The 4th round of the cup saw the juicy rematch of last year’s cup fixture between Murdoch and Fremantle Croatia at Len Shearer Reserve. The last time these two teams met, Fremantle Croatia had four players sent off due to a mixture of ill-discipline and questionnable refereeing. Despite the advantage, Murdoch struggled to put Fremantle Croatia away, only just running out winners due to a late goal.

This rematch had everything that pre-match hype should have - the premier league team installed as underdogs, claims from the Fremantle camp that an undermanned team would be fielded and Murdoch looking forward to the prospect of knocking out arguably the amateur league’s up and comers.

1st Half

The first half saw Murdoch take charge from the outset. Fremantle Croatia seemed content to sit back and absorb the Murdoch attack and then try to stun the premier league team with counter attacks. A series of attacking corners saw Blaz Zoric go close directly from the corner, only a goal line clearance from the near post denying him. Rompy Rompington also found himself on the end of a couple of crosses but could not find the back of the net.

Fremantle Croatia sent an early scare through the Murdoch camp when a fast break lead to a hard and low cross being whipped across Murdoch’s six yard box, but fortunately there was nobody on the end of it. Croatia’s forward target was gradually being frustrated through a mixture of poor passes from his teammates plus some close attention from Fred and Rompington.

Murdoch’s midfield trio of John Brennan, Dave Drummond and Clayton Kendall found themselves with ample time on the ball and combined well with the hard working Shae and Blaz to feed both Meo Nintendo and Henrico. It was Meo who set up Murdoch’s first after about 15 minutes of play with some fine skill and strength on the ball allowing him to get behind the Croatia defence and cut a precise ball back to Shae who placed the ball wide of the Croatia keeper into the back of the net. 1 nil Murdoch.

So far this season, Murdoch have got complacent after going in front so all eyes were on the back line to ensure no equaliser was conceded. As it so happened, Croatia did not push forward in attack an instead persisted with a more defensive approach. The game was turned on its head slightly on the 35 minute mark when Croatia’s skipper was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Shae. The one player advantage seemed to give Murdoch too much time on the ball and Croatia withstood a large amount of Murdoch’s attacks.

Clayton Kendall went close to putting Murdoch two in front when a long throw from Matt Wilson was flicked on hit the back post before eventually being cleared. Meo also had a great opportunity when he found inself in front of goal with only the keeper to beat, but his shot was smashed over the bar.

At half time the score was still 1 nil in favour of Murdoch, which flattered the visitors.

2nd Half

The second half started out much like the first half with Murdoch dominating possession and looking the more likely of the two sides to score. A slight win advantage to Croatia meant that Murdoch’s defence and keeper Barrett needed to be on guard for a long range shot.

Meo continued to hound the Croatia defence and his efforts were rewarded about 5 minutes in the second half when a long throw from Matt Wilson was not dealt with by the Croatia defence and the ball sat nicely for Meo to header the ball just under the crossbar and into the Croatia net. 2 nil to Murdoch.

The player advtange was starting to show for the Murdoch lads until the playing field was levelled about 10 minutes into the second half when a sliding tackle from Dave Drummond was met with a red card from the referee. The advantage momentarily spurred Croatia to life as they attempted some long range efforts, one of which brought on a beautiful finger-tip save from Barrett.

It was now Murdoch’s turn to exploit Croatia on the counter attack when a lovely through ball to John Brennan who had been pushed up front sent him clear onto goal. Brennan rounded the keeper but his touch was slightly to heavy and he was forced to turn on the ball on the touch line, open up the angle again and then smash the ball into the back of the net before the Croatia keeper could get back. 3 nil Murdoch.

Croatia pulled one back shortly after when a cross into the box caught the sunlight and halted Barret in his tracks. The ball was contested but fell to the feet of the unmarked Croatia striker who easily placed the ball into the empty net. With about 20 minutes remaining, this spurred Croatia into life and soon Barrett was called on to make another fine save. The Croatia striker received a cross just inside the Murdoch 18 yard box and quickly fired a shot that Barrett got his fingertips on which pushed the ball onto the top of the Murdoch crossbar.

John Brennan soon put the game beyond doubt when some fine individual work saw him fire off a superb shot under pressure and left the keeper stranded in no mans land. Certainly the goal of the game and prompted the Murdoch faithful to go scrambling for the words to the Murdoch club song.

Full time Murdoch 4 - Fremantle Croatia 1 - No bloodshed.

