The Whites came through a tough test to earn a draw with one of the league's high flyers on Saturday afternoon. In a game defined by 2 moments of brilliance that followed moments of mediocrity.

Rostrevor took the lead with virtually the last kick of the first half through an excellently taken free kick. the ball found its way into the top corner from the edge of the 18 yard box much to the disgust of Heath.

The goal was no more than the home team deserved for a poor first half effort. The midfield - set up to deny Rostrevor the space they enjoyed in their 7-1 mauling of the whites earlier in the season - was failing to find its shape or composure. The visitors were allowed to move the ball around far too easily, it was only good fortune that stopped them generating any clear opportunities. On the positives, the makeshift back 3 held up very well, not giving any central opportunities away, even at the cost of a free kick.

The whites central strength forced Rostrevor out wide, especially on their left. Time and time again, the whites midfield got caught out by the overlapping runs of their wingers after they executed a 1-2 with a midfielder. Thankfully their left winger couldn't put in a dangerous ball to save his life.

Luck was also on the whites side when the ref failed to spot a handball (unintentional admittedly) in the whites penalty area and when Crab's last ditch tackle was ruled to be outside the area. It was from the resulting free kick that rostrevor scored ( poetic justice perhaps).

The second half was the complete opposite of the first, Anthony came on for Dan Joyce who had a tough time of things as his kneed groin would testify. Anthony injected some much needed life into the whites midfield and it must have surprised and rattled the opposition to see us play so well, as they soon lost their shape and with it control of the game.

The home team was having a good spell. The equalizer also came from a set piece. A good free kick by Crab from 35 odd metres was poorly headed clear to the edge of the box where Jason was waiting. From my vantage point behind the goal, time seemed to slow as the ball dropped towards him and he swung his left boot to meet it in the air. The volley was unstoppable, reminescent of Zidane's effort in 2002 against Bayer Leverkusen, both in quality and in the fact both men wore white at the time. the ball planted itself in the top corner before the keeper could dive.

From then, it was an open game, both teams knew they were up for a fight. Heath kept the whites in the contest with some magnificent saves, probably the cause of his later back spasm. the whites were again fortunate not to concede a penalty when Lev handled the ball in the area after a corner. However at this point it was probably written in the stars that a draw would be the result. In a tense last few minutes, neither team could find a winner. The whites had won a lot of respect from the opposition however.

My man of the match: Kev - Busy in the midfield in the first half, keeping his head while many lost theirs, solid in the second half defending from right wing back.

MannyTop

For me, this game started on Tuesday night. Jonny had previously informed me that he would be on holiday for four weeks, and that was bad enough. Upon arrival to training however, Robin explains that Dudz is "done for the season" as he has taken a job from 11 to 4 on Saturdays, and that Rob is probably out due to his hammy playing up again. So I've wondered around for the most part of training pretty depressed, wondering how we can possibly beat Rostrevor after losing not only our tallest and most dominant in the air (Jonny), but also the guy who would naturally have replaced him, and the Green Lantern himself who would cover the rest...

But the show must go on, and come Saturday it was still eleven v eleven, even if that's ALL we had (all subs were to come from the B's). Rob's hamstring hadn't pulled up, and Paul was still out with his workers comp claim. Ayden came in for Rob, with me filling the vacant sweeper role, while Alex came back for Jonny.

And after seeing the B's turn around their 8-1 loss at the start of the season, we really had to do the business.

And we fought it out pretty well too. A major improvement on the week before, when we were just not turned on. Rostrevor ddin't have the tall timber they usually did up front, and apart from their small striker up front, our defence snuffed out most of their attacks. However, he really made the best of us not closing him down, with Dan knocking two of his shots on to the post in the first half hour. One of those shots dribbled right across the goal line before we were able to clear. Luck must have been on our side that day, as normally there would've been at least 1 or 2 strikers following in.

Rostrevor did put together some nice passes and combinations, which from the perspective of being on the sidelines, looked impressive. Not to be outdone, White Knights also had their flashes of brilliance, quickly followed by as if "bipolar" moments of vagueness. I guess, just to ensure there is balance in the Universe.

In the second half their "pocket-rocket" striker made good on his third attempt from outside the box, and we were down 1 nil. A nice strike, seemingly admired by all defenders as he had plenty of time to pick the spot and line up the shot. Too much time.

We didn't drop our heads though, and fought hard for over half an hour for an equaliser.

Loud encouragement from the sidelines and pure guts ensured that the Whites became even more determined in their attacking and defending. We started to take more control of the game, with one missing ingredient. Finish. Midfield looked better than first half, defence was more solid, however service up front was a bit low.

Just when you thought we had lost it, Ryan and Baxter teamed up to put the scores level. Ryan gathered a pass on the right hand side bi-line. Stepping over the ball a few times, he seemed to take an age to put the ball across. Rostrevor boys clearly learned from our defenders allowing him all this time. But when he did, it somehow managed to evade the keeper, giving Bax the easiest of headers, unmarked from inside the box. It was very special!

The game and the day ended in a draw. The first time in who knows how long both teams have come away from Rostrevor matches with points! Two good goals on the day for the Whites, deserved all that beer. That's it!

Joe (with help from Paul on the sidelines)Top