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| KP Keep Heads To Send Dogs To The Moon |
A fabulous encounter at the Bibliotech Arena saw Kelly's Poets overcome a spirited Moondogs side yesterday afternoon, the home side taking the points with a hard-earned 4-2 victory.
In the event, it was KP's ability to quite literally use their heads that proved the difference, with Veteran striker Ezra Pound recording a hattrick and Fanuco Manjarin popping up for number three of the afternoon.
However, the opening stanza was far from open. In what was a very tactical battle, the one true chance was created by KP and resulted in Pound's 18th minute opener. A driving foray forward from central defender Forshaw saw him at the edge of the box before he barely broke stride sending in a curling cross which Pound thumped home with his forehead.
And so it stayed until just before the hour mark. KP managed to work the ball down the left thanks to a fine pass from Valderrama that picked out Cole on the left. This time, it was Sundgren who was the defender getting forward to provide the spare man. The left back cut inside before hitting a right-foot in swinger that Pound simply glanced into the far corner.
Suddenly the game became open as the Dogs sought an urgent reply. However, it also left space at the back and on 64 minutes KP hit them on the break. Timms, who hadn't looked his normal self, had been replaced by Iturriaga just past the hour. The Columbian had an almost immediate impact, taking Partridge's long clearance in his instep and then fending off three challenges to progress to the byline. The resulting cross was initially blocked by Diamond, but a lucky bounce gave him a second chance and he flicked a ball up to the near post that the galloping Manjarin simply guided home.
To their credit Moondogs got one back soon after, with Diamond ramming home from a 68th minute corner and KP looked far from comfortable despite their two-goal cushion. However, another substitute saw A A Milne come on for the tiring Trapp and his speed down the line enabled him to get round the back of the Dogs' back line once more and Pound met the resultant cross to complete his treble.
With less than 10 minutes left, Moondogs were up against it and there was barely a celebration despite the exquisite finish from Diogo to pull one back in injury time.
"4-2 maybe flattered us a touch," conceded Infront Cat, " But we were probably just about the better team on the day. Kudos to the Dogs for not giving up though."
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