Box Hill saturday and Murray United Sunday - that was the weekend requirement, but on Friday that changed as the U18 Game set for Saturday was postponed to Thursday night to allow Box Hill U18 to be at their best against BG on Sunday.
So the U14s took the late Saturday time slot to play the Dandenong Thunder boys. They were second on the ladder before then and had only lost once by a score of 1-0 to Dandenong City and drawn to Springvale WE. They were tough and played very well - keeping possession extremely well throughout the first half. We really did not trouble them and then they scored a goal after some really messy play in defense. We went in 1-0 down and had to now kick into a howling gale. Box Hill came out supremely confident (and lets face it, the way we played our first half why wouldn't they?) Perhaps it was this confidence or the blast that the players got at half time they seemed to change our attitude. We all worked really hard and were far more desperate to win the 50/50 battles. As a result we caused pressure on the opposition - a lot more pressure and they started to make errors and poor passes. Liron and AJ were awesome all game while Lou was excellent in goal.Jordy B played well and in the second half all played well. Lavo gave a great pass to Liron who scored and made it 1-1. Then we won a penalty and Sanih put it in with ease We really played good defense for last 20 minutes as the game was so tight.It was excellent work from the 14s to earn a win against a very good team.
Day two saw us take on Murray united who had played Nunawading and beaten them 2-0! It was obvious that we were a better team but we were not playing well. Sanih finally scored after we had plenty of play, but our efforts were simply not like they were in the second half against Box Hill. It was almost slack work and this was really disappointing. But after about 10 minutes we found the net again and again as Sanih scored again, AJ scored a cracker and Betim scored 2. It was half time and we were 5-0 up. We still had to play better and so we implored the players to just play team football.
We made a real silly error in defense (again) and it was 5-1. Lavo scored off an assist from AJ and at 6-1 we were playing better. Our defense strengthened and were giving plenty of opportunity to the attackers. Unfortunately the boys up front were wasting opportunities by not playing team football and trying to add goals to their names! As a result we did not score any more and the game ended at 6-1.
The U18s came out and we had to send a message. We were playing Murray United who were on a roll - having won 3 out of 3 including against Box Hill, Dandenong City, NTC, and drawing to South Melbourne 3-3! We had played miserably lately - wasting many opportunities and giving away silly goals. The boys came out and played some wonderful football - some of the goals were absolutely excellent! George slammed the first one home after some great play from the defence through to midfield and then across the front of the keeper. We were unlucky not to score another one after an unbelievable save from their keeper from a rocket header from Nic. But we were treated to some awesome team goals - Nate to Nanton for a sublime finish and and Nic to Nate for a fourth! Everyone was playing well and our defense was super strong in the first half. Charlie was excellent, as was Dhruv and kane and Wahed. Nanton and Tucci were super in the middle and Nate, Nic, Andre and George were working beautifully together. We were not one dimensional and it was a real pleasure to watch. Could we continue this in the second half? We decided to rest George, Wahed and Nic - how would we cope?
The opponents came out with the intention to possess the ball but great pressure saw Leigh score a goal. This did not phase them and to their credit they really boosted their game and fought well, The keeper was excellent and their midfield really dug deep. They had some chances and so did we. We gave Seb and Tom F a go after their long injuries and I was really happy with their efforts! It was great to see Seb whipping the ball in left foot and Tom F played with heaps of confidence running the ball up the wing! Toward the end we saw a cracking header by Nanton from Tucci's cross and it was 6-0. Special mention must go to Connor who has stepped in to be a keeper while we wait for Lewis to get better. It was the first clean sheet for many weeks and that is excellent!
We play Thursday so training is on Tuesday this week at Edithvale Reserve at 7PM!
Great job Boys - a real enjoyable game to watch!
Eastern Lions and another Draw!
I think we are all getting frustrated by some of the games we are playing. We really should be showing more on the scoreboard based on the number of attacking forays we make. On this Sunday we out shot the opposition on a comparison of 5 to 1 yet we managed to only score one goal. We had some great opportunities but our final kick was letting us down. The keeper made some great saves and kept us out from the back of the net. We were put in front by a cross from Leigh which just hung over the keeper, hit the upright and ricocheted in!
They capitalised on an error and made us pay. In the second half they had some great chances too but with 20 seconds left we were running in 1 V 1 against the keeper and hit it straight at him - te game remained level and we had blown a great opportunity to move up the ladder!
They capitalised on an error and made us pay. In the second half they had some great chances too but with 20 seconds left we were running in 1 V 1 against the keeper and hit it straight at him - te game remained level and we had blown a great opportunity to move up the ladder!
Shepparton Road Trip
We trudged off early to Shepparton having to play at 3PM. Most of us drove the 3 hours up on the morning, played and drove the three hours back! I was thinking that this was a pain in the bum but on the way home I recalled the amount of driving when Nate was U10 playing in the USA ENCO league when we would have to drive from Nazareth to places like Delaware, Princeton NJ, Baltimore MD, Washington DC, etc for a game that virtually lasted 60 minutes! Now I moan over a 3 hour trip!! I'l have to toughen up!
Anyway, we were short on number carrying only 13 players and had no keeper and having to play a very physical Shepparton Team. The coach was quite animated and aggressive so naturally the team plays like this! We were getting pushed, hacked and elbowed quite a bit but the referee was letting it go. Shepparton scored first off a defensive error after we had had about 10 near misses but could not put the goal in. Finally we scored and their coach went off! He was evicted from the ground but still kept coaching from the car park. 1-1 at the half after a score from Nic.
The second half we were controlling the game pretty much and put on two hard earned goals to win 3-1.
We are still making mistakes from a lack of focus so this is something we need to work on!
Anyway, we were short on number carrying only 13 players and had no keeper and having to play a very physical Shepparton Team. The coach was quite animated and aggressive so naturally the team plays like this! We were getting pushed, hacked and elbowed quite a bit but the referee was letting it go. Shepparton scored first off a defensive error after we had had about 10 near misses but could not put the goal in. Finally we scored and their coach went off! He was evicted from the ground but still kept coaching from the car park. 1-1 at the half after a score from Nic.
