Match Report

The last scheduled round of the CAFL was a high scoring and tough affair!

Both sides were competing for something, the Tigers were looking for the first win of the season and the Makos looking to finish first on the ladder.

The first quarter saw the Makos make a strong statement with some great center work and a couple of quick back to back goals John McIntyre giving Daniel Hespe first use of the ball and working together for midfield clearances. The Tigers had some great passages of play with Lewis Collett and Liam Dolling combining for a coast to coast goal which seemed to spark the Tigers into action.

The second quarter had the Tigers charging on to close the gap in scoreline, Joe Perry and Alexander Clark working hard to wrestle the ball out of the midfield and get it down to Stacey Hughes and Carolyn Baker in the forward line. The Makos defense in Derek Smith and Bruce McKlintock working hard to move the ball back to the tigers forward line.

In the third quarter the Makos again came out swinging with some quick goals, their forward line getting on the end of some great midfield work, Daniel Connor and Lynsey Torrance keeping the Tigers defense busy with Adam Jack and Jordan Le-Roy managing to curtail the scoring in the later half of the quarter.

By the last quarter it was beginning to show both sides were tiring and the game opened up for a bag of goals. The Makos in Robert McKinlay and Robert McDowall had been great throughout but helped take the game on and show composure when needed.

The Makos ran the game out winners in a very tight game and the player of the day award was shared by two Makos in Daniel Hespe and John McIntyre.

Although this was the last schedule CAFL game there will likely be more dates added and played before the finals so keep an eye out.

Match Report

After a few very snowy weeks in Glasgow the conditions on the pitch had cleared – weren’t the best but was playable – with the persistent rainfall and soft under foot conditions the game was shortened to two halves.

The first half saw a close battle with surprisingly open passages of play given the conditions both midfields up and about early, the cards dominated the clearances with John McIntyre giving Bruce McLintock and Danny Kay first use of the ball and the Tigers working hard to wrestle back possession with Adam Jack, James Hancock and Joe Perry working well together. The two teams traded goal for goal and going into the break the Cards led by one goal.

The second half saw another tight contest and some impressive work from both defenses Derek Smith of the cards keeping the momentum going and his team on their feet switching into the midfield giving some of the cards a needed rest. Duncan Bertram of the tigers taking some great grabs and working well below his knees to clear the danger in the Tigers back half. The ever dangerous Caroline Sellar keeping the cards defence honest was working hard to move , create space and get to as many contests as possible. The cards forward option Andrew McManus always knew where the goals were and had the confidence to take his shots.

The Cards ran the game out winners and Bruce McLintock gained the player of the day award.

Match Report

Round three was held indoors at Toryglen regional football centre and while the sharks train there regularly on a Tuesday night the size of the pitch is not appreciated until fully opened out and a game played.

The length and width of the pitch is more than we normally play on which leant itself to a higher scoring game less congested and allowing for good ball users to kick to smart leads and hard runners to utilise the space well.

The first quarter saw the Tigers hit the ground running, their midfield breaking out and getting the score on the board early and keeping the pressure on John McIntyre winning the ruck taps and combining with Brett Wolfenden and Alexander Clark often. The Makos fought hard and kept themselves in the game with some great passages of play.

The second quarter kept a similar dynamic from the first, the Tigers using the ball well from the midfield, delivering the ball to Andrew McManus and the forward line and Danny Kay marshalling his side from the back line. The Makos were still in the contest with Duncan Bertram and Pat Cremin working hard to get the ball in dangerous areas.

After half time the Makos found a little spark and hit back with a frantic display with Daniel Hespe providing a contest in the ruck and helping his midfield on the ground too, Joe Perry and Daniel Connor running hard and helping to make the difference in the premiership quarter saw the Makos overturn the advantage the Tigers had and put a little breathing space between them.

Heading into the last the Makos seemingly had a tough job of making sure they kept up the momentum, but they fired on all cylinders and blazed away in the last stanza. Kicking goals hadnt been a problem all day for Caroline Sellar but added a few more in the last. The Tigers tried to mount a come back near the end but with the game ending it was a little late.

Player of the day was Daniel Hespe, keeping his side in the game early on and being instrumental in mounting the Makos resurgence saw him poll well in the votes. Most of the votes on the day (over 75%) being shared between four people! The longer and wider ground showing a different tack and style of play clearly suited to better runners.