U8 Cobras vs Wahroonga Blue

We played at Carrington today and the weather was good (again). We also had a full team so all the signs were good. Thomas and Ethan had volunteered to be goalies this week and Thomas had the first half in the sun. Luka, Luke, Kai and Errol formed the defence line and Connor, Hayley, Ethan and Daniel formed the front. Both teams were well matched and the first half saw some nice soccer. Thomas did an outstanding job in goal and saved us from running behind on points.

In the second half, Ethan was goalie and we had Thomas, Luke, Errol and Daniel in the back. Luka, Connor, Kai and Hayley were up front. Ethan too did a great job in goal and Hayley had a few shots a goal - Connor tried, Luka tried, Daniel tried but no one could get through. Hayley scored a great goal, but unfortunately Wahroonga managed to score two. The Cobras did an outstanding job and played well even in the more difficult second half.

Well done for everybody with an extra applause for Hayley for the only goal for us, a well done to Ethan for the outstanding effort in goal and Thomas took the players award home for his performance in the first half. Look forward seeing the next game!

Mt Colah FC Under 14 Girls Match Report – Round 10

17th July, Kissing Point at Foxglove Oval

Score: Won 2-0

Scorers: Sally, Eliza

Player of the Match: Monique

Eliza and Jae in attack mode...

A light drizzle greeted the Mt Colah girls as they arrived for their match against Kissing Point today. Paul had now returned from his trip around Oz to take the helm and resume his coaching duties and Eliza, Sally and Elyse were also back too but we still had a few players away due to the holiday period, with Ally, Gabby and Erin all absent today.

The fine rain had cleared up by the time the whistle went for the first half, but it still remained misty and overcast as the girls took control of the ball and starting pushing up into Kissing Point's half. Sally was straight into the action with a shot on goal in the first few minutes, but it just sailed wide of the left post. The resulting goal kick saw the ball kept inside Kissing Point’s defensive area, and in the scrabble for possession, an inadvertent handball was flagged by the referee and a penalty was awarded for Mt Colah. Eliza quickly stepped up to the spot to take it as those on the sidelines held their breath and watched but unfortunately, while it had the power, it had just a little too much on it and sailed just over the top of the bar.  Kissing Point could breathe a sigh of relief for a moment at least.

The first half carried on with the girls keeping the pressure up and the attacks coming thick and fast, but they didn't seem to be amounting to much, despite all the effort. Kissing Point had numbers behind the ball and were doing a good job of keeping the shots out. There were some skillful plays by Eliza and Moni, the latter in particular having an awesome first half with several attacking runs down the right wing, but sadly no goal yet. Sally joined in too with a shot that went just wide, and just before the first half whistle, Sas and Elyse tried to win a free ball near goal but the away team defender got there first, unfortunately catching a knock to the face as she did so. When play resumed, there was only a few minutes of the half left; Kissing Point had managed to get into the Mt Colah half a grand total of 2 times in the whole period - possession certainly wasn't an issue, it was just controlling it and getting it past the defenders that seemed to be the problem today.

Half time saw a stern (well as stern as he ever gets!) talk from Paul reminding the girls about some of the finer points of football such as talking to each other and control of the ball. Whether it was the late nights of school holidays catching up with them or just a general malaise, they certainly didn't seem to be the same team that had fought Lindfield B for their hard won draw last week or won 4-0 against West Pymble the week before. With his words ringing in their ears, the girls took back to the field for the second half, with Shannon now in goal and the scores still locked at 0-0.

The second half started back out with more of the same; Eliza and Jae trying hard to make their mark on the scoreboard with a couple of goal attempts early on. Sas and Elyse had a nice 1-2 bit of play happening as well but unfortunately ran out of room to put it in the back of the net. Eventually something had to give, and in the 37th minute Sal managed to get a bit of space in the box and fire off a shot that the keeper couldn't get to to make the score 1-0. The girls were nearly caught napping a few minutes later though as one of the Kissing Point forwards attacked after the restart and dodged past all our defenders to end up 1 on 1 with Shannon, but to everyone's relief, the shot ran just wide of the post.

