Positive Start For GCFC
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Gold Coast Football Club will take plenty of positives from its debut VFL match against last year’s VFL Preliminary finalist Port Melbourne at Southport AFC this afternoon.
In the end, GCFC went down by 12 points against a disciplined and battle-hardened Port, but the home side was in the hunt for most of the afternoon. In the end a poor first quarter which saw GCFC manage just 2.4 16 to Port Melbourne’s 6.3 39 probably proved the difference.
Even so, GCFC fought bravely all day and even had the better of much of the contest after quarter time, but some costly errors in defence and Port Melbourne’s poise under pressure at crucial times ultimately told a tale.
Early on the signs were good for the home side. Under brilliant Gold Coast sunshine, GCFC looked sharp in close. A smart chain of handballs carried the ball from the grandstand wing and eventually mature aged recruit Daniel Harris slotted the first goal of the day and his club’s first ever VFL major.
But as the game settled down, Port steadied and kicked the next five goals. Only some late Daniel Harris defensive desperation kept GCFC in touch when a brilliant tackle earned him a free within range.
The second term started at frenetic pace with the ball swinging from end to end. Both sides missed a few gettable chances, but it was GCFC that looked the sharper outfit. Luke Russell was inspirational with plenty of gut busting run and hard tackling and all of sudden the identical yellow boots of Liam Patrick and Rex Liddy seemed everywhere up forward. First Patrick spotted up Luke Shreeve who kicked truly and when Liddy did the same for Marc Lock the skipper duly converted, GCFC was surging. Soon after Rory Thompson snagged one from a tight angle and it was game on.
Patrick, Magin and Swallow also added majors. At half time the margin was a paltry two points in Port Melbourne’s favour and the home side was sending a loud message.
It was an arm wrestle after the main break with neither side able to get a run on. Port scored first after an ugly GCFC defensive turnover and GCFC was finding it hard to get out of its own half of the ground. Eventually it took a scintillating four bounce run from the Rex Liddy to break the game open. He failed to convert, but soon after Trent McKenzie slotted a long range bomb and when the lion-hearted Charlie Dixon crumbed a pack to kick another GCFC goal, the margin was down to a point and GCFC was up and about.
But, as they had all day, Port found something when they needed it, and they snagged the last goal for the quarter.
The late score must have given them a lift, because they flew out of the blocks in the last term with Collingwood discard Callum Sinclair wobbling one through just a minute in.
Harris evened the last quarter ledger for the home team, but Port – as they had much of the day - answered almost immediately, again through Sinclair.
A superbly weighted footpass to Iles set up Liddy and he again kicked truly to keep the Coast in the hunt.
But again Port struck back when a cheap free kick was well converted.
From here on, time was against the home team and it was always going to be tough for GCFC to claw their way back. But they certainly gave it a shake. A late running effort from David Swallow had the home crowd on its feet and offered a glimmer of hope, but in the end Port’s steadiness when it mattered was good enough to hold off a determined GCFC side that showed it will have plenty to offer in season 2010.
Port Melbourne 15.19 109 def GCFC 15.7 97
GCFC Goals: Harris 4, Patrick, Swallow 2, Lcok, Shreeve, Magin, Thompson, McKenzie Dixon, Liddy 1. GCFC Best: Harris, Lock, Matera, Coad, McKenzie, Smith.
