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Two from two for the Tigers

» Posted by Abe Stirling on 21-Mar-06

Unable to make the trip down to Wollongong midweek for the Cup nonsense, I was pleased to see my boys get back to winning ways on Sunday. Always formidable are the Fogolar Wanderers, and this season proved no exception. Still, the Tigers scratched a 1-0, even if it was a game about as memorable as the drive out there.

It began as you'd expect from a 1-0. The first half was certainly a hell of a lot more even than the work of Fogular's mower. Unfortunately, like the open sewer at the western end of the ground, it was a bit shit. There was some physical play in midfield, a sterling defensive job performed by the Big Bonus and a whistle-happy ref, but the highlight from the first half was Delaney's sharp right-handed block as a Fogolar striker bore down on goal.

The second half couldn't have been more different. It started in the same vein as the first half, with Fogolar resorting to long balls to clear the Tigers defensively-minded midfield and the Tigers equally ineffective in attack. But then Burns, on for the injured Bonus at half-time, clicked both teams into gear with a right-left open-handed combo in retaliation for a violent studs-meets-knee challenge. Lucky to stay on the park though Top Cop was, his fire brought the game alive, and before long the Tigers were in front.

Magic Kingdom nearby may have closed down, but nobody told Lorenzo. His somewhat uncharacteristic delicate ball, dinked over the onrushing Fogolar defence, found the other big man in the team Totaro who cooked up a sweet finish through the keeper's legs.

Before long the game opened up like my ex-wife. With Fogolar having the bye in the first-round, and the Tigers similarly still hunting top fitness, the small pitch was finally offering up some space.

When Snape clattered into the Fogolar sweeper with 20 minutes to go, it forced the sub-happy Wanderers down to 10 men. From then the Tigers should have wrapped it up, with more than half a dozen gilt-edged chances. But it was left to young Delaney to wrap up the three points with the save of the season.

A ball into the box was met with a full-blooded Wanderers drive only for the Tigers' keeper to deflect it up onto the underside of the crossbar and, after a classic goalmouth scrap, out.

So my beloved Tigers have gone two from two. Take a peek at the table on the right. Only UNSW can say the same. Can't wait to see that match in a couple of weeks - it'll be DVD material.

In the 20s, the Tigers will be disappointed to come away with only a 1-1 draw. Struggling to click in the first half's tropical temperatures they conceded a sloppy goal to go 1-0 down. Credit to them though, the Tigers gritted their teeth and fought back to 1-1, before a flurry of late chances should have ensured a Balmain victory. It was two points lost rather than one point gained for the Balmain cubs, but they'll still be confident of beating the Camden Tigers next week, with whom they share second place.

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