Barnes Stormers secured a much needed 3 points on Sunday as they put 5 goals past a very determined ACT Arantes team to win 5-3.
A number of last minute changes to the matchday squad meant that management duo Harry Cooper and Tom Jackson sent out a very different looking starting 11, but the fact they were able to send out 11 with subs on the bench in this fixutre after fielding a team of 10 last time out was a small win already for the pair.
And indeed a further good omen was perhaps the win of the coin toss, getting kick off in the first half. With the pitch reasonably firm but a complete mud bath and little grass, it made passing and maintaining possession very difficult and Barnes were unable to get into their stride. ACT on the other hand started early to pump the ball up to their big target man and immediately put pressure on Barnes. However one swift counter attack and Barnes had a corner, a great ball in from Hussain, a flick on at the near post and Jack McGarva was there to prod home into the roof of the net, scoring his first goal for the Stormers. 1-0.
The goal gave the Stormers a huge confidence boost and they dominated much of play, snuffing out many ACT attacks in the midfield, Liam and Johnny doing well disrupting alot of attacking play. From set plays and throws, Barnes did well to use Freeman and Casey to the best of their strengths and managed to get the ball into the opposition final third quickly offering several chances, Jamani unfortunately with one of the biggest missed chances of the day after a 1 on 1 with the keeper. However Barnes gave a couple of silly free kicks away in their final third and allowed Arantes back into the game. It was just this way that Arantes were able to grab an equalizer. Approx 30 yards out, they won a free kick pumped it in with Jacko racing to get his body in the way, unfortunately with the low Sun after a 12:30pm KO, it was difficult for Barnes to read the balls movement and it fell to an Arantes player who slotted the ball through for a tap in by an ACT team mate. 1-1 at half time.
A couple of personnel changes at half time, (Liam and Jamani off, Deschamps and Michael on) with Hussain moved into the middle and the subs coming onto the wings, plus a tactical half time team talk gave Barnes the impoteus to come storming out in the second half. Within 5 minutes of the restart, with the low Sun on their backs, Barnes stormed up the pitch and a through ball to Deschamps allowed him to place a lovely curled effort into the far right bottom corner putting Barnes back into the lead. One Siuuuu later and it was 2-1 to the Stormers.
Hussain found his feet in the middle of the park, spraying balls up top for Freeman and Casey and Barnes' dominance was clear for as they put debutant Michael through to beat a couple of defenders with some great footwork and place in the back of the net. 3-1.
Hussain continued spraying balls and one went through the oppo backline that Dae was able to latch onto and play in Michael for his secon goal of the game. 4-1.
With Barnes in a strong position, there sometimes comes moments of lapse in concentration and it's really how it came about for Arantes 2nd goal as the oppo player managed to catch Jacko's attempted tackle between his legs, hop over Jacko's foot still with ball between his legs and then play across face of the goal for Arantes to tap home. 4-2.
Barnes weren't done yet, with 13 minutes on the clock, Jamani, back on the pitch for Casey who was knackered after a big shift in a first game after Christmas, was keen to atone for his previous missed opportunity and this time followed through to grab the goal he deserved bundling the ball over the line in a bit of a race to the ball in the box as a cross had been floated in. 5-2.
Arantes at this point had felt there was a foul in the lead up to the goal and the protest from one player earned him an early post match bath as he walked off the pitch with a red card. Credit to Arantes though, they continued to fight to the very end and grabbed a third goal with 3 mins remaining to make it 5-3 and the final score. A thrilling match and much needed home win for the Stormers at their home ground, after having waited nearly 2 months to play a league game.
"This was a great performance from the team, we went out into the second half with a game plan and stuck to it. Luckily this week it paid off and we came away with an extra 4 goals in the second half and a very happy team after the 5-3 win! Big shout out to Luke who put his hand up to play the full 90 in goal after our new GK signing dropped out last minute injured. Other big shoutout to Harry who came back after a torn quad to play a full 90 and indeed to Mo with another big shift in CB as match captain", said manager Jacko. "This was a real team performance from start to finish, from the moment Luke put his hands up to play in goal for us to the last goal in the 80 something minute from Jamani, the whole team celebrating together and through to the final whistle - we'll do our best to keep the wins coming!".
Lineup: Luke, Tom, Jack, Mo (C), Harry, Johnny, Liam (Deschamps), Hussain, Casey, Jamani (Michael), James.
MOTM: Michael