URUNGA Raiders went to the top of the North Coast Football Premier League on Sunday with a 1-0 win over the defending champions, Coffs United Lions. The match, as expected, was an absolute classic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The biggest crowd of the year showed up at the Cabbage Patch - it was cloudy, cold and windy but no one was going to miss this one.
The Raiders almost went ahead in the sixth minute when Fabrice Wamara beat his defender on the right wing and drove a low cross into the box which went just past the outstretched foot of Cale Simmonds – any sort of touch would surely have been a goal.
The Lions then had an identical chance at the other end when Nick Lambert’s dangerous cross somehow missed everyone as it flashed across goal.
The game then settled into the midfield battle that is so often the trademark when these two teams clash. Both sides know each others strengths and weaknesses so well and so little space is given to the player on the ball. As a result chances on goal are few and far between. Kale Hopper and Dom Kelly were in the thick of it in central midfield, receiving and dishing out some bruising and mostly legal tackles. Due to the intensity and high impact challenges coming in from both teams the yellow cards were always going to be coming out of the pocket early in this match. Hopper was the first to be shown the cheddar, followed soon after by Wamara and Kelly.
Half time, nil-all.
With the wind at their backs for the second half and running towards the home crowd, there was a feeling that the Raiders were going to produce something special. And early in the half they nearly delivered, Kale Hopper’s neat through ball found Craig Simpson darting in from the left wing but his first time shot was off target.
Sixty minutes in and the Raiders were beginning to win the battle, pressing the Lions into their own half. Good pressure from Simmonds forced a defender into a loose back pass, and from the resulting corner kick came the defining moment of the match. It was a training ground move carried out to perfection - a host of runners attacked the near post, Simpson delivered the ball well over their heads to Paul Pomroy who had floated in unmarked to the far post, he headed back across the face of goal to the awaiting Josh McGovern who rose high to power a header into the net from six yards. This sparked riotous scenes on the hill and had several spectators dropping their sausage sandwiches in wild celebration. An interesting and accurate statistic about McGovern – 85 per cent of the time that he and the ball are inside the six yard box at the same time, he scores every time.
The Lions hate losing - with a passion. Being the champion side they are they lifted another gear (if that’s possible) and went all out for the equaliser. Most teams would crumble under the pressure the Lions administered but not the Raiders, and especially not at the Cabbage Patch. Tough tackling was the order of the day; one hit by Dom Kelly brought the crowd to their feet and no doubt brought a nostalgic tear to the eye of the many ex-Raiders legends watching on.
Coffs simply could not find a way through, and were restricted mostly to deep crosses from wide positions. Goalkeeper Jake Tarrant came in for heavy treatment with some late hits as he collected numerous high balls but he kept his cool in a dominant display with the gloves.
At the other end Urunga almost added a second when Jaxen, ‘the mailman’, Heward delivered a perfect cross and McGovern’s diving header from the penalty spot went inches wide.
A meeting between these teams would not be complete without refereeing controversy. With three minutes remaining Simpson stormed through a tiring Lions defence and into the box, with just the keeper in front of him a goal looked imminent but he had his heels clipped from behind by a desperate Lions defender. The crowd screamed for a penalty, the Coffs player looked around but the referee waved play on. He then further incensed the crowd by red carding Simpson for his livid reaction. High drama to finish, but the final whistle sounded moments later, ending a memorable day at the Cabbage Patch. Best on ground went to Harry Gale for a powerful and composed display at the heart of Urung’as defence.
The Raiders now lead the table by one point with three rounds to play. The equation is simple, don’t drop points in these three fixtures and the minor premiership is theirs.
To top off a great week for the club, the Raiders premier league women also beat Coffs United 1-0 in a mid-week catch up match, to stay in the hunt for the minor premiership.
In sad news, Urunga will be without striker Emar Foran for the rest of the season as he relocates to the footballing capital of the world, Darwin, to continue his career with the potential new A League outfit, the Darwin Barramundis.
Good luck Emar, the club will sorely miss your talent, vision and good looks.
This week’s match is the long away trip to Maclean, games at 1pm and 3pm Saturday at Barry Watts Oval.