By
LS Jason Hutchinson
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Air
Force player FLGOFF Adam Steff goes up against Navy at the
WA Interservice soccer competition.
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Photo
by AB Joanne Edwards
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SOCCER
players representing Air Force at the 2004 WA Interservice soccer
competition suffered from bad weather and bad luck to be knocked
out of the championships, leaving Navy to win against Army in
the final.
In the first game of the competition, held at HMAS Stirling,
Navy played Air Force in an even contest. Locked at 2-2 at half
time, Navy scored early in the second half and the Air Force team
never really recovered.
Navy put the ball in the back of the net three times in the second
half to win 5-2. Then Air Force played another testing match against
Army, the weather hampering play. With the aid of a strong wind,
the Army led at half time 3-0.
Air Force went into the half time break with confidence that
they had the wind assistance in the second half.
But when Army scored early against the breeze, and the Air Force
couldn’t find the net after relentless attempts, it clearly wasn’t
going to be Air Force’s year.
Air Force was gallant in defeat, Army winning 6-2. For the first time in a long time, Air Force would not be in the running
for the trophy. It was one of only a couple of times within the
past 10 years that the final day’s play would determine the winner.
With similar scores against Air Force, it was set to be an epic
battle between Navy and Army. Outstanding weather conditions marked
the final day of competition, not counting the healthy breeze.
After the final whistle, Navy came out victorious at 9-3. This
win made it four consecutive wins for Navy, while the Army team
has not won the competition since 1983.