After that scare, the girls got back into attack mode and tried to keep the Kisso girls wrapped up in their own half a bit more, with lots of possession by Karissa, Sally, Eliza, Sas and Elyse who all kept the visitors pushed back and on their toes. One particular passage of play midway through the half saw Sally gain possession in the midfield and then thread a lovely through ball for Eliza to get on the end of and shoot for goal. All of a sudden it was 2-0! The girls could afford to relax a bit now, and Kissing Point did make a few attacks in our half after this, but Jess and Frances were protective of their 2 goal lead and cleared the ball quickly. In the last few minutes of the game Elyse tried to make it 4-0 with two shots on goal in quick succession, but one was saved and one just missed its mark. So the final score: 2-0 to the Mt Colah girls. Player of the Match today for her excellent game and goal attempts was Moni who quite possibly had her best game of the season so far – well done Moni!

Trev Bowdidge

Mt Colah U8 Vipers V Kissing Point White Wolves 6th August

The long stretch of consecutive victories was ended in a good game against Kissing Point this week. The vipers played some good football today, but also learnt that it can be tough when you come up against a big, strong and fast team.

Nick got us off to a cracking start with what I think may have been our best goal of the year. Dylan hit a pinpoint pass out to Ben on the wing who dribbled forward drawing the defender before passing a great cross to Nick in the middle. Nick controlled the ball (just like at training) and banged home a good goal to go up 1-0. A bit later Nick tried a powerful cross of his own from the right side which clipped a defender and flew past the keeper. This was enough to win Nick the player of the game.

The defenders had a tough day as KP kept a small and quick fella right up front behind our defenders all day. (Some may say offside but we don’t get to that for another year or so). KP also had a very big guy with a very strong kick up front. Archie, Dylan, Harold and Jesse did a good job keeping them to just 2 goals in the first half. Jesse move up front and had a couple of good shots from out wide just miss the goals. (He is going to shoot from a bit closer next week!). Jeremy tried to play every position and ran hard all day. At 2-2 I thought we were in for a chance to take this game.

Harold and Luke did their best in goals this week but did find it tough going. The KP team held their positions very well and were often quicker to the ball than we were. This made it tough to get out from our own end and put us under continual pressure. The coach realised his mistake in not spending a little more training time on keeping skills. (We will do this more in the last weeks of the season).

The second half was a battle and we held on strong before a couple of late goals saw us fall a little behind. The goals were all good ones and showed some top skill from the other team. The last was a trap, turn and shoot all in one motion and off one step. Against a better standard team the need to hold our positions become very clear. We had our attackers sucked back to help the defenders (Ben, Jesse and Jeremy) - which in turn meant we were short manned up front when the chances came.

This was a really good learning game for us – and I am sure we will be a better team next week as a result.

Round 14, 6 August 2011 - U13 v Kissing Point

The second weekend of a warm weather pattern saw us matched against Kissing Point, at Foxglove. With only 2 points separating the top 3 teams, it's tight heading into the last 2 weeks of the regular season so both teams were keen to win and boost their chances of finishing on top of the competition. Kissing Point were missing 3 regular players, and had called in 2 reinforcements. We were down 2.75 (Cam injured, Georgia away, and Lachlan with a dodgy ankle after a mishap at training).

Rob was determined that the team should get off to a good start because last time we played Kissing Point they scored twice before we woke up, so he changed the warm-up to involve a lot of running and agility work. Looks like it worked. We kicked off, went on the attack immediately, and then back-pedalled quickly as Kissing Point countered. Matthew scavenged the ball in our goal area, booted down field to Ayns who turned and set Nikki off from half way. He made no mistake and we were up 1-0 after 2 minutes. Perfect start. Kissing Point set up a rapid counterattack down the right that saw our defence slow to cover, and Matt couldn't control the shot. 1-1 inside 5 minutes, game on. For the next 10 minutes or so, both teams struggled to control the midfield and the game moved rapidly from end to end. It was very entertaining and both sets of parents were prowling the sideline, urging the players on. Nikki broke the deadlock on 17 minutes, when he pounced on a goal kick and put the ball into the right corner of the net; then Zac continued our pattern of scoring goals in sets, taking the ball from halfway. He was almost tripped just outside the area but kept his feet and his momentum. The ref played advantage and we were 3-1 up with 11 minutes remaining in the half. Another counter from Kissing Point saw them pull one back a couple of minutes later, and the arm wrestle resumed but we seemed to be getting the better of them. Cam tried a long-range shot that their keeper did well to handle, Ayns forced another good save with 5 minutes in the half, and a couple of minutes later set up Nikki for a shot in front of goal. Close, but offside. On the stroke of halftime Zac made it 4-2 with a shot from a goalmouth skirmish.

