Monash vs LCW July 8^th

Result 1-0

Well not too much to say about this game that’s worth reporting. After a tight encounter earlier in the season that resulted in a 2-0 win in favour of LCW, we went into this fixture knowing that we were certainly a good match for Monash in all departments and as long as we closed down a couple of key playmakers then we had every of stealing a victory on a pitch that was as hard as an ice rink in certain areas. Unfortunately neither side really took control of a game that was there for the taking and very few opportunities arose for either team in a rather dull first half, only highlights being a former LCE player with the initials AT having his customary whine – this time at

Jon Parkes for what I thought was a perfectly fair tackle, and for some outstanding tackles from Willy in his first game back for a while.

So a 0-0 scoreline was probably a fair reflection of the half and we knew we had to raise our performance in the second half.

To be honest, we didn’t and despite a great deal of excellent running from the likes of Grant and

Jon Prideaux, we rarely created a clear opportunity, or indeed troubled their keeper.

In what was another scrappy half which never produced much quality football, the only exception was the speculative shot from the Monash player from about 25 yards that looped over Lucio and into the back of the net – I think he meant it as well.

There was still time to get back into the match and LCW started to pick up their game and attack with a little more urgency, however to no avail and the final score was a defeat by the narrowest of margins.

In a game with few notable memories, one is however worthy of mention. Gareth’s “friendly banter” with the referee late in the second half proved an amusing distraction from the other events on the pitch, and ultimately ended up with Gareth actually requesting he be substituted – surely the first time in his career and most likely a very wise decision on his part, as players often receive life bans if they were to physically assault a referee.

So a disappointing result against a team we hate to lose against – those accents gloating in victory make it all the more painful.

(Still the Wallabies inflicted the second worst defeat in the history of their motherland this last weekend so some of that pain was erased).