Round 5 - U15 A Boys

U15A North Caulfield vs Doncaster Rovers 24th May

McKinnon Reserve looked in great condition with an even grass cover and a few extras thrown in. These included a cricket pitch, no change rooms , no canteen but we did get the singing toilets! Chris forgot to bring the cricket gear, this really was not pucker for an Englishman.
We began with Luke in goal, Chris S was sweeping, Chris T and Daniel were playing as twin Central Defenders whilst Elliot and Matt V were playing as wide wing backs on the left and right respectively. Nik D was welcomed back into the side and played as a defensive Central Midfielder, flanked by Alex on the right and Drew on the left with Michael P and Mitch as twin strikers.
The game began with some enterprising play by both sides with good passing and attacks on goal. Rovers looked the better side but could not mount any strong attacks on goal for a while. NC had a sprinkling of good players but were more into “bomb and hope” style of play. They did receive a few soft free kicks for hands in the back, the boys really need to learn to “hold them with the hips” so they don’t back into them.
On one of the free kicks NC had a terrific shot on goal that was brilliantly held by Luke much to the dismay of the opposition coach who was claiming a goal before it got to the keeper. Nik D had a couple of shots on goal but the keeper cleaned up to keep the score sheet blank.
With about 5 minutes to go Drew received the ball in space near the centre and proceeded to dribble the ball past a couple of defenders then around the goalie for our first goal of the game. We were on the board and the game went up a gear as Rovers took control and really pushed NC into errors. In another good forward move Drew passed to Elliot who rushed forwards only to get his shirt pulled. Nik took the resulting free kick and buried the ball in the back of the net with a well taken kick from 20 metres out, which gave the keeper no chance. Boom, Boom!
Matt D came on and was soon under notice with a good run and shot at goal that cannoned against the corner of the frame.

Half-time score: North Caulfield 0 : Rovers 2

In the second half the boys kept having a go with some good passing at times that opened the play up for the forwards. Several times Matt D, Matt V, Mitch and Alex came close to scoring and were given no assistance by the Ref who turned his blind eye to obvious shirt pulling by NC. Incidentally, his blind eye was the one with the tape over it!
Steve came on and Dion to give a bit more drive down the wings with fresh legs after Elliot came off with a sore knee. We had our chances, particularly when Matt V beat his man and ran at the keeper but his shot lacked power and allowed the keeper an easy save.
Our defence was on top but we did manage to put ourselves under pressure mainly due to the lack of talking and general organization. All in all a good solid effort by the boys who are gaining in confidence and teaming better each game. Keep up the good work boys we can still make it to the top if we really want to.

Scores at full-time: North Caulfield 0 : Rovers 2

ROVERS - keep up the good passing, just a bit more talking LOUDLY will help!

Round 5 - U15 Girls

It was great to see our girls capitalise on their chances today with a solid performance and a brilliant first half display of football which saw them 6-0 winners against South Melbourne. As we discussed in the past 2 weeks, life is about taking your chances and our girls were certainly more clinical today on the football pitch after a solid session at this weeks training where coach Lee worked on shooting and finishing techniques.

The first half display by all players was very impressive with some of the best football combinations and movements they have put together this year. They certainly exploited the oppositions weakness and finished strongly after some free flowing build ups and composed passing. The defence was solid, the midfield more creative and the forwards clinical in taking their opportunities. Natasha, Jordan and Adriana scored lovely goals and we went up a remarkable 6-0 at half time. Our coach Lee at half time challenged the girls in the second half to be focused on playing good football that maintained possession and focused more on passing than building the score board. They say in life "you should be careful what you wish for" as our girls certainly listened to their coaches advice and failed to add to the score in the second half but they did try a few different moves and some girls played out of their normal position. South Melbourne were certainly more focused and determined in the second half but our girls never gave them any chance or room to be a threat, in fact South Melbourne never looked like scoring. I believe the game could have gone all afternoon and our girls in defence would have kept the sheet clean.

Well done to all the girls today as they all contributed to the teams success.

Highlights from this weeks game:-
Natashia for scoring 3 great goals and adding composure to our forward line in the first half.
Jordan Moloney for scoring 2 goals and some good passing and thru balls to the forward line
Adriana for turning her defender and scoring a nice goal. Also for successfully utilising a spin movement we worked on at training on Thursday night.
Liz, Ellen, Narin, Christina, Carmen, Cristina and Holly for a solid defensive effort
Jordy for some composed passing in the first half to help set up some goals.
Kelsey for playing out of position and never giving in.
Happy Birthday and well played to Izabella
Narin for taking over the captains role from an injured Rachel

See you all at training on Tuesday 7pm at Donvale Reserve.