Muirend have been sending in clips, quotes and match notes all weekend after our roving reporter saw their superb second-half recovery — 2–0 down at half-time to winning 7–3 — so it felt right to give their comeback its own space. This isn’t just the Inside Verdict; it’s a closer look at a team that turned 2–0 into a statement win and wanted to share what it meant.
Muirend Unleashed brings together the voices, the moments and the reaction from a group clearly buzzing after that second-half performance.
Name: Stefan Bortkiewicz
Club: Muirend Athletic
Club Manager
#GDSFC #MuirendAthletic #InsideVerdict #SundayFootball #AmateurFootball
Congratulations on the win and brilliant fight back from 2 nil down — what was the first thing that went through your head after the final whistle?:
I was extremely proud of the boys. We came into this game on the back of a challenging run playing some good teams in the cup, as well as teams flying high in our league. To show the resilience to come back and then totally dominate was excellent.
What was the game plan going in, and how well do you think the lads stuck to
We are definitely a team that prefers to move the ball quickly and look for combinations, but at times in the first half we were rushing and giving away possession quite easily. At HT we had a chat about staying calm , and that if we keep our identity the result will come and that’s exactly what happened.
You’ve seen this group grow week after week — what pleased you most about yesterdays performance in particular?:
It would just have to be the resilience again. As I say we’ve had some poor results against some good teams, but we knew today was an opportunity. When you have a setback it’s all about how you react to it, if anything I think conceding the second goal made the boys more determined. A great trait that I hope we see in more games going forward!
Amateur football throws up all sorts of challenges — what does this result say about your side’s mentality right now?:
The boys will take some great belief from that second half. Not only to score so many goals but to dominate the ball the way we did. Once we got the equaliser I think we immediately felt we would go on to win, but the way the boys kept pushing showed a real desire to perform.
I think it was important to address the poor first half performance initially, but as I said to them the reassurance all came from them. Staying calm and realising even though we were behind we didn’t need to change the game within the first minute or so in the second half. I congratulated them on their intensity on and off the ball in the second half. If we can play every game with that as the minimum standard we will win more than we lose !
Footy Focus season 25/26 
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