Players - Andy Barrett, Matt Wilson, Fred, Rompy Rompington, Shae Whatmore, Blaz Zoric, Clayton Kendall, John Brennan, Dave Drummond, Meo Nintendo, Henrico Saeran

Subs used - Reginald

Scorers - Shae Whatmore, Meo Nintendo, John Brennan (2)

COP that!

The Murdoch boys travelled further South this week to visit rivals Southern Spirit. Murdoch has a history of knocking off the Spirit, usually in trechorous weather, and were looking to continue this trend, albeit on a fine Sunday afternoon. On the other hand, Spirit had put together some decent results so far and were currently enjoying sitting in the top half of the table.

1st Half

Both Murdoch and Spirit started the game at a reasonable pace with some good end to end movement, but with little reward being gained. Murdoch looked to penetrate down the right wing via Shae on several occassions and the young man quickly became a nuisance for the defending Spirit players. On the other hand, Spirit seemed to be content with counter attacks once a Murdoch attack had broken down.

It was via a counter attack that lead to the first goal for Spirit. After clearing the ball quickly, Spirit attacked down their right flank and despite a weighty cross to the back post the unchecked Spirit left-winger was able to pick the ball up before it went it out and play a centre ball behind a static Murdoch defence to the unmarked Spirit striker who tapped the ball into the back of the net. 1 nil Spirit.

It wasn’t long before Spirit had two on the board. Another attack down Spirit’s right-wing saw the winger just get around Jacob King and his attempt to centre the ball hit the toe of King’s outstretched boot and deviated the ball between the wrong-footed Barrett and the Murdoch near post to give Spirit a fortunate and freakish 2 nil lead.

Spirit continued to give Murdoch trouble in their attacking third but generally resorted to shots at distance and rarely troubled Barrett.

With about 20 minutes to go in the half, Murdoch established some control in the game and looked more solid in defence. Some smooth passing work from the defence into the middle opened up the Spirit team who were always quick to get numbers behind the ball. Unfortunely for Murdoch, the final ball was not precise enough and time and again Andrew Jennings and Jamie Nugent fund themselves running away from the goal to collect the ball.

After some constant pressure, Murdoch got one back via a penalty and a controversial decision by the linesman who ruled that a volleyed cross by Jamie Nugent had been handled by the Spirit defender. Nugent continued his good work by stepping up and slotting the penalty down the centre of the goal much to the Spirit keeper’s disgust.

Murdoch pressed their case for an equaliser after a couple of corners and free kicks had Spirit scrambling to defend the height of Murdoch’s backmen. The best opportunity however fell to Nugent when a mistimed clearance fell to him, but his half volley was hit wide of the Spirit goal.

The half finished with Spirit leading 2 - 1.

2nd Half

Murdoch came out in the second half looking like they were going to pinch the game. Spirit again adopted the tactic of counter-attack play which produced very little.

Murdoch spent most of the half in attack but could not get into a goal scoring opportunity due to the crowding tactic adopted by the Spirit. On a couple of occassions Shae managed to get around his marker but that final ball could not be put away. Occassionally Spirit attacked down their left wing, generally when Shae’s marker was cheating on him, but these attacks were broken down by the Murdoch defence.

It was about midway through the second half when Murdoch got the equaliser. A loose bouncing ball in Spirit’s 18 yard box and a breakdown of communication between the Spirit keeper and defender saw Andrew Jennings latch onto the ball and header it past the keeper who had suddenly rushed out to claim it. This levelled the score at 2 a piece.

Murdoch continued to press for the winner, but unfortunately and very much against the play, Spirit got back in front. A flat cross from the Spirit right winger was intercepted by Clayton Kendall and the ball was knocked down between him and Jacob King. A mixup resulted in Kendall continuing his run forward and King pushing out wide, but neither collecting possession. This left the Murdoch defence outnumbered as the Spirit midfielders and attackers had not attempted to follow Kendall. The ball was knocked across goals and comfortably put away by the Spirit striker. 3 - 2 Spirit.

Spirit started to apply the pressure and had several corners and free kicks in which to put the game beyond reach of the Murdoch faithful. One great opportunity fell to Spirit midfielder who collected the ball from a throw-in, turned the Murdoch defender and hit a precise long-ranged shot that looked destined for the top corner until a superb finger-tipped saved by Barrett tapped the ball over the bar.

Murdoch threw everything into attack and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after a cleared cross by Spirit fell to King’s feet whose first touch drew the Spirit defender and his second cut inside the defender who chopped down King. Controversially, the referee indicated for a penalty until the linesman advised him that the foul was committed outside the box. The referee changed his mind and awarded a freekick just outside the box. After the dust settled, Jason Dixon stepped up and knocked a sensational free-kick in which found the head of the unmarked John Brennan, but his header sent the ball over the bar from close range.

