MATCH REPORT: Barossa United vs Fulham United U15s JSL B Boys
Barossa was pumped for a rematch against 3rd placed Fulham who had previously beaten them 6-1 in their first game of the season.
Even though Barossa had a few players unavailable, Oscar Gill and Elliot Jasper were able to fill in and give Barossa two on the bench. This gave the boys a big advantage over Fulham who were one man down with only 10 on the pitch. The home side started well playing some good passes around, looking sharp and switched on. Barossa broke the deadlock when Morrison Bennett scooped the ball over the Fulham defence to Oscar who placed it into the bottom corner.
Barossa kept their foot on the gas, but Fulham were relentless and were making the most of every attacking chance they got. It eventually paid off for them when Fulham’s right winger danced through the Barossa defence and laid it off to his teammate who scored Fulham’s first. Barossa didn’t let it affect them as they had many more opportunities late on in the first half. The teams went into the break level with the win up for grabs. Barossa was disappointed they couldn’t get in front before halftime but knew the game was within reach.
The home side started off slowly and Fulham pounced on this. After a ball in from the left wing, Fulham’s striker got first to it and smashed home their second. The boys kept pushing but Fulham got another goal after a high clearance fell to the Fulham striker, who managed to bobble it into the corner. Even though the boys were 3-1 down with not long to go, they knew they were playing better than Fulham and they could get a result. Barossa stepped it up a notch winning every 50-50 and playing accurate passes around the pitch. Darcy Geyer and Henry Teague were immaculate chasing down every ball and dominating the midfield. Finally, the boys broke through when Athan Triandafyllidis won a penalty for being tripped up inside the box. Morrison stepped up to take it and didn’t disappoint when he buried his penalty into the bottom left corner. This lifted Barossa’s spirits as they pushed for the equaliser.
The home side came so close when Paul Herrmann dribbled the ball into the Fulham penalty area and just sprayed his shot shy of the top right corner. Eventually, Barossa where able to find their equaliser when Athan received the ball in the penalty area and placed the ball into the top right corner to peg it back to 3-3. Barossa was now 1 goal away from a win and knew it was in their hands. After a long effort from Henry, the Fulham keeper fumbled it and Athan took advantage, scoring Barossa’s 4th. The home side had come back from two goals down to lead 4-3 but knew there was still 10 minutes to be played.
Elliot Jasper was outstanding in goals. When a Fulham striker broke through Barossa’s defence with 5 minutes to play and tried to place it into the bottom left corner of the goal, Elliot denied him sticking out a leg to keep Barossa ahead. Fulham kept pressing but couldn’t break through with many last-ditch blocks and tackles from centre-backs Oliver King and Ollie Wade. Finally, the referee blew his whistle to put an end to the thrilling encounter. Barossa was stoked they had come back from 3-1 down to beat 3rd in the league 4-3. They also knew it was a massive improvement from their last game against Fulham. Overall, it was a massive 3 points for Barossa and a good result before their match vs 11th-placed, Adelaide City.