The Tour de France has the yellow jersey, the All Blacks the Black jersey, the Reds have the Blue jersey. Time and again the wearer of this hallowed jersey becomes infused with super powers. And so it was for Gerry O'Donnell this week. In front of him was a defence made up of newcomer Sam O'Leary, centre backs Scott Allan, Jamie Wilsher and right full back Brad Muirhead. James Yates, Geoff Smith, Kane Thomas and Alex Battersby filled the midfield. Tarf Pohio and Peter Ellicott provided the pace up front. City Development had a few additions to their team from the 2nds. They started the game at pace, trying to move the Reds around. The Reds kept their shape, working hard, and made it hard for the City team to break them down. The downside for the Reds was the difficulty they had in possession. It was a struggle to string 3 passes together. City kept trying to play long ball through, which was dealt with by the Reds disciplined back four playing the offside trap. Any ball that made it through was promptly taken care of by keeper O'Donnell. The Reds used the bench well, with Mike Hogan, Richard Pole and Regan Leslie all making an impact. City got the breakthrough after a disputed offside decision went City's way. The Reds finished the half well but were unable to equalise.
City scored ealy in the second half after an unfortunate slip in defence. The Reds rallied, however and started to play good football. It is amazing that regardless of the opponent, if you string together 6 or 7 passes you will be on the edge of their penalty box. The City team only challenged once more but O'Donnell was up to this, pushing a long range drive over the bar. He swept up any overhit ball and with accurate punts he turned defence in to counter attack. Ellicott continued his hot streak, scoring with a thunderous left foot shot. This gave the Reds hope and caused a fair amount of puckering amongst the young City team. The Mighty Reds came home with a wet sail, but were unable to grab an equaliser.
Overall an effort to be proud of. There is a nice balance of young and old in this team, and a healthy team spirit. This shows repeatedly when, under pressure, the Reds lift each other rather than tear the team apart. Areas to work on perhaps are the need for more hunger, both in the tackle, and in getting to the ball before the opposition. Couple this with the better passing as seen in the last few weeks, the Reds will become a formidable force.
MOM
3- Gerry O'Donnell
2- Alex Battersby
1- Jamie Wilsher, Peter Ellicott
Mentioned in Despatches
Sam O'Leary, James Yates, Scott Allan
