Match Report

Match : 1st XI v Parkview
Date : 2009-01-10
Venue : A
Score : 0-3
Scorers :

By Kriss Leslie

The main objective on Saturday was to ensure eleven players made the trip to Ballyclare. During the week we looked unlikely to do that however, thankfully we managed to field a team. It has recently becoming increasingly harder to get a team out each Saturday, so could I ask that everybody makes a big effort to be available for the next few Saturdays*. Before I start the match report, I would like to thank Matthew Bill for coming along and helping us out, making his first eleven debut, and giving 100% in the process.

The first ten minutes saw East under pressure from a Parkview side eager to score early on in the match. They hit the post and opened us up at the back early on, but we managed to get through the rough patch.

In response to Parkviews endless attacking early on, East then dropped an extra man back to help out in defence. It tightened things up at the back and allowed East to mount a few attacks of their own. Michael McKenna had a reverse effort go wide, and a few short corners were won.

We were deprived of the chance of getting an effort on goal from the first short corner after Mark McKenna was rather unfairly deemed to have touched the ball before the injection. Then from the second short corner, Kriss Leslie attempted to deflect the ball at the back post, but it unfortunatley was off target.

For the remainder of the first half things were pretty tight. Parkview also having a few short corners and a few efforts. Most notably a reverse shot which was very well saved by Stevie Cummins outstretched foot at the bottom corner. It was Parkview who went in ahead at half time however, after East gave the ball away inside the D, leading to the opening goal.

At half time we knew we were still in the game and addresed a few of our faults from the first half.

The second half got underway, and it was a half which saw Parkview took control of the game. East pushed forward at times during the game and were being limited to only a few chances. When East pushed forward Parkview hit us on the counter attack. Overall though, Parkview dominated second half possession.

East defended very well in the second half under pressure. Parkview had a good few half chances, but no real clear-cut ones. Moreover, Parkviews two second half goals were both soft efforts which were lucky to find the back of the net.

As our fitness levels decreased in the second half, we began to make silly mistakes. Giving the ball back to the opposition and inviting more pressure onto ourselves. Also, instead of playing simple balls, keeping possession and easing the pressure on ourselves, we attempted too many "Hollywood Balls", as Jim Strange put it after the game.

Overall, it was a good team performance. Everyone faught until the last minute, and we were still in with a shout until Parkview scored their second about fifteen minutes into the second half. We played some decent hockey when we went forward aswell, with Alan Russell, Michael McKenna and Leon linking up well on a few occassions. Graeme Reid was fantastic in defence, and Stevie Cummins made a number of excellent saves.

Good Effort Lads.



*As I mentioned earlier, we are low on numbers at the moment. I would therefore appreciate if everybody could make themselves available AND START CONFIRMING THIER AVAILABILITY ASAP BEFORE GAMES. It will make getting a team out on a Saturday much easier. Lastly, payment of match fees has been appalling of late, with only around five people paying each match. Remember to bring them EVERY WEEK!!!

Stevie Cummins
Johnny Orr
Graeme Reid
Thom Russell
Mark McKenna
Kriss Leslie
Leon Currie
Ronnie McDowell
Alan Russell
Michael McKenna
Matthew Bill

Graeme Reid