Mount Colah Football Club

Round 13, 30 July 2011 - U13A v St Ives

What a great day for a game of soccer. Bright sun, no wind, and a ground with only a few soft patches (although one corner was a puddle after all the rain of the past few weeks). The Division has been re-graded into A, B and C sections and we are now matched up against St Ives B, Kissing Point B, and West Pymble A for the next 3 games. Today was St Ives, at Kent Oval. We were down 2 players; Bonnie away for the day, and Cam K out for the rest of the season after fracturing his wrist at baseball.

We kicked off, and were immediately under pressure from St Ives who camped in our half for most of the first 8 minutes. Matt had to pull off a couple of saves, and it seemed as though our guys were sleep-walking. At around 9 minutes the team woke up. Zac sent Nikki towards goal and it was a close-run thing, but the St Ives keeper covered well. From the resulting clearance one of our players sent in a high ball towards Nikki who controlled it, turned and ran at the keeper, beating him with a nice touch from the outside of his right foot. 1-0. Nikki had a long-range shot about a minute later, and Cam N put a through ball to Ayns, whose delicate chip shot beat the keeper but just cleared the bar. Midway through the half we forced a corner and in the goalmouth scramble, Georgina was in the right place at the right time... just off the post. A few minutes later Zac was marauding again. He got within 10 metres of goal and was just steadying to shoot when a St Ives defender hared into view and kept him busy for just long enough to prevent the shot. Great cover. Heading up to the 20 minute mark we mounted some more pressure. Cam N had a long-range shot, Ayns put in a beautiful cross that was scrambled to safety, and finally Ayns set Sam B up for a shot that found the top right of the net. Shortly after that Cam N shaved the outside of the upright, and then the momentum swung back to St Ives. Within the space of 2 minutes Matt had to come out to smother an attack, a St Ives player in a scoring position was called offside, and then Matt hung on to a great save above his head and just inside the right post. The arm wrestle continued until just before half time when a pass from Josh put Zac into the open. This time there was no stopping him, as he found the left side of the net for a 3-0 lead.

It looks like Rob's drilling on defence is paying off. Whenever St Ives broke through there were usually two or three Mt Colah players running back to cover, but they didn't all chase the ball player; they were moving into space to form a second and third line should the first player be beaten, and cover any attackers coming through. Greg, Samuel H, Nick and Lachlan did the bulk of the defensive work today with the midfield dropping back to provide reinforcements, and they defused just about every attack before St Ives could get a shot away.

So far so good, but last time we played St Ives they almost mowed down a 3-goal deficit so there was no relaxing for the second half. This time our players exploded out of the blocks. Maybe we need to pretend that it's always the second half? Two minutes in Sam B and Zac played the ball through to Ayns, who hit the post again. Three for the day! Except this one went in... At the 5 minute mark we were just outside the penalty area when the whistle blew for hand ball. Zac didn't hear it and scored - disallowed. No matter. He took the free kick and curled a beauty over the wall, into the top left corner. St Ives responded immediately with an attack of their own, and Samuel H made a great covering run, pushing the ball out for a corner. He was there again to clear the corner, running the ball out to half way, but St Ives came back again and we only finally cleared the ball from a free kick. Nine minutes in Nikki got another opportunity, and scored his second for the day. Shortly afterward Sam B passed to Ayns who had some work to do before a close-range finish made it 7-0.

It wasn't over yet. St Ives was on the warpath again, and another foray down the left was cut off by Georgia who had moved into defence. Our turn again, and a sequence of play involving Sam B, Nikki and Zac ended with a good save from the St Ives keeper. A minute or so later Zac took another shot across the goalmouth. It rebounded off the post, Ayns swooped, and unfortunately copped one in the ankle from a defender. Nothing wrong with the tackle itself but Ayns came off for a few minutes to recover. Then a St Ives player went down in mid-pitch. He'd gone for a ball and clashed heads with a Mt Colah player, who was completely unaffected, but play was stopped for a minute or so to let him find his feet again. At the 20 minute mark it looked like Zac had put us up 8-0 but the flag went up for offside.

The final 10 minutes were entertaining and evenly matched. Both teams wanted to score, but the defence was having none of it. Matt had to put in a couple of scrambling saves. The most dangerous moment came when he lost control of the ball, but one of our defenders (I think it was Nick), cleared the ball to safety. Another moment involved an entertaining, and apparently nonchalant, one-handed juggle as he ran out to clear another ball downfield. The final minute or so found St Ives on the attack again, but offside at the crucial moment. And so it finished 7-0, and our guys came off feeling very pleased with themselves. They are getting much better at keeping the momentum going; we just need to work out what to do about the first 10 minutes.

