Saturday, 28 June (away) vs Sandringham
Win's a win at Sandy
With Atomica Coffee Coach of the Month on international duty in the UK, the Y1s travelled to the bayside suburbs in a bid to continue its unblemished record against an unknown quantity in Sandringham.
Talk on the sidelines prior to kick-off was that the home team would look to take it up to their highly-fancied opponents, with Sandy coming off a strong win the previous week against Casey Comets. Despite the build-up, the match started as a scrappy affair and never took off from there. A sticky, bumpy surface and two teams intent on crowding the ball made for a dour battle largely across midfield.
Despite the Y1s inability to find their slick passing game, a moment of class in front of goal had Doncaster one up after 10 minutes, when Alexander executed a deft flick over the advancing Sandy keeper following a smart cross from Ari on the left. With possession tilting slightly towards the home team, the Y1s were working hard to find their rhythm while a rotating backline of Jeremy, Jason, Lachie, Anton and Matt H managed to negate Sandy's attackers who were looking dangerous on the break. A second goal was needed to swing the pendulum in our favour, and it came 20 minutes in when Jonathon S broke through from a midfield scramble and ran into a one-on-one position with the keeper, slotting the ball home to take the wind out of Sandy's sails.
So, 2-0 at the break and it was a strangely subdued Doncaster Rovers that gathered for the half-time talk, the make-shift coaching panel under pressure to ignite the spark that has carried the boys to an impressive string of victories through the year. Perhaps they were yearning for the Exley touch, or were they in the midst of a mid-season trough?
The second half started much like the first, and it was clear we were going to have to battle for our win. Matt V, Jonathon N, Jacob, James and Jonathon S were trying to cover the vast spaces between attack and defence, while Yianni, Ari and Alexander were looking to make the most of the half chances that were coming their way. With Sandy looking dangerous from corners, Kirk was forced into action on a few occasions and looked solid in keeping out a couple of long range efforts.
A goal for Sandy would put them back in the game, but we managed to find the sealer with 10 minutes to play when Ari and Jonathon S exchanged passes on the left allowing Jonathon to break through and fire a shot toward the far corner. Yianni was on the spot to tap in and make sure of Doncaster's third and deciding goal.
It wasn't pretty, but our poise in front of goal was the difference between the two teams. A bit to work on at training next week, with a focus on keeping our shape and recapturing our fluent passing game.
Thanks to Memo and Patrick who assisted on the day, and to the other parents who made the early-morning trek to support the boys.
Next week: Round 11 home match against DRSC 2, 9am kick-off at Anderson Park.
Season so far: P9, W9, D0, L0, Gls For 46, Gls Ag 8
C'mon the Y1s
