After a long and arduous trip we finally arrived in Canberra at 2PM today. Thank god we decided to leave Sunday or the trip would have been murderous!!! We stayed a cool caravan park in Ebden, just outside of Albury, and left about 9.20AM this morning. We drove fairly solidly until we reached Canberra. We checked into our accommodation and grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonalds and left for the Deakin Stadium at 3.40PM.
We arrived, after driving straight through the middle of the City, in about 20 minutes and were greeted by an absolutely wonderful stadium. The grass was fantastic, goals all set up with coloured nets and the boys were all impressed. They took loads of pictures. We had our own change-rooms and we basically went straight into warm up. The U14s were playing the U16s – who were clearly much larger, faster, stronger than we were. However the U14s played really well matching it with Canberra FC. We had a lot of trouble getting through their strong defense but we almost scored from a shot from AJ who had received a great pass from Ray.
The game was actually quite even and we were playing 2 x 40 minute halves – giving everyone plenty of time on pitch. Peter G was playing awesome as was Jordy H, Tom R and AJ. Agim, Liron, Tyson, Shannon, were holding their own against bigger and faster opponents and we managed to keep them from scoring – especially after a couple of top saves from Ryan L.
Just before the half the opposition scored 1 off a header that just went over Ryan’s head. We need to work on clearing crosses but we can evaluate what went wrong as we watch the video tomorrow. The score stayed that way until the half time whistle.
We came out and played well and then Liron scored a fantastic goal from a free kick – it was a beauty from about 30M out and went straight into the top corner! It was 1-1 and we were matching it with a team that was 2 years older.
With about 15 minutes in the game we got a little tired and their bigger stronger bodies started to get the better of us. They kicked two long balls from deep in defense to a fast striker who scored two goals about 5 minutes apart. But we did not give up. For the last 10 minutes we actually played above them and almost scored twice ourselves. The score ended 3-1 but the boys had done a great job!
The U18s next took the pitch against a fired up Canberra FC U18 and for the first 8 minutes it was even. But then the U18s started to get on top and George and Leigh each scored 1. Nick was playing well, as was Dhruv, Wahed, Luke, and Nanton. We started to control the game and the opposition were getting frustrated. A silly play and they brought down Nick as he ran to goal – which resulted in a red card. They were down to 10 players and we started to really decimate the opposition. Nick scored a goal, followed by Connor twice and George again. The goals were spectacular – including some fantastic strikes from George and a wonderful give and go between Connor and Adam. The score at the half was 6-0 but it was the way the goals were scored which was a beautiful sight. True team goals with great finishes and the boys and crowd were stoked. The Canberra team walked off dispirited and got a roasting from their coach! We knew they would come out hard with nothing to lose and only pride to gain.
We asked the referee to rescind the red card and allow Canberra to play with 11 players – which they did. We had three official ACTFF referees and it was brilliant!
At the half we came out fired up, but so did Canberra. They really dug deep and it was very close for about 20 minutes. They had shots and we had shots but the score remained at 6-0. In the last 20 minutes they got another red card and when playing with 10 men they were no match. We had a goal from George, and one from Seb and I believe the final score was 8-0.
It was great to see the quality of play produced tonight and how a brilliant pitch allowed us to show our skills. Tomorrow we play CFC again but this time their U14s and their U20s – these should be classic contests. Right now your boys are in their rooms and relaxing after having a pizza night in the CFC clubrooms.
The boys did their Dandenong Thunder shirt proud tonight, as well as themselves and their families! I think they were pretty proud of themselves, too.
More news tomorrow night of course – but a well-deserved sleep-in is necessary at the moment. We also need to do some washing of uniforms – then games again at 5PM and 7PM!!
I will write again tomorrow.
Day Two in Canberra.
It was another warm day and we managed to rest a bit today. We watched the games from the night before and tried to pick things in which we could improve. We addressed quite a few things in the 14s and then we challenged them to do better.
