Coming into their penultimate game of the season, USW 1st were eager to bounce back from their embarrassing 10-0 defeat at the hands of Cardiff 4th by putting in a good performance against Cardiff 5th.
USW had the earliest chance to break the deadlock as Cardiff conceded a penalty corner seven minutes in. However, the ball was struck directly at the goalkeeper and marked a wasted opportunity for USW.
USW continued to look the more threatening of the two teams on both sides of the ball, creating more chances up front and positioning themselves well to intercept and stifle the Cardiff attack while on defence.
USW would again waste a penalty corner chance 12 minutes in as they tried to take a more indirect approach, laying the ball off to an incoming attacker rather than shooting immediately. This misdirection would lead to nothing as the pass would be put out of bounds and Cardiff regained possession.
This wasted opportunity would turn out to be a blessing in disguise for USW, as almost immediately after the play was restarted, USW managed to intercept a wayward Cardiff pass and thread a scintillating through ball straight through the Cardiff defenders.
The ball would fall to Matt Gower, who had his initial attempt saved but latched onto the rebound, rounded the keeper and slotted into the empty net to open the scoring 1-0 to USW.
It seemed that this goal lit a fire under both teams as the next ten minutes of the half were almost entirely end-to-end.
Johannes Boos managed to bundle the ball into the goal to make it 2-0 to USW 16 minutes in. Cardiff would respond quickly and emphatically; the ball was played into the danger area with George Basnett turning beautifully and rifling the ball into the net to half USW’s lead three minutes later.
It was clear that USW were not going to give up their two-goal advantage quietly though, as Cardiff were awarded a penalty corner, one that was immediately blocked by an onrushing defender.
Despite this initial defensive brilliance from USW, the ball would be loose in the area after the block and in their haste to clear the ball out of trouble, the ball inadvertently stuck a USW defenders’ foot, awarding another penalty corner to Cardiff.
Cardiff would be much more clinical the second time around, the shot directly from the penalty corner rattled the crossbar but fell at the feet of Noah Smith, who fired in the rebound to put Cardiff back on level terms. The score at the end of an eventful first half being 2-2.
In the second half, both teams would struggle to break the other down, the amount of foul calls increased greatly, and it was apparent that both teams were getting somewhat frustrated at the fact that they hadn’t managed to pull away on the scoresheet.
After a mean-spirited second half, highlighted by missed opportunities for both sides, USW found a breakthrough with 15 minutes to play, a foul was let on by the referee and USW managed to keep their composure, playing the ball down the right wing, eventually finding Boos again in the middle for his second of the day, and USW’s third.
USW’s confidence was at sky high at this point in the match, evident from some incredible individual skill by Gower to beat two Cardiff players with such fluidity that it drew audible reactions from both benches.
Cardiff will undoubtedly be left disappointed with their play towards the end of the game, squandering many clear-cut chances with wayward passes that would sail out of bounds and grant USW possession and the ability to hold onto the ball and run out the clock, which they did, eventually emerging 3-2 winners.
Despite the heavy defeat in their last fixture with Cardiff 4th, USW will be happy with their current form as this victory marks their fourth in their last five games. USW will surely hope to close out their season with a win when they host Aberystwyth 1st on the 4th of March.
The Inbound Observer 