Virginia Into Grand Final After Scrappy Win Over Annerley
Virginia Utd 2 (Medhurst 16’, Wilson 80’) Annerley 0 HT: 1-0 Played at Albert Bishop Park
Virginia United didn’t produce their best football but managed a goal in each half when they beat a battling Annerley 2-0 at Albert Bishop Park on Saturday evening. A sunny early afternoon turned gloomy at match time and adding a somber feel to a game which was tight until the deadlock was broken in the 16th minute by Dan Medhurst who followed a mishit cross into the box and was the fortunate recipient of a rebound off the crossbar. It took all but the last ten minutes of the rest of the game before United rounded off the result through Danny Wilson, who met a long cross at the edge of the area and headed a looping finish over David Goldsmith In goal for the Stars. A forgettable first half, littered with turnovers and missed passes, ran it’s course before both teams managed to step up their game after the break. Whist Virginia were deserved winners on the balance of play, Annerley had two great chances to take control of their destiny but were unable to convert. Firstly, Jaymes O’Brien hooked a one on one chance wide of the post in the first half before Ismaila Singhateh side-footed a volley onto the crossbar just after the hour mark. An extended period of recent dry weather has left many surfaces hard and bouncy, including Albert Bishop Park, which had a massive effect on the technical standard with both sides struggling to bring the ball down and string together meaningful passing strings. The longer the game wore on, the more opportunities to score were created but this was as a result of both sides putting their head down and running towards goal rather than the slick passing manoeuvres which have brought them to the penultimate match. Centenary Stormers await the victors next weekend and will be heavy favourites, particularly if United are unable to improve on today’s performance, but games are always decided in favour of the team which scores the most goals… Virginia are very, very good at doing just that. It’s not all negatives of course, they were excellent across the backline when Annerley pressed them late in the game and rarely looked like allowing Chris Couesnon in goal to be put under any real pressure. It’s been a long year and the hard thing for Virginia will be finding the improvement necessary to finish up with silverware in the cabinet. Annerley bow out and will be disappointed but third place in a highly competitive league is a substantial achievement as they aim to bring the club back to former heights.
Coach Remarks: Richard Hudson (Virginia United): "It’s been a long season and I think we should have won the league. We were sniffing there and thereabouts. We had a big climax to the season because we had to win the last two games before we clinched promotion and since then it’s been a bit of a lull. We’re getting a bit tired but in saying that we battled it out and we’re still there with another game of football to win. It’s a bonus and we will do our best to win it." Neville O’Sullivan (Annerley): "I really don’t know. We were much better in the second half but you can’t give up goals and expect to win tournaments. We didn’t put our chances away and they did. The guys put their heart and soul into the game today and I’m very happy with them. We’ve had a good season but we just didn’t get anything out of it. At the end of the day there’s only one Premier and one Grand Final winner and that’s the way things are."
FB Media Player Of The Match: Stephen Kehoe (Virginia United)
This game was won across the back four with Kehoe being the crucial link in the chain. Every time Annerley looked as if they would get behind the defence, the number 13 was there to tidy up.
Team line-ups
Virginia Utd: Couesnon (gk), Pitt, Penny, Kehoe, Hinds, Harbeck, Wilson, Medvurst, Nicolaidis, Usher, Crawford.
Subs: Geddes, Riggall (rgk), Debbage, McCluskie, Randal.
Annerley: Goldsmith (gk), Winkler-Maloney, Mosch, Otigbah, Xhemajlhaj, MacNamara, Launchbury, Singhateh, O’Brien, Gorrie, Carney.
Subs: Capannini, Kelleher, Powell, Wiles. REFEREE: Tony Sarai
