No. 68 Friday, March 19, 2010
By Paul Clarke
Granville just missed out on a place in the semi-final of the Flow Champions Cup Thursday, when they were edged 2-1 by Premier League outfit Arnett Gardens.
By Paul Clarke
Granville just missed out on a place in the semi-final of the Flow Champions Cup Thursday, when they were edged 2-1 by Premier League outfit Arnett Gardens.
An own goal from David Waite in the 27th minute and a missed penalty from Garth Johnson in the 50th condemned the Super League campaigners to a defeat they sorely could do without.
After dominating the opening stages of the match and with a vociferous home crowd spurring them on, Granville could have opened the scoring in the 9th minute but a miss kick from a player in an advanced position made the attack void of its intended purpose.
The visitors, still far from their best, made best use of their limited opportunities early and found the midfield hard to maneuver. They soon settled into a nice rhythm, however, and made a good run on the Granville goal area, but alert defending eased the danger.
But in the 27th minute, Waite miscued an Arnett Gardens attacking play and the ball rolled into the back of the net to give the Junglists the lead.
Undaunted, the home side went about leveling the score and got their reward through Snow's well taken goal just before half time. The half ended 1-L
Second half play was much of the same as Granville fought-off waves of Arnett attack, especially in the midfield.
But the real game changer came in the 50th minute, when a break inside Arnett Gardens' eighteen yard box brought the referee into play. The attack was brought to a screeching halt when a Granville player was obstructed inside the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Up stepped a confident looking Johnson, but his resulting kick was far from confident as the ball slammed against the crossbar and rebounded into play. It was agony for Johnson, who laid flat on his back in disbelief.
Arnett pressed for the advantage that would come just a minute later in the 51st minute. From the rebound a neat pass down the-right-flank exposed.the, Granville defence and an open Dwayne Plummer made no mistake as he powered the ball beyond the reach of the Granville keeper.
Granville roared back three minutes from time but a header on goal again by Johnson was- cleared..off the line. On the stroke of the ninetieth minute, a corner
was almost turned in but the anxious home crowd was not to be pleased, Arnett goalkeeper block the shot.
The Junglists will now advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
pnc.westernmirror (at) yahoo.com.
The visitors, still far from their best, made best use of their limited opportunities early and found the midfield hard to maneuver. They soon settled into a nice rhythm, however, and made a good run on the Granville goal area, but alert defending eased the danger.
But in the 27th minute, Waite miscued an Arnett Gardens attacking play and the ball rolled into the back of the net to give the Junglists the lead.
Undaunted, the home side went about leveling the score and got their reward through Snow's well taken goal just before half time. The half ended 1-L
Second half play was much of the same as Granville fought-off waves of Arnett attack, especially in the midfield.
But the real game changer came in the 50th minute, when a break inside Arnett Gardens' eighteen yard box brought the referee into play. The attack was brought to a screeching halt when a Granville player was obstructed inside the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Up stepped a confident looking Johnson, but his resulting kick was far from confident as the ball slammed against the crossbar and rebounded into play. It was agony for Johnson, who laid flat on his back in disbelief.
Arnett pressed for the advantage that would come just a minute later in the 51st minute. From the rebound a neat pass down the-right-flank exposed.the, Granville defence and an open Dwayne Plummer made no mistake as he powered the ball beyond the reach of the Granville keeper.
Granville roared back three minutes from time but a header on goal again by Johnson was- cleared..off the line. On the stroke of the ninetieth minute, a corner
was almost turned in but the anxious home crowd was not to be pleased, Arnett goalkeeper block the shot.
The Junglists will now advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
pnc.westernmirror (at) yahoo.com.
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