League

Downriver Stadium
Spectators: 7500 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1725, VIP seats: 150) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Blair Merritt made the kick off which started today's match. Rickey Russo hit a great freekick 3 minutes into the match. Rueben Ryan made an important save on a dangerous shot by Ian Tompkins in the 6th minute. Rueben Ryan was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Sydney Cowan showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-0 in the 7 minute of play. If Blair Merritt had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 13th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Blair Merritt took the ball and in the 16 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Ivan Higgins. Ivan Higgins dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-1. Sydney Cowan received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 22nd minute. Rueben Ryan tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Rueben Ryan showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Domenico Arden, who was totally free with the ball in the 26th minute. In the 29th minute, Florian Hood got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Ivan Higgins made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Blair Merritt in the 32nd minute of play. In the 34th minute, Blair Merritt left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Virga City Vipers fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-2. Florian Hood kicked well hit freekick during the 37th minute of the match. Downriver AFC's Ian Tompkins couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 38th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Virga City Vipers. 41 minutes into the match, Blair Merritt had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ivan Higgins. Downriver AFC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Blair Merritt was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-3. In the 48th minute, Downriver AFC's Domenico Arden ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Rueben Ryan. Rueben Ryan yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 2-3. Disappointed in the 2-3 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Sydney Cowan made a kick off. Rueben Ryan came out of the goal in the 55th minute to try and stop a shot by Downriver AFC's Sydney Cowan. But to his dismay, Sydney Cowan quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 3-3. 60 minutes into the match, Downriver AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Blair Merritt came free, but Ivan Higgins reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Blair Merritt fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 62nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ivan Higgins having to interfere. The crowd rose to their feet as Monte Goldsmith kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Ivan Higgins. That made the score 3-4 in the 63 minute of play. After a rather tough play, Virga City Vipers's Lonnie Luke got a free kick in the 66th minute. After a defensive mix-up in Downriver AFC's zone, Blair Merritt stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ivan Higgins came out of the goal and Blair Merritt tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Noah Pennington kicked well hit freekick during the 72nd minute of the match. The long shot by Monte Goldsmith in the 73rd minute really tested Ivan Higgins's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. In the 74th minute, Downriver AFC's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Blair Merritt fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. Blair Merritt might have been able to make a better finish in the 82nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Ivan Higgins. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Blair Merritt ran back to his position shaking his head. Blair Merritt recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 82nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Blair Merritt could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 84th minute of the match, but Ivan Higgins made a huge save. With a little luck, Downriver AFC's Ivan Higgins got control of the ball when Blair Merritt tried to sneak it across the goal line. Blair Merritt could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 96th minute of the match, but Ivan Higgins made a huge save. In the 98th minute, Sydney Cowan 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: 4-4.