21 May 2018
On the 21st of May both Opens Soccer teams made the long trek to Broken Hill to play in the 3rd round of the Knockout Competition. With the bus leaving at 5am it was an early start for all and the beginning of the longest away trip known in CHS NSW. With an early pit stop at Cobar, we continued on to Wilcannia and finally arrived in Broken Hill at 4pm. We checked in to our cabins at Lakeview Caravan Park and hit the road to make the most of a glorious sunset at Mundi Mundi Lookout. We managed to check out Silverton and saw some scenes from the early Mad Max movies, dropping into the Silverton Hotel for some well-earned refreshments. After watching the sunset over the stunning backdrop that displayed the curvature of the Earth we headed into town for dinner at one of the many clubs. The students enjoyed a game of pool and some managed the jackpot on the infamous chocolate machine. We headed back to camp for an early bedtime with the games kicking off at 9am the next day.
A bright start with breakfast and packing started at 7:30am. With everyone in their gear and ready to go we headed to the oval. The boys kicked off first and had the run of play for the first half. The boys kept their shape and got an early lead from a lucky shot that deflected off the Broken Hill keeper. From then on Broken Hill struggled to make inroads against Will Eather in goals with Claude Lewsam and Ryan Miller running things from the back. An early substitution brought on Kieran Baker and he finally lived up to his expectations performing a wicked turn on the wing and getting a quality shot off from outside the box. The keeper parried, and CJ Wheatley smashed the loose ball into the net to take it to 2 nil. The half finished with Wellington on top. After the break the Wellington boys strived forward and were rewarded with another early goal, taking a 3-nil lead. Mr Beattie started to relax on the bench. However there was a twist the Wellington Boys never saw coming as the game went on more and more free kicks were given away from some extremely poor refereeing and then two penalty dot shots were put away for Broken Hill to take the score to 3-2.
At the other end, Broken Hill played some rough and tumble in defence but somehow managed to not give away a free kick. The game wore on with Wallace Bruce frustrated as he received a yellow card. Broken Hill managed a couple more shots and got a cheap goal after confusion in the box from Harry Broome and Jake Veech getting a goal to take it to 3 all and extra time. The sides had a quick break and moved into extra time Golden Goal. The game was even throughout as both sides jostled for possession. Again there were some perilous decisions from the ref. Towards the last 5 minutes of extra time Broken Hill had a breakthrough with a cheap shot coming in which Will Eather got a hand to but the ball managed to spin along the ground and sneak into the bottom corner. The boys were hugely disappointed after the 4-3 Golden Goal loss.
Next up the girls took the field and dominated from the start. Some wonder work from Jacqui Ryan upfront took the pressure off as she slotted two quick goals for Wellington to take the lead. With Arki Lewsam in goals for the first time there were some nervous moments as she couldn't catch but managed to get her body behind it and remain solid. There was some amazing play from the 2 young Year 7 girls who against all odds made the Opens team with Heavenly Dwyer best on ground with her sure foot in defence and Mahaylee Stanley running rings around the midfield helped by Bec Dutfield's experience. Some great wing play from Kelsey Gibson and Jade Lang saw the girl's breakthrough again with another goal from Jacqui Ryan bringing up her hat trick.
The girls finished the half 3 nil up. The second half saw much of the same as Wellington dominated play. Kelly Chown and Heidi Parkes kept the ball clear of our defence and played some great link up play with the mids to suffocate the Broken Hill attack. The game finished with a deserved 3 nil victory to Wellington. After the game we boarded the bus for the long trip back. Stops were kept to a minimum with one dinner stop in Cobar as darkness fell and the roos started to come out. Both buses were on lookout and did well in the final hours to make good time arriving in Wellington at 10:30pm. All were glad to be back and hit the hay for a good-nights rest.
Thank you to all students for a great trip and a massive thank you to Pete Lewsam and Shany Abra for taking their bus and assisting Mr Beattie and Mr Roberts throughout the trip.