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Rutherford County Redbacks go up 2-0 over Wilson County Wallabies
The first meeting of the Rutherford County Redbacks and the Wilson County Wallabies saw the Redbacks victorious in a close match, 10.16 (76) to 10.5 (65). The Wallabies enjoyed a recruiting coup with "Sugar" Kane Harrison, who was earlier spotted around town proudly wearing a Redback jersey. With their prize Aussie addition and two months to establish a game plan, the Wallabies were confident of evening the series.
Wilson County captain Nick "Chopper" Parker won the toss and chose to kick with a significant breeze in the first quarter. The Redbacks had the benefit of the national leading goal kicker, Damian "What's" Serong "With That?", who appropriately kicked the first goal of the match. Harrison seemed to look the goods, winning the ball in the center and kicking two goals. Wilson County's Luke "Brawny" Stockdale won plenty of ruck contests and was active in the forward half, kicking a goal. Ross Flemming also kicked a goal while adding agility to the Wallaby forward line. The Redback center square trio of Captain Luke "Ooga Booga" Nemeth, Ben Vaatstra and Jason "Biggy" White were effective in getting clearances despite Stockdale's ruck dominance, with White and Vaatstra each kicking a goal. Uncharacteristic accuracy by the Redbacks limited their first quarter deficit to nine points, scoring 3.0 (18) against the Wallabies' 4.3 (27).
Redbacks full forward Serong almost wet his pants in anticipation of the bag of goals he expected to score with the wind in the second quarter. He soon had his second goal of the match, cutting the Wallabies lead to only three points. Then the yips set in as the Redbacks center fielders felt the wind at their backs and starting firing long bombs at the goals, resulting in four straight behinds. Despite the inaccuracy, Rutherford County took the lead, which was soon extended by Serong's third goal.
None other than Harrison was there to score another goal, bringing the difference back to a single point. However, Mischa Nemeth stormed through the center from half back to win a free kick, providing an answering Redback goal after the half time siren. The Redbacks had turned the game around, leading 6.5 (41) to 5.3 (33).
The Wallabies needed to make the most of the breeze in the third quarter. Redback captain Luke Nemeth made some positional changes to concentrate on defense, instructing his team to play man-on-man to limit Wallaby scoring opportunities. The Wallabies scored early to take the lead with goals by Dave "Ackers" Ackley and Harrison, but the Redbacks tightened up and allowed only one more Wallaby goal, kicked by Jeff "Peeps" Persson. At the other end, a goal by Chip Price followed by Serong's fourth goal regained the lead for Rutherford County, who went into the final quarter with the wind at their backs and a two point lead, 8.8 (56) to 8.6 (54).
The Wallabies were excited by the narrow margin, but they needed a lead going into the final quarter. The indefatigable Flemming was a bright point with two more goals from excellent feeds from Persson, but goals by Serong, Gilberto "Chimi" Ortiz, Price and again by Serong ensured Wilson County did not close the gap.
The Rutherford County Redbacks are now 2-0 in the five game series. The two teams face again on Thursday July 8th at 6:30 PM in Rhodes Soccer Park in a game that the Wilson County Redbacks must win for a chance at the 2010 Nashville Metro League championship.
Scores By Quarter
1st- Redbacks 3.0 (18) Wallabies 4.3 (27)
2nd- Redbacks 6.5 (41) Wallabies 5.3 (33)
3rd- Redbacks 8.8 (56) Wallabies 8.6 (54)
4th- Redbacks 12.11 (83) Wallabies 10.6 (66)
Goal kickers:
Redbacks: Damian Serong 6, Chip Price 2, Mischa Nemeth, Gilberto Ortiz,
Ben Vaatstra, Jason White
Wallabies: Kane Harrison 4, Ross Flemming 3, David Ackley, Jeff Persson,
Luke Stockdale
Best on Ground:
Redbacks: Luke Nemeth, Ben Vaatstra, Damian Serong
Wallabies: Kane Harrison, Nick Parker, Ross Flemming
Umpires:
Field: Grant White
Goal: Toby Persson, Alex Benjamin
Attendance: 15
Injuries: Chip Price (ankle), Dave Walker (knee)