We lobbed up to Deakin Stadium again and got ready. The visitors change rooms were locked today but the U14 coach kindly allowed us to use the home change rooms as we were guests. Top class young fellow he was! His U14 team was much more raw than the 16s from yesterday and we pretty much controlled the first 20 minutes. We had many, many shots that sprayed all around the goal but none were scoring. Jordy B, Jordy H, Ray, Tyson, Oscar, and Tom R took turns but eventually Oscar turned one in and we were 1-0 and away. In defense, Agim and Pete G were playing very well supported by Liron and Tyson. Jordy H, Tom L. and Tom R worked hard in the midfield opening up many chances for us. Within minutes we were 2-0 up but before the half Canberra FC gained a goal as a great pass split our defense. At the half we were 2-1 up, but still lacked intensity and talk. We focused on following simple instructions and went out in the second half more determined to do well.
It was obvious that a difference was being made. Shannon started to play with more confidence and was became a really strong player in the last 30 minutes. Pete and Agim tightened and ran the ball out continuously linking up with Tom L, Tom R and Jordy H. Jordy B was great up front and Ray scored a real great goal placing it past the keeper while running at full speed. Oscar tried to use his clever skills to lay people on to take shots. AJ started to work extra hard and all of a sudden the guys were talking and working as a unit. Betim worked solidly in defense, while Tyson had stints in midfield and created a lot of problems. It was a great team effort and all the while we were supported by great keeping from Ryan. Eventually we ran out the game 7-1 with goals from Oscar, Tom L, Jordy B, and Ray. Let’s hope we can continue the effort tonight against a tough Canberra Olympic team!
We left right away because the U18s were going to take on the Canberra FC U20s. For some reason they made us move to an artificial pitch at Hawker. We got there and it was huge. We went to change but they told us we were not allowed in to change, and as time was running out we had to change outside. Then when that happened they told us we would get 15 minutes extra before the start but then the referee said that they would start at 7 and called us over. So we walked over to the middle still getting changed and quickly put a team together to play. It was obvious the 20s coach was playing mind games and did not want to lose to U18s. They had sat and watched us the night before and decided to ‘eliminate’ certain players. They started the intimidation before the start and it never ceased! They threatened us and told the boys they were going to ruin their “ACLs” and they kept wanting to fight. They tackled dirty and the referee let everything go – unless we made a poor tackle. However they also played well – very well - and were strong on the ball. They had a couple of u25s in the team at centreback and midfield and they were hard to crack. It was a frenetic pace in the first half and the score was 0-0.
We barely went in to a change-room when the referee told us to hurry. We went out and obviously the 0-0 result displeased the opposition coach and the intimidation started worse. They kept trying to take Nanton and Connor out and were constantly in George’s face and Dhruv’s face. But don’t get me wrong – they still played very strong football! Eventually the referee stopped calling anything against them and it seemed as the Canberra FC football pride was on the line.
We made a poor error in defense on a pass back and it cost us a goal – it was a great goal – centimetre perfect! This made us slump a little and gave them the energy they needed. They were relentless and never gave one of our players time on the ball. We still were making opportunities happen up front but struggled to finish. We made another poor error losing the ball in defense and they hurt us. In about 5 or 6 minutes of football we struggled and they seized on the opportunity to make us pay. They were super intense and everyone in the team wanted to be part of this win so all of their players found an arrogant passion and intensity in an effort to whip us! We were frustrated and getting yellow cards – they never got one! In the end we lost 4-0 but honestly we were their equal and the game would have been a fair result at 0-0. But we made some real howling errors under the intense pressure that never let up. In the last 10 minutes we actually outplayed them and they started to get violent and the referee lost control. It was obvious that anyone who was playing well on our team became an instant target.
In the end we left and with a huge learning step to boot. We played fast, tough, well organised men and it put us back into the reality of top class competition. We will watch the game today and see what we can do different. The opposition was very, very strong and that is what we wanted – we just didn’t expect to quite get it this way!
Today we play Canberra Olympic – lets hope we use what we learn and get a better result.
Canberra Day Three.
Today we took on Canberra Olympic in U14s and U18s. They were quite strong teams and they were rumoured to play really well. We arrived at the Dickson recreation area and there was a wide expanse of fields. The soccer pitches had rugby goals and burnt lines and were quite slow compared to what we had been playing on. Both teams were playing at the same time.
