1st Team Earns Lucky Escape

BMAFC closed out a tight game over (Papatoetoe) High School Old Boys 3-2 at Te Puru on Saturday.

Right back James Gibbs opened the scoring early - only 2 minutes into the match - when his free kick, taken from Beachlands' side of half way, found enough space between the HSOB goalie's reach and the crossbar. From there, BMAFC took control of the match and enjoyed the lion's share of possession. Scoring again looked inevitable for the home side. An incisive run from Bryce Henney created space in front of the red zone - a pinpoint pass back to a waiting Tristan Blignault gave BMAFC a commanding 2-0 lead. Perhaps a measure of complacency took hold of the locals after finding little resistance from HSOB in the opening 30 minutes. However the visitors were not without strike power of their own and scored when a well placed shot beat BMAFC's keeper.

The goal gave HSOB the injection they needed and the game became an even arm wrestle. Before the break however, BMAFC netted their third goal when player-coach Brian Preston scored his first goal of the year from an attacking corner.

Click to open an enlargement:

As the second half resumed so did the arm wrestle - play went end to end and it felt as though there were plenty more goals to come before full time. HSOB were not short of determination or opportunity and they scored their second goal after beating BMAFC's offside trap. With 15 minutes remaining in the match the game really began to heat up as both sides were desperate to finish on top. Another attacking corner saw a near miss from Brent Couper, which kept the pressure on Beachlands right to the finish line. BMAFC were forced to defend numerous attacking raids from HSOB who may have felt unlucky themselves not to draw level in the match. It was not to be for the visitors - 3-2 the final score and win gratefully accepted by Beachlands.

Player of the day was Tristan Blignault.