POSTAL A.L.C. 0 - HALLIBURTON 5

Final game of the Kingsford cup pitched Postal ALC vs Halliburton AFC at Webster Park.

1. Shaun Walker

2. Alli Macrae

3. Murrray Hunter (S)

4. Andrew Riddell (S)

5. Matthew Hamilton (S)

6. James Steele

7. Fletcher Stewart (S)

8. Arran Walker

9. Harry MacAuley (S)

10. Phil Wallace

11. Hachichele Kazhikamalia (S)

Bench: 

12. Dillon Crowe (S)

13. Ross Webster (S)

14. Fraser Smith (S)

15. Vinnie Buggie (S)

16. Luca Giulianotti (S)

17. Mohammed Al-Gabri (S)

Postal started brightly after kicking the game off but the first opportunity fell to Halliburton in the 3rd minute. A powerful effort from distance tested Walker in the Postal goal, but the goalkeeper reacted well to make a comfortable save and keep the scores level.

The home side began to grow into the contest and created their best opening of the first half in the 16th minute. Wallace was brought down in a dangerous area, allowing Andrew Riddell to take a quick-thinking free kick. Spotting Wallace’s run, Riddell played the ball into his feet before Wallace drove forward onto his left foot and fired towards goal. The goalkeeper could only parry the effort into the path of Hunter, who arrived perfectly in the box but unfortunately saw his close-range strike crashed into the keeper, with Halliburton scrambling the danger clear.

Postal continued to threaten and came close again in the 25th minute. Fletcher surged forward before threading an excellent pass into Macauley, who delivered an inviting cross into the area. Hatch met it well, but his effort was denied by another impressive save from the Halliburton goalkeeper. From the resulting corner, Riddell tried his luck himself, only to be thwarted once more.

Having weathered Postal's pressure, Halliburton struck the opening goal in spectacular fashion in the 27th minute. Awarded a free kick just outside the area, their taker unleashed a stunning effort that crashed off the post before finding the back of the net, leaving Walker with no chance and giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The setback knocked Postal's momentum and Halliburton doubled their advantage just before the interval. In the 41st minute they worked the ball well down Postal's left-hand side, with runners not tracked inside the penalty area. The move ended with the overlapping right-back arriving unmarked to fire home and make it 2-0 at the break.

Postal looked to respond after half-time but nearly gifted Halliburton another goal in the 47th minute when a short back pass put Walker under pressure. The goalkeeper reacted brilliantly to rescue the situation with an excellent save.

As the second half progressed, Halliburton continued to show their quality. In the 70th minute a corner into the Postal box saw Mo lose his marker, allowing the Halliburton attacker to get across him and head home for 3-0.

The visitors added a fourth ten minutes later after another well-worked attacking move. Advancing down Postal's right flank, Halliburton combined neatly before working the ball into the penalty area, where they finished confidently to extend their lead to 4-0.

Late in the game, Halliburton grabbed a fifth when a dangerous ball into the area resulted in an unfortunate own goal from Postal, rounding off a frustrating afternoon for the home side.

Up next Postal take on West End Under 18s in the final preseason game of the season.

MoM – N/A

Goals – N/A

Booked –  N/A

Red Card –  N/A