The referees arrived, the nets were put up and the games were on. In U14 we started off quite strongly but as the game went on we started to make the same mistakes that have been hurting us for the last three weeks. Defenders were trying to take on players and getting dispossessed. Forwards were making runs but when they had shots at goal they simply hit straight at the keeper. Midfielders were not checking and were basically taking each other’s space and literally running into each other on the small pitch! Passes were poor and cohesion seemed to be lacking. But there were some good plays including an L1 from AJ which resulted in a Jordy B goal. This 1-0 score held up for the game. Oscar L played well, Tom L played strongly in the middle, Jordy H was active and competitive. Tom R, when he played at centreback, was fantastic and Shannon was able to win all the aerial battles especially in the second half. Some defenders struggled - maybe from tiredness, while Tyson and Liron had their hands full with fast opponents. Betim had lots of shots but shot too many from too far out. Ray played really well but his finishing let him down. The game kind of choked because the field was small and scoring was hard. In fact the 1 goal still stood at the end of the game and Dandenong Thunder proved too strong overall to win a scrappy game where improvement is needed.
In the U18s, the game was brutally fast paced. The ball moved so quickly – from one end to the other. In fact Olympic was all over us in the first 10 minutes as the three games in a row seemed to be taking their toll – especially after yesterdays bruising encounter against CFC U20. We looked sluggish and were making poor errors such as not playing the way we faced and just forcing passes that were simply not there. They had a very quick attacker and he was giving us lots of trouble. Eventually we started to possess the ball and moved it to width. This seemed to work straight away and George scored a cracking R1. The game was also physical and some of our boys including Nanton, Dhruv, Elia were struggling with injuries. Wahed went down from a header and we were struggling to keep fit players on the pitch – Leigh did not even suit up today. It was a tight game and the Olympic team really worked hard and played the ball from the back very well. Olympic was a real good team.
The half time score was 1-0. The boys were tired but we had to get them up. We had been to the Australian War Memorial in the morning and they had witnessed stories of courage and adversity. Now, was when our players needed to dig deep. Dhruv came off and was too sore to play second half. Nanton was hobbling but continued. As the half progressed it was the older guys like Tucci, Santoro, Wahed, Elia, and Connor who started to lift. Elia played a great game and ran his socks off and Tucci was super in the middle. Anthony at centre-back was solid and talked continuously urging on his team mates. He played really tough and the opponents could not break him. Adam lifted tremendously in the second half and with Nick Farrell helping at left back (who was awesome by the way) we played stronger and stronger. Wahed in the centre-back position – along with Lewis made a stout defensive stand. In fact the entire half went through with not one shot at goal from Olympic. And as quick as they ran it up we ran it back until George put in a great cross to Connor, which he placed past the keeper to score our second goal.
To Olympic’s credit they never quit. Time and time again they tried to attack but the defense stood tall. Tucci was brilliant in the 8 and Luke took over from Nanton in the middle. Unfortunately Seb got hurt when he and an opponent went 100% at the ball – no player gave an inch and they collided. Both were hurt bad and were carried off. As I write this Seb is at the hospital getting checked out. We are all thinking of him and hope that it’s just a bad bruising. Both teams dug super deep and in the end it was Thunder who started to clearly get on top – such was the pace of the game that tiredness kicked in but Thunder stood firm. We had many chances to score but just couldn’t finish. Eventually we saw one of the goals of the season when Charlie did a “Rooney” bicycle kick off a cross to put it over the keeper and into the net. Everyone celebrated included the referee who applauded. Good thing is we have it on video. The score was now 3-0 and still the game was frenetic!
In the end, with the light fading the final whistle sounded and we proved victorious against a quality team. At the end, the Olympic committee put on a barbecue for all our players – great hospitality!
Tomorrow – with sore and injured players – we play fresh legged NTC teams at the AIS. I am not even sure we will make a full team but whoever does play – rest assured – they will give everything they have for their team mates!
