Elim Eagles 4 vs 6 Affinity

<p>&lsquo;Let&rsquo;s start quickly&rsquo; were James&rsquo; words of encouragement in the pre-match huddle.&nbsp; Two minutes in and two goals down it would appear that that James&rsquo; words fell on deaf ears.&nbsp; Even with some questionable refereeing decisions and a poor bobbly Memorial Park pitch Affinity contributed to going behind so quickly.&nbsp;

<p>Affinity got hold of the ball and kept it for a while to give themselves a chance to recover a get some shape to their play.&nbsp; Steadily the possession turned to pressure and a well taken goal from Jamie started to put the doubts in Elim player&rsquo;s minds.&nbsp; Some sound central defensive work by Ian and Soes limited Elim&rsquo;s attacking options.

<p>Affinity&rsquo;s second was a flicked shot from James that the Elim goalie failed to read and led to a period of sustained pressure.&nbsp; Charlie put in a couple of nice crosses that just failed to find a team mate and Mike and James shared some passes before a shot just shy of the upright.&nbsp; Jamie was holding down the centre midfield winning all of the headers from goal kicks from both teams.

<p>The pitch being fairly narrow made Soes&rsquo; throw ins a weapon and Affinity&rsquo;s third would be a tap in for Lee following one of these throw ins.&nbsp; Affinity were on top now but switched off for a minute letting Elim find an unlikely equaliser.

<p>Elim started the second half on the front foot and forced a fourth goal from a lob back over Dale&rsquo;s head following a clearance from a corner. Somewhat stunned to be behind again Affinity pushed forward and found three further goals to leave the victory in little doubt.&nbsp;

<p>The fourth was James&rsquo; second finding the net from 5 yards after Luke&rsquo;s corner pinballed around in the Elim area.&nbsp; The fifth goal and James&rsquo; first Affinity hat trick was a flicked header from another Soes throw in.&nbsp; The final goal was a shot from Gary that although deflected easily found the net.

<p>Affinity closed the game down with some fine defensive work with Gilly making a couple of last ditch challenges. &nbsp;Will played a typical number 9 role holding up the ball well and playing Lee and Luke into space.&nbsp;

<p>A battling but effective performance from Affinity proving that the never beaten spirit that has been evident this season is live and well.&nbsp; Man of the match goes to James as much for his overall performance as his first hat trick

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