Round 12 of the SAASL saw Stirling Districts travel to Modbury to take on the Modbury Jets. Weather conditions were perfect, unlike the state of the pitch which had been chopped up from the reserves game beforehand.
From the outset the game was expected to be somewhat of a scrappy encounter with the centre of the pitch resembling more of a mud pit rather than a deck suitable for football. This meant the majority of the play would be focused down the wings which provided plenty of action for Brian Stephens, Leigh Kuerschner, Martin Nitschke and Sean Lang. It was a game of who could take their chances and unfortunately for Stirling the Jets took both chances in the first half to go into the break with a two goal lead.
Like numerous times this season the Aces did not deserve to be behind but had to dig deep to try and get something out of the game. This showed in the second half with Stirling keeping possession and pressing for a goal to get back into the game. Arnie Barnard dominated in the midfield with some creative weaving runs with Lewis Coulls interceptions and passing abilities on display.
The breakthrough came half way through the half after some intricate passing down the left had Lang running onto a perfectly weighted ball on the top of the box. Without hesitation Lang curled his shot around the outstretched keeper into the top right hand corner. Fresh legs of Michael Henn, Paul Teteris and Craig Fraser were introduced while Scott Matter ran everything down up front in search of an equaliser. Chances came and went but ultimately the Jets ran the clock down and were happy to take the 2-1 result.