The second half we were controlling the game pretty much and put on two hard earned goals to win 3-1.
We are still making mistakes from a lack of focus so this is something we need to work on!
Bulleen Brings Draws
It was Kind of unusual really! Two games - U14 and U18 - both playing Bulleen and both games were like exact replicas of each other! The games ended at 1-1 draws and in both instances we were highly unlucky not to win. Both goals came from simple mental mistakes to earn each Bulleen team a goal. We, on the other hand, scored two great goals and missed many many opportunities to earn the entire 3 pints. In both games Dandenong Thunder totally controlled the second halves, only to let the games slip. But that is why this game is so brilliant and the most popular on the planet. Sometimes things go your way - and other times it can be tough!
Both goals were awesome by the way!
In the 14s Oscar was played the ball and in his role as the 9 he played in back to AJ in the 8 and he shot a great goal past the keeper to give us a 1-0 lead. However while we were still celebrating Bulleen quickly took the kickoff, raced down field and shot over the keeper - less that 1 minute after we scored. We had so many opportunities after this but could not convert!
In the 18s we saw many chances go begging and then Bulleen hit us on a counter catching us out of shape at the back and forcing us to give a penalty away. So from 1-0 down we attacked many times but still could not convert. Finally, in the second half, George took a corner and nate side volleyed a rocket into the top corner. We had 80% of the play in the second half and some real opportunities - but could not convert.
We have a big weekend coming up - a big trip to Shepparton to play the Goulburn Valley Suns, who are getting stronger as the season really gets into swing. They are always tough to beat up there and the local referees make it somewhat harder.
We still have an inordinate amount of injuries, some which have been long term and not allowed some players to even have a game yet! But we will work through this.
Both goals were awesome by the way!
In the 14s Oscar was played the ball and in his role as the 9 he played in back to AJ in the 8 and he shot a great goal past the keeper to give us a 1-0 lead. However while we were still celebrating Bulleen quickly took the kickoff, raced down field and shot over the keeper - less that 1 minute after we scored. We had so many opportunities after this but could not convert!
In the 18s we saw many chances go begging and then Bulleen hit us on a counter catching us out of shape at the back and forcing us to give a penalty away. So from 1-0 down we attacked many times but still could not convert. Finally, in the second half, George took a corner and nate side volleyed a rocket into the top corner. We had 80% of the play in the second half and some real opportunities - but could not convert.
We have a big weekend coming up - a big trip to Shepparton to play the Goulburn Valley Suns, who are getting stronger as the season really gets into swing. They are always tough to beat up there and the local referees make it somewhat harder.
We still have an inordinate amount of injuries, some which have been long term and not allowed some players to even have a game yet! But we will work through this.
South Melbourne Games
The U14s played first against a good South outfit. The game was very close with quick movement and South controlling the ball better on the ground. However the first big chance came from Jordy Bates shot which rattled the crossbar followed by another that was cleverly tipped over by the keeper. We had about 5 or 6 shots inside the 18 yard box including another that smashed into the upright to be denied a goal. The score could have been 2 or 3 to zero but we were just a little rushed in front of goal.
The defense was starting the get on top and Lou was doing a great job inside the box. His talk is excellent and he works hard to keep his defense together. Jordy H, Agim, Pete, Liron were all playing solidly trying to work the ball to AJ and TOM L. Tom R was also working hard and over the last 15 minutes we really started to get on top. The half time score was 0-0.
In the second half we started and were all over them. Oscar missed a couple from close in and their keeper saved some shots and we were unlucky not to score another 2. Betim was playing his best game ever and Pete G was ding his best to run the ball through the spaces. However the game was still 0-0 and in the balance. Against the run of play we gave the ball away easily up front and they countered. We let a player run with no pressure and he shot from an angle from about 25 metres and the ball escaped the grip of the keeper and went in and we found ourselves 1-0 down. It was unfortunate but that is the game. We had been clearly on top for 30 minutes straight and South had defended solidly and we had given them an easy goal. This seemed to drop the heads of the players and gave South momentum and confidence. Again we tried to attack time and time again but they thwarted our attempts. In the end we allowed another of their players simply to dribble towards the goals without pressure and he placed one over the keeper and the score was 2-0. Our defense, together with the midfield who were not running back to support, even though for most of the game had been solid, allowed 2 scores hat definitely could have been avoided. On the positive side however, we did play better this week and created some real chances. We will simply have to keep working.
The U18s had to play at Darebin. South Melbourne were unlucky to lose to Bentleigh Greens midweek and needed to bounce back to stay in he hunt. We knew they would come in fighting hard. We also were 6 players down, injured and absent which puts a lot of strain on everyone. SOme of the parents were nervous about missing key players but we had to do the best with the makeshift line-up. Some folks found themselves playing in different roles and with only three subs (with tomorrows second game against Bulleen to consider) it would be a big ask.
To the credit of the players we started off really well. We tried a safety formation at centre-back and this seemed to be working. We had a good structure trying to counter the opponents playing out from the back and immediately this worked when Nate intercepted the keeper and did a quick pass to Nic who shot past the keeper and into the goal. It was a great start. Soon after we earned a corner and Nic, once again rose up and put in a wonderful header! we were 2-0 up and looking strong. Then George, playing well in attack, tured and put in a ball from 35 metres that curved and beat the keeper - it was an amazing shot! Our forward structure was back to normal and with Leigh and George continuously changing sides it confused the defense somewhat.Tucci was playing awesome in the middle and was creating a lot of chances. Eventually, Nanton won a ball in midfield, ran down quickly and passed through to George in the 7 who lasered a pass across goal at hip height. This was met with Nic's fierce header that was an equal laser into the back of the net - it was unstoppable and we were 4-0 at the half. There was still room for improvement and we certainly did not want to go easy. Our defense led by Connor and Lewis were strong, limiting the opportunities of the opposition.
