Macleans caught us napping within the first minute when they turned over possession and quickly counter-attacked, sending their Number 10 through one-on-one against Mitchell Verry. Next, on the five minute mark Macleans made it 2–0 from a well taken free kick that drifted long to our back post. The opposition’s Number 10 rose unmarked and headed the ball back across our goal for it to be bundled in.
One minute later Jack Rathbone floated a lovely corner ball into their six yard box and Matt Ganley (named our player of the match) rose highest to head it home; 2–1! King’s had come to life and the boys were playing some good football down both flanks. In the eleventh minute Andy Bao found himself playing right wing and ripped a hard low cross into Macleans’ six yard box. Matt Ganley had made a run into the area and this combined to pressure their defence into making the worst error a defence can make – they conceded an own goal and it was 2–2!
Both teams continued to threaten each other’s goal for the next few minutes but the score line rested at 2–2 until four minutes from halftime, when our defence failed to clear a ball.
Macleans’ Number 10 was once again allowed time and space, this time to cross the ball low and hard into our penalty area. Their Number 9 tapped it in to make it 3–2 in their favour. We started the first half brightly and built some good early pressure through Andy Bao and Charles Mills. Unfortunately it was to no avail and on the nine minute mark, Macleans had scored again from a direct free kick to make the final score 4–2.
