01/05/11: The Victory (2) v (3) Oddies
Scorers: Lamb, Davison
Team: Swan (GK), Lewis, Bunyan, Davison (c), Robson, Mountford, Lamb, Rodgers, Hunter (M. Dryden), Harding, Smiles
Unused Subs: Hudson, Fisher, Stores
Yellows: None
Reds: None
A last gasp Oddies winner saw them pinch the points in a dramatic five goal thriller in the Victory’s final home game of the season.
Lee Hermiston sprung a surprise before kick off as he elected to ditch the 5-4-1 formation and return to 4-42. Captain, Greg Davison, and midfielder, Simon Mountford, were both recalled to the starting line up in place of Nathan Hudson and Mark Dryden, who were both named as substitutes.
The Victory started poorly and went behind in the fifth minute. A free kick from thirty yards was driven low into the box where it went through a crowd of bodies and past Swan before nestling into the bottom corner of the net.
It was an early blow for the Victory but they responded positively and it wasn’t long before they levelled proceedings. A Greg Davison long throw was launched into the penalty area where it took a nick of a couple of players before flying past the helpless Oddies keeper and into the back of the net. Initially there seemed to be some confusion as to whose goal it was but Lamb ran in away in celebration claiming that it was his. Despite TV replays being inconclusive Lamb was credited with the final touch.
As the first half reached its midway point, the referee, Johnathon Urwin, was forced into making his first big decision. As the Victory lined up to take a free kick from just inside their own half, an Oddies defender decided that he would test James Smiles out with a sly left hook to the side of his face. The referee, who was looking right at the incident, immediately blew his whistle and summoned the offending player over but just when it seemed he had little option but to send the player off for violent conduct, the official decided that a stern talking to was sufficient punishment. It was a quite incredible decision which no-one connected to the Victory could quite believe.
The battle between the Oddies defender and Smiles simmered for the next few minutes but on the half hour mark it came up to the boil again. A long ball forward hit Simon Mountford and fell into the path of Smiles, who having skilfully flicked it on with his header, was then ploughed into and bulldozed over inside the box by the senseless gonk trying to pass himself off as one of Oddies centre halves. The referee didn’t need to think twice and without hesitation pointed to the penalty spot. From the resulting spot kick, Greg Davison made no mistake as he sent the keeper the wrong way, rolling the ball into the bottom right hand corner.
The Victory, who were actually playing well, had seen their hard work had pay off as they had completely transformed the complex of the game.
Sadly the men in red were unable to maintain their lead until the half time break as a couple of minutes before the interval Oddies equalised. A cross from the Oddies right winger found one of his colleagues on the penalty spot and he planted a fine header past Swan and into the top corner of the net.
Despite the concession of the equaliser right at the end of the opening period, Lee Hermiston was extremely positive in his half time team talk praising his sides performance.
The early stages of the second half were pretty tight with both teams struggling when they got into the final third.
On the hour mark, Swan gifted Oddies a chance to take the lead when he clumsily dropped the ball as he tried to be clever then picked it back up again. The referee correctly awarded Oddies an indirect free kick about twelve yards from goal. With every Victory player crammed on the goal line it was difficult to see how the Oddies player would squeeze his shot in and thankfully so it proved as the shot smacked into Bunyan, as he and his team-mates charged out at the ball, and ricocheted away to safety.
With around twenty five minutes remaining, Hermiston made his first alteration bringing on Mark Dryden for Scott Hunter. The change also brought a slight tactical tweak as Stephen Robson was shifted to left wing with Dryden slotting in at left back.
The game heated up in the final twenty minutes as both teams went in search of a winner. Lamb had a good chance for the Victory as a ball was played to him on the edge of the area but rather than take a touch before shooting, Lamb went for the spectacular but only succeeded in completely missing his kick.
At the other end the Victory goal was starting to lead a charmed life as twice in the space of a couple of minutes Oddies were denied. First, Swan made an excellent save diving away to his left and then, Davison, either by luck or skill, volleyed a backheel over his own crossbar to keep out a headed effort.
As the game entered the final five minutes, the Victory missed a great chance to win the game. A long ball forward saw Peter Harding out sprint his marker. The Oddies keeper came off his line to narrow the angle down but Harding, who was aware of this, got too much on his attempted lob and the ball narrowly cleared the crossbar.
The Victory were made to pay for that miss as just when it looked like the game was destined for a draw disaster struck for Lee Hermiston’s men. With the game deep into injury time, Oddies won a corner. The ball was crossed in right footed and it floated over everyone, including Swan, and into the back of the net. Oddies had surely nicked the winner. The Victory players looked dumbstruck no doubt not being able to believe that they had just lost this game by conceding direct from a corner. Oddies on the other hand were delirious and could scarcely believe their luck.
To rub further salt into the wounds, the referee decided that there was just enough time for the Victory to line up and kick off again before blowing his final whistle.
While the Victory could be happy with their overall performance that would not make up for the feeling of absolute dejection after the game having been so close to getting something out of it only to see them end up with nothing. With no league game scheduled now until 10th May, the Victory have arranged a friendly for Sunday 8th May against Division Three side, Hylton FC, as they seek to get over the disappointment of losing this game. Once again Lee Hermiston’s managerial capabilities will be put to the test as he must attempt to raise his players from off the canvas to be up for that one.
