The Swannies after their final game of the tournament.
National Coach, Josh Little reports on the first game of the Swannies 2011 Asian Champs campaign: Vietnam Swans Vs Cambodian Eagles.
The Swans prepared long and hard for their Asia Champs but as soon as the draw came out on Wednesday, we knew it was going to be tough to beat Cambodia. The Eagles have been getting bigger and stronger ever since our last match with their new ground being built, a new relationship with the West Coast Eagles and more players than ever before. This wasn’t going to be like in the past!
The game started with the ball flying back and forth with failed chances to convert from both sides. Dezza, Nat and Heath kept rebounding from the backline but the ball kept coming out. Adrian and Dukes were busy in the middle but the contest was physical and the Swans weren’t able to open up the ground as much as they would have liked.
The Swans got their first break with Nick Moger finding the goals from the boundary line in his first game as a Vietnam Swan. This meant the Swans went into half time with a slight advantage.
The second half couldn’t have started better with the Swans getting the centre clearance via Adrian and placing the ball on his Hanoi teammate’s chest in David Skowronski who was also playing his first game for the national team. David missed his chance to convert but he made up for it minutes later, snapping a classy goal over his shoulder.
Brett Jotta was getting busy around the half forwardline and was causing a few headaches for the Eagles with Crazy Dan also getting busy in the ruck and was giving our midfielders first use of the ball.
The Eagles had a couple of chances to register their first goal at the Champs but with the ball dropping short, it allowed Vietnam’s defenders to clear the ball.
The Swans went on to win their first game at the 2011 Champs in what was a close game. The Swans knew they had to step it up if they were to reach the Semi’s at this tournament.
Still to come:
- Four more Match Reports
- Loads of Champs’ photos
- Today, Vietnam Veterans Day and the Swannies
- Much more!
