On the opening day of the season Vista FC faced Kumazi Strikers who were the leagues new boys and desperate to make an impression. If we were to make excuses we could have blamed the pitch and lack of fluidity with it being the opening game of the season but truth be told Kumazi’s defense were excellent and their midfield plus speed made for a very interesting game.
This second game for most parts was quite the opposite. Kumazi started off with 9 men for reasons I can only put down to lateness but Vista FC had no intentions of capitalizing. There were opportunities in the 1st five minutes, which were squandered by Ohran Stewart and Andrew Thompson. The mentally of our players may have been affected by the 9 men but once they arrived Kumazi wasted no time by threatening to score. Before this game I believed it would be played at a fast pace but the game was very slow and lethargic with very few exciting moments. Perhaps the most exciting part is when a lack of concentration from Vista’s midfield allowed the ball to get in behind our defense. Faced with the decision of conceding Jordan Taylor made a last ditch tackle resulting in him receiving a red card. This was particularly harsh as he had been one of the few players playing well until this happened.
At this time in the game we were close to making substitutions to our attacking lines but the red card forced our hand. Ciro Donadio came on for Ohran Stewart and slotted in at left back to restore our defense. Somehow this now reinvigorated Vista and our playmakers Siao Blackwood and Adrian Browne got into gear. Danny Bleach returning from holiday is a player that never lets you down. Despite his holiday his tenacious closing down is infectious and he was rewarded for this by winning the ball of a Kumazi defender before slotting home. At 1-0 and on the basis of the game the game was all but won but it was important that we gained other accolades from this game. Some great interplay broke the Kumazi defense and was expertly finished by none other than the inform Andrew Thompson.
The second half didn’t produce much excitement apart from some expert runs from Siao Blackwood and a great midfield demonstration from Adrian Browne. Our defense was immense for most of the game with Ciro Donadio filling in and showing us why he’s such a great team player. Final changes included bringing on Andrew Dalhouse to provide his usual 20-minute cameo. A great break from Siao Blackwood was played to Andrew Dalhouse who went around the keeper before cutting the ball back for Siao Blackwood who poked the ball home within the grasp of the Kumazi goalkeeper.
For the entire game Steve Hanley made repetitive great saves as well as commanded his box expertly. As our goalkeeper he often gets overlooked as we don’t keep many clean sheets being an attacking team but the management never fail to notice his input. Perhaps it was down to his girlfriend watching from the sidelines that he was able to reward himself with his first clean sheet of the season.
M.O.M – Steve Hanley