Kissing Point's defence had impressed with the speed of their cover. They had a couple of little guys who were very quick off the mark, and cut down a number of attacking raids. One of them was giving Ayns a hard time, outpacing him to the ball on several occasions. That doesn't happen often. Our defence was doing its job too, with Greg and Sam H in the centre and Nick and Bonnie on the wings. The midfield was also quick to drop back, and Sam B, Zac and Cam seemed to be everywhere.

Rob used the half time break to encourage the guys and ask for more of the same. He got it. Kissing Point used an interesting tactic from the kick off, booting the ball downfield. We had a bit of work to get it out of the danger zone, but Sam H did one of his runs out of defence and put Zac away with a beautiful ball from halfway. The keeper was in two minds what to do. In the end he stood his ground and Zac shot low and hard to the left. 5-2.

Cam doesn't let the ball past him easily. He went down contesting the ball, managed to trap it between his knees, and got to his feet still in possession. Should have had a video camera... Five minutes in, Ayns had another footrace from the halfway line. This time he won the contest, and scored his first for the day. Another raid a couple of minutes later found Josh in a good position. His shot was blocked but Ayns cleaned up the rebound and it was 7-2.

That caused Kissing Point to play much more defensively. They were still on the lookout for the counter, but hung back much more in their half and we dominated territory for the rest of the match. They mounted a few raids but didn't get a shot away for the entire half. The increased defensive effort from Kissing Point dried up the goals. We had a couple of chances; a shot from Sam B off a corner that went wide, a cross from Ayns that beat everyone, and an angled shot from Ayns that hit the post. Lachlan came on for about 10 minutes to try out the ankle but it wasn't feeling too stable. Hopefully he will be OK next week.

The two Sams saved the best till last. Sam H ran into open space, fired in a beautiful cross, and Sam B gave the keeper no chance. The final whistle blew 10 seconds later. 8-2 was definitely unexpected. Our games against Kissing Point have traditionally been close, and they usually come out on top but today our teamwork was just too good. The gongs today went to Matthew for organising the defence, and using his goal area very intelligently; and to Cam, for defying the laws of physics and managing to apparently be everywhere at once.

Next week, it's on the line. Last match of the regular season, winner takes the minor premiership. If we have another performance like today's, we are in with a good chance. Well played!

Denis

Mt Colah Vipers V St Ives Galaxy 30th July

Another game and another win over the Galaxy. This was a good test of how the season has gone for the vipers. We played the Galaxy in week 1 of the comp and had a 2-2 draw. We then played them 2 weeks ago and got up with a 1-0 win. The roster had us listed to play them for a third time this week, and we got up again with a solid 2-1 win.

This team has given us a hard game all three times and are really good competition for the Vipers. The boys switched on from last week and played like the team we know they can be. Everyone played well right across the park from keeper to striker. Dylan has had 3-4 great games in a row and won man of the match for some really athletic running, hard tackling and some great dribbling runs up the field – at the end of which he always looked for a pass.

Jeremy scored the first goal with a really powerful shot, and Nick as ever was on the spot to bang home the second goal. The defence was really solid and kept the job of the keepers pretty easy. One thing to work on for next week is when the ball does get into our goal box we seemed to be a little gentle at times in getting a clearance.

The real test comes this coming week with a game against Kissing Point – the team delivered one of our two losses this year. Last time was a strange 6-0 loss where the whole team seemed to be lost and confused. I think this time around it will be a different story and am confident we can improve greatly on the last time we played this team.

Under 9 Falcons Match Report – Round 15

30th July, West Pymble West Pymble PS

Score: Won 3-2

Scorers: Jasper, Corey, Kieran

Player of the Match: Jasper

Goalies: Kieran, Luke

Captain: Luke

Saturday morning brings the Falcons to the fields of West Pymble Primary School to play West Pymble, and for the A Team in Yellow and Green, it's their first game for 4 weeks due to both of our recent fixtures being called off: firstly due to an away team forfeit, and then due to the bucketloads of rain we saw last week, much of which is still evident in the muddy pitch here.  After a quick warm up and explanation of the basics of the game for those that had forgotten (the round thing is called a ball guys.... try to get it it between those white posts over there..!), the Mighty Falcons trooped onto the field to start the game and.....

