Starting line up
The Match
An undermanned Malmö team made the trip to Farum for what was always going to be a tough game. With the Captain, vice captain and a new daddy missing the game (congrats again Chris), plus another couple of starting players, it would an understatement to say that Malmö were not as strong as they would have hoped. Either way we still managed to turn up with a good squad showing the depth of the Maulers in 2019. There were a number of first gamers for the year and some first ever for the club with Old man Gates and Max having their first game for the club this year, and Nicholas Cox and Kim Skinner having their first game for the club.
The game started as perhaps expected with Farum getting away early through some midfield dominance, and if it were not for some great defending by our courageous back three of Gates, Taffy, and Donny who repelled many attempts. Malmö created some strong chances through the strong leading of Brodie but failed to put much damage on the scoreboard. The Maulers intent was great, and while the scoreboard may not have flattered Malmö, Farum knew they were in for a physical contest. Malmö were often first to the ball and showed a greater intensity, however lacked a little polish in their delivery.
The second quarter went much the same way of the first with Malmö showing grit, defending well, but failing to impact the scoreboard a great deal. A high hit by the Cats which later lead to a report, brought some fire into the game and the Maulers responded well. Come the end of the first half the Maulers were down by 9 goals and a blowout was in the air.
This was not to be the case! With a few changes, and some renewed confidence Malmö held their own. Players ran and carried the ball, and were cleaner with their decision making. Max wanted to make sure everyone knew he was playing and put his body on the line making it loud and clear that if he is near, it might be best to get rid of the ball. Paul went forward and gave Brodie some help and caused a lot of problems. Some straighter kicking on some set shots from all players may have made the game a lot closer!
The last quarter the Maulers built on their momentum. Again we probably didn’t make the most of our opportunities, but it was a different team to that of the first half. Paul, Liam and Brodie continued to cause problems down forward and Donny and Taffy created run from the back. The caravan man Jarrad showed that he could be a force with some really clean touches and nice run and carries. Edy showed great heart and fight anytime he was near the ball, and Sami probably provided the highlight of the match, when he caught their full forward holding the ball, executed a nice kick down the middle and ran on to get the next pass and launch the ball forward. It was a tremendous piece of football from a new player that highlighted everything we were looking for!
There was no doubt that if the Maulers had of played this way from the start then it would be a different game. There were a lot of lessons to be learned and loads of positives to be taken for the boys and with 4 starting players due back into the team coupled with the improvement of the new players the Maulers will be a different team next time they face the Cats.
Best players:
Gates, Liam, Donny, Paul
/Padsy
Final Score
Farum Cats: 95
Port Malmö Maulers: 36
For full details see:
http://www.thefootyrecord.net/index.php?content1=match&m=4641