On the final matchday of the RMB Lawyers All Age Division 1 Community League season it was Dandaloo who took on the Cringila Stallions at Macedonia Park. Despite finishing the season in second, Dandaloo showed throughout the season that they are a daunting prospect for defences, as they managed to net 82 goals in the regular season. The Stallions would have felt confident going into the match as they did score four past Dandaloo in their 5-4 loss earlier in the season.

The match commenced in windy conditions and quickly developed into an end-to-end contest. Cringila Stallions midfielder Majkol Dimoski was finding himself in space early and looking for killer passes over the top of the Dandaloo defence.

The first chance of the match came in the 14^th minute. Dandaloo midfielder Jay Horobin received the ball and opened up onto his right foot on edge of the area. He curled his shot into the bottom right corner but was saved by Stallions goalkeeper Andres Ferreiro.

Cringila Stallions had to wait approximately 30 minutes for their first opportunity. Orcan As found himself ahead of his defender. He let rip a half cross, half shot which was pounced upon by Dandaloo keeper Tam Hart.

The first goal of the game went to Dandaloo in the 31^st minute. It all started from a free kick situation 30-yards out. David Buchanan stepped up and curled the ball into the top left hand corner. Ferreiro made an impressive save onto the post. The ball fell out to an unmarked Lachlan Blayney as he tapped the ball home.

Five minutes prior to the break Dandaloo doubled their advantage. Blayney was again in the action, making a nuisance of himself up front and causing havoc. His right-footed shot was deflected into the path of Buchanan as he passed the ball into the left hand corner.

The final chance of the half fell to the Stallions. Following a free kick on half way, the ball found its way upfield and Adrian Blazevski hit a thunderous volley from the edge of the box. Hart was called into action to save the ball onto the cross bar and out for a corner.

As the second half got underway Cringila Stallions were still in the contest. This changed ever so quickly in the space of the first five minutes of the second period. Two goals were scored which effectively ended the Stallion’s fight in the match.

The first came in the 47^th minute as the ball found the right flank of Dandaloo’s attack. A pass across goal found left-winger Blake Rae under little pressure as he finished the ball in the back of the net.

Moments later Buchanan was on the scoresheet once more. He broke through a Stallion’s defence that was on their heels and pinned his ears back to place the ball in the back of the net from a one-on-one situation.

64 minutes into the contest Blayney was rewarded for all his hard work with a second goal. A dinked ball over the top allowed him to get in behind the defensive line as he finished off the chance with confidence.

Buchanan turned provider as he was deployed in a number 10 role late in the contest. He played the ball over the top of the Stallion’s defence to find Paul Gaffney’s late run where he thumped his shot into the top left corner of the net.

Despite total dominance in the second half from Dandaloo, Cringila Stallions were not without chances. In the 74^th minute Mladen Petreski broke through the Dandaloo high line as his shot was saved spectacularly down low one-on-one by Hart.

After this moment of danger, Cringila Stallions did in fact grab a consolation. With just over 10 minutes left in the contest, Matthew Sini was played in as he made a late run which was not tracked by Dandaloo. He finished the ball off in the bottom right corner.

The final action of the Grand Final was a seventh goal for Dandaloo, and it was perhaps the pick of the bunch. Horobin pondered with the ball on the edge of the area. He created a yard of space for himself as he unleashed a left-footed drive into the back of the net.

A totally comprehensive 7-1 victory for Dandaloo who dominated proceedings against the Stallions. A very efficient way to proclaim themselves as the 2018 RMB Lawyers All Age Division 1 Community League Champions.

 

Saturday 15 September 2018 @ Macedonia Park

Dandaloo – 7 (Blayney 31’ 64’, Buchanan 39’ 49’, Rae 47’, Gaffney 67’, Horobin 86’)

Cringila Stallions – 1 (Sini 78’)

 

Dandaloo – Tom HART, Michael GUTIERREZ, Michael RIXON, Christopher COBB, Brendan O’DONOGHUE, Brendan SPINA, Matthew GRIFFITHS, Lachlan BLAYNEY, David BUCHANAN, Josh HOCKEY, Paul GAFFNEY, Blake RAE, Jay HOROBIN, Nicholas LONG, Matthew HUGHES, Kevin COOPER, Gregory DOHERTY

Cringila Stallions – Ferreiro ANDRES, David PAIVA, Vlad DIMOSKI, Majkol DIMOSKI, Mladen PETRESKI, Michael CANKULOVSKI, Tony RATAJKOSKI, Damian JORGE, Adrian BLAZEVSKI, Volkan AS, Save TRENESKI, Nicholas PUPOVAC, Vasko MITKOVSKI, Orcun AS, Mitchell BLAZEVSKI, Matthew SINI

 

Referee – Brett MCAULAY

Assistant Referees – L. MORENO, I. RONCATO

Photo - Dana Guthrie

 

 

Report by Jordan Warren, on Twitter @jwarren0817