The second half started and the opponents came out more physical, in fact probably too physical with clips and tackles that were unnecessary. The referee let much go which created frustration. The game was far more even of a contest and South attacked far more quickly than previous. But it was a great set up and play that saw our lead extend. George played Nic into the corner and Nic took a touch while running. George sprinted diagonally to the front post and Nic hit George front post with a reciprocal laser and another great header goal.
The game became scrappier and much more physical and eventually we made a silly error and we gave another unnecessary goal away - something we seem to do weekly!
5-1 was the score and the boys should be proud of the way they played - but we have another game today against Bulleen who will be out to break us!
The defense was starting the get on top and Lou was doing a great job inside the box. His talk is excellent and he works hard to keep his defense together. Jordy H, Agim, Pete, Liron were all playing solidly trying to work the ball to AJ and TOM L. Tom R was also working hard and over the last 15 minutes we really started to get on top. The half time score was 0-0.
In the second half we started and were all over them. Oscar missed a couple from close in and their keeper saved some shots and we were unlucky not to score another 2. Betim was playing his best game ever and Pete G was ding his best to run the ball through the spaces. However the game was still 0-0 and in the balance. Against the run of play we gave the ball away easily up front and they countered. We let a player run with no pressure and he shot from an angle from about 25 metres and the ball escaped the grip of the keeper and went in and we found ourselves 1-0 down. It was unfortunate but that is the game. We had been clearly on top for 30 minutes straight and South had defended solidly and we had given them an easy goal. This seemed to drop the heads of the players and gave South momentum and confidence. Again we tried to attack time and time again but they thwarted our attempts. In the end we allowed another of their players simply to dribble towards the goals without pressure and he placed one over the keeper and the score was 2-0. Our defense, together with the midfield who were not running back to support, even though for most of the game had been solid, allowed 2 scores hat definitely could have been avoided. On the positive side however, we did play better this week and created some real chances. We will simply have to keep working.
The U18s had to play at Darebin. South Melbourne were unlucky to lose to Bentleigh Greens midweek and needed to bounce back to stay in he hunt. We knew they would come in fighting hard. We also were 6 players down, injured and absent which puts a lot of strain on everyone. SOme of the parents were nervous about missing key players but we had to do the best with the makeshift line-up. Some folks found themselves playing in different roles and with only three subs (with tomorrows second game against Bulleen to consider) it would be a big ask.
To the credit of the players we started off really well. We tried a safety formation at centre-back and this seemed to be working. We had a good structure trying to counter the opponents playing out from the back and immediately this worked when Nate intercepted the keeper and did a quick pass to Nic who shot past the keeper and into the goal. It was a great start. Soon after we earned a corner and Nic, once again rose up and put in a wonderful header! we were 2-0 up and looking strong. Then George, playing well in attack, tured and put in a ball from 35 metres that curved and beat the keeper - it was an amazing shot! Our forward structure was back to normal and with Leigh and George continuously changing sides it confused the defense somewhat.Tucci was playing awesome in the middle and was creating a lot of chances. Eventually, Nanton won a ball in midfield, ran down quickly and passed through to George in the 7 who lasered a pass across goal at hip height. This was met with Nic's fierce header that was an equal laser into the back of the net - it was unstoppable and we were 4-0 at the half. There was still room for improvement and we certainly did not want to go easy. Our defense led by Connor and Lewis were strong, limiting the opportunities of the opposition.
The second half started and the opponents came out more physical, in fact probably too physical with clips and tackles that were unnecessary. The referee let much go which created frustration. The game was far more even of a contest and South attacked far more quickly than previous. But it was a great set up and play that saw our lead extend. George played Nic into the corner and Nic took a touch while running. George sprinted diagonally to the front post and Nic hit George front post with a reciprocal laser and another great header goal.
The game became scrappier and much more physical and eventually we made a silly error and we gave another unnecessary goal away - something we seem to do weekly!
5-1 was the score and the boys should be proud of the way they played - but we have another game today against Bulleen who will be out to break us!
Painful Day All Around
I figured I better wait until the next day to write this report. Both teams played poorly yesterday - pretty well not much else to say. I realise that both teams had key players missing and both teams played without a true 9 which hurts structurally, yet there should be enough depth to cover.
Simply, we were out defended by both 14 and U18 Heidelberg. Defensively, our teams struggled to keep pace with the quick diagonal balls through gaps and both defenses played too flat. They found it easy to pierce our back four however we struggled to pierce their back four.
I guess what hurts is that I know we are better than both teams - we just did not bring our game yesterday.
In the 14s and 18s we made some real howling mistakes. Falling over at crucial points, missing the ball at other crucial points, misreading the bounce of the ball or just not having the speed to keep up with an opponent nor the endurance to run out a whole game. Players looked tired and this creates simple mistakes based on pressure from the opposition.
This is one thing we have learned lately. When a team puts loads of continuous pressure on us we can't handle it. We need to address this at training.
U14s - we need to start again and build from the back. We are too poorly skilled and are rarely in the correct position to execute our game plan. Not one player can run out a full game. We miss training, come late to games, don't follow simple instructions and even more sadly, many of us lack that competitive desire that is necessary to play at NPL level. There is no communication at all! It is absolutely clear that most of us need strength, conditioning and speed development NOW!
U18s - the small pitch was obviously easier for Heidelberg to defend our spread offense and it allowed them to defend tightly and close all gaps. Yet we had three or 4 chances in the first half that we should have buried. In defense, we made some poor reads on the bouncing ball and played too flat and were punished. They had 5 or 6 entries into our defensive half and scored 3 times. Our lack of pace was clearly evident. Even though we have some fast players there are 12 from 20 that need to do strength, speed and conditioning.
So with a 3-0 deficit, I reiterated exactly what I said before the game. Keep possession, stop long balling on this little pitch and keep structure down back with a cushion. Move the ball laterally and quickly. We did this and started to control the game. They plugged 8 in the box and defended stoutly. We earned 1 goal and then missed a few easy chances. We scored a second and all of a sudden we were 3-2 down. We easily could have been 3-3 but we missed open goals from metres out. In fact we could have wrestled the lead back. They were getting tired and falling apart in shape. But for some inexplicable reason we abandoned the lateral game and started to long ball it again. They countered a few times and could have hurt us more if it wasn't for great work by Lewis but he can only protect the goal 1 v 1 a limited amount of times and they scored again to make it 4-2. Four defenders were repeatedly beaten by 1 or 2 players because we were trying to force the equaliser and gave it away, and they countered rapidly. And, on each occasion, we had no cushion - we left a defender 1v1 and we were done!