The Final Day
Picture this – 30 tired players and 10 exhausted parents having to wake up at 6.30AM to prepare for an 8 hour drive – oh but first we had to play another game of football against the best players in the ACT and NSW starting at 8AM. Ouch! But this is what the trip was about. Who was resilient enough to keep going through adversity and still meet the challenges that would be dished out by fresh opponents?
We packed and ate and got on the bus for a short drive to the NTC fields. We got there and literally we were not sure if we had enough players to make up a team. The U14s seemed to be okay even though sore and tired from constant battering and physical challenges. Yet they had to play the U14 NTC team who were warming up as we arrived at 7.50AM. They were going through their passing and first touch drills while we were hobbling off the bus and slowly oozing out of cars! I think that the U14s couldn’t believe that they were playing a game at 8AM in the morning – the opposition had been warming up since 7.15AM!! This was going to be a very tough gig. On one hand we were tired and sore warriors – having played a tight game versus SWE on Sunday, then U16 Canberra FC on Monday followed by an U14 Canberra FC on Tuesday and another tough encounter against Canberra Olympic last night! Most of the boys were pretty much done! Throw in the fact that we were all out of our comfort zone, living away from home in unfamiliar surroundings, amongst a bunch of guys who we normally only see three times a week. The tiredness had truly kicked in and our guys were just having trouble doing warm ups let alone playing!
Unbelievably, the U18s were in worse shape. They too had played on Sunday finishing at 5PM and stepping directly on to a bus. We drove for hours and arrived on Monday at 2PM in Canberra and pretty much played a tough physical game at 7PM. Then, after copping a physical battering again on Tuesday night against Canberra FC U20s, they then played their hearts out on Wednesday night to win against another physical team in Canberra Olympic. But the strain was starting to be too much. Nanton was unable to play, as was Dhruv, Anthony S, and Sebastian! This left us with 11 standing players as we pressed Leigh to come back and play even though he had two huge wounds on his legs. Wahed was really hurt, as was Adam, Elia, George and Connor – all whom had been limping around. There was no other choice - We had to ask the NTC for some assistance and they gave us three players from their practice squad. Personally I think they gave us their worst players but we could not moan – I was happy to get some subs.
The U14s played fairly flat to start off and had three goals kicked against them from a team that had very good skills, great passing and wonderful structure. We tried to pass it around but our passes were too short and we crowded each other and never talked. It seemed as if we were overwhelmed. No one really played great but we did try hard and never quit. In the end the second half was much stronger by us and the game ended in a 5-1 scoreline! Hopefully the young lads have learned a lot – by playing good opposition and seeing talent close up. It was wonderful to play such good players and see first-hand the style of football we wanted to also reproduce. Maybe now they may realise what is needed to play as high as possible.
The U18s had to take on a very impressive unit. They had 2 national players as well as 4 NSW state players. We were just too sore to be any good and started off woefully making huge errors in front of goal. We were slow to react, slow to get rid of the ball, did not play the way we faced, and gave the ball away time after time by passing so poorly it was baffling! With a make shift defence we struggled badly. Leigh could not run properly, nor could George, Wahed and Adam. We had to use the NTC players but that was very ordinary. In fact their mistakes gave two goals away against us! At half time we were 4-0 down and we looked shocking! Our attack was poor and all week we never got any drive from anyone who played the 10. But our defence was full of holes and we were just making silly errors. The frustration was starting to show and the lack of cohesion in having three strange, slow players was glaringly obvious. We lost Nick F as well and it seemed as if we had really hit rock bottom.
So at the half we had a bit of a chat and tried to build off the positives. Tucci and Charlie were both having a real go and working hard. Dal was also doing his best. But players were down. We made some changes. Dal came into the 9, Adam into Centre-back with Wahed, Elia left back, and we used the NTC top up players to fill in the 2, 6 and 10. The team was instructed to work the ball into the corners and outside more. We wanted diagonal passes which we need to increase from the midfield and as the half commenced the team finally followed instructions.
