Hamersley Too Mighty for Quinns

12 April 2012 Written by HRSC

Hamersley Rovers kicked off the season on Easter Monday with an opening 2-0 win over new State League side Quinns FC in the State Cup preliminary round. Only State League teams and Amateur Premier teams are entered into the State Cup and Hamersley earned their place in the first round in convincing fashion.

The first half kicked off in bright sunshine and hot temperatures which contributed to the slow start from both teams. Rovers were knocking the ball about and keeping possession well with Logan Crawford and Mickey Garcia causing problems with their pace. Jimmy Young and Ryan Sochanik were pulling the strings from midfield while Ricky Andrews was working hard on the left.

Quinns did breakaway on a couple of occasions but good defending from Ben Aston, Martin Ireland, Matt Emery and Steve Pountney kept them at bay with some timely tackles. Haig Kingston making his Hammers debut in goal was marshalling the defence well.

The second half started brightly as Hamersley manage to get in the first shot of the half. Debutant Michael Howard narrowly missed as his powerful shot sailed just over the crossbar from 18 yards out. Both teams then looked to get control of the ball with Hamersley seemingly content to attack on the counter. It was on one of these breakaways that the first goal was scored.

Logan Crawford picked the ball up 40 meters from goal on the right wing. He used his pace to drive towards the corner of the 18 yard box and evade a lunging tackle from the Quinns centre back. With the keeper starting to come off his line he rifled the ball into the top corner and over his flailing dive

10 minutes later Rovers doubled their advantage. Crawford, who was a constant thorn in Quinns side, was again released down the right and after cutting inside the full back he drilled a low ball across the face of the goal. The Quinns defender and goalkeeper had a communication breakdown and as the defender tried to clear he only succeeded in volleying the ball through his own keeper’s legs.

Quinns came back into the game and their superior fitness told. Rovers were reliant on last ditch tackles from Ashton and Ireland to keep the Quinns forwards at bay. With 10 minutes to go Rovers keeper Kingston pulled off a great save as he threw himself across the goal to push a ball wide that looked destined for the far left of the net.

All three subs were used to shore up the game and relieve tired legs. Stu Simmons in place of Andrews, Sam Long making his debut for Garcia and Jono Lock for Crawford.

Team: Kingston, Emery, Ashton, Ireland, Pountney, Andrews (Simmons), Crawford (Lock), Young, Sochanik, Howard, Garcia (Long).

A great first up win for Hamersley away to a team that have been playing competitively for 6 weeks. Hamersley Reserves unfortunately lost on penalties after scrapping to a 0-0 draw. Paul Broom the only player to convert his penalty.

The Amateur Premier League season kicks off next Sunday with away trip to Spearwood Dalmatinac.