Northview Titans Junior Varsity Boys Game Summary
Northview v. North Gwinnett - 2-0
March 27th
The Titans’ team kicked-off in a 4-4-2 formation with the starting line-up being:-
Carter Rhoad
C J Jones Chase Collier Jarrod Neser Steve Whiteside
Chad Elsey Ross Cantrell Michael Driscoll Josh Taylor
Russell Bradford Steve Kim
The teams turned up to play but the officials did not! Some people may say that’s just as well but I am not one of them! After waiting for 20 minutes or so we turned to the crowd favorite, Coach C., to assist us and run the game from the center of the field. He was ably assisted by the parent “volunteer”, Mr. Billy Whitesides.
The Titans controlled this game from the very start but could not turn their possession into goals. Their first real chance came in the 7th minute as Russell Bradford made a clear break through the middle but shot wide as the Bulldog goalie came rushing towards him. Northview continued to dominate the game and Steve Kim had two opportunities to score but was denied first of all by the crossbar and secondly by the Bulldogs’ defense as it was stretched to the limits. In the 15th minute CJ Jones passed the ball to Josh Taylor who forced a great save from the Bulldog keeper.
Sebastian Czech and Ricky Van Patten entered the game after 20 minutes and shortly thereafter Russell Bradford scored an unassisted goal as he broke through from midfield to give the Titans a very well deserved lead. The Titans kept up the pressure and some nice play on the right wing got the ball to Jarrod Neser whose long range shot was just over the bar.
While the Titans had the game pretty much all of their own way they did have one lucky escape in the 29th minute. Following a rare attack, the Bulldogs won a corner and from the in-swinging corner, the Titan defense frantically cleared the ball to the edge of their box and bowled over a Bulldog player just outside of the box…a very close call that could easily have been a penalty. The Bulldogs’ free-kick hit the side netting. As the half came to a close, Steve Kim had a good shot on goal but it hit a defender and went out for a corner.
The second half kicked off with Gio Perrazza returning to play after missing several games through injury. Six minutes into the half the Titans doubled their advantage as Russell Bradford passed to Steve Kim whose cross was bundled in by CJ Jones for his first goal of the season. It was at this time that Coach C was helped with some of his duties as the first yellow shirted official arrived. In the 42nd minute, the Bulldogs put the ball into Northview’s net but it was called back for handball. The Bulldogs enjoyed a good spell for the next five minutes before the speedy Titan players Josh Taylor, Russell Bradford and Steve Kim began to cause problems. One nice move resulted in Chad Elsey just shooting wide of the goal.
Carter Rhoad was having a quiet evening but was called into action in the 56th minute. North Gwinnett attacked with a good shot from the right side of the box, forcing an even better save from Carter. It’s not over until she’s singing, boys!
With 13 minutes left in the game, Coach C was allowed to go home as the second official arrived! Some good defensive work by Logan Greenburg, following a corner to North Gwinnett, sent the ball to CJ Jones who fed Josh Taylor and his cross was met by Russell Bradford whose shot was deflected by a defender and apparently stopped on the line by the goalie. Several Titans argued that the ball had crossed the line but their appeals fell on deaf ears. In the 65th minute the Titans had a corner which Josh Taylor headed against the crossbar and the ball dropped straight down onto the goal line but the goalie was able to grab it before it crossed the line.
The Bulldogs had some speedy forwards who were dangerous on the counter attack but Caulin Collier, his brother Chase, and Steve Whitesides were there to stop them.
A good display by the boys and unlucky not to run up a cricket score!
Final score Northview 2 – 0 North Gwinnett
