The Junee Jaguars met Cootamundra Strikers in a Pascoe Cup game last Sunday in what can only be described as “the one that got away”.
The Jaguars dominated the first half and should have had at least four goals in the net but for a strike hitting the upright and three one-on-ones with the ’keeper going the Strikers’ way, but Junee finally took the lead through a Joe Crowder strike in the 34th minute.
Junee’s play was solid for much of the match and captain-coach Jason Mutimer will no doubt be working on finishing aspects of the team over the next week to try to ensure the Jaguars take full advantage of any opportunities offered up by the opposition or created by the Junee attack.
Junee worked the ball around the park and was able to expose the fragile Cootamundra defence on a number of occasions, but let the Strikers off the hook.
Passes were snappy and well directed and found their mark consistently, but Junee still has work to do to attain the fluency it needs to take its game forward and threaten.
There were some good passages of play that saw the ball moved quickly across the park to create pressure and crosses were being delivered with power and accuracy, all good signs for the road ahead.
A lapse in concentration late in the second half resulted in a Strikers’s goal after a period of pressure was applied to the Junee defence.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw and while happy to get a point, there was disappointment that the Jaguars didn’t take all the points, considering they had the opportunities for easy goals in the first half and dominated for much of the game.
Gardiner Shield (2nd Grade)
The Junee Jaguars met Cootamundra last Sunday and played some hard and fast football that gave them a 2-0 win, reversing their last two results against this team.
Junee started the match full of running and had the Cootamundra defence in disarray early with Craig Shaw causing nightmares with his direct running, putting the Cootamundra ’keeper under pressure.
Junee’s passing was good and the ball was being sent forward regularly to keep the pressure on, and one such passage of play led to Craig Shaw opening the scoring for Junee with an emphatic finish to some good build-up play.
Junee went close to extending its lead when it won a freekick 25 metres out from goal. Ben White’s strike had the ’keeper scrambling and the ball just scraped the upright with the ’keeper beaten.
Junee maintained its dominance throughout the match and Ben White scored an excellent goal from good lead-up work to take the score to 2-0.
Junee’s defence was strong and held the Cootamundra attack, which had no answer to Junee’s dominance.
The result is a good one for Junee as its last win was
in Round 14 of last season and is just its second in 17 outings.
The direction the team is being taken would appear
to be bearing fruit and coach Jason Mutimer and
his team are expecting further strong performances.
Leonard Cup (Senior Women’s):
The Junee senior women’s team met Wagga United last Sunday and came away with a 1-3 result.
The match was hard and fast and both sides played some excellent football.
Junee’s efforts were below its best and this allowed United to take advantage and take the game.
Junee went behind early in the game with Wagga United forcing a corner.
The kick resulted in an unmarked United player
taking scoring with easy header.
In the eighth minute, a defensive error allwed a United striker to send a ball at the ’keeper, who managed to get her hands to the ball only to deflect it into goal.
Junee conceded a third goal two minutes into the second half and had to work hard to try to bridge the gap.
Junee’s play was good in patches, with the ball worked out of defence with good passing.
Junee needs to produce this type of play consistently to be competitive at this level.
Junee’s defence was equally strong with good efforts all players but lapses in concentration cost the team dearly.
Best for Junee were Abby Duncan, Bec Reynolds, Bek Pratt and Sonia Commins.
Junee will be at home this weekend with Pascoe Cup and Gardiner Shield teams meeting Lake Albert, while the Leonard Cup team meets Madden Shield team Temora on Sunday.
The Nankivell Cup team, the Thirsty Thirds, meets Tolland on Saturday.
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