Turner Shocks Heroes as Guantanamo Go Down

3rd July 2008

Luke Turner showed why he is regarded as the best young player in Broome last night with a devastating performance in Racing Guantanamo’s loss to championship contenders Hagan’s Heroes.

The youngster managed to slot away a hat trick as his constant winding runs down the right flank of the Reds’ defence were a continuous threat.

Guantanamo started the match without Andy Smyth who had succumbed to a bout of the flu, while Joel Hamling and new signing Matt Reen were also missing after being selected to play for Broome at Country Week and in the Kimberley Cup respectively.

Into the side came guest signings Sophie Hunstone and Jorge Pereira’s son Jarmon who were added to give a bit of flair and pace to the team.

The Mighty Oranges began with a bang, scoring the opener against a Heroes side who were clearly not taking the underdogs seriously. A series of fluid passes and a sublime finish from Turner opened the scoring much to the shock of the capacity crowd.

With that, the Heroes galvanised their team into action, and Guantanamo fell on to the back foot, with the midfield, which has been such a problem so far this season, dissolving under the intense pressure in the middle of the park.

A series of quick goals from the Reds left the Mighty Oranges reeling in shock and they traipsed off at halftime with heads down.

Captain Ryan Platten, who has begun to develop a reputation of giving stirring half time team talks, again pointed out what the team had to do.

The players, latching on to what he had said, went out into the second half with a renewed sense of purpose, taking the game to the Heroes who had begun to rest on their laurels.

The Reds fell back in the face of the Guantanamo onslaught, as the Oranges pushed again and again to win back their pride. Greg Blackmore pushed into midfield alongside Ben Walker, as Jorge Pereira fell back into defence.

Chris Hingston continued his improvement as a player with a solid role on the other side of midfield as Sophie Hunstone pushed up front. Tim O’Brien continued his solid performance cutting out the Reds’ attack, while Jon Falconer was a constant hassle to the Heroes’ players.

With Francois Kruger in goals again looking unbeatable in the second half, the Oranges were on a high as Turner looked like scoring every time he went forward.

Unfortunately for Guantanamo, there were not enough minutes in the second half to complete their amazing comeback, with Hagan’s Heroes taking the match 10-4, but the spirit and passion exhibited by the heroes in Orange will go forward into their next match as they look to stay off the bottom of the ladder.

Racing Guantanamo Matchday Squad
Ryan PLATTEN, Francois KRUGER, Greg BLACKMORE, Ben WALKER, Luke TURNER, Chris HINGSTON, Jorge PEREIRA, Jarmon PEREIRA, Sophie HUNSTONE, Jon FALCONER, Tim O’BRIEN

Final Score
Racing Guantanamo AFC 4 – 10 Hagan’s Heroes

Attendance
6