So let's hope both teams have learned about their shortcomings and are willing to apply themselves to correct the situations. We will see Wednesday I guess.
Simply, we were out defended by both 14 and U18 Heidelberg. Defensively, our teams struggled to keep pace with the quick diagonal balls through gaps and both defenses played too flat. They found it easy to pierce our back four however we struggled to pierce their back four.
I guess what hurts is that I know we are better than both teams - we just did not bring our game yesterday.
In the 14s and 18s we made some real howling mistakes. Falling over at crucial points, missing the ball at other crucial points, misreading the bounce of the ball or just not having the speed to keep up with an opponent nor the endurance to run out a whole game. Players looked tired and this creates simple mistakes based on pressure from the opposition.
This is one thing we have learned lately. When a team puts loads of continuous pressure on us we can't handle it. We need to address this at training.
U14s - we need to start again and build from the back. We are too poorly skilled and are rarely in the correct position to execute our game plan. Not one player can run out a full game. We miss training, come late to games, don't follow simple instructions and even more sadly, many of us lack that competitive desire that is necessary to play at NPL level. There is no communication at all! It is absolutely clear that most of us need strength, conditioning and speed development NOW!
U18s - the small pitch was obviously easier for Heidelberg to defend our spread offense and it allowed them to defend tightly and close all gaps. Yet we had three or 4 chances in the first half that we should have buried. In defense, we made some poor reads on the bouncing ball and played too flat and were punished. They had 5 or 6 entries into our defensive half and scored 3 times. Our lack of pace was clearly evident. Even though we have some fast players there are 12 from 20 that need to do strength, speed and conditioning.
So with a 3-0 deficit, I reiterated exactly what I said before the game. Keep possession, stop long balling on this little pitch and keep structure down back with a cushion. Move the ball laterally and quickly. We did this and started to control the game. They plugged 8 in the box and defended stoutly. We earned 1 goal and then missed a few easy chances. We scored a second and all of a sudden we were 3-2 down. We easily could have been 3-3 but we missed open goals from metres out. In fact we could have wrestled the lead back. They were getting tired and falling apart in shape. But for some inexplicable reason we abandoned the lateral game and started to long ball it again. They countered a few times and could have hurt us more if it wasn't for great work by Lewis but he can only protect the goal 1 v 1 a limited amount of times and they scored again to make it 4-2. Four defenders were repeatedly beaten by 1 or 2 players because we were trying to force the equaliser and gave it away, and they countered rapidly. And, on each occasion, we had no cushion - we left a defender 1v1 and we were done!
So let's hope both teams have learned about their shortcomings and are willing to apply themselves to correct the situations. We will see Wednesday I guess.
The Canberra Expedition in Pictures
First of all a great well done to Owen Magee for his photography work in the below Photo Album
Check it out!
Canberra Photo Album
Check it out!
Canberra Photo Album
NTC Goals
Canberra Goal by Charlie!
If you would like to see Charlie's goal that he scored in Canberra please click below
Charlies Goal
Charlies Goal
Dandenong Thunder Versus Port Melbourne
The U14s kicked off around 12.20PM against a fairly undermanned Port Melbourne team coached by a friend of mine. Today Port Melbourne had some players missing and were in a weakened state, while we were returning from Canberra after an arduous week.
We started off in okay fashion moving the ball forward but there was a real lack of talk in defense and midfield. This was not helping our situation. Finally we played a ball through a gap from Agim and Ray ran on to it and kept his front position all the way to the goal and he calmly put it past the keeper to register our first! It was great to see Ray finally place the ball into the goal.
The opponents had a few real chances and Lou kept us in the game with two fine saves. Our defense was a little out of shape and obviously missing Shannon, but Liron was playing really well and AJ was playing his role as a holding mid in excellent fashion. Tom Rotin was really working hard and he is getting better each week, He can now swing between the 3/4 position and the 6/10 position quite seamlessly.
Tyson, Oscar and Tom Rotin scored our last three goals in the second half but - and it is my job to be honest - apart from the three scores there was little to be enthused about. We keep making too many mistakes from skill errors, and we don't communicate. There are players that will not run or are tired after 5 minutes because they are unfit, and there are players who just don't follow simple instructions and consequently all these factors debilitate team structure. It makes us look ragged and less intense!
We ended up winning 4-0 but we are not playing anywhere near where we should be. 2015 is going to be a reality check for players unfortunately. Some players are being found wanting against decent opposition and if we don't find commitment and focus to follow coach instructions then sadly we will not improve. I have to ask the question - how bad does each player want to improve? Are they doing extra to catch up? I would say nearly every player needs to do strength and conditioning and speed training but I cant even get commitment for that! We will need to have a parents meeting because I am not going to just go through a season in mediocrity! I will get Barry to organise!
Our best players yesterday were Lou, AJ, Tom Rotin and Liron!
The under 18s had also returned from a bruising week in Canberra but had learned a lot too. I was not sure how many players would lob up yesterday but I knew we were missing Tom F, Anthony S, Alex K, Luke D, Leigh K and Seb G, So with 14 in the squad including a very doubtful Wahed, we took on Port Melbourne who had just recently won their first game of the season against Box Hill in a very tight encounter.
We started off strongly and attacked hard - with guys in new positions. We had some good opportunities but Port Melbourne played really well clearing the ball with precision and trying to attack. But as the game wore on they got a little tired and our first goal came from the enigmatic Nick F (above) with a great header! We all love Nick because he works so hard and it is always fantastic to see him in the box on corners and frees.George S and Charlie were super in the first half, working so hard and eventually George crossed a ball into Elia who put in an excellent shot across the keeper.
