Woodley Saints H 2-0 Finally after 4 long
weeks Southbank returned to action against
Woodley Saints at a very cold Coley Rec.
Having lost heavily to Woodley Saints in
October, which has triggered the turnaround in
the team’s fortunes this season; they were
determined to not let anything stop this good
form from continuing. However, a number of
player absentees through, injury, suspension
and foreign trips meant the resources of the
first team were stretched to the limit.
However a good strong team was still
pushed out for the game, which saw the return
of Ricky Gales to the team for the first time
since Southbank beat Woodley Saints in the
corresponding fixture last season (April)
which seized promotion to the Senior…strange
Anyhow Southbank settled into the game
knowing it would be tight and had to thank
their goalkeeper Steve ‘sbank1’ Marshall on
25mins for keeping the scores level, when a
free header at the backpost was excellently
saved by him…in a Gordon Banks 1970 World Cup
style repeat. Since joining the club in
September 2009, Marshall has been responsible
for a number of points with key saves and has
already established himself as a key player
both in personality and performances on the
pitch.
Southbank did look dangerous every time
they went forward, with Gale and Wagner on
form in midfield, Jamie Froude playing his
best game for the club this season in his
adopted right-back position and full-debutant
Will Strang at left-back providing great runs
from deep positions, Dion Dennie looked sharp
on the right wing while Neil Healy and Luka
Kasonda strong and sharp in attack.
It was Luka who opened the scoring after 35
minutes. Dion picking up the ball on right
midfield, beating his man and delivering an
awesome cross from the bye-line for Luka to
run onto and head home into the bottom corner
without breaking stride. Neil Healy came close
to doubling the lead with a neat turn and shot
which hit the bar and really deserved a goal
for his effort and determination but Southbank
went into half-time ahead and looking good.
The second half followed the first in terms
of pattern of the game, although the team did
go through patches of being flat and allowing
Saints to build pressure which on another day
or against another opposition may have proved
costly. Despite a number of chances, notable
to Dion who 7 yards out was unable to keep a
shot down and Neil one on one with the keeper,
Southbank had to wait for the impressive Healy
to settle things with 5 minutes to go,
drilling home into the bottom corner from 12
yards to seal the points. Neil deserved this
goal for simply the effort and level of
performance he puts in. Far from being just a
goal scorer, Healy’s a real asset to this team
and is starting to build a healthy number of
goals for the team this year.