Stirling Districts hosted the Modbury Jets in a round 17 clash of the SA Amateur Soccer League at Bradwood Park. It was one of the first home games in at least half a dozen weeks due to the fixtures and the rescheduling of home games due to the poor pitch conditions in the middle of winter. However the pitch was in good condition for the vital clash in which the Aces desperately needed to take all three points in a bid to fight off relegation.
Winning the toss, Stirling Districts attacked away from the clubroom end in the first half and took the game to Modbury within the first 20 minutes, dominating possession and putting pressure on the visitor’s defence. Josh Berger and Tim Cookes in the middle of the park were distributing balls to wide men, Richard Dawes and Sean Lang who made defending for Modbury incredibly hard at times. The pressure soon paid off when Lang took on the fullback and once again got past to the by-line and as he entered the box was fouled by the defender. Berger stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty into the bottom corner. After the restart a number of attacking plays again came down the left hand side via Ryan Gore and Lang, while Josh Lushington and Michael Henn made some great runs but were unable to get the ball past the keeper. Lang assisted the second goal from the left hand side with a cut back to Berger who drove the ball into the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
Moments after the restart a diagonal ball was played into Stirling Districts defensive area and a penalty was awarded to the away team after the attacking player had his heel clipped inside the area. The home side entered the break 2-1 up after having had a relatively quiet first half for defenders Simon Dawe, Gore, Joel Byrth and James Laughton.
The start of the second half was tightly contested between both sides with Modbury seeing more of the ball in their attacking third. Early in the second half Modbury equalised in the most unfortunate circumstances for the Aces as not one but two deflected clearances from outside the box ended up in a pin point cross to a Modbury striker who managed to poke the ball through Josh Clifford’s legs in goal. Cookes and Berger had to be replaced by substitutes Matt Hawthorn and Adam Gore with about 20 minutes to go as the Aces pushed to create a winning goal. With this came a change in formation as the back four turned to three with R.Gore being pushed into the left midfield position. With the attacking formation came chances and a number of goal mouth scrambles which didn’t fall to the home team’s advantage. The best chance fell to Lushington after link up play from the Gore brothers, but the keeper pulled out a reflex save to deny the big red head. Craig Fraser replaced Henn in the dying moments for his first game in the first team since his injury late last season.
Stirling Districts felt as though they deserved a win but a 2-2 draw was the final result. With two matches remaining in the season, it is vital that the Aces win to keep their survival hopes alive.