A return trip to Rowland Park was on the agenda for Sunday morning as the Over 35s attempted to keep their unbeaten start intact against Pagewood Botany B. Once again, the bench contained a couple of players but the usual list of injuries meant the coverage was sparse.
With everyone playing with conservation in mind, and a couple of new registrations adding to the mix, the early exchanges were disjointed. Passes were going astray and the fluidity in attack was slightly off. The best opportunities of the first half were mostly from set pieces. Lee was jumping well for corners and dangerously positioned free kicks, but the finished product was just wide (or high) of the mark. Pagewood’s best chance came from a loose player just inside the area after a couple of well strung passes, but Peter was up to the task and made the stop. It was all equal at the break, but Loko looking the more likely.
As the second half progressed, the Cove started to find a little more rhythm. The outlet passes were developing into opportunities. When Eduardo was brought down about 30m out, John’s floating free kick was left by Scott and Vlad put his shot on target. The Pagewood keeper stopped the shot but lost sight of the ball which gave Scott just enough space to pounce on the rebound and slot home. It was 2-0 not long after when Jason and Scott interchanged passes down the left flank before Lee met Scott’s cross and nodded down for Vlad to cooly double the advantage.
The Cove 35s will finally play a home game come Sunday, under lights as they take on bottom of the table Waverley Old Boys at 5pm.
Goals: Scott, Vlad
Player of the match: Lee