League

Betts Arena
Spectators: 7350 (Terracing: 5475, Seating: 1725, VIP seats: 150) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Rod Holley got the match started through his kick off. After some careless play in the Mercer defense, Sol Bowman kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Harvey Gipson. The Mercer fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Harvey Gipson should have stopped the shot. In the 10th minute Daren Woodard shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Harvey Gipson saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 11th play minutes Sol Bowman shot 0-2, a short shot which went by Harvey Gipson and just under the crossbar into goal. Harvey Gipson made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daren Woodard in the 22nd minute of play. Boyd Roark sent away a hard shot on goal in the 24th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Sol Bowman kicked well hit freekick during the 28th minute of the match. Harvey Gipson took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Sol Bowman, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Daren Woodard sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Sol Bowman in the 38th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Harvey Gipson prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 40th minute, Sol Bowman left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Kansas City fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-3. If Daren Woodard had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 46th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Disappointed in the 0-3 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Sol Bowman stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Sol Bowman kicked a quick shot right in front of the goal in the 52ndth minute. Though ot was a great shot Mercer's keeper Harvey Gipson was sill able to block leaving the score board unchanged. Boyd Roark blasted a shot towards the goal in the 58th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Ian Keys having to make a save. Boyd Roark received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 59th minute. Ian Keys tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mercer's defense didn't have a chance, in the 62nd minute, when Daren Woodard scored to the left of an out of position Harvey Gipson, making the score, 0-4. Mercer's Harvey Gipson played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Florian Vann in the 72nd minute of play. After 75 played minutes Kansas City got a freekick which was hit by Reynaldo Blackman. In the 76th minute Boyd Roark shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ian Keys saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After having played for 79 minutes, Daren Woodard managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Kansas City's supporters crossed their fingers, but Daren Woodard was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Dallas Ziegler hit a great freekick 88 minutes into the match. Reynaldo Means hit a great freekick 93 minutes into the match. Kansas City's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.