...Donnie had been on the phone to Becks before the match...
...and Maz was really looking forward to Keysie's return...
The Braves ventured to Berrambool, the home of the Grasshoppers for Round 2 of the season. A warm day greeted the straggling Braves who, on average, were a lot less hung over than last week. The Braves took to the Park with only 10 men after our new keeper had family commitments to attend & Fox & Angus... got lost…
An ear infected Donnie was kicking back about to knock the top off a rum can before realizing that the Braves were short & made haste to pull on the boots (a move that would later see him equalize his 2007 goal scoring tally). Unfortunately an unorganized Braves were beaten with the overlap before our 11th player took the field & the Grassies pushed the ball around & slotted one past our air swinging stand-in keeper - Maz.
Following the Grassies goal Fox & Angus remembered where Merimbula was & Fox took the field to put us make up the 11th man.
The Braves hit back not long after when the new NAB recruit & now All Star Brave, Dan the Man making a break on the left after a switch of play, before firing a penetrating left foot strike from about 25 yards out which made a beeline for the top left corner leaving the keeper flat footed.. yay for the new man!
With sides now equally weighted the Braves pushed the ball around and it seemed Dunko’s training drills had an effect with the Braves holding good possession in the middle with Josh Green & Paddy knocking it forward, back, sideways feeding Angus, Fox, Simon & Al (who continues to hold his own against generally much larger opponents) with space & opportunity. The experienced Merimbula defence held tight and managed to duck past a few of the sneaky, stray, swinging elbows of our new recruits (Simon...) as some of the runs onto the thru balls took on a Rugby League resemblance...
The second half started more positively than the first after the Braves kicked off the ball was pushed around to the right before a switch of play caught the Grassies hopping (get it…) & another new recruit Angus slotted home another goal to put the Braves in front. That was the way the score stayed until 5 minutes to go when Micko was axed down & it appeared that the troublesome knee may again have been aggravated. Not 30 seconds later Naro was also taken out and was left nursing a pretty swollen ankle, not that he received much sympathy from Jodie… or anyone else… nonetheless, judging by the size of the egg on his ankle he’d be doubtful for next weekends clash.
With the backline broken, the Grassies pushed forward & after nutmegging Josh Mc another one was slotted into the back of the Braves net.
With time running out, it appeared that consecutive draws were on the cards, however the Braves were awarded a penalty about 5 metres from the top left corner of the Merimbula goal box. Donnie Beckham stepped up to the mark & hit a sweet strike which dipped just under the cross bar but just above Micko’s head (predictably) to give the Braves our first win for the season.
A solid game was had by all, the midfield worked hard in the warm conditions.
The Braves take on Bega at home next week noting that the Devils don't have a first grade game there is a chance the side could be stacked. With a few of the more experienced players will still be suspended or unavailable & Braves may be in for their toughest game yet.
Notes for next week: Get there on time… get organized before the game…
Buzz will be back in the line up next week, Dunko & Lenno will still be suspended, Naro will likely be on crutches, All Star Dan has family commitments & Josh Mc will in be in Port Douglas drinking XXXX on the beach… Hopefully all others will be on deck for what should be a tough encounter against last year's Ressie's winners
Go the Braves!
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