The Casper’s started slowly. Early on, we let in a very soft goal and it is never good to start behind any team, let alone it be North Armidale. It seemed this is what it took for Guyra to become alive. From here on in, we defended extremely well. 

The opposition couldn’t find any way in and were forced to shoot from a distance. This kept North’s at a 1-0 lead for a large percentage of the first half. Guyra were holding the ball well. We were also putting immediate pressure on the North’s attack which was forcing a lot of errors. Guyra weren’t allowing their opposition to play their game and this had them playing poorly. 

We managed to create a few opportunities in attack as well. We used the width of the field great and pushed from all corners. Unfortunately, none of these opportunities were converted. Five minutes before half time North’s scored another goal to put us behind 2-0. 

We walked off at half time holding our heads high. Everything from our camp was positive even knowing we were 2-0 down. We knew that North’s would not be happy with their first half performance. All we wanted to do for this second half was to continue to apply pressure to North’s in every aspect and continue to play great soccer as we had just played our best half of the year. 

We started the second half strong, but not as strong as we had played the first half. Because of this, North’s had more possession than us. This created many attempts on goals with North’s managing to score two slack goals leaving the score at 4-0. Shortly after, with about 20 minutes to go, North Armidale received a penalty inside the box. This was a sure goal for North’s. After Guyra had set up a defensive wall, the North’s striker took the shot, which deflected off a Guyra player. 

North’s then had to take another five shots on goal which eventually found the back of the net (with a little bit of luck I might add). This wasn’t a great goal and I believe the North’s side would be disappointed with this. Our opposition managed to score another goal with 15 minutes to go leaving us 6-0 down. 

We played pretty ordinarily in the last 20 minutes of the game. Guyra were definately not without their chances in this game and, in patches, played their best soccer of the year. The 6-0 score line does not reflect how we played the majority of the match and North Armidale would have walked off the field knowing that they should have done better; all because of the outstanding defensive show the Caspers put on, along with our pressuring midfield and strikers. 

This weekend Guyra United has the Bye with two games remaining after that. 

This weekend Guyra United Soccer Club is holding the Retro Night, which has a theme of ‘Fright Night’. I have talked this event up over the last couple of weeks. This, ladies and gentleman, is only because I would love to see everyone there because I do not want anyone to miss out on this great night! Come dressed as your favourite scary character or just something spooky in general. 

We have some great trivia that will be going on, awesome music and prizes to be won. Entry is free, however if you wish to have something from our BBQ there will be a cost of $10.00. This includes something from the BBQ, entry into the trivia and a drink over the bar. I also wish to advise that the kitchen will be closed for this night so I highly recommend that you purchase this. All of this is kicking off at 6pm. So come on down to Cookie’s Hotel to support your local soccer club and have an extraordinary night out! I will see you ALL there!!

Tyrone Clough