As It Happened: UKC (W) v. Holland College (W)---ACAA

Due to a series of inexplicable bus delays and road construction, I'm a bit late. Pre-kick-off but post-warm-up. So you're spared my pre-game musings.

Teams:

UKC: Bishop, Spessot, Kraus, Skinner, Anderso, McKenze, Crothers, Miesner, Cousens, Flatley, Smith.

HC (note: online roster is incorrect, Holland College website is outdated, so these may be incorrect): Wheatley, MacEachern, Younker, #22, MacKay, Bernard, MacPhee, McKenna, Robinson, Jewell, MacLeod.

1min: Nothing happening off the kick-off. Holland College with the early pressure.

4min: Pretty even game so far, though Holland have looked a lot sharper than STUdid yesterday. HC put Kings' out of the playoffs last year,and drew hem 1-1 in the season opener.

6min: Cousens controls a spilled clearance and should have a go from the top of the box, but she hesitates and loses out to MacPhee.

8min: Kraus gets rid of a dangerous pass before Robinson could get a touch. Solid from Kraus.

10in: Interesting 3-4-3 formation from Holland College. it's a rather attacking approach compared to Kings' defensive 3-5-2.

11min: MacLeod gets around Spessot wth a craftystep but her cross meets only Kraus' head.

13min: Flatley collides with Robinson and comes up limping. Kings' have no substitutes today, as Dowler, Trueland, Yang, Cutler, Bowen, and possibly the water carrier are nursng injuries.

15min: Anderson makes way early for Cutler, who appears healthy enough to play. Infurther injury news, Trisha MacKay s down and not putting weight on her right leg. She's getting treatment on the near sideline now and it looks like she might be done for the day.

19min: Holland bring MacKay off for Stephanie LeBlanc. MacKay looks a bit better now--she walked off--but she probably won't return.

23min: Half a chance for Kings' as Wheatley and Flatley go for the same ball and both lose out. Nothing comes of the confusion, though.

25min: Free kick 34 yards out for Holland College. It's wafted into Bishop's waiting arms.

31min: Holland College have a definite technical advantage over Kings'. They're fast and skilled on the counter. Yet to really test Bishop, but they look capable.

35min: Holland settling into a spell of pressure. They win a corner. It's put in very well by Robinson but Kraus beats Jewell to the ball and then MacLeod can't finish the follow-up shot.

38min: The through ball tactics for Holland College are pretty, but they ahve yet to solve Kraus, who is breaking up every forward move at the moment.

39min: Holland College win a corner and Robinson sends a dangerous header well wide. Kraus,a gain, was the boss in that challenge, spillign Robinson before she could get much on the ball.

44min: Feisty tackle from McKenzie, who takes out Jewell hard, but fairly. Holland College retaliate and concede a free kick.

45min: Half-time called with few true scoring opportunities. Kings' have conceded quite a few corners, which may worry them a bit.

It's obvious Kings' are missing Yang. She holds the ball in the midfield so well, and she can find players going forward, which allows Smith and Flatley to run off of defenders instead of having to run around defenders.

Down behind the Kings' goal, Stacey Stocco is grilling her team loudly enough that I can hear her over the wind way up hear in the stands. Expect a small singed patch to be left on the turf after she's done down there.

45min: Second half icks off with Holland swapping McKenna for MacKay. And Hye-Yeon Yang makes an appearance after all, replacing Smith. Robinson comes off for McEwen, too. Yang will really help Kings' through the middle, assuming she can bring her best game coming off an injury.

47min: A corner comes in from MacEachern, which everyone misses in the box. Kings' have dropped to more of a 4-5-1 with Yang in, although she's quite high in the midfield behind Flatley.

49min: Bishop hurt! She'll keep playing, though, so Kings' still have a goalkeeper.

50min: Kings' give away two more corners, struggling to clear both. It's a dangerous game to play. It's too easy to lose a mark or give away a penalty.

51min: Holland free kick, 29 yards out. MacEachern hits it with authority and it's out of Bishop's reach, but just over the bar, too.

54min: Kraus saves Kings' again, breaking up a 3 on 1 as Skinner whiffed on a clearance. They repay her by conceding a needless free kick, 20 yards out.

55min: Fantastic double save off the free kick! First Bishop palms away MacEachern's low shot and then she denies MacLeod's rebound try at close range. This game would be over without Kraus and Bishop. Kings' can't seem to get over half way at the moment, and it's constant pressure from Holland College.

59min: This is an ugly 0-0, at least for Kings'. It'll be ugly for Holland College if they fail to score, too.

61min: Yang's been a bit invisible so far. She's probably not 100% at the moment, but I also suspect she's not quite clicking with Flatley. there have been a couple misplaced passes, some miscommunication and some lack of positional understanding, too.

63min: There really does seem to be a goal in the cards for Holland. Kings' are playing desperate. Stocco might want to consider more than 3 at the back right now--Kings' are looking overwhelmed.

64min: Yang makes a decent run, but receives no support. It eventually goes out for a goal kick.

67min: Flatley tests Wheatley from 25 yards out. It was never going in, but Wheatley was careful with it. In the spirit of trying hopelessly to score, Cousens goes for goal from 35 yards. It's wide.

73min: Miesner is brought off and replaced by Smith as Stocco looks for offense. Yang drops back into a deeper role, which she tends to do better in.

74min: Good defending from Spessot, who holds MacLeod off on the break.

75min: Again Spessot denies MacLeod, this time on the turn. Kings' may be inept in the final two thrids of the field, but they've defended very, very well today.

80min: Smith rolls a shot to Wheatley for fun.

82min: Spessot gets beaten by MacLeod this time, but LeBlanc can't get on the end of her cross, which was pretty good.

84min: MacEwen sends LeBlanc in alone, but she takes way too many touches and Bishops strips her. At this point, Holland can only blame themselves for not scoring.

85min: Kings' give away a mystery foul 24 yards out. MacEachern can score from here.

86min: MacEachern beast the wall but puts it three feet over the net. Not her best free kick.

90min: Smith goes down on the wing, but McKenzie floats a cross in. Cousens gets her head on it and Wheatley does very well to save it.

90+min: The resulting corner is whipped in and Wheatley gets only her palms on it. Yang has an open goal from two yards out but somehow contrives to hit the post. As Holland clear the ref calls time.

Kings' can count themselves quite lucky to come out 0-0, though they defended well and nearly snatched a goal at the death. Not a game they'll take much encouragement from, but they can rally for the game against MSVU.

Holland must be ruing that they didn't score today. 3 points were their's to take.