Oval, a place where a good ball down the line will roll out at a 45 degree angle more often than not.

Steve Lewis opened the scoring for the Tigers with one of the most devious penalties in penalty kick history. Full marks to Lewis for spotting the pothole on the edge of the six yard box which allowed his cleverly directed penalty to bounce up over the diving keeper right when he thought he had it covered. Here is the footage, courtesy of Alex Kaltenegger and featuring commentary from Paul Ritchie, using the latest video camera technology available on the streets of Zaire. I think it's safe to say that penalty would have made Michael Owen proud. Although only up 1-0 at half time, a demolition looked like it was on the cards and so the second half turned out to be. Julian Bracewell got on the end of some superb team passing moves to put away a couple of tap-ins, as did central defender Nick Flower in the eventual 4-0 victory. The midfield meat-grinder pairing of Jackson Gothe-Snape and Matt Jaffrey had particularly good games, with JGS snagging the man of the match pints.

Reserve grade preserved their perfect start to the season with a 3-1 victory that was a lot more comfortable than the scoreline suggests. The Tigers started like a house on fire, with Grant Burgess storming into the box from the left wing to smash the ball into the top corner after only five minutes. Before 10 had passed, Jem Richardson headed home a pinpoint cross from Nick Bounds to make it 2-0. Despite quite a few decent chances there was no more scoring until well into the second half when a pressured Earlwood defender volleyed home a cracking own goal from a Dylan Zammit cross. Earlwood did manage a late consolation goal with only seconds left. Nick Bounds took out the man of the match after a tireless performance on the right side of midfield.

Comments

  Posted by Jackson at 05:15 PM on 19-Apr-04

Aha yes! Zaire!

RIP: Leo the Leprechaun.

  Posted by Spud at 05:39 PM on 19-Apr-04

RIP? He's not dead!
Cheers Leo if you're reading this.

  Posted by leo at 11:39 PM on 23-Apr-04

tis saying alot to have a hobbit giving a leprechaun grief after the leprechaun graciosly stood aside to let u have a game or two. i was expecting a better score but the midfield has been weakened i see!!

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