MXG 0 TopGun 3

players were absent, MXG brought along size 5 balls, the halves were 5 minutes too long.... does TopGun care - not at all.

The TG line up had a fresh feel as Cali, Lulu, and Celine were absent. We also weren't sure until late on whether Carly's ankle would be ready for a tough game and whether Olivia would get back from Disneyland. So we had Monica and JJ from the Sharks as guest players for the day. This meant that Carrie got to play outfield for the 1st half with Monica in goal.

Nerves were calmed very early in the game when Ysa sneaked a goal in from an impossible angle. I like it when we score very early in a game. Following this, it was a fairly typical TG v MXG game with plenty of midfield battling and few chance in the TG goal. Also in typical manner, TG missed some 1v1s, with Ysa shaving the cross bar with a shot during the extra 5 minutes of game time in the 1st half.

Carrie went in goal for the second half, Monica played at stopper. TG were far more dominant in the second half, regardless of which players were on the field. We forced a series of corners and hit some wonderful crosses into the MXG box but couldn't find a second goal until Tess hit one of those shots we've all been predicting for a long time. She turned from the leftmost corner of the MXG box and hit a high shot which the MXG keeper could only help into the net. Calls of "good goal" came from the MXG coaches. TG were then put under some pressure for 5 minutes and Carrie had to make some brave stops at the feet of MXG strikers, but following 2 corners against us, TG broke up the field with great speed and accuracy, finished off with a left foot tap in for Olivia and a 3-0 victory.

TG were efficient without being spectacular in this game. Hannah and Yovanna blocked almost everything at the stopper position, Tess and Yoshi fought hard in the middle, Alexia, Paola and JJ covered defence and offence well at outside mid, Amani and Carly finally worked out the right defence position by the end of the game.

Thankyou to JJ and Monica, and Kudos to Sierra who showed up to say goodbye and cheer us on. She is moving to West Valley OA and we wish her all the best