1st XI Soccer – 2017 Semi Final

St Patrick’s 9 defeated Ballarat College Black 0

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GOALS: Lachlan Wright 4, Mark Ritchie 2, Alex Worthington, Alex Baker, Darby Gaffney

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BEST: Mark Ritchie, Lachlan Wright, Josh DeVoogel, Darby Gaffney, Mitch Ralston, James King, Alex Baker, Denis Wanjiku, Talan Flockhart

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Teams are not normally disappointed with an easy win, especially when it means entry into the BAS Grand Final but players felt a little let down when College Seconds were placed in the match.

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A projection off the bench before we had scored suggested a 10-0 result which turned out to be a very close projection.

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College players tried but they were never likely to score and keeper Ryan Schorback was only involved when defenders used him safely to relieve slight pressure. James King and Denis Wanjiku were able to follow their passes forward and both had scoring chances when played in deep after passes down the wings.

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Centre backs Jude Jeandet and Henry Ward likewise controlled any movements forward and College were unable to deliver a dangerous threatening pass during the match as Jude and Henry snuffed out and central balls.

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Alex Baker and Mark Ritchie were teaming through the centre and Alex went close with a collect near the 18 yards. However, we had started slowly and it wasn’t until Darby Gaffney playing down the left flank crossed over to Josh DeVoogel that their defense was found out. Josh played in Mark with a quick pass and he put the ball back to the original side leaving Alex Worthington with time to smash the ball into the left upright and then regather the rebound and finish it off well before the keeper could regain position.

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The door was opened and a second came quickly with James King following up from a run off back right being brought down inside the 18. Mark Ritchie took the shot and his crisp shot to the keeper’s left was well hit for 2-0. Mark doubled up with a smart run from centre before waltzing to the approaching defender’s left and into the 18 yard before unleashing a strong hit high and to the right of the keeper.

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Lachlan Wright had been kept back, but given the opportunity he immediately made his presence felt as Tiernan Somers and Talan Flockhart teamed to give him the ball 25 metres out and he smashed the opportunity into the back of the net for us to go 4-0.

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James King ran through tight pressure and centred the ball to Alex Baker who in turn clipped the ball neatly over the defense. Lachlan was able to run on and clip the ball over the advancing keeper for a well-controlled finish and 5-0 before half time.

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The second half saw Tiernan Somers rise high over the College defense for a couple of headers but no reward. Darby Gaffney had two near misses and Denis Wanjiku showed class with a smart back pass when under pressure in defense. Lachlan Wright collected, turned and fired off two thunderbolts but couldn’t clear the defense before Jude Jeandet played a long ball to Alex Baker’s feet. He gave the ball off to Lachlan Wright and we were off again at 6-0. Lachlan was involved in the next goal when he back passed away to Darby Gaffney waiting outside the 18 yards and he hit the ball sweetly for our seventh.

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Darby Gaffney and Josh DeVoogel continued to be involved in forward thrusts but College were cemented inside their defensive 18 yards and difficult to blast out.

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A pass from centre was beautifully contained by Lachlan Wright before he showed his left foot skills and he rifled the shot into clean space on the keeper’s right. A corner resulted in a potential scoring option for our keeper Ryan Schorback. Tiernan Somers headed it first and then Lachlan Wright on the second opportunity before a foul was called just outside the 18 yards.- Ryan’s shot swung close but just over the horizontal.

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Alex Baker was the benefit of a handball penalty inside the 18 yards and he hit his shot perfectly to give us a 9-0 result.

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It had been a dominant performance but the opposition will be stronger next week.

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On leaving Morshead, it appeared certain that Grammar had defeated College in what was generally expected by those who have seen both teams.

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We will need to play very well next week to lift the BAS trophy this year. A meeting will be called for lunchtime next Monday in WIL001 for players to prepare for the BAS Grand Final.

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