We shot time and time again while our defense was quite resolute with Dhruv doing a wonderful job alongside Nick, Kane and Adam. In fact that was probably the difference today - we shut down many of their attacks and they were forced to shoot from far out which suits our Lewis down to a tee. He is very hard to beat from a distance.
Nanton was playing very well but Michael seemed to be struggling - and he was! After 15 minutes he had to come off - the workload from the Canberra trip was really starting to show, so Connor went into the middle. Straight away we started to win all the aerial battles with Connor's strength and speed becoming a big factor (below.) We were struggling in the 10/9 relationship but with our wingers clearly winning their positions we were able to compensate.
The half came and we pretty much kept it as it was, even though some of the boys were starting to fatigue. However, Port Melbourne were also tiring rapidly because of the pace that we move the ball. This year it seems that the second half becomes a battle of 'who can last' longer.We got another ten minutes out of Elia and made the switch with Nate into 10 and Andre to right back, Adam came into centre-back to work alongside Dhruv and we put Nick into his familiar territory at 9. Instantly he scored another header which followed a goal from a great bit of work from George and Nanton, who was flashing around and creating loads of chances for our attackers..
It was 5-0 when Connor shot a goal across the keeper into the bottom corner and the steam tended to go out of the game with 25 minutes left. This was probably a big negative. We have NOT learned to be relentless. We. instead, lost intensity because we stopped talking and just went through the motions. At times, our defense seemed uninterested and we started to make poor passes and stopped playing with any urgency. This lackadaisical effort allowed the opponents to score a goal - the third goal we have conceded unnecessarily this season. We need to adjust this weakness. Whether it was general fatigue or just taking it mentally easy because we were 6 goals up - (exactly the same score last week against SWE when we conceded) - whatever the reason we need to FIX it. Maybe the young bodies have not adjusted to the 90 minute games as we seem to falter in last 20 minutes.
I did however get 90 minutes of intensity from 3 players yesterday - Charlie, Nick and George - who combined and kept going at it until we scored again to make it 7-1. With a bit more team oriented play we may have scored 2 more but we will address that.
A big two weeks now follows!
We play Heidelberg who are undefeated in both U14 and U18. They will be very, very hard to beat. Then we follow next week's game with a double Header - against Bulleen and South Melbourne. That will be a very difficult weekend!
We started off in okay fashion moving the ball forward but there was a real lack of talk in defense and midfield. This was not helping our situation. Finally we played a ball through a gap from Agim and Ray ran on to it and kept his front position all the way to the goal and he calmly put it past the keeper to register our first! It was great to see Ray finally place the ball into the goal.
The opponents had a few real chances and Lou kept us in the game with two fine saves. Our defense was a little out of shape and obviously missing Shannon, but Liron was playing really well and AJ was playing his role as a holding mid in excellent fashion. Tom Rotin was really working hard and he is getting better each week, He can now swing between the 3/4 position and the 6/10 position quite seamlessly.
Tyson, Oscar and Tom Rotin scored our last three goals in the second half but - and it is my job to be honest - apart from the three scores there was little to be enthused about. We keep making too many mistakes from skill errors, and we don't communicate. There are players that will not run or are tired after 5 minutes because they are unfit, and there are players who just don't follow simple instructions and consequently all these factors debilitate team structure. It makes us look ragged and less intense!
We ended up winning 4-0 but we are not playing anywhere near where we should be. 2015 is going to be a reality check for players unfortunately. Some players are being found wanting against decent opposition and if we don't find commitment and focus to follow coach instructions then sadly we will not improve. I have to ask the question - how bad does each player want to improve? Are they doing extra to catch up? I would say nearly every player needs to do strength and conditioning and speed training but I cant even get commitment for that! We will need to have a parents meeting because I am not going to just go through a season in mediocrity! I will get Barry to organise!
Our best players yesterday were Lou, AJ, Tom Rotin and Liron!
The under 18s had also returned from a bruising week in Canberra but had learned a lot too. I was not sure how many players would lob up yesterday but I knew we were missing Tom F, Anthony S, Alex K, Luke D, Leigh K and Seb G, So with 14 in the squad including a very doubtful Wahed, we took on Port Melbourne who had just recently won their first game of the season against Box Hill in a very tight encounter.
We shot time and time again while our defense was quite resolute with Dhruv doing a wonderful job alongside Nick, Kane and Adam. In fact that was probably the difference today - we shut down many of their attacks and they were forced to shoot from far out which suits our Lewis down to a tee. He is very hard to beat from a distance.
Nanton was playing very well but Michael seemed to be struggling - and he was! After 15 minutes he had to come off - the workload from the Canberra trip was really starting to show, so Connor went into the middle. Straight away we started to win all the aerial battles with Connor's strength and speed becoming a big factor (below.) We were struggling in the 10/9 relationship but with our wingers clearly winning their positions we were able to compensate.
I did however get 90 minutes of intensity from 3 players yesterday - Charlie, Nick and George - who combined and kept going at it until we scored again to make it 7-1. With a bit more team oriented play we may have scored 2 more but we will address that.
A big two weeks now follows!
We play Heidelberg who are undefeated in both U14 and U18. They will be very, very hard to beat. Then we follow next week's game with a double Header - against Bulleen and South Melbourne. That will be a very difficult weekend!
The Canberra Expedition!
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.
Springvale White Eagles - Game Three!
What a woeful pitch we had to play on! It was a disgrace! The U14s started first and after last weeks great possession game we tried to do the same. But the ball was bobbling up and down that the game turned into a 'flying ninja kicking competition!' The ball was bouncing everywhere and it was just a poor opportunity for both teams to show any class. Lou, our keeper, worked really hard to play it out from the back but some guys just don't talk loud enough, if at all! Then we have some players who call for the ball without checking behind them to see if they are open. Simple basics that seem to let us down week in and week out! Eventually we got a great goal from AJ who slammed in a wicked left footer. AT the half it was 1-0 our favour but we had plenty of players still down. Jordy H and Jordy B were both doing okay, Tom L and Tom R were serviceable; Ray, Shannon and Liron were struggling with the opponents' outside runners and Oscar was far too quiet and not having much impact! We lost Lovel to an ankle injury and some simply had no effect on the game. Up front we were really struggling! SWE scored almost immediately and now had a good breeze behind their back. We missed opportunity after opportunity and could not put a goal away. They scored another after a mistake in defense and now with 10 minutes left we faced our second defeat - and I knew we were much better than how we were playing! Against the breeze AJ put in a second goal and we were 2-2. For the last 8 minutes we were all over them as they held on grimly for a draw. We could just not get that winning shot in!
