MATCH REPORT for SUNDAY 6th January 2013
Crayfield F C 3 St Michaels F C 4
St Michaels F C started the New Year with what proved to be a very tough encounter against a team they had comfortably beat a few weeks earlier. On a sticky pitch it took a while for St Michaels to play their normal passing game. After 10 minutes Adam Fahy was hacked to the ground and the Crayfield number 5 was given a yellow card. After 20 minutes St Michaels took the lead when a Danny Baptiste corner was headed in by Stuart Bird. On 38 minutes a good pass from Danny Baptiste saw Stuart Bird flicking in to make the score 0 - 2. A minute later Jack Jolly was unlucky to see his long range shot tipped over the bar. Four minutes later another good pass from Danny Baptiste saw Stuart Bird lashing in for his hat trick.
On 45 minutes the Crayfield forward appeared to be yards offside before converting to make the score 1 – 3. Two minutes later the 3 goal lead was restored when a Jack Jolly shot was put in by a Crayfield defender. The game should have been all over 2 minutes later when Adam Fahy was brought down for a penalty, but Jack Jolly saw his shot tipped over the bar. This miss could have proved costly as another bad mistake 8 minutes later led to Crayfield’s second goal and a further breakaway 3 minutes later saw them reduce the deficit to just one goal. With 25 minutes remaining Harry Smart replaced James Mckerrell. In between the 2 Crayfield goals Adam Fahy was unlucky to see his shot hit the bar and on the 73rd minute |Ben Baptiste repeated the dose by also hitting the bar. Crayfield continued to push for the equaliser but it was St Michaels who held firm for the 3 points which keeps them at the top of Division 1.
A surprisingly hard fought game with good performances from Ryan Nibbs in defence, Tom Pexton in midfield and Danny Baptiste for his 3 assists. Man of the Match goes to Stuart Bird with a return to his goal scoring form with another well taken hat trick.
