MATCHDAY 22 PRELIMINARY FINAL ATHERTON v JCU Eagles go down in extra time It was a bumper and a hardy home crowd that welcomed the Atherton Eagles to their first home match in a month and what a match it was to be, playing JCU for the fourth time this season. Previous matches had been closely fought, with no more than a goal between them in all the encounters, resulting in one win each and a drawn match. The Eagles came into the match with the some key players under an injury cloud which had a dramatic impact on the way the Eagles lined up for the kick off. The weather conditions could be termed atrocious, with high winds and driving rain and cold temperatures that tested the fitness of both sides and officials. The match got under way with both teams intent on controlling the match from the midfield and with sporadic attacks on goal, both keepers Brad Fisher from JCU and the Eagles Luke Centofanti being kept on their toes by the slippery and blustery conditions. It was in the 30th minute following the awarding of a free kick to the Eagles just outside the penalty area, when up stepped central defender Ben Herring to curl the ball into the top left hand corner of the goal to surprise goalkeeper Brad Fisher, who was caught out by the vicious curl on the ball. With their noses in front it was Atherton who with the wind behind them went in search of their second goal, when in the 35th minute JCU were presented with an opportunity down the left flank after beating the offside trap, a left footed strike by winger Glen Rattray completely outfoxed Centofanti in the Atherton goal. The game was back on level terms and this was the score as the Referee Mr. Ray Grieg from Cairns blew the whistle for half time. The second half was a period of attrition for both sides and with opportunities to score being presented at both ends, no team could find that elusive goal that would take them to the Grand Final. So with the 90 minutes of normal time up, the two teams were set go hammer and tongue for a further 30 minutes, 15 minutes each way. With the large vocal crowd staying on to support the locals they were well entertained with both teams defending like their survival depended on it, which it did. After the first period of extra time no team had a clear cut chance to break the impasse, the heavy pitch, heavier tackles and atrocious weather were having an impact on players, cramp and injuries from crunching tackles coming all too frequent. With second half of extra time and with just three minutes remaining before the teams went to a penalty shootout, JCU were awarded a corner and from the resulting kick it was the unmarked Hill Regan who headed the ball into the Eagles net to break the deadlock. The visitors had taken their last opportunity at goal with aplomb and with just minutes remaining set about winding the clock down and with the final whistle they had earned the right to take on Innisfail United in the Grand Final next Friday night at Endeavour Park. For the Atherton Eagles it was the end of the 2013 season.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 10:16:49 +0000