Middleton
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000,
Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Mattawa's Valentin Despins started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. After 3 minutes, Valentin Despins mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Mattawa and the Middleton players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, Mattawa's Valentin Despins got a free kick in the 3rd minute. Matthew Lamoureux hit a great freekick 6 minutes into the match. 10 minutes into the game, Lawrence Hodge was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Mattawa's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Middleton the free kick. In the 10th match minute, Mattawa was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Lawrence Hodge to maneuver through the defense. After 11 played minutes, Middleton's Matthew Lamoureux shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Gilles Easley came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Middleton reached it. Rocco Romano received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 13th minute. Gilles Easley tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience was convinced that Valentin Despins's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Jae Kane was relentless in the 15th minute of the game. In the 17th minute of the match, Russ Hurt got a very nice opportunity to score, but Gilles Easley was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. When Houston Ouellet came up free with the goalie in the 19th minute, the Mattawa 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 Houston Ouellet couldn't finish the play. In the 29th match minute, Middleton was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Telesphore Hagan to maneuver through the defense. Russ Hurt might have been able to make a better finish in the 33rd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Gilles Easley. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Russ Hurt ran back to his position shaking his head. Russ Hurt recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 35th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Mattawa's Gilles Easley played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rocco Romano in the 40th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Russ Hurt got free with Gilles Easley in the 43rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The supporters of Mattawa booed when Middleton was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 45 match minutes in a wonderful position. Corey Combs didn't get a good kick on the ball. Valentin Despins sent away a hard shot on goal in the 47th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The first half was very even, with the score at 0-0 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.
The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Rocco Romano was the one to do the kick off. 54 minutes into the match, Middleton's goalkeeper Jae Kane had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Houston Ouellet. Rocco Romano received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 55th minute. Gilles Easley tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Russ Hurt fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 57th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Gilles Easley having to interfere. After having played for 59 minutes, Rocco Romano managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Middleton's supporters crossed their fingers, but Rocco Romano was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. During the 60th minute of the match Lawrence Hodge completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Lawrence Hodge a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. Rocco Romano sent away a hard shot on goal in the 65th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Rocco Romano came up free with the goalie in the 67th minute, the Middleton 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 Rocco Romano couldn't finish the play. If Rocco Romano had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 74th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 75th minute, Valentin Despins hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 80th match minute, Mattawa was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Edgar Guevara to maneuver through the defense. After 81 minutes of play, Middleton's Rocco Romano made it 2-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Gilles Easley was left in no man's land by his defense there! Gilles Easley showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rocco Romano, who was totally free with the ball in the 85th minute. After a defensive mix-up in Mattawa's zone, Russ Hurt stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gilles Easley came out of the goal and Russ Hurt tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Russ Hurt sent away a hard shot on goal in the 93rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. A collision led to Mattawa getting a freekick after 95 minutes play. Valentin Despins hit a great ball. Middleton's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.
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