The Tokyo boys made their way down to Nagoya with what was, to be fair, not their best side, but being a Saturday game, the Redbacks weren’t at full strength either. So, with some key players missing and very few players on the bench for either side, the stage was set for a close, hard-fought contest, which had the potential to go either way.
When the first whistle blew and the game got under way, what ensued over the next hour or so was indeed a willing, albeit scrappy affair played in a good spirit. The game was ruined as a spectacle somewhat by the persistent rain that fell all day, depriving the contest of a good degree of the skillful play that both teams, though depleted, were still more than capable of providing. Even so, both teams played a tough, entertaining brand of football and for a good part of the match it appeared that either team had a fair dinkum chance of walking away with the points.
The first half came and went and at the long break it was the Goannas, with their bit of extra composure under pressure, in front by a couple of goals. The Redbacks weren’t being outclassed in general play by any means, but our lack of an experienced forward was hampering our ability to finish off the good work we were doing in other parts of the ground. Still, as we headed back out for the second half we had genuine belief that we could turn things around.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it was the Goannas, whose extra experience began to show through, that took control of proceedings in the third term. Trav, Nick and Sully all upped their work rates and by three quarter time the Tokyo boys had really stamped their authority on the match (and the scoreboard). Trav in particular was very effective through the middle of the ground, banging on a couple of crucial running goals for his team and giving them a handy buffer heading into the final term.
Although we started the last quarter trailing by a fairly significant margin and had little hope of victory, we continued to work hard and were able to peg a few goals back. Another famous come from behind victory wasn’t to be though, the final result, a victory to the visitors by about two goals.
It certainly wasn’t through lack of effort that Nagoya lost this one, with players old and new giving their all for the duration of the game. Worth particular mention were the efforts of Phil, Hamoudy, Henry, Banger and Matt who, with all of 5 games experience between them, managed to pressure their opponents, make a contest, and help keep the Redbacks in the game for most of the day.
Also, one player that was a shining light for the Redbacks all day long was Dan Jenkins. He didn’t seem overly affected by the slippery conditions as he gathered the ball cleanly across half-back, broke the lines and kicked us into attack time and time again. Indeed, he was the main driver behind almost all of our forward thrusts, and he was our only goal kicker. It was a very dominant performance.
Other Redbacks who performed well were Pete Osboldstone, Xavier Luscombe and Dion McKay. Pete in particular, who has been in good form down back, continued to perform well, doing a great job on Sully all day long.
Still, for the Redbacks, the end result showed that we just weren’t good enough on the day. Now we need to regroup, and focus on our next game, a tough clash against a rapidly improving Magpies side in Yokohama. Hopefully we can get a good team together to make the trip up there and come home with the four points.
C’mon Nagoya, let’s prove that we are still a force to be reckoned with.
Goannas 7.9 - 51
Redbacks 5.9 - 39
Goal kickers
Goannas - Sullivan 3, Wilson 3, Bolton 1
Redbacks - Jenkins 5