It was embarrassing to have our 18s playing on this pitch but we did. It really hurt our game and forced us to take care with first touches which normally we could move along quickly. This slowed our game down considerably. We did not have Alex as he had left to go to Germany and Nate was on camp so we gave Connor, Kane and Andre the midfield jobs. Kane tried particularly hard to move the ball quickly but was trying to go to direct and not utilising the 7 and 11. Andre, when he played tended to pass across his body and not the way he faced. He did some clever things and theres lots of room there for improvement. Connor and Nanton started off very well and took control of the game. Connor in the air was superb! Elia, Nick, Anthony, Chico, and Wahed were working so well, that they gave the SWE no hope at all. Within 10 to 15 minutes we worked the ball into the 7 and 11 better and it instantly paid dividends. George got a great assist and Leigh with a score gave us a start. We had another by the half and it was plainly obvious that we were much better than this team even with the atrocious condition of the pitch. George and Connor were on fire all day and we would have had more goals if the ball wasn't bouncing up all over the place. We made another communication breakdown error and conceded a goal - we need to learn from these mistakes and not replay them. Dal played well in defense, then Elia got some time up front, with Charlie and Tucci, who got his first taste for the season - 15 minutes on the pitch but gees he played a great 15 minutes and scored a great goal. We are getting better weekly and everyone is starting to step up now. Next week we play Port Melbourne which should be a great game, too.
It was embarrassing to have our 18s playing on this pitch but we did. It really hurt our game and forced us to take care with first touches which normally we could move along quickly. This slowed our game down considerably. We did not have Alex as he had left to go to Germany and Nate was on camp so we gave Connor, Kane and Andre the midfield jobs. Kane tried particularly hard to move the ball quickly but was trying to go to direct and not utilising the 7 and 11. Andre, when he played tended to pass across his body and not the way he faced. He did some clever things and theres lots of room there for improvement. Connor and Nanton started off very well and took control of the game. Connor in the air was superb! Elia, Nick, Anthony, Chico, and Wahed were working so well, that they gave the SWE no hope at all. Within 10 to 15 minutes we worked the ball into the 7 and 11 better and it instantly paid dividends. George got a great assist and Leigh with a score gave us a start. We had another by the half and it was plainly obvious that we were much better than this team even with the atrocious condition of the pitch. George and Connor were on fire all day and we would have had more goals if the ball wasn't bouncing up all over the place. We made another communication breakdown error and conceded a goal - we need to learn from these mistakes and not replay them. Dal played well in defense, then Elia got some time up front, with Charlie and Tucci, who got his first taste for the season - 15 minutes on the pitch but gees he played a great 15 minutes and scored a great goal. We are getting better weekly and everyone is starting to step up now. Next week we play Port Melbourne which should be a great game, too.
Game two - Senior NTC and Skillaroos
What a difference a week makes!
Today we played the State teams at Thunder and it was fantastic football for all to see. The Under 14s started off really well. We possessed the ball brilliantly and the skillaroos were on the chase from the outset. Shannon, Agim, Jordy, and Liron worked hard in defense and Tom Rotin in the 10 was fantastic. Ray was dangerous up front and Lovel was on fire! In fact two wonderful crosses from Oscar found Lovel in 1 V 1 situations and he was fantastic - putting two goals in the back of the net in the first 20 minutes, both from about 20 Metres out. We were dominating but for some reason after a 2-0 lead we relaxed? We gave the skillaroos the opportunity to break back and they did with precision. As soon as it was 2-1 they gained great confidence and stared to use their 7 and 11 well. Within minutes it was a 2-2 game and all that great work was wasted!
I was a bit upset at the half - as we had let them into the game because the passing had stopped due mainly to the fact that the talk had stopped. Was this tiredness or lack of fitness? We started off slowly after the kickoff and made some bad errors in distributing the ball out of defense and they scored a 3rd goal. We made some changes and I put it fairly on our forwards to work better. We then had a great shot from Oscar and we were at 3-3. Now we seemed to be more confident and AJ was working so well with Lovel, Tom Rotin, Oscar, Ray, Agim and Jordy. Our defenders tightened up on their opponents who now were not getting any easy kicks. With about 5 minutes to go Oscar scored a brilliant goal to put us 4-3 and we held that lead for the game. A much better performance and maybe this will kick start the season after last weeks miserable showing against Nunawading! Even though we have 5 or 6 players playing below their capabilities we are improving as a team. Well done boys!
The U18s took on the senior NTC who had almost won the league last year. They had a few younger folks but they moved the ball very well and were extremely confident on the ball especially in 1 V 1 situations. But we started like a runaway train - almost within 5 minutes we missed 3 goals from (literally) directly in front. It was very frustrating. Our midfield with Nanton, Alex and Nate were working very hard as was Nic who always gives 100% of himself. I admire that lad for his work ethic. We were tending to use the central corridor too much and taking too long to shift the ball laterally - something we had worked on in training. This meant we were wasting our 7 and 11 and not getting them into the game. Eventually Alex scored a great goal, but, as I said, we were leaving our 7 and 11 high and dry. We went in 1-0 at the break and I reiterated that we had outside runners who were in open space but not getting any service at all. Then once we did make the transition and follow these instructions we had three assists from George and Leigh as Nate, Charlie and Leigh all scored. It was 4-0 but NTC did not quit. Miscommunication between the keeper and centre back gave them a gift goal and it was 4-1. Its a win, but next time they will be so much tougher at Darebin! Its game two and we played better than the first week so its positive in that regard!.