....promptly fell asleep.

Hmmmm... Maybe the break from games and training had had more of a detrimental effect on the Falcons that we had realised. How West Pymble didn't go 5-0 up in the first few minutes is a complete mystery, as they pushed forward straight away and met absolutely no resistance from our sleepy defenders. Luckily Kieran was on the ball in goal today and was determined to protect his turf, saving 2 shots and clearing 2 others in the first few minutes alone. Meanwhile, up the other end, Jasper was doing a great job with the ball when we got it there, positioning himself in the box well and having a couple of shots, but West Pymble’s goalie was one of the best and easily a match for Kieran at the other end, doing his job well despite Luke Tom and Jasper’s best efforts to score.

It quickly become apparent that West Pymble had improved dramatically from when we played them last, and they had some good attacking players that were pushing forward and past our defenders. Kieran manage to save another 2 shots in quick succession towards the end of the half, but a poor clearance by us saw the ball fall right into the path of a West Pymble forward and that was all it took to make the score 1-0 to them! Mount Colah needed to wake up pretty quickly if they wanted to avoid their first loss of the season. Jasper certainly took the hint, and within minutes of the restart, he’d jumped on a West Pymble goal kick and booted it straight back where it came from to level the scores at 1-all – his second goal of the season! The halftime whistle blew just seconds later and the teams came off for their oranges and drinks.

The second half saw a re-energised Falcons take to the pitch, with Luke now in goal and Kieran, Julia and Corey taking up forward positions whilst Jasper, Jeremy, Tom and Sam held well back in defence, trying their best to keep the elusive West Pymble forwards marked up. However, the Falcons were awake now, their yawns behind them, and Corey found the goal within the opening minutes of the half to make it 2-1! Jeremy also kicked a beauty from near the centre circle that just missed the post and then, not to be left out, Kieran had his turn too, putting a lovely shot into the goal from Corey’s pass. Suddenly the Falcons were 3-1 up and it was a different game! This formation certainly seemed to be working, as Luke kept sending long goal kicks down the pitch for the forwards to pick up and pass around amongst themselves and there were some great examples of team play between Julia, Corey and Kieran during this period, resulting in 4 or 5 shots on goal from the latter.

Meanwhile at the other end, West Pymble were still putting on the pressure when they could, but this time our defence was a bit better, and Jasper and Jeremy were having fun chasing down the West Pymble players and regaining possession where they could. Luke done a fine job in goal during this period and made a few crucial saves, but the home team really started to push forward towards the end in search of another goal. Luke managed to palm away away one great shot but the resulting kick from the deflection was just too powerful, and despite getting a hand to it, it went over his head and in – a good goal by West Pymble, and the score now stood at 3-2 with 3 minutes left on the clock. And what a nervous 3 minutes it was for the coach, players and parents, as West Pymble tried for an equaliser, but the Falcons held strong, and managed to see it through to the end for another win, albeit it a sleepy one!

Player of the Match: Jasper for his excellent first half goal, and dogged determination in the second – well done!.

Special Mentions: Luke, who stood tall in goal for us during the second half, and Kieran for his superb goalkeeping in the first half, and energy, skills and enthusiasm in the second. Julia and Corey also deserve a mention for their teamwork in midfield.

Trev Bowdidge

Mt Colah FC Under 9 Falcons Match Report – Round 11

25th June, Sacred Heart Pymble @ Friars

Score: Drew 2-2

Captain: Sam

Scorers: Julia, Kieran

Player of the Match: Sam

Goalies: Jasper, Jeremy

Today sees the Falcons actually playing an away game (shock horror) at Friars in Pymble versus Sacred Heart Pymble for the first time this year. The team had all had a lie-in this morning, the game being a relatively late one for us with the kick-off at 11:50. It was also the first time the Falcons had been a player short, with Tom unavailable for the game. However, none of the team seemed to mind playing the full 40 mins without a sub, and with the sun shining down, it was time for kick off….

