On a fresh autumn day the Tigers lined up against the team they first played at the start of the season.
Both teams have moved forward since that game and the contest was sure to be keenly fought. The game opened briskly with both Bryan and Evel moving well down the flanks fed by Ben. Matt hunted and closed down well and due to his interception and link up with Evel the first chance was created which he took his time and struck a firm shot into the goal from outside the box.
Both alex and Lol remained strong in defense almost giving Charl time to put her feet up. Ben and Bryan continued to link and challenge well, Matt shot low and hard and the keeper pulled off a great save but Ben was unable to convert the rebound. The Tigers played well and stuck to their task well and midway through Matt was again on hand to to drive a hard shot low which the keeper couldn't keep out to make it 2 nil.
AB were in a state of shock but to their credit they remained focused and continued to play football.
Into the second period and Max and Mark were promoted to the field. Ab were bound to try and take more control and througha combination of good play and tigers not tracking back AB found the opening for their striker to pull one back.
Tigers looked uncomfortable in the second period with several players struggling with the pace and AB lifted their game, however clear shots on Charl were few and I felt we could handle the situation..... wrong! AB broke through the middle and linked well to hand their other striker a gilt edged chance which he neatly dispatched to equalise.
The Tigers rallyed and Mark went close with a good effort but chances for the Tigers in this period were few and far between. Too many gaps in midfield and not enough tracking back.
The final period was always going to be tight. Alex took head of his instructions and Ben soldiered on despite having a chest issue. Matt continued to harry and chase and really do as much as he possibley could to make the difference. Max ran hard up front and never gave up and Mark looked alot happier in the thick of things on the left side of midfield.
However midway through AB broke down the left, the striker cut inbetween two defenders and Char made an excellent save at his lunging feet and two of the Tigers defenders, four players sprawling in the box to regain and untangle themselves, however the ball broke out and AB's right winger was the first to react. He hit the ball first time to 'lob' the keeper and take AB into a 3-2 lead with 8 minutes to go.
The Tigers regrouped and then were forced to alter the setup as Max took a ball in the face and was replaced by Lol with Matt moving back up front. The game looked to be slipping away as AB grew in confidense and the Tigers pushed up further. Bryan continued to run hard and Ben remained focused.
However it was a combination of Mark and Matt that sent Matt running on goal and before the saving tackle came in Matt drove another shot low and hard which whistled past the AB keeper to equalise and secured his first hat-trick of his Tigers career.
The game played out without either side really making a clear cut chance to win it and on balance a draw was a fair result but it does show how far the Tigers have come since starting their campaign.
They should all be very proud of themselves, especially Matt who was also awarded man of the match today.