Murdoch had one last opportunity to salvage a point when a ball crossed into the Spirit box was not dealt with and the lose ball was pounced on by Henrico who attempted an overhead volley but sent the ball wide of the goal much to Shae’s disdane who would have had a free header on goals.

The final whistle sounded ending Murdoch’s years of dominance over the Spirit.

Players - Andy B, Clayton K, Mark K, Jason D, Matt W, Dave D, John B, Shae W, Jacob K, Andy J, Jamie N

Subsitututes - Meo N, Henrico S

Scorers - Jamie N, Andy J 

Murdoch hosted cellar dwellars Hamersley Rovers at Len Shearer Reserve at what was another beautiful day for football. Murdoch were looking to take advantage of a stirring mid-week win against Fremantle Utd and propel themselves into the top half of the table whereas Hamersley were in search of any points they could grab.

1st Half

Hamersley started the brighter of the two teams and played like a team fighting for survival with hard tackles, quick movement and a desire to be first to the ball on every occassion. Murdoch on the other hand started the game like they played the second half of the Stirling Panthers game, second to the ball, lacking desire and anything but clinical in their movement of the ball.

Not surprisingly, it was Hamersley that was first to strike. A cross to the back post by the Hamersley right winger, who dashed through unchallenged found the Hamersley striker and despite claims of hand-ball by Barrett was able to header the ball into the back of the net. 1 nil Hamersley.

Generally, after conceding a goal, Murdoch have been quick to go on the offensive in order to turn things around. Call it a hangover from the Frematle game, but Murdoch did not respond in the instance and continued to allow Hamersley to dictate play. Hamersley’s pressure saw Murdoch on instances panic and give the ball up and contricted Sasa and Shae from getting involved in the game.

Towards the end of the first half it was Hamersley that struck again. This time the Hamersley striker received the ball from a throw in and exploited a lack of prssure to turn and run into the box, drawing a man, then laying a square ball to the incoming Hamersley left winger whose first time shot was not overly powerful but placed well enough to beat Barrett. 2 nil Hamersley.

Needless to say, Murdoch’s performance drew a spray from the coaching staff at half-time.

2nd Half

Knowing from experience that a 2 nil lead was able to be overcome, Murdoch came out of the half-time huddle with renewed energy and stepped things up a notch. In fact it was Murdoch who pressured Hamersley throughout the entirety of the half and Hamersley rarely had a glance at goal.

Murdoch’s first goal came from another set piece situation and it was another defender in Romper who found the back of the Hamersley net. A free-kick awarded to Murdoch between the half way line and the 18 yard box in Hamersley’s half was taken by Dixon. Dicko’s cross found Romper at the back post who called loudly (to make sure that nobody else considered challenging for the ball) and his well placed header was put away despite the best efforts of the Hamersley goalkeeper.

Murdoch continued to mount the pressure on Hamersley and had opportunities with several attacking corners, but were unable to find the equaliser. In an effort to push forward, Murdoch occassionally were reminded of the need to defend when Hamersley counter-attacked with speed.

Murdoch soon equialised in spectacular fashion. A turnover in the Murdoch half allowed the Murdoch defence to collect the ball and a through ball to Meo was well held up by the big stiker. Despite another through ball being on Meo was fouled just outside the 18 yard box. Step up Dave Drummond. Despite a four man wall, Dave expertly curved the ball up and over the defence and placed the ball in the top right hand corner of the Hamersley goal to give Murdoch the much needed equaliser.

In an effort to save a point, Hamersley withdrew their striker and added and extra man in defence. Murdoch made some substitutions of its own, subbing off Sasa, Jacob and Meo and putting on Andy Jennings, Blaz and Neil McClure. Unfortuntely, despite all the pressure applied by Murdoch, the winning goal was not forthcoming and Hamersley hedl on to what could be a crucial point come season end. Murdoch will be disappointed not to capitalise on their outstanding mid-week win.

Players - Andy B, Clayton K, Mark K, Jacob K, Jason D, Sasa G, Sasa S, Dave D, Shae W, Jamie N, Meo N

Subs used - Andy J, Neil M, Blaz Z

Scorers - Mark K, Dave D

Yellow cards - Jamie N, Clayton K

Murdoch Uni played host to reigning premier league champions Fremantle Utd at Len Shearer Reserve on a cold Tuesday evining at Len Shearer Reserve. The Murdoch lads were coming off a 2 all draw with Stirling Panthers and Fremantle Utd suffered a shock 6 - 1 loss to Lynwood Colts. 3 points was a must for both teams.

