The B's showed up for their grudge match with Sacred Heart (SHOC) ready to rumble, or should I say the 13 guys who could be bothered showing up, out of the 17 players named in the side. All players managed to find the pitch regardless of its postage stamp size, even Jonny Aspin making his prodigal return showed up 30 min before kickoff. Not knowing what to do with himself he promptly left and returned just before kickoff (disclaimer: may or may not have happened). SHOC ran on a traditionally large side, as the Glamour prepared for a rough and tumble affair.

With the opening whistle the SHOC boys controlled the ball a bit better then the Glamour, there big guys holding it up for the fast guys running through. The Glamour had several opportunities of our own as we pressed down the right hand side of the pitch, but it was fair to say that SHOC were a bit better organised in the opening 15 minutes of the game. But once we kicked in and found some rhythm the Glamour never looked like being beaten. As the giants of SHOC began to slow down the whites began to control the game down the flanks with great interplay all the way down both sides of the pitch. The Enigma had a great chance in front of goal but was scuppered by a boot blow-out, yet with only a few minutes until the half time whistle, one of our raids down the left hand side of the pitch resulted in a great poacher's goal. The ball was whipped across the face of the goals and eloquently shinned into the back of the net by Wez. The Glamour meant business.

The second half saw the Glamour extend their dominance as the SHOC boys sent long balls at our back three (Tony, Cam and Jas) who were solid all day. A strong man marking game in the middle from Kenneth helped to stop SHOC's only attacking weapon while the two forwards in Neoh and The Enigma were too fast and skilful for the SHOC backline. The boys upfront held the pill up nicely, making maximum use of the ball that they received.

The second goal came after sustained pressure, with the SHOC backline gifting us a great own goal. The slow motion effect on the faces of the SH players as the ball sailed over the keeper's head was priceless. The Glamour had plenty of chances to extend the lead but couldn't convert the those easy chances. Something that we will have to change if we want to win the close games.

All in all, it was a good day at the office for the Glamour with three points in the bag and back to back wins. Good times.........

LevTop

Yes, the match report everyone has been waiting for - mainly because it's so friggin' late. Anyway, less nicknames this week and more action. A sunny day, with a pitch in good condition despite the array of lines running in and out of the pitch in all direction thanks to the fact that it doubled as a footy oval. Nevertheless, this was a game which would decide and give Sacred Heart one more chance at proving that they were good Catholic Boys and not the tools that they have come to be known as throughout the league (yes, you know it, you lot are really, really sore losers). But more importantly, this game again is a game which the Whites need to win, for the sake of points and morale.

Once again, the line up had an oh so familiar ring to the annual Winter/Exam months where numbers would be low and the squad would be decimated with a number of players out. However, able players such as Stephen '$150 suit' Safralidis and Matt Mostak were ready to step up to the plate. The dependable Matt Milosevic was once again in goals and whose influence, distribution and steady presence has undoubtedly played a big role in the ever improving Whites. While the back 3 missed Powerpuff Gayen, Power Ranger Saf was ready to fill in the blank and add more pizzaz and style to help his pre pubescent partners in crime, 'Man-Child' Windows and 'Boy Wonder' Goldfinch. Bringing sexy back? It was always in the B's and now those sexy chops are in the A's. In the midfield was a very unfamiliar line up with on the bench, Sunny sitting out on a suspension while George decided a career on the sidelines agitating one and all was his true calling.

Daniel, Matt and Sean formed the middle three while 39 year old Paul who is turning 40 on the 11th of July rampaged up and down the left. If someone that age could still be doing that, I don't see why Ryan Giggs can't anymore. Anyway, with Epilady on the right again ready to smoothen the wing with his speed, blitzing nasty defenders and their ingrowns with his razor sharp shaving runs, it was a lineup which potentially promised a lot or little. Up front was Ryan 'PS3' Harrowfield and 'Energizer Bunny' Kora, eager to score goals and hustle at the same time.

