The match kicked off in polar opposite conditions to last week’s encounter with lovely sunshine & hardly any breeze, perfect conditions for a game of football.
Unfortunately for Balga when the game started the lads still had their heads in the changeroom as Joondalup City took the lead after 30 seconds following a mix up at the back. Joondalup City didn’t have to wait long to double their lead against the run of play in the 5th minute. To make things worse for Balga we were forced to make an early substitute as Blue Doe Soe Hai had to come off in the 9th minute with an ankle injury being replaced by Samson Araya. Joondalup City then took full advantage of the situation by slotting home their 3rd goal of the half in the 16th minute.
The next passage of play was very even with Balga starting to work their way back into the match & were rewarded for their good football with a goal in the 25th minute to James Razua Bawi, bringing the score to 3-1. For the duration of the 1st half the match ebbed & flowed with both teams playing attractive attacking football although neither side could add to the score before half time.
As the 2nd half gets underway it’s Balga who have come out with more intensity, looking to reduce the gap on the scoreboard. In the 53rd minute Jacob O’Halloran sees his free kick come close but not close enough after a constant spell of pressure. This close call is soon followed by a shot from Najib Rahimi in the 57th minute which also comes close to closing the gap. In the 60th minute Abdull Ali was replaced by Ahmed Mohamed. In the 69th minute Joondalup City score their 4th goal of the match which was very much against the run of play. In the 73rd minute Nattawut (Singto) Thongngam was replaced by Abdullahi Nuhr. For the remainder of the match it was once again a titanic battle between two teams who wanted to play good attractive football.
At the final whistle it was Joondalup City who took the 3 points with a 4-1 victory. Both sets of coaches, officials & supporters said it was one the better games they had seen at this level which is a great compliment to both clubs. After the first 15 minutes it was a very even game of football with the difference being Joondalup City took their chances when they came up. Congratulations to both teams on what was an extremely entertaining match.
If we can keep up the standard of the last 75 minutes of this match our first win of the season is only just around the corner.
I firmly believe once we get this we will go on to win 5 or 6 in a row.
Wayne Courtney
U/18’s Head Coach
Balga Soccer Club.