We hit George out wide who put in a diagonal ball to Dal – who held his front position and ran 1 V 1 toward the keeper and scored. 4-1 it was! That goal seemed to spark some belief. Within 3 minutes we hit George again who beat his man 1 V 1 and raced toward goal and put it past the keeper. 4-2! Suddenly more folks started talking. Charlie and Tucci were dominating, often against two and three players. I had to take Wahed off who was risking a groin strain and Connor stepped into the 4. Lewis started to shout instructions, the crowd started to get excited and we sensed a major turnaround.
The defense became really resilient and Lewis pulled off two of the best saves you will ever see. He started to control the air as we now forced the ball wide in defense and they were forced to cross it in more which was definitely not in their original game plan. But the solo effort of Michael Tucci in the middle was making the difference. His hard work led to many dispossessions and he immediately looked for Charlie and George. He hit Charlie on a runner who crossed in an R1 and George Calmly slotted it in – 4 to 3!
Again we hit George in the corner from a clever pass from Elia and George hit the line with an L1 to be met with a great header from Dal and the scores were level. It’s amazing how confidence changes the game. Seemingly we were dead on our feet but now EVERY player was finding the extra yard, the extra tackle, the extra run….. On Tuesday we played a team that never relented – that never gave us the opportunity to find that confidence – and we never did. Now we had our tails up and Georgie Smethurst was away again sinking the goal that put us in the lead 5-4! This made the opposition dig deep as well but there was no way that Lewis, Elia, Connor, Adam would let that happen. We had virtually come back with an 8 player team to snatch the most unlikely victory ever!
As a team, we need to be like Canberra FC U20s. Relentless pressure, continual 1st, 2nd and 3rd efforts and the ability to work hard to pressure our opponents continuously throughout a game – this is what we need to achieve. Today we saw how easing off on the pressure, even at 4-0 down, can be a big mistake. Hopefully the players learned this today and lived it first-hand!
So we have finally arrived home and all players are probably in their beds finally - exhausted but happy to be home. It was a long trip but one of great value. We saw fantastic play, fantastic goals but also big errors. We were able to see via video of game replays where we could improve. We lost and we won but we all succeeded to learn about the ‘me’ the ‘us’ and the team. We are proud to wear the Dandenong Thunder jersey – we love that red and black striped jersey!
The trip was an absolute success and we could not have done it without some great help. Parents and players need to – at some time – thank the following folks for their unbelievable efforts. Go out of your way and ensure that you give a face to face thank you!
Jim C – what a dad! HE gave of himself continuously to make sure every player and parent was looked after and always put himself last. Words cannot do justice as I recognise his amazing efforts. Whether driving a contingent, shopping for food, cooking BBQs, taking Seb to hospital, organising restaurants, taking care of injuries or just for his continual caring nature – Mate THANK YOU! Pete Karavasil, for cutting onions without crying, cooking meals and adding the spices, doing the lines every day, being an awesome co-pilot, being the happy smiling face that kept the camaraderie amongst all of us going – THANK YOU! Owen Magee and Rod Lehpamer for brilliant work in video taping the games and assisting everywhere required more THANK YOUs. Cheryl Lewis for keeping us all on our toes, managing the boys, directing the shopping expeditions, dishing out the discipline, preparing food, not putting up with nonsense and not being afraid to say how it is – but along with Christine giving the expedition the gentler side when needed. THANK YOU! To Barry Bates – Manager and coach and medical attendant – masseuse, taking care of all injuries, and having the ability to have a laugh with the kids when having sneaky late night snacks – absolute brilliant mate – THANK YOU. Afrim Alimi, thanks for your genuine support and constantly checking on the progress of all, as well as leading us to Albury from SWE another BIG THANK YOU. James and Bill, for your willingness to assist in any way possible – THANK YOU both!
I hope the parents also learned a lot as I do every time I attend camps like this. Great job every parent and player! See you Saturday. After Saturday you will have a break until Wednesday night at Springers. It will be a 5PM start for U14 and 6.45PM Start for U18. Training now will be Wednesday and Thursdays for the remainder of the season with possible games scheduled for Tuesday evenings, Wednesday evenings and Friday Evenings.
No comments:
Post a Comment