League

Island Park
Spectators: 7549 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1774, VIP seats: 150) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Wayne Ransom kicked off to start the match. Denis Fay received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 3rd minute. Dirk Mitchell tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Downriver's Dirk Mitchell played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Wayne Ransom in the 12th minute of play. If Denis Fay had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 16th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 17th minute the ball was on its way in behind Downriver's goalkeeper Dirk Mitchell, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Mario Eastman scored 0-1 in the 19th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Ezra Stone, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Mario Eastman received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 23rd minute. Ezra Stone tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Dudley Downing during the 24th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Downriver made a substitution. Boyd Simons replaced Weston Oberle. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Francesco Hyde in the 27th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Ezra Stone saved Rodeo FootBall from getting behind. When Boyd Simons came up free with the goalie in the 28th minute, the Downriver 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 Boyd Simons couldn't finish the play. Zack Hansen sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 34th minute, Francesco Hyde made a precise shot to the right of Ezra Stone. Rodeo FootBall's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. After some fancy dribbling in the 38th minute, Francesco Hyde managed to get in a good position for a shot. Downriver's supporters rose to their feet, but Francesco Hyde was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ezra Stone breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Boyd Simons received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 39th minute. Ezra Stone tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Downriver's Francesco Hyde in the 42nd minute got a chance for a shot 42nd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Rodeo FootBall's goalie prevented a goal.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Francesco Hyde to make the kick off. Dirk Mitchell showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dudley Downing in the 51st minute of the match. 54 minutes into the match, Mario Eastman dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Ezra Stone, 0-4. Francesco Hyde fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 59th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ezra Stone having to interfere. Denis Fay fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 61st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Dirk Mitchell having to interfere. Rodeo FootBall's Ezra Stone proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 68th minute of the match, managed to save Rodeo FootBall from getting a goal against them. Ezra Stone made an important save on a dangerous shot by Francesco Hyde in the 69th minute. After 74 played minutes, Downriver's Son Rojas shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Ezra Stone 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 Downriver reached it. 75 minutes into the game, Francesco Hyde lined in a short shot 0-5 behind a frustrated Ezra Stone. A collision led to Downriver getting a freekick after 79 minutes play. Boyd Simons hit a great ball. After a defensive mix-up in Downriver's zone, Wayne Ransom stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dirk Mitchell came out of the goal and Wayne Ransom tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Francesco Hyde who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 88thth minute tested the skills of Ezra Stone when he managed to save the team from getting behind. The audience was convinced that Francesco Hyde's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Ezra Stone was relentless in the 90th minute of the game. Wayne Ransom took the ball and in the 92 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Dirk Mitchell. Dirk Mitchell dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-5. The Rodeo FootBall fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Downriver were clearly better and deserved to take the win.