Maulers Conquer Stockholm!
What noise does dynamite make? BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! Especially when the Maulers set fire to it. Take nothing away from the Dynamite – they did manage to get plenty of possession but just couldn’t get the majors on the scoreboard. The Maulers were lighting fuses and droppin’ bombs all over the JCG on Saturday and leaving all that watched and played a little shellshocked.
6 to 7 hours in a car before playing a footy match is not always an attractive prospect but 15 Maulers put their hand up to do it. Some of the boys drove up Friday night in an effort to get a good nights sleep and wake up a bit fresher and it may have just been the key.
6 players were generously put up by Pär Gustavsson in his 1 bedroom apartment, the oldest getting the spare bed with Max claiming the sofa and the rest finding a place on the floor. If you ever do a road trip with Ed make sure he either turns his alarm off or gets a less offensive alarm tone! Maxy and coach hit ICA nära at the crack of dawn (10am) to get some fuel for the lads. Max who is shaping up to be a fearsome backman is also pretty handy when it comes to bacon and eggs. Cheers Pär! We owe you one!
While we were digesting our BnE 2 more carloads of Maulers were on the way up to the JCG to make up a squad of 16. Sean Hagström our Stockholm connection already acclimatized to the Stockholm conditions. While Helsingborg fought on in the first match against Södermalm the Maulers were getting fired up for a much anticipated match, one that would decide our future in the Elitserien and also give hope to a bunch of players that have struggled to find their feet in the DAFL. No one can deny the vibe was positive but no one knew what was about to eventuate.
The coach laid down the law that everyone was to be on their best behaviour but do you think that prevented controversy? Dynamite came out firing and before you knew it Az had made his customary visit to the bench to get his noggen patched up with claret running out of it at a steady pace, that was visit no.1. Rossco came in with all guns blazing as well and it took us the first 5 minutes to settle down before we got our heads into the game and slowly but steadily put 3 goals on for the first qtr. Simmo was leading his guts out but nothing was doing so it was a reasonably quiet qtr up forward.
The second qtr was much of the same with a little less agro but Az still managed to leak some more blood, this time from the ear. The Maulers stacked on another 3 goals to be leading at the half time break 6.5.41 to 0.2.2.
The 3rd qtr was the Maulers strongest on the scoreboard with 6 more majors added to the tally and Simmo finally getting a few decent shots at goal to bring his total up to 4 for the day. Our midfield made up of Brett, Ed, Chris, Paul and occasionally Simmo began to fire along with a strong effort from Az at half forward and the Maulers began moving the ball into the forward line with a lot more ease. Paul Barron was also helping out at full forward with some strong marking and goalkicking. Jonas, Sean, Morgan and Gaeten also provided plenty of movement in the half forward line having a strong impact in many contests.
The last qtr saw a resurgence of sorts from the Dynamite. Both teams failed to get a major on the board and it soon became about The Maulers trying keeping the Dynamite goalless for the whole match. As they had done for the first 3 qtrs our backline consisting of Declan, Tony, Danny, Max and Ross did a sterling job of keeping the Dynamite at bay under some serious pressure. 3 shots at goal later and the Dynamite were still only 0.5. Tony Persson made a great solo effort down the sideline managing to keep the ball away from the opposition in the dying moments of the game. Our backline was a fortress, well done boys! Final score 12.12.84 to 0.0.5.
Other highlights were Max winding himself on the ball, general bleeding from Az, Chris unloading a dodgy kebab sometime around the 3rd qtr and of course the general banter after travelling a long way to win and then enjoy a few cold ones. Thanks to Az, Jonas, Danny and Gaeten for driving up and thanks Stockholm for having us. See you in Malmö for the final showdown!!!
RD