 1st Half

The game started at a very intense pace as both teams tried to exert dominance in the opening exchanges. But it was Murdoch who replicated its start against Stirling Panthers and looked the more dangerous of the two sides. Murdoch looked to play the ball through the middle of the park whereas Fremantle were content to knock long balls to their speedy strikers.

The Murdoch strike duo of Meo Nintendo and Jamie Nugent caused headaches for the Fremantle defence and they resorted to more physical challenges to try and neutralise the pair. A disgusting studs-up tackle on Meo saw one of the Fremantle defenders lucky to stay on the park.

It was Fremantle’s ill discipline that lead to Murdoch’s first goal on about 10 minutes. A foul on Jacob King just inside the Fremantle half saw Murdoch rewarded with a set piece. Jason Dixon stepped up and his flat curving cross was met by Sasa Gojic whose header was lofted into the top right hand corner of the Fremantle goal.

Murdoch continued to press and were rewarded with a second goal on about the 20 minute mark. A free kick that was knocked into the box should have been claimed by the Fremantle keeper but instead he fumbled it and Jacob King was quick to react and slotted the ball low to the keeper’s left hand post. 2 nil to Murdoch.

Despite the early lead to Murdoch, Fremantle were not prepared to give up and started to play the ball around to feet. Fremantle were particularly dangerous from inswinging crosses from the Fremantle right winger. Fremantle were unlucky not to find the back of the net when some lose marking gave the Fremantle striker an opportunity to latch onto an inswinging cross; however, the Fremantle striker was unable to convert. Fremantle also tried their luck at some shots outside the 18 yard box but Andy Barrett was up to the task. Other than that, Fremantle never really threatened the Murdoch goal.

Despite being on the back foot for the later part of the first half, Murdoch had several chances to further extend their lead. Some good build up work saw the ball knocked across the face of the Fremantle goal to a waiting Nugent, but his shot from 6 yards out was well saved by the Fremantle keeper. Nugent was also not far off scoring a cracker, when a cross to the back post was picked up by Romper who laid the ball back to Nugent and his powerful shot from outside the 18 yard box had the Fremantle keeper scrambling, but it just sailed over the cross bar. Other opportunities fell to Romper who had a free header at the back post after a Dixon free kick, which was sent over the bar: and to Sasa S whose shot from distance had too much dip on it and was collected by the Fremantle keeper. The half ended 2 nil to Murdoch.

2nd Half

Murdoch who were weary of what happened against Stirling Panthers started the half as they did in the first and were quick to build the pressure. Time and again, Murdoch had the Fremantle defence scrambling back to thier own goals but their pressure went unrewarded.

It was against the run of play that Fremantle controversially pulled one back. Fremantle generated some run from the midfield and despite a lot of pressure, a through ball pierced the Murdoch defence and the Fremantle striker placed the ball low and to the left of the advancing Barrett. The strike itself was not overly powerful and it allowed King to slide in and clear the ball of the line. The referee however thought differently and despite receiving no indication from the linesman, ruled that ball had gone over the goal line and awarded a goal to Fremantle. 2 - 1 to Murdoch.

Despite the controversy, and the knowledge that history was looking to repeat itself, Murdoch hit back with arguably the goal of the season to date. After a cross from a Murdoch corner was not cleared properly by the Fremantle defence, Sasa S picked up the ball outstide the 18 yard box and under pressure played a square ball to Nugent who struck the ball first time and his powerful dipping shot caught all, especially the Fremantle keeper, off guard and sailed into the Fremantle goal. 3 - 1 Murdoch and a celebration to remember.

Murdoch continued to defend strongly with Romper and a sick Dixon defending solidly and Clay picking up the odd ball that happened to trickle through. In the middle, Dave D, Matt W and Sasa S worked hard to retain possession and bring Sasa G and King into the game as often as possible.

Murdoch had a couple of opportunities to exploit Fremantle at set pieces and some well placed corners by Dave D were not being put away by Clay. Cue Andy Jennings. Murdoch took the opportunity to give Meo a rest and bring on another potent striker in Andy Jennings. The substitution almost instantly paid dividends when AJ’s first touch put him in a shooting opportunity just inside the Fremantle 18 yard box; however, it was well blocked by the advancing defender. Moments later, AJ had a terrific opportinuty when some great play through the middle and out wide carved the Fremantle defence and the final ball to AJ put him through to goal, but AJ’s first touch was too strong and the keeper was able to clear.

