Ma's just the tonic for hungover Balaga

Balaga returned from Oktoberfest 2009 with 5 out of 8 of their squad severely drained after a tiring and emotional trip which very little is remembered about.

Usually a trip of this nature was followed by a defeat as the team would spend most of the time fighting over who’s turn it is on the bench, and with the meeting of Ma Duleas, joint top of the table, Balaga had a tough match ahead.



As this report is a week late little is remembered of the game itself, but what is remembered is Ma’s were no slouches, and tried to catch Balaga with balls over the top again and again, which eventually paid off with a well taken goal by the number 7 fella. 1-0 Ma’s. Balaga got back into the game though with a goal from top scorer JD. Balaga won a throw in. They took it quickly and John slotted home one on one.

For the second half Balaga found themselves under constant pressure with Damo again pulling off some great saves to keep them in it. David W's heart burn from his 10 minutes of constant running in the first half kept him out reckoning for the half but Parker, O’D, Webz and JD kept the midfield ticking over. Greener was winning everything in the air and between Tom and Kev, Balaga seemed to have finally sorted out the long ball tactic by Ma’s. Jownesy was playing great up front and began to make the Duleas play on the back foot.

Because of this Balaga took the lead albeit undeserved. A long hoof over the top from JD I think was aimed towards Webz who explained his goal after the match “I nudged the defender as he went to head it he missed and I squeezed between two defenders and passed it into the net wit my left”. Great goal by last seasons MVP.

The Ma’s piled on more pressure and with minutes to spare Balaga caught them on the break with another fine goal by JD which isn’t remembered. His 3rd of the season. Before the final whistle, the ref found another excuse to send Tom off for 5 minutes, not the first time he has given the captain the road and in all honesty, wrongly.

A game Balaga really didn’t deserve to win but considering their unlucky title loss last season, they will feel it’s about bloody time their luck changed. In other results, Rosies picked up another victory and table toppers TV Tigers drew to leave them top by 1 point ahead of 4 teams on 6 points including Balaga in 4th. It's looking like a very close league this season.