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!
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