TUNCURRY Forster Football Club’s two senior men’s sides met for the second time this season on Saturday, this time with automatic qualification for a preliminary final berth on the line.
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As expected the game was a very tense, hard fought affair, with few scoring chances for either side, and right until the final whistle the match could have gone either way.
The Tigers Black started the better and had the lion’s share of possession early in the match. The early pressure eventually told, with Jason Ward intercepting an under-hit back pass and poking it under the advancing Dean Bensch in the Gold goal.
The remainder of the first half saw the action concentrated in the wide areas as both teams sought to get in behind their opponent’s defence, and only some excellent work by Mick Youngberry on the left and Kale McCarthy on the right for Gold stopped Black from extending their lead. Gold had one grey opportunity to score as some very casual defending by Black saw the ball find its way to the dangerous Brett Webber, whose shot was parried by Curtis Jones to Jack Jenkins, who hit a looping effort that was cleared by Andrew Couch.
The second half saw the Gold side really take the game to their higher placed opponents, and greater hunger, urgency and intensity saw the momentum swing in Gold’s favour. A series of dangerous corners went unpunished, and perhaps the best chance of an equaliser came from the boot of Webber, who forced a sensational save from Jones in the Black goal with a thunderous free kick.
The game remained an arm wrestle all the way to the finish, with the final score Tigers Black 1, Tigers Gold 0.
The game was notable for the senior debut of 15-year-old Paul Elliot, who was absolutely outstanding in central defence for Tigers Gold. Great games were had by fellow under 18 players Mick Youngberry, Jason Little, Dylan Webber, Jordan Fletcher and Joey Newman also for Tigers Gold, with skipper Adam Christensen also impressive in the commitment shown throughout the match.
With several regulars missing, Tigers Gold should take a lot of confidence from their performance into their semi-final against either Lansdowne or Bulahdelah next week.
Standouts for Tigers Black were Jake Camilleri, Pete Goonan and Corey Nash, with a very useful stint in central defence by John Nash. Tigers Black now get a week off, and will play either Green Point, Taree Jaguars or Tinonee for a place in the grand final.
Tigers Gold must win this Saturday to have a chance at playing Pacific Palms (who had earlier beaten Green Point 3-2) for their shot at grand final glory.