In a match where everyone played well, individually and as a team, the gongs this week went to Nick for his defensive work and to Josh, who lurked with intent and was involved in the buildup to several of the goals. The next 2 weeks will be interesting. West Pymble and Kissing Point played out a 1-1 draw in the other game, so we are now 2 points clear but with two tough matches coming up. If we can hold it together a premiership beckons.

Denis (Manager)

Round 11, 16 July 2011 - U13A v Lane Cove B

At last, the round that completed the full series of matches against all the other teams in our division. We were away to Lane Cove, playing at Blackman with Cam K and Greg away, and Matthew with a sore right arm. With no other obvious subs, he took his place in goal and the backs were instructed to keep the ball away from him. These games during the holidays are often bargaining time. Lane cove had 8 regulars away, so they had borrowed 6 U12 players. Their stand-in coach didn't even know their names...

Anyway, to the game. Lane Cove kicked off, headed down field, and were stopped in their tracks. It was clear that our guys were ready to play, and the ball quickly got down to Lane Cove's end where it stayed for much of the first half. In the 7th minute Sam B put Zac through a gap, but his shot was handled easily. A minute later Cam N shot from the right, also not really troubling the keeper, and just on 10 minutes some great lead-up work saw Nikki break clear, only to shoot wide. 90 seconds later Nikki pounced on a goal kick and passed back to set Zac up, and this time the ball found the back of the net.

We hadn't really seen the Lane Cove keeper in action to this point but in the next 15 minutes or so he excelled himself. He pulled off three brilliant saves to deny Sam B, Ayns and Zac, but he couldn't keep them all out. Midway through the half Zac, operating in the midfield, put Ayns away with a nice touch. Ayns took off from half way, drifted to the right, and let fly from just outside the area. We thought it was too far out but the keeper couldn't handle it and we were up 2-0. Five minutes from half time Zac had another go. This time the keeper stopped it but Zac cleaned up the rebound with his left foot. 90 seconds later it was Josh's turn. Ayns crossed one in from the right and Josh first-timed it from close range.

Lane Cove got on the board just shy of half time. They had been down there a few times, with most of their forays snuffed out quickly. Matthew defused a couple by timing his run and booting the ball to safety, but when a cross came in from a corner he could only watched as it was tapped into the net. With two good arms he'd have intercepted the ball, but Lane Cove got a reward for effort. Shortly after that it was half time and we went to the break 4-1 up.

The whistle blew for the second half, we kicked off, and quickly moved down field. The ball got stuck in the midfield for a while but then a through ball set Zac up for a one-on-one with the keeper. Zac got his hat-trick and it was 5-1. You'd think it was all about attack but our defence and midfield had a busy game. Sam H, Nick, Bonnie and Lachlan made a solid quartet, Sam B and Cam N were everywhere in the midfield, Georgina worked hard on the left midfield and up front. With only 1 sub our guys were getting a bit puffed; it was a high energy game. Matt got his hands on the ball early in the half, and up the other end Nikki and Zac were teaming up again. Just on 6 minutes Nikki passed back to Zac, who found the left side of the net. Sam B tried again a couple of minutes later from a corner, and shot wide, then Nikki had a couple of shots saved. He must have been thinking 'If I can't score I'll pas to someone who can' because just on 11 minutes he set Zac up again, and we were up 7-1 with the flood gates apparently set to open.

Nobody told the Lane Cove keeper. He was inspired, defusing free kicks, closing down angles, and nothing else got past him. We launched attack after attack, Lane Cove responded in kind and had our defence scrambling a few times, and Nikki couldn't buy a goal. About a dozen shots were stopped, deflected, or wide; Zac was denied a couple of times, as were Josh and Cam, but the final whistle blew with the final scoreline unchanged for the last 20 minutes.

It was hard to pick the players of the match. Zac and Sam H had huge games; Cam and Sam B were in just about everything; but the gongs this week went to Nikki for his tireless efforts and for setting up several goals with intelligent play, and to Lachlan who worked hard on the right flank to stymie quite a few Lane Cove attacks. Well played guys, when the draw comes out later in the week we will have a better idea of how the rest of the season is shaping. Thanks to the KDSA refs, and to Lane Cove for providing the second linesman.

Denis

Game 3, 2 July - U13 v North Sydney Boys

A rescheduled game from the washed-out third round saw us lining up against NSBH, on a slightly soggy Lofberg Oval but with bright sunshine. Georgia was missing again, called away for Gang Show rehearsals and performances, but everyone else was present and (apparently) ready to go.