The game started at a frenetic pace, with Sam and Corey both shooting towards goal in the opening minutes. The first 10 minutes or so was certainly all Falcons, with Sacred Heart pinned back in their own half as the Falcons attempted to break through their defences. Sam then had another great long-range shot that Kieran nearly finished off, but the goalie got to it just in time. Kieran also had another shot that nearly knocked the poor Sacred Heart defender out that was in the way - Kieran swiftly controlled the rebound and looped another shot off, but it flew over the bar  - they didn’t seem to be going in today! Corey and Luke both had further shots too, showing excellent ball control, but it fell to playmaker Corey to get the scoreline active, when he laid a lovely pass onto Julia in the box who ran onto it and shot through to make it 1-0 to the Falcons – what an excellent demonstration of team play! Julia had another run down the wing moments later but she just ran out of space to get the shot away.

It was only mere minutes later in the game that the second goal went in too after a monster clearance from Sam that went all the way into the box – Kieran sprinted to get on the end of it and just managed to nudge it past the goalie - 2-0 to the Falcons, and again, the result of some well-executed team play. Certainly, the Falcons had the run of play in the first half, with some excellent dribbling, shooting and passing skills on display, and as the whistle blew for halftime, the confident Falcons left the field for their refreshing oranges and water.

The second half saw Jeremy making his goalkeeping debut, and Luke, Kieran and Julia up front. Straight after the whistle, Luke was away, and let loose a rocket of a shot that just flew past the left post. Talk about stating your intentions! Kieran joined in too a few minutes later, with both of them slugging it out in the penalty box, trying to get the ball over the line, and Sam came to the party too moments later, sending a trademark Park thunderbolt all the way from left back that went over the bar by inches. In fact there were so many Falcons joining in the party to try and score that some forgot where they should have been, and all it took was a long ball down the field to one of Sacred Heart’s unmarked forwards to catch them out – with a distinct lack of Falcons to defend, Sacred Heart got in close to our goal and got a shot off – Jeremy did get a hand to it, but unluckily it slipped out of his grasp and rolled across the line…..

2:1 and Sacred Heart could smell blood!

It was as if someone had flicked a switch – all at once they were a different team, and with a large part of the half still to play, they pressed forward with new energy, trying for an equalizer. Five minutes later, it came, with the Falcons caught on the back foot once more, Jeremy made a great initial save off a shot, but when throwing the ball back out, Sacred Heart pounced and blasted a shot through at close range despite Jeremy and Corey’s best attempts to keep it out. By this time, there was five minutes left to go, and the Falcons knew they had to pull something out of the hat – though with the sun beating down and no subs available, they were really up against it. Julia and Kieran fought tooth and nail to try and steer the ball into the goal with several attempts late in the half, but the Sacred Heart goalie was determined to keep them out, and not even a cracker of a shot from Sam off a good backpass from Luke found its mark.

The final whistle blew on a 2-2 scoreline, ending an interesting game, and offering the Falcons a good lesson on what can happen when overconfidence rears it head and defensive positions are forgotten. That being said though, it was still another great game from our favourite under-9s, with some fine displays of skill on the field. Well done to Jeremy and Jasper, our goalies for the day, well done to all our midfield players for their energy and enthusiasm, and cheers to Jim for refereeing, and to all the other parents for their support.

Player of the Match: Sam, for his positional awareness throughout the game.

Special Mentions: Julia, (who came a very, very close second in the POTM votes) who run herself around the pitch trying to get a winning goal for us in the second half, as well as scoring the first one. 11/10 for effort – well done!

Trev Bowdidge

Mt Colah FC Under 9 Falcons Match Report – Round 9

11th June, Prouille Gold @ Berry Park

Score: Drew 1-1

Scorer: Luke

Player of the Match: Sam

Goalies: Luke, Corey

Captain: Jasper

And so to yet another game at Berry Park this Saturday for the Fantastic Falcons. The team is starting to wonder if we’ll ever have to travel to an away game ever again! However, no-one’s complaining, least of all the player transport managers (or should I say parents)! No rain today for the game, but it is a touch on the cold side, so the Falcons make sure they warm up well before the whistle for the first half goes. Today’s captain is Jasper, with Luke in goal for the first half, and Julia, Jasper, Jeremy and Kieran up front as our attacking midfielders.

Straight away, the Falcons are into the action, with Julia laying off a gentle pass back to Sam for him to wallop up front, and wallop it he does, unleashing one of his trademark shots that just flies inches over the bar. Phew! Prouille aren’t impressed though – they have some big players in their side and really look as though they mean business today. Quick as a flash, they return the ball to the other end, where Luke is forced to pull off a great save, This could be an interesting game!

