Its been a while I know but I thought I should get off the couch and write a catch up report on the girls last 4 games to ensure we capture the girls entire season in ink.
Fair to say the results have been like a smorgasbord at the local pub... lots of variety, some times a little tough but some real gems in there as well...2 draws, a win and a loss... I believe the competition is improving and the opposition defences are getting better but the rover girls continue to play the best football in terms of overall passing and team play but they need to work on converting these into goals.
What seems like an eternity away now, we all ventured to Berwick 4 weeks ago to take on the top side after a stunning victory the week prior against another top side, Kensington. It was a windy day and we were down several key players so we knew it was always going to be a tough day out but the girls did well to hold Berwick to a 1-1 score deep into the second half. A draw would have been a good result but then Berwick scored a second goal which opened the flood gates in the last 10 mins seeing us go down 5-1 in our biggest defeat of the season. We were proud that the girls at least went down fighting with some tough but fair tackles, despite being out played by a better team on the day.
The following week we were again away to South Melbourne and it was fair to say they are a much improved side and despite leading 1 - 0 from a nice determined goal by Kelsey the match ended 1-1 and it was probably a fair result to both sides as neither side was able to convert their remaining chances.
We then returned home to play the bottom side Glen Ira, who like South Melbourne, have improved dramatically. In what turned out to be a tough match the girls found themselves 1-1 at half time. Early in the second half rovers scored a lovely goal when Jordan Moloney received a great ball on the edge of the area and nicely turned her defender and then laid an unselfish pass to Natasha who slotted the ball home with a great shot. We thought we had them at this stage but Glen Ira scored a goal after a penalty was awarded. Natasha then converted for a third and just before full time under the instruction of coach Lee she scored an amazing 4th goal - aimed a corner at the goal keeper which was a lovely weighted cross that got some assistance from the wind and went into the far corner of the net...would love to see that again on video.
Last week we ventured out to the wild west and played our old rivals Keilor. I am not sure what they feed them out there but their girls are certainly much larger in stature than ours. Anyway in one of the worst referee displays I have seen in a long time our girls played some great football and were clearly the dominant side on the day. We led 1-0 late into the game after Kelsey scored one of the best goals of the season. It started in defence with some great tackling and a subsequent quick pass to the midfield then a well weighted pass to Kelsey who picked the ball up on the half way line and beat 2 defenders, one who tried to cut her down. With the after burners well and truly on she then went head to head with keeper where she let the keeper make the first move before hammering the ball into the corner of the net...another video classic.
Other highlights include our defence which played tremendously all day with a couple of the defence girls getting the coaches votes. I also thought both Cristina and Katherine who came off the bench, both had great games and when asked to do certain jobs by the coach they did them exceptionally well. All the girls need to be more confident to shoot as we had many chances to shoot but instead took several extra touches or tried to pass to players that were marked. The aim of the game is to put that ball in the back of the net girls....
As I mentioned, the referee was very disappointing, he was only young but his inability to pick out obvious free kicks for both sides led to many dangerous tackles and subsequent injuries that a good referee would have prevented. The coach from Kelior and I were both amazed at his inability to blow his whistle for obvious free kicks. Like any sport the players are hard at the ball but can make mistakes or let their emotions get the better of them. I have a concern that these young referees can not stamp their authority on the game which makes it dangerous for the girls on both sides. I will take it up with the club as I believe the Federation needs to address this in the future.
So we are down to the last 2 games of the season and next week at home we have our so called play off against Boroondara for third spot on the ladder. Effectively, who ever wins the game next Sunday will finish third whilst Kensington and Berwick will fight it out for top spot.
Go Rovers...
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