Round 9: Hahndorf V Murray Bridge

Hahndorf V Murray Bridge

The Hahndorf Magpies fired in a flurry of goals to account for Murray Bridge 5-1 in the 9th round of the South Australian Amateur Soccer League 3rd Division.
Hahndorf got off to a sparkling start against Murray Bridge, the skilful midfield of Aaron Noble, Jack Farrimond with Dan and Tom Holland tore into the match and set strikers Kayne Stubing and Dan Hermel up with early opportunities.

It wasn’t long before Hahndorf made the opening goal from a corner, the ball finding Hermel on the back post and his fierce shot was tipped onto the post, the ball rebounded to D.Holland who had his low shot blocked. The ball fell back to Hermel and he made no mistake the second time, arrowing his drive to the corner of the net.

The Magpies continued to attack with Farrimond striking a piledriver that was palmed away and Stubing’s rebound shot was also blocked. However it was not long before the score was doubled, A. Noble with an exquisite piece of skill to deftly beat two players and curl the ball past the Bridge ‘keeper.

The Hahndorf defence gave the visitors little, Matt Norris, Steve Noble, Scott Taylor and Jon Lynn providing a stable base in front of stand in ‘keeper, the versatile Luke Guest. Hahndorf broke through for a third score when the Holland brothers combined, Tom sliding a through ball for Dan to run in and slot the goal away.

A relentless Magpie team made it 4-0 in twenty minutes when a quick free kick by A.Noble found Hermel and he buried the shot past a shell-shocked Murray Bridge. With the Magpies dominating in midfield, the defence were in a miserly mood, Lynn using his experience to snuff out the forward movement by the visitors and send the Magpies into attack.

Murray Bridge managed to work their way into the match but wasted a good opportunity by shooting wide. The lull in scoring was arrested ten minutes from half time when T.Holland scored a cheeky goal from distance, the low drive bouncing just in front of the ’keeper and skipping under his searching dive.

The half saw some delightful play from the hosts, a number of intricate passes and movement off the ball leaving Murray Bridge chasing shadows as the Magpies dominated the play. Hahndorf suffered their only blemish when they had a player sent off for an early shower just before half time.

Resuming the second half a player down, the Magpies encountered a more resolute Murray Bridge side and the match became a more even affair. Guest saw his first real action, tipping a shot onto the bar before collecting the rebound as Norris led the defence strongly at the back. Lynn was in sparkling form, reading Murray Bridge’s attacking intent and was well supported by Taylor, Norris, Farrimond and S.Noble.

Hahndorf continued to attack and D. Holland hit a good free kick just wide while Hermel squandered another good chance. The visitors worked hard to create an opportunity and finally scored with a good through ball to leave Guest exposed and Murray Bridge pulled a goal back.

Substitutes Jesse Konstantinoff, Chris Sawers and Matt Medley made their appearance in the final 25 minutes, with Hahndorf continuing to press for more goals. Hermel hit the post with a free kick and the home side had a goal disallowed for off side after a series of shots were blocked or hit the bar. Konstantinoff and Sawers almost made it onto the scoresheet but were unable to convert their chances before the final whistle.

The strong win continues Hahndorf’s title challenge, with Dan Hermel gathering the best-on-ground votes with Jon Lynn and Tom Holland also producing some scintillating play.



Reserves

Hahndorf Reserves dug deep and rallied twice before eventually overcoming a stubborn Murray Bridge outfit 3-2 to keep their title hopes alive.

The match got off to an even start with Hahndorf strikers Jesse Konstantinoff and Jordan Webber kicking off up the slope of the Pine Avenue ground. Neither side made much of an impression on their opposition defence with the midfield containing the early action. Max Gordon-Edwards, Colin Hibbert, David Grant and Chris Sawers battled hard but the Hahndorf team struggled to maintain possession against the competitive Murray Bridge side.

Bob Gordon-Edwards marshalled defenders Kyle Eglinton, Rupert “the Enforcer” Lindon and Matt Medley to repel some attacking moves by the visitors and James Nicholson’s goal was not seriously challenged. M. Gordon-Edwards exploited space on the flank and the Magpies created a few good chances, Webber hitting the side netting and Grant finding the Bridge ‘keeper with a sharp effort.

However, the home team was stung by the visitors when they scored, the ball cut back from the by-line to find the Murray Bridge player with plenty of the goal to aim at. Hahndorf hit back through Hibbert, but the bustling midfielder went wide with his shot.

Hahndorf continued to press and found the equaliser through Sawers. Getting a fine pass from Webber, Sawers made a brilliant turn in the penalty area to open up space and he drilled the shot into goal.

Hahndorf almost took the lead soon after when Grant had his free kick tipped over the bar after evading the defensive wall. But it was the visitors who regained the lead after profiting from a moment of hesitation by Hahndorf, a long ball bouncing into the penalty area and Murray Bridge heading over the advancing Nicholson. The Magpies tried to respond but found it difficult to get their passing game going before the end of the half.

The second half saw an improved performance by the hosts and they began to make better use of the flanks, Sawers particularly prolific with some dazzling runs. Hahndorf gained a couple of corners and made one of them count; Hibbert playing short to Sawers and he drove in a low shot that was half cleared to Lindon who smashed it through traffic to the corner of goal.

With scores at parity, Hahndorf gained confidence and pushed up the pitch, M. Gordon-Edwards and Webber getting more of the ball. The Magpies brought on Luke Guest to shore up the backline as the hosts went looking for the next goal. Konstantinoff had a great chance for the winner but scooped his effort over from close in as Hahndorf mounted a series of attacks with Grant, Webber and Sawers all testing the Bridge ‘keeper.

A further substitution saw Sam Heyward enter the match and he made an impact shortly after. Guest burst out of defence and sent a long ball to Webber who charged at the Murray Bridge backline. Webber sent in a fierce shot that was palmed out to Heyward and the tall striker made no mistake to put Hahndorf into the 3-2 lead.

The Magpies had several chances to add further goals but wayward shooting kept the match close. Murray Bridge fought to the end and were almost gifted an equaliser when a defensive mix up gave the visitors a good chance late in the match.

Best on the day was Chris Sawers who created many chances for the Magpies with some searing runs. Others to catch the votes were Rupert Lindon having a very solid game and an equalising goal and M. Gordon-Edwards with his strong midfield efforts.


Super Cs

The Div 4 Super Cs put in a brave performance before being overrun by a well-drilled Old Ignatians side at Mylor, the visitors scoring seven unanswered goals.

The Div 5 Cs fought hard against local rivals Stirling but were unable to recover after going three goals down, the final score of 4-1 not a true reflection of the match. Hahndorf made it 3-1 through Sam Wood and dominated the last 15 minutes but could not bring back the deficit despite club stalwart Stuart Thomas hitting the woodwork twice.

Next week the Hahndorf Magpies visit the ACU Falcons While the Div 4 Cs are at Brahma Lodge and the Div 5 Cs travel to Salisbury Villa.