Oxley Blue Vs UQ Met 1

Saturday 14th Jan 2012

Holland Park Cup Match 1:

Oxley Div 2 Reserves Vs Rocklea Div 1 Reserves

Saturday 14th Jan 2012

Oxley Prem 2 Vs Rocklea Prem 1

Saturday 14th Jan 2012

Oxley Reserves move into the top 4 with another hard fought win against rival finalists Bayside

Another mid week catch up game which brought yet again more rain causing the game to be played on the second field. It was another match giving me a selection nightmare for the good with yet again more players returning just at the business end of the season. We had plenty of pace on the wings with Aaron Denny and Zaheer Riaz. We also had our two best goal scorers up front with Ako Array and Steven Manganaro both bagging 18 between them so far. I was sure we would create chances and that we would have goals in us. We started with a flat 4 in he midfield however gaps began to appear between our defence and midfield giving their midfielders time with the ball at their feet. Once again it was a game where we went behind first and came back to win. This time we replied within 2 minutes of their goal when Chris Dobinson slotted home for his fourth goal of the season. It remained evenly balanced till half time when we came into the dressing rooms at 1-1.

In the second half Riaz dropped in the middle to plug the holes which he did an excellent job in front of Colin Jamieson and Liam Mercer.  And it was Mercer who grabbed our second after 51 minutes finding the back of the net with the outside of his foot from distance. This cued our first chance resting Manganaro and bringing on Christopher Maclennon in the middle. We had great stints of possession at times and created some excellent chances. However the next goal scorer was the unlikely centre back of Warwick Burt on 73 minutes who also had a fantastic game defensively eventually earning him man of the match. A ball dropped to him around 20 yards out and he did not hesitate to pull the trigger and where some were looking to the trees for the landing it was actually the inside of the post and my goal of the game.

This triggered my second sub Patrick Cranley, still not a defensive move as I anticipated 3 goals would not be enough to win the game.  And it was Cranley who made the impact just three minutes after coming on scoring our fourth goal making it 4-2 with only nine minutes to play. Finally i brought on Phil Hein to try and secure the midfield and prevent any late come back. However I knew sitting a bit deeper and defending would only pile on the pressure in our third but hoped they would run out of time and steam. Fortunately for us one of those happened but it was not steam as they continued to press eventually getting a goal and making an exciting / nervous last few minutes of injury time. We did hold out only just but its grinding out results like these against teams on even points in the top 6 at the end of the season that get you into the finals. This result ensures no club this season has won the double against us which is another improve from last season. The lads have now all but guaranteed a spot in the top six and have a great chance of playing a home final depending on our last two games of the season.

This was done by drawing with Logan who looks likely to take second spot and twice with Albany Creek the leagues run away winners. Also by beating Brisbane Athletic twice, Park Ridge and bayside who all are top six finishers. So far during this season we have lost the fewest games in the league being four and got results from all lthe eagues top 5 clubs giving us confidence we can knock over an one we meet come finals time.

Keep up the terrific results,

Garrett McDuling

Man of the match : Warwick Burt

Oxley reserves secure another clean sheet, a point and a step closer to the finals away to Logan

Prior to the season starting we sat in the dressing room and set some short and long term goals to achieve through out the season. One of the long term goals was to achieve 50 points after 26 games. I for cast that this should secure a top 4 place although this may have seemed a bit far fetched for some of the players who were there last season, however i knew with the size of our squad and new players coming in that this could be achieved. And now with just 3 games remaining thanks to only losing 4 games out of 23 played this goal can still be achieved.

Friday night saw Oxleyreserves away to a Logan side who not only are challenging for the premiership but whilst doing so have scored some 71 goals in the process. So we knew this would be another test for us especially with more players out through various reasons. This meant Peter Mulveyhad to keep in goals for both games and both Andy Swindels and Russell Morrison getting another call up to start from metros. We lost Patrick Cranley, Bennett Hodges to the first team as well as Daniel Broadie who made his first team debut. Chris Dobinson and Adam Tomlinson were out through injury while our prolific goal scorers Steven Manganaro and Ako Array were also away. Midfielder Stepehn Don will be back this week as well team Captain Colin Jamieson and Aaron Denny who are both returning from injury. Under 17's Richard Fouler will also be available for team selection this week after serving his suspension.

So even though we had alotof players out for the big Logan clash we knew we also had the depthin our squad to provide a challenge. It's not easy for reserves at the best of times as the team is normally a changed line up every week with players moving in and out of the first team. However this season also due to injuries, suspensions andplayers been unavailable the team has seen no fewer than 36 different players taking the pitch with one common goal of getting the team into the finals. Rarely this is evident as the table proves but occasionally the lack of team cohesion does get the better of us as it did when we lost 7-2 against Park Ridge at HOME. However it is how you bounce back from the hic ups along the way and since that game we have played 6 games scoring 9 goals and only conceding 3 goals.

The recent clash against Logan was no different securing our sixth clean sheet of the season and although our draws are tallying up, they are hard fought especially0-0 against a Logan team who have scored 71 goals and are second on the table. So with just 3 games left Oxley Reserves can still finish any where between 2nd and 8th on the table just proving how tough the competition is this year. Our last 3 games against Bayside, Samford and Narangba of which two are at home will be crucial in determining the top 6 spots on the ladder

Keep up the form,  Garrett McDuling 

Man of the Match : Peter Mulvey