Balaga’s title hopes not so Rosie

A must win game for Balaga in their second to last game of the season. After leading the title race all season long, Balaga had 2 final hurdles to jump before possibly collecting their first ever trophy. Rosies were defiantly going to have something to say on the matter though as earlier on in the season they had served Tongo their biggest defeat of the campaign. JD still hadn't recovered from the ankle injury sustained the previous week and Steve was a 50/50 chance to play so Tongo saught the creative midfield skills of Dawson once more to plug the gaps. Balagas team was:



Rosies decided to kick off and right from the start they rifled a shot which hit the post. If Balaga needed a wake up call they got it. A shaky enough start was soon calmed down though through a goal from the back on form David W , with his 4th goal in 2 matches. Just the star Balaga needed. Soon after it was two thanks to a quick throw in from webz and a shot from Kev led to a corner. Kev quickly took it to Rory who set up Webz for the goal. 2-0 and Balaga really looked like they were up for the fight.

Rosies failed to stick to the script though and came close on several occasions and right before half-time had about 4 or 5 corners in a row, all of which Tongo dealt with superbly. So far everything was going to plan. The team was playing as a unit and defensively this was surely the cucumbers best performance to date, not just the 2 recognized defenders but everyone, from the front back, defended as a unit and looked to be on course for the 3 points.

Half time came and Balaga made a few changes which in hindsight may have upset the boat a bit. Not long after the restart Rosies scored. Quickly followed by a second. As in the first meeting between these two teams, the Rosies shooting was superb, and pretty much everything they hit landed on target, or hit the net, leaving Damo to make some important saves.

Balaga seemed to have never returned from the half time talk and only after the 2nd Rosies goal did they spark back into life, coming so close with a shot from Rory which rattled the upright. But it was Rosies who once more took the lead, with a resulting goal from their top goalscorer who wasn't closed down quick enough by Kev in the Balaga defense.

All seemed to be lost but Balaga didnt drop the heads, and with around 10 minutes remaining, Webz was left one on one with the keeper, rounded him but i think hit the post but Phil was on hand to score to make it 3-3 and HOPE!!! Hope that wasnt to last however, as pretty much straight afterwards Rosies caught Balaga on the break again and went back into the lead 4-3. A nightmare for Tongo was finished off with first, a yellow for Tom O'c and finally, a 5th break away goal which i dont remember. 5-3 final score.

Balaga's chances are still slim though as Mercer could only draw with Upsetters. After leading the pack from start to finish Balaga find themselves 2nd on head to heads with one game to go. There's a slight chance but Balaga have to win and Mercer have to lose against bottom side BareArseAlona which fingers crossed they do!

Balaga Exorcise Upsetters Demons

In what was again an improvement on the previous weeks performance, Balaga battled for victory against the Upsetters. A second win against a side they lost to twice last season.

The Tuesday before the game news came into club management that Stephen Parker had not fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained during the teams 3-2 win over BareArseAlona last week. After a fitness test in Crosshaven the morning of the game, Parker ruled himself out. Paul Dawson was called upon as cover, previously playing in the victory over Premier Auto Parts a few weeks ago he got on the score sheet, so hopes were high that he could fill the gap left by Parker. Later news that JD, John Duggan injured his ankle too during an international CIT training camp before the game meant he could not make the game. So the team lined up...

The match itself started out terribly for Balaga as Upsetters went 1 up very quickly. But this seemed to focus the Tongolese as they quickly hit 2 back. Both goals were from players who were recently failing to find they're early season clinical scoring ability.

Rory Browne equlaised for the cucumbers, controlling the ball wide on the left flank before curling a peach around the keeper and into the far corner of the goal, as videoed by Balagas No1 fan and keeper Damos wife Ashling Kennedy. The second was a David W strike again from the left and shooting the ball down the keepers left to make it 2-1.

Not too long later the third goal came for Balaga, again from David W , this time on the right he shot down the right side of the keeper. 3-1.

Dawson was superb when he came on the pitch half way through the first half, involved in a lot of attacks he got his name on the scoresheet with a tidy finish. Philip recieving the ball on the left side of the box heard a call and managed to get a quick cross in to the awaiting Dawson who made no mistake. 4-1.

The Upsetters showed again though that they are no pushovers scoring again to make it 4-2.

But it was Balaga's continuing pressure that was the deciding factor in the match, David W made it a hattrick as he finished with a neat flick over the keeper as the ball rolled into the far corner it was Balaga 5, Upsetters 2.

O'Driscoll continued his goalscoring form with a left volley to make it 6-2. Lovely job game over. Oh no wait the Upsetters scored a consolation in the closing minutes, Treacy scrapping the ball in for them.

A more solid performance again from the Tongolese outfit as Damo made some great saves, Broderick continued his good run of form as he had the tough task of managing the Upsetters strong striker, and O'Callaghan did enough on the other side of the defense.

This let the sides attacking players show their skills. Rory was bang on form again and looked confident, David W was back to his best harrying players up and down the pitch and you cant go wrong with a hattrick, O'Driscoll continued from last week - really getting stuck in, showing his previous unseen aerial ability, and controlling the centre of the park, Webz was all action as usual and will be disappointed not the get on the score sheet but I'm sure he will be hungry to change that next week.

Sub Dawson was fantastic, showing brilliant passing ability and scoring his second in two games for the club.

Elsewhere in the league main rivals Mercer clocked up another victory, this time against Rosies, to stay 1 point behind Balaga. Callas cowboys got their second win of the season beating BareArseAlona. In the other game DouglasMortgage won a close game with Premier Auto Parts. This leaves the table like so after 12 games...



With only two games left Balaga Tongo will be concentrating on getting two wins and nothing less to secure the trophy. After losing in the first half of the season with a very poor performance to next weeks opponents Rosies, the Tongolese will be focused, eager to put in the work and show what they can do this time around.

Hopefully there will be an even better crowd of supporters for the big match after this weeks medium sized crowd of three.

Some Match Highlights...




Brownes opening goal in Balaga HD...