Murdoch were again rewarded for their pressure and dominance at set pieces with about 15 minutes to go. With Fremantle’s defence paying particular attention to AJ, Dave D again knocked in a sublime cross and Clay, who held off his defender, headed the ball into the Fremantle goal. 4 - 1 Murdoch and AJ really enjoyed sticking it to the Fremantle defence.

As Murdoch looked to see out the game, Fremantle were rewarded with a consolation goal when the Fremantle striker recovered a lose ball in midfield and after a short run played a throughball to the other Fremantle striker and his well taken strike was lofted over the diving Barrett to give Fremantle a small glimmer of hope.

But tonight it was Murdoch and they saw out the game 4 - 2 to inflict another defeat to the Fremantle boys.

Squad

Players - Andy Barrett, Clayton Kendall, Mark Kendall (Romper), Jason Dixon, Sasa Gojic, Dave Drummond, Matt Wilson, Sasa Slav, Jacob King, Meo Nintendo, Jamie Nugent

Subs used - Andy Jennings, Vedran Kitic

Scorers - Sasa Gojic, Jacob King, Jamie Nugent, Clayton Kendall

Round 6 of the amateur premier league season saw Murdoch Uni take on newly promoted Stirling Panthers at Len Shearer Reserve on what was a perfect day (weather wise) for football.

1st Half

The first half saw Murdoch change from is traditional 4-4-2 lineup to an untested 3-5-2 lineup with Clayton sweeping behind Romper and Fred, and Shae, Sasa S and Matt Wilson forming the three in the middle. The change in structure immediately paid dividends for Murdoch as they pressured and frustrated their opponents over the duration of the first 45 minutes.

Jamie Nugent and an injury free Andy Jennings proved to be a handful for the Stirling defence as their pace and skill found them in shooting positions on several occassions. Nugent was the first to test the Stirling keeper with several long distance shots enough to keep the Stirling keeper accountable. But it was Jennings who got the breakthrough after a low throughball coupled with his pace put him on to goal and Jennings’ low drive to the keepers near post was to good. 1 nil to Murdoch.

Nugent was the next to come close. After the Stirling defender failed to properly deal with a high ball, Nugent out-muscled the defender inside the Stirling 18 yard box to win back possession and he then turned the defender, but his low struck shot to the Stirling keeper’s near post was well saved by the keeper. However, Murdoch won a corner and it was this corner that lead to Murdoch’s second goal. Jacob whipped in a high and long corner to the Stirling back post and Romper outjumped his opponent and expertly headed the ball low to the Stirling keeper’s near post and into the net. 2 nil Murdoch.

At the other end, Stirling offered very little in attack and any attempt was either thwarted by the Murdoch midfield, particularly Matt W who restricted the Stirling playmaker, or the Murdoch defence who outcontested the Stirling strikers.

Unfortunately, Murdoch was unable to add to its lead despite having several very good opportunities, but went into the half time break with a 2 nil lead.

2nd Half

The second half saw a complete swing of momentum as Stirling came out very much the agressors in the opening exchanges. Murdoch were on the backfoot and lost a lot of its midfield supremacy.

Despite withstanding several freekicks outside the 18 yard box and some long-throws from Stirling’s playmaker, Stirling eventually struck. A long throw from the Stirling midfielder went unchallenged to the back post and some lose marking allowed the Stirling winger to place the ball into the opposite corner of the Murdoch goal. 2 - 1 Murdoch.

Stirling soon equalised the scores when a mis-fired cross from the Stirling winger was unexpectedly bundled behind the defence line, but some poor marking again allowed the Stirling striker the opportunity to shoot, and whilst the shot itself was not powerful, it managed to evade the outstretched arm of Andy Barrett. 2 all.

Murdoch began to solidify and put some pressure back on Stirling; however, it did not go without some close calls after several Stirling attacks lead to fumbled balls in the Murdoch 18 yard box and a save off the line by Romper and another from Barrett.

Murdoch may feel unlucky not to have scored a third goal with good chances falling to both Shae and Jacob, however both shots were placed wide of the goals. Late in the half, Jennings was subsitituted for Meo in the hope that a change in legs may lead to a breakthrough, but it wasn’t to be for the MUSCrat army and the score finished at 2 all.

Jerry’s final thought 

Murdoch may feel a bit cheated to have sacrificed points, but ultimately it is a game of 90 minutes and opportunities need to be taken.

Players - Andy Barrett, Clayton Kendall, Romper, Fred, Jacob King, Sasa S, Matt W, Sasa G, Jamie Nugent, Andy Jennings

Substitutes - Meo Nintendo, Andy Larkins, John Brennan

Scorees - Andy Jennings, Romper