Our first match in AFL 09. As this was the first match, there were the usual jitters in the early minutes of the match but the team soon settled down and we were able to match our opponents, who were mostly younger and faster.
Both team had chances to open the scoring in the 1st half but poor finishing meant that the 1st half ended goalless. About 10 minutes into the second half, a hopeful long ball caused panic in our defence and we were punished for not being able to clear the ball as Club Renaisoonz 's forward lobbed the ball over Shaun to give them the lead.
Having to chase the game now, defensive midfielder Stephen was replaced by Mumin as Meirda FC switched from a 4-5-1 formation to 4-4-2. A few half chances soon followed with Terrence coming close when he stuck out his foot at a low cross shot, only to see his shot going the wrong side of Club Renaisoonz's right post.
As the team poured forward in search of the equaliser, we were dealt a sucker punch when Club Renaisoonz's right winger broke away, somehow managed to elude 2 defenders and planted his shot pass Shaun to secure the points.
There were still time for Meirda FC to waste 2 good opportunities from freekicks awarded just outside the penalty box but on both occasions, the ball refused to dip fast enough and sailed over the crossbar.
A dissappointing start to the season but overall, the team played reasonably well and can draw encouragement from our never-say-die attitude shown throughout the match.
