BEWARE - YOU ARE NOW ENTERING A BREAKERS RAVE ZONE
Rating: 8/10 at least
Referee: M Grieve 7/10 (pretty good, some odd but hard to judge decisions)
I don't usually post a match report off OV - no atmosphere and can't see play off the ball. But what the hell - I drank some good Mudgee white, yelled with the Rowdies, and .... We WON! Not only that - the Breakers won VERY well!
Knowing that Brisbane push up early at a frenetic pace, Breakers coach Kosmina had obviously told his team to beat them at their own game with the home team advantage.
At the 4th min. a Brisbane Strikers (BS) defender was closed up hard in his own box and was judged to have handled the ball. Shane Pryce made no mistake. By the 20th min. mark the Breakers (NB) should have been 3-0 up, and were keeping good shape, closing down very fast, and keeping their passing tight. Brisbane started to get their wind after 20 min and came back. It needed some great work done on Frank Farina (no floppiness tonight) by McManus. 35th min and Zane hit a screamer which deflected off The - yes Farr(-r) Post, from a magic ball from Halpin (Troy into camp now TV!). BS continued to push hard but the NB defence showed none of the gaping cracks of earlier in the season. By half time though it could have been 5-0 with two more well made chances near the bell.
Brisbane came out stronger after the oranges. Wehrman continued his dominant display in midfield, and in the 48 min were rewarded with a Rod Brown goal from a nice header by Farina. NB disputed offside but a NB player prostrate in the box kept Brown on. NB weren't going to settle for another bloooody draw, and in the 50 min. Glen Sprod came forward to collect another magic ball from Troy Halpin from the right, hit with the outside of the boot, and lobbed it over an otherwise blameless Ross. Kasey and Frankie combined a few times thereafter to create chances but young custodian Liam Baker stood the test well.
60th min and NB were sniffing some blood making Ross pull off a great save from Mark Wilson. The assist from Chey hews in the 62 min. wouldn't have stopped Liam McGuire's strike. The game then rattled around the midfield with NB's close marking a classy lesson for my U12 fullback son. In the last ten minutes legs were tiring and spaces opened up and some good work was done by Farina at one end, and Zane (the lazy b*****s is working hard) at the other.
Overall: The Breakers had a well deserved (why not last week fellas?) win, showing the commitment, flashes of steel and touches of class which brought me into the fold this year! Brisbane still missed Hunter but it could be argued they had their best display for 4 games. Nevertheless it could have been 8-3
Best:
NB Zane, Pryce, Sprod, Austin, and McGuire - really a team effort!
BS Wehrman by a mile, but Brown, Farina soldiered well, and even for
a while Phillips and the T Cranney kid!
Yes Roo, the Breakers really do walk on water!
PS: I don't believe that The Glory are outside the Breakers reach. Should be a cracker in Perth next week!