This was a fast-moving game. North Sydney kicked off and went on the attack, then we countered, and for the first couple of minutes the ball went from end to end. Just short of the 5 minute mark their danger man got the ball deep in his half and hared down the left, making his way toward goal. Sam H read the play and was there to block the shot. Thirty seconds later we forced a corner on the right flank. They got another couple of shots in the next few minutes, and had most of the possession and territory in the opening stages. Much of North Sydney's play focused on their main player, who was making life difficult for our midfield and defence. Our midfield hadn't adjusted to the conditions, and many of our passes were stopping short and ending up with North Sydney. But around the middle of the half there were signs that we were starting to switch on, with Nikki getting a half-chance around 12 minutes and another goalmouth scramble resulting in a penalty for hand-ball. Zac stepped up to the spot, moved in and got the ball beautifully within a metre of the left post... wide. They replaced the ball soon after because it was going flat. I'll bet he would have liked another chance with a properly inflated ball!

North Sydney had some pace in their forwards and used it well. Sam H scrambled another ball out for a corner, there was a bit more movement up and down the pitch and then North Sydney scored the first goal of the game, from a runaway. Two minutes later Sam B put Cam N through but the shot was wide; likewise, Nikki was off target but the intent was there, and a long throw from Cam K was sent on by Sam B for Zac, who made no mistake with the equaliser at 22 minutes. The final goal for the half came about a minute from the break, when Sam H put a great ball from defence, just over the head of Ayns who scored a runaway goal of his own.

Rob's pep talk got the team's minds back on track, the snakes got their sugar levels up, and a different team emerged for the second half. North Sydney's energy levels hadn't changed from the first half but their coach rejigged the players' positions a bit, putting their best player in a more defensive role, which largely neutralised him for the rest of the game. But they came out firing, and 4 minutes in had their equaliser, courtesy of another runaway from halfway. At that point it might have gone either way. North Sydney had two shots go across the goalmouth, another rebound off the post, and several others that came to nothing. A good bit of the credit needs to go to our defence, which scrambled well and didn't give North Sydney the time and space they had enjoyed earlier in the match. Greg, Nick, Lachie and Bonnie covered each other well, ensuring that any breaks in the line closed up before North Sydney could capitalise.

We hit the lead again courtesy of Sam H who had come into the midfield from his more usual defensive role. There was a scramble from a corner, and he put the ball in the top right corner of the net. Less than a minute later Zac let go with a shot that was well saved by their keeper, then North Sydney had a couple of minutes down our end, including a free kick that went wide. Nikki opened his account midway through the half. Some good interplay from our midfield found him about 20 metres out with momentum, and a couple of players to beat. He did just that, and buried the shot. The next 10 minutes or so were an arm wrestle. Matthew had to make a couple of saves, we did a fair bit of defending, but there weren't any real chances. Then, with 5 minutes to go, we found another gear. Aynsley got a great through ball, and did just enough to beat the keeper one on one. Their defence was getting a bit flustered and the keeper came off his line a couple of times to try to defuse the situation. At one stage he had come way out to the right and the ball eluded him. Zac circled around and shot into an empty net. But the final one was just bad luck. Ayns was charging for a ball on the edge of the area, the keeper came out to clear it, and got there first. Unfortunately for him the ball rebounded off Ayns for our seventh goal of the day, and the keeper was left hobbling from the impact.

That was pretty well it. The 7-2 scoreline flattered us but we did finish the stronger side, and we have remained in the leading group of three. Now for a week off, then we play Lane Cove, by which time we will have played everyone once. Have a good break guys, and let's see what we can do in the last half dozen rounds. Thanks to Craig for refereeing, and to Murali for running the line.

Denis (Manager)

Game 11, 25 June - U13 v St Ives B

This will be brief because I was not able to be at the game, so the report comes from discussions with the coaches.

Back at Parklands where we tend to play well, against a team with a pretty good record for the season. We were missing Nikki and Georgia, and lost Sam H early to a hip injury, so most of the game was played without subs. We got out of the blocks quickly and went to the half-time break up 4-1, with some of the goals involving some great team play. But it wasn't all our way, with Matthew being called on to pull of a couple of good saves.

The second half saw a change in the script. St Ives reorganised, and put a girl who had been in defence, up front. She galvanised the attack, scoring one goal and setting up another. And the pace of the game saw us run out of puff, with a couple of our players carrying minor niggles for the last 15 minutes or so, as we scrambled to hold on to our then slender lead.

A mark of this team is that we don't concede many goals, and more often than not we have come out ahead in the tight matches. That is what happened today, with the final 4-3 scoreline keeping us in the top group. By all accounts it was a good match but might go down as an escape.

Denis (Manager)