In difficult wet rainy conditions, Zaf’s U11s Oakleigh Cannons had to dig deep to claim a hard fought 2-1 win against a strong South Melbourne FC side at Princes Park in Caulfield South this morning.
The home side played most of the 1st half on the front foot and after a few shots that went just wide, South Melbourne finally found the back of the net after 15 mins to take a 1-0 lead.
Oakleigh nearly drew level only to be denied by the cross bar after a lovely strike from Lucas off Mikey's corner but had to go into the halftime break behind by a goal.
In the 2nd half, Zaf’s Cannons started to press more in defence, giving South Melbourne less time on the ball and, on attack, began stringing more passes together.
Shortly after the break, Ethan broke down the left wing, beating defenders into the box and forcing a corner against the home side. Charlie then took the set piece, delivered the ball into the box, finding striker Jason who tapped the ball in and after only 5 mins into the 2nd half, the game was level at 1-1.
As Oakleigh pushed for a 2nd goal, South Melbourne countered quickly on the break numerous times but a couple of great saves by goal keeper Athan kept the scores level.
Then with about 8 minutes to go, the visitors earned themselves yet another corner and again, like the previous set piece, Charlie whipped the ball into the box, but this time finding striker Theodore who headed the ball home beautifully into the back of the net to put the Cannon’s into the lead for the first time in the match.
Zaf’s Cannons then fought hard to keep South Melbourne FC at bay for the remainder of the game and at full time Oakleigh had claimed their 3rd League win (from as many games) in a very satisfying performance away from home.
After the match Coach Zaf said “It was an awesome come back and a deserved win. It was obvious to begin with from the size of the ground and slippery conditions it was gonna be a scrappy game. Getting the result was going to be all about individual performances, the team that worked the hardest and the amount running done behind the scenes. Everyone did that the second half and made the impossible happen our way. (South Melbourne) were a very good team. Well done my champions.”
Next weekend is the bye weekend as the FFV regrade the competitions across Victoria.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
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