The first half pretty much carries on as per the first 5 minutes – furious battles for possession ensue across the pitch as the Falcons valiantly try to stand up to what is increasingly looking like their toughest opposition of the year. Luke is doing a fantastic job in goal for us this morning, determined not to let anything past him, but Prouille have some powerful boots among their forward line, so it’s no easy task. Up the other end, we’re not without our forward possession, with Jeremy and Corey both having some shots on goal, but the Prouille goalie is good – really good – and its going to take a cracker of a shot to get past him today, methinks. Our best chance so far comes when Kieran breaks through and finds himself with only the goalie to beat, but he saves the shot (told you he was good!).

In the latter part of the half, Tom and Sam really started to find their feet, with the former clearing the ball well at the back and sending it back up through midfield – one such pass nearly had us one-nil  up when Kieran got on the end of it and ran onto goal – the goalie gathered but then dropped; Kieran was quick to pounce but the Prouille keeper was quicker, and managed to gather before any damage could be done. Sam was also having a cracking half too – sending most of his clearances all the way down into the box, but there were a few exceptions when he surprised everyone by receiving and making a run up on the wing through the midfield, showing excellent ball control and skills as he steered himself past players. He was a formidable opponent for Prouille to deal with, and certainly one of the reasons why he was eventually awarded player of the match. Oh and I nearly forgot to mention the three clearances he made from his left back position that just missed sailing into Prouille’s goal by inches!!

The last few minutes of the first half bought just as must action as the first, with the Falcons throwing everything they had at Prouille in an attempt to get a score on the board. Sam took a lovely corner that nearly went in of a Prouille defender, Corey took a beautiful shot that would have gone in for sure had the goalie not got a hand to it to palm it away, and Kieran had a couple more runs on goal, one of which came from a lovely strong throw-in by Julia. Note to Kieran though – you’re not allowed to slide tackle the goalie when he has already picked up the ball! The first half ended with seven weary and shellshocked Falcons trooping off the field and a nil-all scoreline.

Halftime saw a bit of nervous head-scratching and re-organisation by Coach Trev as we tried to work out what to do in the second half. The game plan went right out of the window and after a hasty bit of replanning and a hefty dose of h2o and vitamin C, the Falcons went back on for the second half, with Corey now in goal, and Luke, Julia and Kieran still up front in an attempt to break the deadlock.

Within seconds after the restart, Prouille had stated their intentions clearly though, with a high looping shot towards our goal – Corey did get a hand to it, and it bounced tantalising close to the goal line before he had to step back and gather but in doing so, he took it over the line. A lucky goal for Prouille then, and for the very first time this season, the Falcons were 1-0 down. However, they kept their heads up and didn’t give up, and if anything, their play was even more determined than before. Sam tried another one of his monster kicks that went wide, and Luke took a lovely corner that sailed beautifully into the box, but everyone just missed getting a boot to it – had a goal resulted it would have been a stunning piece of play.

With the minutes ticking down and Coach Trev’s pacing on the sidelines getting increasingly frantic, the Falcons faithful done their best to cheer the team on for an equaliser, and in the 31st minute, their prayers were answered – Luke took posession on the left wing, ducked and weaved past 2 defenders and unleashed a cracking shot on a tight angle into the goal that the Prouille goalie had no chance of saving. 1-1 and cue mass celebrations on the Falcons sidelines and lots of happy smiling Falcons – cheers Luke - we needed that one!

For the rest of the half, both side were locked in furious play to try for a decider, but we held back firm and Jasper, Tom, Jeremy and Sam all defended as if their life depended on it, with some fine displays of marking, tackling and dogged determination to keep the ball away from goal, including a game of aerial ping-pong of volleys and headers that went on for a while and kept everyone on both sides amused! There were a few more chances on both sides in the closing minutes, but the defences were locked down too tightly at both ends for anything to result, and the one-all scoreline was made final as the whistle blew – a fitting score for such a good game between two well matched teams.

So Congratulations to the Falcons today – it was a real tough one, and it wasn’t a win, but they all rose to the occasion and showed their true team spirit – well done!

Player of the Match: Sam, for his dedication and excellent use of the ball (and his right foot)!

