League

West Gate Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Sydney Cowan started the match with the kick off. 7 minutes into the match, Wilfred Light notched a goal, 1-0, to the right of Downriver AFC's Ivan Higgins. Ivan Higgins was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 11th minute of the match West Gate got a corner. Downriver AFC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Ferdinand Langford ran over to the corner to take the kick. West Gate's Ferdinand Langford was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Ivan Higgins in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. West Gate's Diego Rubin got a good chance for a goal in the 13th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Filiberto Lovell charged in rather forcefully in the 14th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Filiberto Lovell the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Downriver AFC getting a freekick after 14 minutes play. Filiberto Lovell hit a great ball. In the 18th minute, Ian Tompkins left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Downriver AFC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. After some careless play in the West Gate defense, Sydney Cowan kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Damien Levy. The West Gate fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Damien Levy should have stopped the shot. In the 29th of the match, Diego Rubin tried to place the ball in the upper right corner, but Ivan Higgins got in the way and made a wonderful save. After a defensive mix-up in Downriver AFC's zone, Diego Rubin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ivan Higgins came out of the goal and Diego Rubin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. A collision led to West Gate getting a freekick after 36 minutes play. Tim Rudd hit a great ball. Diego Rubin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 43rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ivan Higgins having to interfere. The supporters of Downriver AFC booed when West Gate was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 48 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ramiro Ayers didn't get a good kick on the ball. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 1-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Diego Rubin to strike the kick off in the second half. Diego Rubin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 54th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ivan Higgins having to interfere. Damien Levy showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Domenico Arden in the 61st minute of the match. Sydney Cowan fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 63rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Damien Levy having to interfere. Diego Rubin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 65th minute. Ivan Higgins tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Downriver AFC's zone, Keenan Cottrell stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ivan Higgins came out of the goal and Keenan Cottrell tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Sydney Cowan blasted a shot towards the goal in the 78th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Damien Levy having to make a save. 84 minutes into the match, West Gate's Quinn Samuels sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Ivan Higgins narrowly saved just below the crossbar. When Elton Frey fell near the penalty area in the 86th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored West Gate's protests and gave Elton Frey a yellow card for diving instead. Elton Frey hit a great freekick 86 minutes into the match. 91 minutes into the game, Rickey Russo was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Downriver AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave West Gate the free kick. After a rather tough play, Downriver AFC's Rickey Russo got a free kick in the 92nd minute. Diego Rubin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 95th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. When Diego Rubin came up free with the goalie in the 97th minute, the West Gate fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Diego Rubin couldn't finish the play. Diego Rubin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 98th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ivan Higgins having to interfere. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Downriver AFC eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.