Today we played the State teams at Thunder and it was fantastic football for all to see. The Under 14s started off really well. We possessed the ball brilliantly and the skillaroos were on the chase from the outset. Shannon, Agim, Jordy, and Liron worked hard in defense and Tom Rotin in the 10 was fantastic. Ray was dangerous up front and Lovel was on fire! In fact two wonderful crosses from Oscar found Lovel in 1 V 1 situations and he was fantastic - putting two goals in the back of the net in the first 20 minutes, both from about 20 Metres out. We were dominating but for some reason after a 2-0 lead we relaxed? We gave the skillaroos the opportunity to break back and they did with precision. As soon as it was 2-1 they gained great confidence and stared to use their 7 and 11 well. Within minutes it was a 2-2 game and all that great work was wasted!
I was a bit upset at the half - as we had let them into the game because the passing had stopped due mainly to the fact that the talk had stopped. Was this tiredness or lack of fitness? We started off slowly after the kickoff and made some bad errors in distributing the ball out of defense and they scored a 3rd goal. We made some changes and I put it fairly on our forwards to work better. We then had a great shot from Oscar and we were at 3-3. Now we seemed to be more confident and AJ was working so well with Lovel, Tom Rotin, Oscar, Ray, Agim and Jordy. Our defenders tightened up on their opponents who now were not getting any easy kicks. With about 5 minutes to go Oscar scored a brilliant goal to put us 4-3 and we held that lead for the game. A much better performance and maybe this will kick start the season after last weeks miserable showing against Nunawading! Even though we have 5 or 6 players playing below their capabilities we are improving as a team. Well done boys!
The U18s took on the senior NTC who had almost won the league last year. They had a few younger folks but they moved the ball very well and were extremely confident on the ball especially in 1 V 1 situations. But we started like a runaway train - almost within 5 minutes we missed 3 goals from (literally) directly in front. It was very frustrating. Our midfield with Nanton, Alex and Nate were working very hard as was Nic who always gives 100% of himself. I admire that lad for his work ethic. We were tending to use the central corridor too much and taking too long to shift the ball laterally - something we had worked on in training. This meant we were wasting our 7 and 11 and not getting them into the game. Eventually Alex scored a great goal, but, as I said, we were leaving our 7 and 11 high and dry. We went in 1-0 at the break and I reiterated that we had outside runners who were in open space but not getting any service at all. Then once we did make the transition and follow these instructions we had three assists from George and Leigh as Nate, Charlie and Leigh all scored. It was 4-0 but NTC did not quit. Miscommunication between the keeper and centre back gave them a gift goal and it was 4-1. Its a win, but next time they will be so much tougher at Darebin! Its game two and we played better than the first week so its positive in that regard!.
Game 1 Report - Nunawading
Report from Saturdays game.....
It is always great to get the season off with a win as many are always nervous, about so many things. The pitch was absolutely first class! Nunawading has a great set-up but only one pitch for every game makes me wonder how long that quality can last. Nevertheless it was fantastic to play on.
Nunawading's teams all play the possession based football. Its a highly attractive brand of football and they have had their own academy doing that for 4 years now. Each team played exactly the same way and it was great to play a team with such quality and precision. It does tire a team out playing against that type of opposition and a lack of focus can really hurt. My U14s found that out - two mistakes cost 2 goals and we missed too many chances - but we never would have deserved to win in U14 - we were totally outplayed even in the 2-1 scoreline.
The U18s game was decisively different. We had the firepower to continually counter attack and our forays into our offense looked far more dangerous. Nunawading had some chances but they were just denied by stout defense.
Thunder took a while to get going but the first two goals were absolutely class. An R1 and an L1 exactly how you want them played! Leigh and George made great runs and along with Nate the three had the hand in scoring. We countered many times and we probably should have had a few more in the first half. Nic gave us some great work up front, along with Leigh and George and Nate. Alex and Nanton teamed up very well to dispossess the opposition and held the midfield well. Anthony Santoro played great and showed excellent technique to break down and create turnovers. Adam loves to run off his flank and Dhruv and Connor were tight in defense. Dhruv showed lots of confidence in attacking space and making great passes up field. Lewis was great in goal and pulled off two great saves, but his talking on the pitch was sensational and demonstrates why he deserves to be captain. Charlie, Elia and Seb got their chances and worked hard. It was a tough first day, but one that put many things into perspective.
In passages we were brilliant, but at times we were sloppy and tired. We missed too many goals that other teams would bury. The worst moment was when we had three players against the keeper and we stuffed it up! The opponents even had conceded that it was a sure goal and did not even chase. We must do better in our 18 yard box.
It was the first game, however, and game two will be a repeat when we take on the mighty Senior NTC next Sunday. Dont forget we have a game Wednesday.
Thanks to Owen for recording the game and we will sit and evaluate our performance.
Pre-Season
We have played some great games and are learning a lot about each other. We are experimenting with positions and seeing who can do what and where.
We played some good games such as Pascoe Vale, Oakleigh, Chelsea Seniors, Moreland, Northcote and are set for the start of the season.
We have a couple of injuries that are longer term - so we need those players to be good before getting into the rigours of week to week challenges.
Lets go 2015 for Thunder U18s.
The U14s actually have gone through the Pre Season undefeated playing Northcote, Heidelberg, Moreland and Pascoe Vale. We still dont have Sunil who is injured long term bu we are doing okay. We have a LOT to learn and I feel as if I am starting again with this team - right from basics. There is hardly any talk on the pitch which is worrying and we will need to work on this as well as basic skills such as passing and receiving!
We played some good games such as Pascoe Vale, Oakleigh, Chelsea Seniors, Moreland, Northcote and are set for the start of the season.
We have a couple of injuries that are longer term - so we need those players to be good before getting into the rigours of week to week challenges.
Lets go 2015 for Thunder U18s.
The U14s actually have gone through the Pre Season undefeated playing Northcote, Heidelberg, Moreland and Pascoe Vale. We still dont have Sunil who is injured long term bu we are doing okay. We have a LOT to learn and I feel as if I am starting again with this team - right from basics. There is hardly any talk on the pitch which is worrying and we will need to work on this as well as basic skills such as passing and receiving!
