Coming into this match the second grade side were missing four vital players. Guyra started the game off well, as per usual. We weren’t playing the best but we were the more competitive side. 

For the first 10 minutes we did everything well: talked, hard passes and we moved to the ball. This showed in play. DK soon fought back into the game and it became much more even. 

Each side had their own opportunities to open the scoring but each side’s defence held out. To Guyra’s credit, our defence was good. We had more of the pressure on us and we kept the score line to 0 for a while. 

However, DK managed to slot one in after their consistent attack. From here, it seemed like the Guyra midfield was being dominated. This opened attack for our opposition and they held the ball better than us. 

We perhaps were not moving off the ball and talking as well as we were at the start of the game. I think the side was very fatigued from consistent opposition pressure and were glad when we heard the half time whistle. 

After a quick break and a chat we took the field again. This time, DK started a little on top. They scored a quick goal leaving Guyra down 2-0. 

Guyra still had no midfield, but again to our credit we were attacking the outside field very well. As a result, a quick play from our backs through to our strikers found the feet of Justin McKay, who had a very sweet shot from around 30 metres out, which caught the keeper who was off his line off guard, resulting in the ball floating over his head into the top right hand corner. Guyra were back to 2-1. 

For the remainder of the game we were competitive on the ball; however a fatigued defence allowed DK to score one more goal leaving the final score to be 3-1. 

In the coach’s eyes, one of the outstanding players for this game was Mr Ashley Holt. He was probably known as the silent assassin in previous years, lurking in the backs and not saying much. But he has taken off and has started to talk brilliantly this year, organising some of the midfield and helping to organise our backs as well. 

He has also been taken out of his comfort zone in the backs and playing in the halves, and if I can say so myself, has done a brilliant job. Keep up the great work Flash! 

Points this week went to Tyrone Clough for 3, Ashley Holt for 2 and Justin McKay for 1. I commend the players for their efforts this week and for their efforts so far this year. It is a very new side with some very young players and a very new coach. 

It has taken a few weeks but I feel we are finding our roles and working together a lot better on and off the field. This showed on Saturday with how competitive the game was. 

The side has come from losing by 10 goals for the past two years to winning two out of four matches this year and we are nowhere near out best yet. So watch out Armidale and surrounding teams, because here come Guyra! 

We take on TAS this Saturday at home. Second grade kick off at 1.00pm and we would love to see you there to support us!

Tyrone Clough