Big Upset As Thistle End Rovers Cup Dream

Grange Thistle 1 (Hornby 7’ pen)

Rochedale Rovers 0

HT 1-0 Played at: Lanham Park

Current bottom side of the Flight Centre Premier League Grange Thistle, sprung a huge Westfield FFA Cup upset when they beat Rochedale Rovers 1-0 at Lanham Park. The deciding goal arrived early in the game when Thistle attacked down the right and a stinging cross from Ryan Adamson struck the hand of the Rovers defender and Alex King awarded the penalty which Matt Hornby converted despite Rovers keeper James Harkin getting a hand to the ball and nearly keeping it out. In what was a scrappy game, Thistle came out of the blocks with intent and had the best of the first half an hour without creating any real opportunities but winning tackles and keeping the visitors out of the contest. Lewis Cameron was ruled out of the game in the warm-up for Rochedale and it made a big difference with a lack of penetration on the left hand side and an inability to link with Kado Aoci up front who was isolated for long periods. After the interval the game evened up as the away side found the sting which had been lacking, in particular Seiji Shizuno who started to create in the middle of the park. Even so, there was a sense that it wasn’t going to be their night and it could easily have been a wider margin if Harkin hadn’t produced a brilliant save from a Tim Smits header and Hornby came even closer to his second with a shot from distance which cannoned back into play off the outside of the post. The closest Rovers were came to a reply in the entire game arrived in the 75th minute when a bobbling ball eluded Zac Symons in goal but was cleared off the line with Aoci lunging for the tap-in. Both teams struggled to link together strings of coherent play and it certainly wasn’t a spectacle for the purists but only the most hardened Rovers supporter would say the better side lost. With time winding down and Thistle repelling repeated barrages, an excellent home crowd were on the edge of their seats until the fulltime whistle blew and they celebrated their passage through to the next round and a home game against either Peninsula Power or Logan FC. With such a low scoreline it’s no surprise that the best players for both teams were defenders, Uryu Nagata and Jason Tobin for Rovers; Ben Mooney and Zane Clayton for Thistle. Of particular note was the first half performance of Seiju Yoshisugi who dominated at right back for the home team, never giving an inch to his highly rated direct opponents.

Match Highlights:

Coaches Remarks:

Scott Higgins - Grange Thistle: “Proud of the boys, worked really hard. We bossed with the game in the first half an hour. They came into the game in the last fifteen minutes but we dealt with it really well. Spoke to them at halftime about composure and sticking to structures. Really proud of the lads. Could have three or four to be honest.” Scott MacNicol - Rochedale Rovers: “It was always going to be a battle over here. Said that to the lads before the game. They got bodies in the way and got themselves an early penalty which decided the outcome.

FB Media Player of the Match: Zane Clayton (Grange Thistle).

Clayton didn’t put a foot wrong all night and was vital when Rovers attacked repeatedly late in the game.

FB Media Stats:

Possession: 55% - 45%

Shots on target: 6 - 7

Shots off target: 3 - 3

Shots blocked: 1 - 1

Corners: 4 - 4

Free Kicks: 14 - 12

Penalties: 1 - 0

Offside: 2 - 2

Yellow Cards: 1 - 1