Special Mentions: Jasper (who just missed getting Player of the Match today) & Tom for their determined work  in defence and midfield today. Thanks also to Darren for refereeing, and Lucy and Saskia for the match photography.

Trev Bowdidge

Under 9 Falcons Match Report – Round 15

30th July, West Pymble West Pymble PS

Score: Won 3-2

Scorers: Jasper, Corey, Kieran

Player of the Match: Jasper

Goalies: Kieran, Luke

Captain: Luke

Saturday morning brings the Falcons to the fields of West Pymble Primary School to play West Pymble, and for the A Team in Yellow and Green, it's their first game for 4 weeks due to both of our recent fixtures being called off: firstly due to an away team forfeit, and then due to the bucketloads of rain we saw last week, much of which is still evident in the muddy pitch here.  After a quick warm up and explanation of the basics of the game for those that had forgotten (the round thing is called a ball guys.... try to get it it between those white posts over there..!), the Mighty Falcons trooped onto the field to start the game and.....

....promptly fell asleep.

Hmmmm... Maybe the break from games and training had had more of a detrimental effect on the Falcons that we had realised. How West Pymble didn't go 5-0 up in the first few minutes is a complete mystery, as they pushed forward straight away and met absolutely no resistance from our sleepy defenders. Luckily Kieran was on the ball in goal today and was determined to protect his turf, saving 2 shots and clearing 2 others in the first few minutes alone. Meanwhile, up the other end, Jasper was doing a great job with the ball when we got it there, positioning himself in the box well and having a couple of shots, but West Pymble’s goalie was one of the best and easily a match for Kieran at the other end, doing his job well despite Luke Tom and Jasper’s best efforts to score.

It quickly become apparent that West Pymble had improved dramatically from when we played them last, and they had some good attacking players that were pushing forward and past our defenders. Kieran manage to save another 2 shots in quick succession towards the end of the half, but a poor clearance by us saw the ball fall right into the path of a West Pymble forward and that was all it took to make the score 1-0 to them! Mount Colah needed to wake up pretty quickly if they wanted to avoid their first loss of the season. Jasper certainly took the hint, and within minutes of the restart, he’d jumped on a West Pymble goal kick and booted it straight back where it came from to level the scores at 1-all – his second goal of the season! The halftime whistle blew just seconds later and the teams came off for their oranges and drinks.

The second half saw a re-energised Falcons take to the pitch, with Luke now in goal and Kieran, Julia and Corey taking up forward positions whilst Jasper, Jeremy, Tom and Sam held well back in defence, trying their best to keep the elusive West Pymble forwards marked up. However, the Falcons were awake now, their yawns behind them, and Corey found the goal within the opening minutes of the half to make it 2-1! Jeremy also kicked a beauty from near the centre circle that just missed the post and then, not to be left out, Kieran had his turn too, putting a lovely shot into the goal from Corey’s pass. Suddenly the Falcons were 3-1 up and it was a different game! This formation certainly seemed to be working, as Luke kept sending long goal kicks down the pitch for the forwards to pick up and pass around amongst themselves and there were some great examples of team play between Julia, Corey and Kieran during this period, resulting in 4 or 5 shots on goal from the latter.

Meanwhile at the other end, West Pymble were still putting on the pressure when they could, but this time our defence was a bit better, and Jasper and Jeremy were having fun chasing down the West Pymble players and regaining possession where they could. Luke done a fine job in goal during this period and made a few crucial saves, but the home team really started to push forward towards the end in search of another goal. Luke managed to palm away away one great shot but the resulting kick from the deflection was just too powerful, and despite getting a hand to it, it went over his head and in – a good goal by West Pymble, and the score now stood at 3-2 with 3 minutes left on the clock. And what a nervous 3 minutes it was for the coach, players and parents, as West Pymble tried for an equaliser, but the Falcons held strong, and managed to see it through to the end for another win, albeit it a sleepy one!

Trev Bowdidge

Player of the Match: Jasper for his excellent first half goal, and dogged determination in the second – well done!.

Special Mentions: Luke, who stood tall in goal for us during the second half, and Kieran for his superb goalkeeping in the first half, and energy, skills and enthusiasm in the second. Julia and Corey also deserve a mention for their teamwork in midfield.

