Squad

Corkhill
Scurr (Tranter)
Logie
Robertson
Rowat
Pellow
Wills (Cyr)
Abell (Butler)
Mooney
Bennett (Hobbins)
Chandler (Seigfreid)

Subs

Tranter
Wills
Butler
Cyr
Hobbins
Seigfreid

A steamy day in the cauldron of Dempsey on a rock hard surface, for the 3pm game versus the Hotspurs.

The Casuals, missing a couple of regulars kept the same formation as the previous week, Hotspurs sporting a blend of youth and experience were competitive and combative as usual.  The first half and albeit a little slow in possession, the Casuals had the better of the play in a close half, on a couple of occasions a better final ball would have resulted in clear chances for the Reds.  On 30 mins good play from Tom led to Mooney opening the scoring..

Second half and the Reds struggled to make an impression on the game.  Plenty of effort but a lack of focus to get the ball forward quickly to serve the strikers, ended up with too much territory being conceded to the Hotspurs, which in turn led to pressure.  That being said, the lead was not in too much threat until a mix up led to the Hotspurs stabbing in a soft goal on 80 mins.  Casuals played out the last few mins with 10 men after Dez was carried off with a knee injury - get well soon Dez and we hope it is not too serious..

A draw and probably a fair result in a tough game edged by the weather…  In recent years Casuals would almost certainly have held out for the 3 points, the Reds who have been used to winning games due to fitness, drive and keeping opponents under pressure from quick balls forward.  The Reds now need to get back to those critical success factors;  fitness and tactically playing in the opponents half rather than their own - quite simply you are more likely to score and less likely to concede if the ball is up the other end.