Green Briar O30's 1:1 Medfield
A single point from the second to last game of the season was simply not good enough. The Green Briar must sweat it out for a few more days as relegation from Division 4 is still a cold hard reality.
The Briar's last game of the season comes up this week against United International, the Division Champions. A tough test, but they say the Table doesn't lie. If the Briar are worthy of Division 4 status they'll need to pick up the necessary points to survive.
Today's performance saw plenty of goal mouth action from the Briar and a good defensive performance as well, but unfortunately the cutting edge was lacking.
The best of the opening action fell the Briar's way. Michael Graham and John Hickey spurned good opportunities before McElwain broke the deadlock. Good work down the right by John Hickey resulted in a nice cut back to McElwain. Cool control and an even cooler side footed finish broke the deadlock.
Medfield began to grow into the game after that and were close to leveling on a couple of occasions before they finally found the equalizer. Conor Bagnell was dispossessed in the left back position and the shot from the edge of the area found the net over the diving keeper.
In response the Briar created a couple of excellent chances. From a corner, David Coen saw his header beaten away when it looked to be goal ward bound and later Dan Kilber-Stearns dug out a beautiful cross to the back post. Michael Graham was left unmarked, but his header to the far post was wide of the mark.
Other good chances fell to PJ Kelly, who couldn't get a shot away from a scramble in the box and Michael Graham volleyed goal wards only to see the Medfield keeper claw the ball out of the top corner of the net.
The second half was more of the same from the Briar. John Hickey found the net early in the second half as he turned home a cross from the right. The linesman gave offside when it looked like John was behind the ball when it was played into the box.
The chances kept coming for the Briar. Paul Fallon and his defense were solid at the back allowing the Greens to commit players forward. From a low driven corner into the box, David Coen challenged the keeper for the ball but the scramble resulted in a free out rather than the lead.
As the game entered the closing stages the two best chances of the half went begging. John Hickey was only six yards from goal when a driven cross flashed across the box. A simple touch was all that was needed to beat the Medfield keeper, but he was unable to connect and the chance was gone.
The closest the Briar came was in the final minutes. A long ball skipped past the Medfield defense and Michael Graham latched onto it. He rode the defender's attempted challenge and played a right footed shot past the keeper only to see it cannon off the base of the post and back into the keeper's arms. So close, but a microcosm of the Green Briar's Fall Season.
A very good defensive performance by the Briar today. A single point gained, but with Peru Sport holding the tie breaker against the Greens it certainly will be a nervous finish to the season as plenty of permutations and outcomes are still possible.
Line Up: Fallon, Glynn, Meehan, Coen, Flannery, Kilber-Stearns, Hall, McElwain, Joyce, Graham, Hickey, Kelly, Bagnell, Nassar, Shursky
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