Referee: Unknown 7/10 (bookings were hard to see, but should have booked the whole SM 'glee club' for their time wasting celebrations in front of the TV cameras!) (Peter Miller was an Asst. Ref - good - most stats from him) Yellow Cards: Breakers - Bennett (20 min), Ritchie (38), Austin (40); South Melbourne - Panopoulos (39), 8 (70)
Some time off work, a trip north on the Freeway with clouds getting darker. Arriving at the ground found that it had been raining on the day and the ground very sodden with patches of water. They apparently couldn't call off the match due to Optus broadcast! What? - that's why I've driven 135km 'cause the Wollongong game was being broadcast!? Oh well the real fan goes to the game, don't we Kotch? Great to with the Rowdies and got a team shirt now!
The game started brightly with the Breakers attacking strongly but SM have first chance with a 3 min smash against the bar. Liam McGuire misses from a great cross from the right, and then Zane well wins a corner! There still seems somthing wrong! Rowdies pretty quiet tonight - maybe Steve 'Braddles' Bradbury being away? McGuire makes a great header from a cross which is well saved by Petkovic. 12min and Zane (the lazy log) makes a poor shot and then the tide seemed to turn!
The first 15 mins have been almost all Newcastle but nothing to show for it! SM have really been crap except for Petkovic, with little teamwork. Scotty Thomas is battling in the middle of the park but Troy Halpin's absence is really beginning to show and the inventiveness is lacking! 17 mins - a poor NB clearance leads to a shot bouncing off the cross bar, then after more pressure a frightening back pass lobs over Baker and crashes against the bar and out, then Baker smothers another shot from SM.
Rowdies trying to pick up the team and I'm losing track of taking notes. The play is very bunched in the middle of the park, perhaps avoiding the 'dead' patches due to the water and getting scrappy. Most of SM attacks have been solo runs. NB try to lift but now the yellow cards start flashing (why? - too far to see from Rowdie hill) but they manage to re-assert themselves with a great shot from Wilson? curling to and then along the line and Petkovic doing very well to take the sodden ball inches inside the post. Sprod smashes one over the bar, and Petkovic makes another good save soon after. NB putting good pressure on and as the ref blows for the break at 47 mins the Breakers could be said to have the first half 'on points'.
Second half starts with SM looking as if they have decided to play as a unit! Coveny gets around the defence at 49 min and from then on SM are on top. My note taking get's lost in the depression. All I can tell you is that SM took to the water like ducks (well coming from Melbourne what would you expect!?) The Breakers usual fast short interpassing game with long through ball attacks did not appear on this pitch. You can't blame the pitch for it all though, as SM looked the goods in the late 2nd half as Newcastle's newly found tight defensive formation got lost again! That's not to say NB didn't attack well. At 2-0 NB had a chance, indeed the saves by Petkovic in the second half were top ones and it could have been 2-2 at mid half. Goals by Kelic and Spink however knocked the stuffing out of Kossies kids.
Best: I can only pick Petkovic (SM) who kept his team in the race until they did the deed properly late in the second half. As for others, no-one shined / no one stuffed it!
Magic moments: Not many, and I can't think of any on the field (a SM observer might think differently). 2 in mind: The Rowdies with Black Eye Patches in sympathy for Angelo Costanzo, and singing late in the game at the SM team the Disney movie classic song from the Mighty Ducks - "We will, we will, ROCK YOU, Rock you! We will we will, ROCK YOU!"
All I can say now is that "there goes the top 6 - but hey, the games the thing! Round 21 - Bring on Collingwood!