The game kicked off and right away, it was plain to see that while Sacred Heart had the height advantage, it was evened out by their lack of speed and general ability. A few of their players stood out but on paper by and large, they were of the recycled material while the Whites were of the bleached kind. As per usual, the referee was the star of the day however, for once, the Whites put in a convincing display to dismantle the team which defeated Mercedes 'big daddies of the collegiate league' College. (One of their players actually tried using this as a pick up line as mojos once. Word)

Despite the efforts of Sacred Heart pushing forward, the backline was resolute with Man Child playing like a man possessed while Mr. 'I brought sexyback, not Justin', made the absence of 'Grow some balls' Gayen hardly felt. It's true, if you can't grow some balls, grow some sideburns, it works a treat. Joe, Steve and Craig were immense in defence, hardly giving any of the Sacred Heart players time on the ball and clearing the ball out of the danger area. Matt was a big presence in the middle of the park, often trying to win the balls and then playing the easy option, allowing Daniel and Sean to wreak havoc with their creativity. Epilady cruised through the mud like it wasn't there as his silky and smooth runs were definitely noticed as some Sacred Heart players were seen touching themselves as Smooth turned up the heat. Paul was in fine form as well, working up and down that left channel and that was where the first goal came about. A quick interplay between Paul, Nathan and Ryan which might have involved a throw in or not, saw Ryan control the ball mid air as he shielded the ball from the defender in one flowing move which many greats such as Rastawookie can dream of doing on FIFA 09, turned the defender, looked up and curled the ball into the top right corner of the net. Ryan began his celebration as he released the R2 button, finally showing the ability he was known for on the PS3 and bringing it onto the pitch. 1-0 to the Whites, courtesy of a goal which might be the finest we would get to see this season. The rest of the half was fairly even but the Whites seemed to have the upper hand.

The half time team talk was good, it was hard to tell what was said but at this time, the right thing was done with more snags loaded onto the barbie. The second half began and still at 1-0, it was fairly nervy as Sacred Heart pushed forward trying to score a goal and also trying to score with Epilady who was seen chatting to many of their defenders during the game. Many off the ball incidents were seen by the crowd, unseen by the ref and obviously, the Sacred Heart supporters would say nothing happened through their rose tinted glasses. Of note, George got sent off the ground behind the fence because he was naughty. The ref upon seeing that George was not on the pitch as he initially thought he was, due to the many lines running everywhere, decided off the pitch was the next best option as Sacred Heart apparently invested in some soundproof fences during the off season. Jonny 'the Mouth' Aspin who was slaving over the barbie at this point then decided to contribute but was chastised by the ref who at this stage had 1 eye on the snags and ordered Jonny to "get on with the cooking and I'll get on with the game".

As Sacred Heart kept pushing forward, Sean somehow scored a second goal against the run of play making it 2-0. Their keeper deflected a shot straight into Sean's thigh and the ball rolled sweetly into the net. At this stage, George was testing the quality of the soundproof fence while the Sacred Heart supporters decided picking on George was the best thing to do as their team was losing and didn't deserve any support. Russ Edwards, Juan and Anthony came on for Ryan, Nathan and Matt, fresh legs for the tiring Whites who were keeping the opposition at bay. Somehow, lady luck got laid last night and a third goal materialised as Anthony scored the third with a deliberate deflection off the defender. 3-0, 3 points and a bunch of very deflated Sacred Hearts players and supporters who were getting along famously with George at this stage. Frustration showed with dirty challenges on Joe and Juan going unpunished as they got later and later with Sacred Heart trying to rival the lateness of their tackles with the trains in Melbourne.

However, winners are grinners. This win was important as the Whites pulled through with plenty of guts and spirit. Despite a depleted squad, the team is continually improving which can only mean one thing. The players out have to work hard to win their places back, no one is guaranteed for a place expect for Mr. Smooth. And if I had my way, I'd say the best players were Joe, Sexyback Saf, Milo Matt and Ryan. Next week, the Blacks.

GeorgeTop