The New Era
2015 sees a whole new era for many of us. There is a totally new team that we are taking care of - Dandenong Thunder U14s and also many new players in a team that has somewhat been around - the Dandenong Thunder U18s.
We started off 2015 with a fantastic camp attended by George Perpina, Aldrin De Zilva, and some good folks - such as Milos Nastic, Dan and Gabi Hermannson and others.
The camp is designed to strengthen the bonds between players in a team. Unfortunately the U14s only had 8 attend but the U18s had much better numbers with 14. It really is important to learn to work together and make sacrifices for each other and recognise the 'Jersey' that you will be playing for as the reason that you are together!
Here are the reports from Camp 2015, held at the wonderful Phillip Island Discovery Camp -
Kind Regards
Robert
We started off 2015 with a fantastic camp attended by George Perpina, Aldrin De Zilva, and some good folks - such as Milos Nastic, Dan and Gabi Hermannson and others.
The camp is designed to strengthen the bonds between players in a team. Unfortunately the U14s only had 8 attend but the U18s had much better numbers with 14. It really is important to learn to work together and make sacrifices for each other and recognise the 'Jersey' that you will be playing for as the reason that you are together!
Here are the reports from Camp 2015, held at the wonderful Phillip Island Discovery Camp -
Hi Everyone. January 7.
Well have found 20 minutes to email you all so I thought I would bring you up to speed. The camp has been excellent so far and the players are simply wonderful. You have raised some excellent children to be fine young men.
Everyone is impressed with the maturity shown, the work ethic displayed and the desire to improve.
It has been difficult as its almost a shock to the body - doing nothing for so long and then 'BOOM!" full of activity and challenges. Milosh the coach has challenged our players - he has them doing things that they probably never imagined they could do. He is a hard taskmaster but the players have all learned many things that will improve their playing ability and knowledge of the game. Milosh is one of the best coaches that I know and your boys are lucky.
We never took the phones off the players as we expected them to be responsible so you are free to contact them.
We have had visits from parents and we encourage all of you to come down Sunday for BBQ - please let me know if you are coming - it is important. We need to know numbers ASAP. It will start around 1PM and be done by 4PM as I need to take boys back home. BYO EVERYTHING!
SO far we have had outstanding Futsal, brilliant training sessions, fun in the water which all have enjoyed immensely,a fabulous soccer/volley game, seen echidnas, wallabies, blue tongue lizards and some even saw a snake. We are well fed and the only complaint is TIREDNESS! The place is amazing - a great location and simply cant get better. The grass at the school is a bit long but has not stopped the players.
I will try to email more tonight - but we are watching "for the good of the game" movie. As I write this a lovely rain is soaking the earth here and really cooled off temperatures which was needed.
January 9
Well the weather is certainly crazy but today was a very good day in terms of the soccer program.
The players are truly psyched!
Last night we watched a movie about the De La Salle Spartans and their coach. They stuck together a 151 game winning streak - the longest in football. The reason was simple - commitment, courage and building relationships.
Everyone watched it and then went to bed a little late shortly before 11PM.
So we decided to allow them the chance to sleep in, have breakfast and do our soccer class with Milos.
We got up at about 8.30AM, had toast, fruit, cereals for breakfast and met Milos at the fields at 9.30AM.
We worked solidly until 11.10AM and then played a full pitch game for 40 Minutes. The game was well played and ended in a 1-1 draw with two excellent goals.
We returned back to camp for lunch and then went swimming - the water was amazing! Big clean waves, crystal clear water, cold and refreshing in what was a muggy day! We then set the boys the Spartan challenge.
They were fantastic. They worked their socks off and put the team first in every situation. First of all we split them into three teams of 7. We then assigned each team a series of very tough challenges. We did this because we believe that at no time in the year will they have to work so hard. We want them to remember camp when times are tough and reflect on what they achieved here. Hopefully that will give them insight into how much they can truly produce
The challenges were diverse in nature and required planning and forethought.
The teams were as follows -
Argos (Blue)
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Thebians (Orange)
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Athenians(Yellow)
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Gabbi Hermannson
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Aldrin De Zilva
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George Perpina
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Elia P
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Andre G
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Tom Fl
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Michael T
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Connor L
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Anthony Sa
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Josh Mulla
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Dhruv
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Nate Gi
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Shannon D
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Oden
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Luke De
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Tom R
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Tommy S
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Tyson
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Nanton M
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James P
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Jordy H
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Luis P
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Alex Kr
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Wahed
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The challenges were as follows –
1. The Three Centuries of Sparta Challenge – As team - a series of challenges must be completed and a total time will be taken for the completion. There must be 200 pushups, 200 fence unders and overs, 200 shuttle runs over 10 metres,
2. No Soldier left behind Challenge – the team must save 30 Soldiers who are injured by carrying them – 30 ‘people’ must be transported between two sets of gates
3. The Spartan Circle of strength – the team must form a tight circle locked together with their arms – one team member must crawl on top of the other team members and they must carry the team member without breaking the circle for a distance of 30 Metres – his must be done 8 times with only 2 members going twice.
4. Raise the Alarm – The Spartans raised the alarms of invading armies by a series of network running (5 Points of the star) – each team must elect two runners to sprint the course with a 30 kilo weight being dragged behind them.
I know as you read this you can never understand what the players went through in their spartan challenge. They worked ever so hard, never quit, helped each other and throughout all of it were able to "Count on each Other." Unless you were here and witnessed what we witnessed it can never make the impression that it made of us.
Feel free to talk to your sons about their day.
After the challenges we went straight to dinner and then directly to futsal. They played well, and then we went shopping and home. They were rewarded for their day generously by Gabrielle and Aldrin who are helping us look after all the players.
Tomorrow is a rest day - but they have decided to do "THE DUNE CHALLENGE" before lunch. They will sleep until 9AM and then swim, do he Dunes, Have BBQ, swim, do a 2 hour trip to town, come back for dinner, go to Laser Tag and then back into town to the carnival before returning home around 10PM.
Kind Regards
Robert
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