Land Rovers Kick Off Season

Land Rovers indoor soccer team kicked off the season at the theatre of dreams this afternoon, otherwise known as Shed Six. Before a capacity crowd of the referee and his shadow, the Rovers looked to be fielding an impressive line up for their debut against Intergen.Net 2 in a game brought forward due to fixture congestion. On paper the team looked impressive as follows

Stephen Hall (capt)
Charles Smith
Chris Riddle
Lance Edwards
Mark Fatu
Trevor Hose

Hose was making his soccer debut, and with other players making their second ever appearance, it meant the team possessed an interesting mix of age and inexperience. The opening minutes looked promising with captain courageous Hall slotting several early goals to put the Rovers out to an early advantage. However the Intergen boys looked to peg the Rovers back and only brilliant goalkeeping by Smith (making three consecutive saves at one point) kept the score respectable and the Intergen boys at bay. By late in the second half it was 7 -6 to the Rovers, and the boys were looking ragged due to the lack of pre-season training.

A wave of Cylon, oops, Intergen attacks finally saw a full court press with the Rovers pinned in deep in their own half. Smith called for the oxygen mask but a quick look at the roof and nothing appeared to drop down from above. Then as Intergen screamed forward a moments inattention by an Intergen player saw Smith brilliantly smack the ball from three quarters of the length of the field into the Intergen net. The goal keeper was gob smacked and it ended 8 -6 to the Rovers. The Man of the Match performance by Smith, four goals to Hall and three to Riddle saw off a determined effort by the Intergen team. Not a bad first effort and team should improve as the season progresses.

Smith could later be heard describing how he'd scored a goal from the helicopter pad by deflecting the ball off a table at Shed 5 and cannily through the door of Shed 6 and into the opposition net. He was last sited heading for Auckland to talk to that Adshead fella about his new role as Knights striker. It is anticipated he should come back to earth for the next match against Infinity in Shed 6 next Monday.

MOTM - Smith

Final Score: Rovers 8 Intergen 6