Game 10, 30 July 2011 - U18A

After yet another week missing out due to the wet weather the boys took to the park against St Ives at Warrimoo under magnificent blue skies. For the first time in many games we actually has an interchange player, with Parko returning from injury and again his brother Lachie joining us, this time out on the middle as Josh H made his return to Keeper. Chris and Brock were heading up the forwards with Matt slotting into sweeper, backing up Michael, Joe, Faisal and Parko. Connor, Daniel and Josh M were running the centre of the park. Not long in and the tone of the match was set as Brock received his first ever Yellow Card for an alleged push in the back of an opposing player. Every time someone brushed an opponent the whistle went. The match was fairly even when Brock was himself taken down, resulting in a St Ives Yellow Card. Parko had his first attempt at goal shooting the ball wide. Next on the Yellow Card list was Joe, for his slide tackle. As per usual the St Ives coach was very vocal, getting into an unprovoked slanging match with Mario and Parko on the sidelines. Lucky a certain Person of a high position in a certain association was there to tell Mario who he was and to “Pipe down”, or words to that effect, nothing said to his bloke who initiated the attack. Meanwhile on the field, St Ives made a break and despite Josh’s effort the ball found the net. On the stroke of half time Brock was taken down in a big hit, landing heavily, but this time, surprisingly, no card was produced. With the score 0-1 at half time, the game was still there for the taking.

Things settled a little in the second half, off the field at least, but on the field the Yellows kept flowing with Michael being shown the little piece of plastic for kicking a ball away. Lachie settled well into his role in the back line making some good tackles. However it was St Ives who would score again from a long attempt. Nothing was going right for the team. Matt, who was working his butt off as sweeper, was then shown a Yellow for his pushing “run” on a St Ives player. This one had every one stumped, including the St Ives camp. Parko limped off midway through the half with his knee once again hurt. Whilst the boys, made some good breaks it always seemed to falter at the final play. Lastly, it was Josh M’s turn to win his ticket in the “Yellow Card Lottery”...I can’t even tell you what this one was for! With not long to go in the season the boys are trying hard to get that win on the board...it will come. Thanks to Sean for running the line in the 2nd half.

Cheers

JB (Manager)

Game 9, 16 July 2011 - U18A

Would today’s game go ahead after all of the rain? Berowra looked like they had secured their long awaited swimming pool; it was in the middle of the pitch. However the game did start and then the fog rolled in. So between the Fog water and mud it was going to be a battle of those that could find their way and hold their footing. Daniel and Chris combined for our first attempt but it would go wide. As more fog rolled in, this time heavier, Lachie was beaten by a long ball lobbed over his head. I doubt that he could see where it was going. The conditions were not making it pretty for quality football but the boys would go the the break down only by one goal.

Unfortunately the luck wouldn’t last as Berowra found their rhythm with many more attempts than us in this half. With no reserves and Chris suffering a bad head cold it wasn’t long before Berowra was turning the boys inside out. When Chris took a heavy knock and came off there was little chance of stopping the onslaught. The final score would be 0-6, not pretty but what can you do with so little training or games due to the weather and no subs.

Cheers

JB (Manager)

Game 8, 25 June 2011 - U18A

Competition leaders Lindfield, without any subs was going to be a tough ask but the team worked hard, with Matt slotting into the Keepers role, something that he has had plenty of practice at over the years. The boys were holding well, Brock having the first shot but it wasn’t hard enough. He then took a corner kick, finding Connors head, the ball just skimming over the top bar. Josh H corked his knee in a heavy collision so the team had to play a man down for the last 5 mins of the half. It wasn’t until this time that Matt was really tested and he handled it easily. We were lucky not to be 2 men down as Chris and a Lindfield player received a Yellow Card for a bit of biffo, the score 0-0 at the break.

A lot more talk from the boys today as they sucked up air at every opportunity, though they were struggling at times. The defence certainly had their work cut out as Lindfield had a few corners in succession. Chris booted the ball clear as he ran in behind Matt who had been beaten by the ball. In another scramble in the box Lindfield had a ball deflect off one of our boys, the ball beating Matt after he thought he had it covered until the deflection. We had a few more chances as Josh M had one go wide and Daniel had what everybody thought was the equaliser, but it hit the top bar and bounced away. Not to worry, a great effort against the top runner in Div 1. Out of all the teams, we have given them the hardest games.

Cheers

JB (Manager)