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Beaumaris Reserves v Dandenong City Match
Report
Venue: Beaumaris Reserve
Result: Beaumaris Reserves 5 -2 Dandenong City (3-0 HT)
Goalkeeper:
Matt
Barraza
Left
Back:
Nat Fogarty
Centre Half:
Mark
Muckley
Sweeper:
Mike Stone ©
Right
Back:
Peter Gregorczyk
Left Midfield:
Aaron Reinhardt
Holding
Midfield:
Dale Rawlinson
Attacking
Midfield: Carson
Backhouse
Right
Midfield:
Joel Morgan
Striker:
Derek Parry
Striker:
James Thornley
Ben Eastwood (right midfield 2nd Half)
Jules Bethall (Defensive midfield 2nd half)
Tom Wyatt (Attacking midfield 2nd Half)
None
J
Derek Parry (2)
Aaron Reinhardt (2) (1 - penalty)
Mark Muckley
It's difficult to complain too much when you win 5-2 and end
find yourself 2nd on the ladder but maybe it's a mark of the
standards we have set ourselves for this season that I'm going to. Let's not
kid ourselves, whilst we may have won the game at something of a canter it was
probably the worst 90 minutes we've played so far this year. OK the weather was
poor and our home ground is wearing badly in places but that shouldn't stop us
playing football the way we want to play it. Like the pitch, we played in
distinct patches. From time to time we played some nice stuff with passing
triangles and switching the play from one flank to another but we also gave
away possession too easily a lot of the time, failed to play the simple pass
when it was available and lost concentration. If players from the Reserves are
hoping to get noticed and rewarded with a game in the Seniors then we need to
improve in all areas.
So, having got the negative stuff out of the way let's
consider the positives:
As per every game so far this season there were changes to the
squad. We welcomed another new face in Carson Backhouse. Carson has been
training for a few weeks but this was his first appearing in a Beaumaris shirt.
Joel Morgan was rewarded for a great second half performance against Seaford
with not only a start on the right wing but also a call up to the Seniors bench
which meant he would only play just over half of the game. Unfortunately Joel's
elevation meant Tom Wyatt, who had played well against Seaford, found himself
on the bench. We also welcomed Jules Bethall back from injury. Jules was
actually named in the 3rds squad for the following day but turned up with his
kit anyway and got a spot on the bench as Andy Walker was missing. Probably the
most unlucky player was Rom Fortunato. Rom came off the bench and scored twice
the week before but it was felt that he'd benefit more from 90 minutes in the
3rds than 30 minutes in the reserves.
During the team talk before the game we were told that given
the conditions it was important that we keep the ball on the ground and pass
and move. Dandenong looked like they'd be a physical side and the best way to
beat a physical team is the have them chasing the ball for long periods. We
were also told that they were likely to play with one up front and pack the
midfield making it hard for us to play, but that if we kept to our game
and our 4-4-2 structure it would create gaps that we could capitalize on. At
the back the instructions we to look to switch play whenever we could, play the
simple ball rather than a long punt upfield and to try to move the ball
quickly. In midfield the instructions were to keep our shape with Dale not
dropping too deep, the wingers staying wide to make space and Carson to push on
to assist the front two. Recognising the strengths of our front two the
instructions were to play the ball to Degsy's feet and then to support him
whereas James was most effective with the ball into space in front of him. We
then took to the field with the confidence of a team that has won its last 3
games, scoring 20 goals into the bargain. If there's one huge positive to take
from the season so far it's that we always look like we'll score goals. Whilst
it's disappointing to have gone 7 games without a clean sheet it's easier to
accept when we are top scorers by 8 goals.
The game started with Beaumaris getting the ball down and
playing some nice passing stuff but it didn't last. Although we had the
majority of the possession and never really looked under any threat we didn't
have the incisiveness that we'd displayed the previous week against Seaford.
When we did play our game we looked good and seemed to be finding it pretty
easy to get around the back of a fairly static defense. When we didn't we
looked pretty ordinary and not much of a threat. However, the pressure was
always likely to force Dandenong into errors that would cost them and so it
proved. About twenty minutes into the game a deep cross from the right by Pete
Gregorczyk was flapped at by the Dandenong goalkeeper. As it dropped towards
the goal line near the back post Degsy was on the mark to get the slightest of
touches to carry it over. There was some confusion as to whether the goal was
Degsy's or Pete's but either way it was a goal and the lead we needed.
Eventually Degsy admitted that he had the final touch as he wasn't sure if
there was a defender behind him who might have managed to clear it. That's
strikers for you - greedy to a fault
J. Soon afterwards a cross from the
left managed to avoid players at the near post and squirmed its way to the edge
of the six yard box where a Dandenong fullback took a swipe at it only for the
ball to fly up off his boot, onto his hand and back down to his feet. The ref
saw it as a foul and pointed to the spot. Up stepped Aaron who is becoming our
de facto penalty taker. The goalkeeper guessed the correct way but the finish
was too accurate for him and we were 2-0 up. Not long after that we were
awarded a free kick about 30 yards out. The goalkeeper organized a wall and
most of our forwards ( and their defence) moved towards the far post for the
inevitable cross - apart from Mark Muckley who stood just behind the wall all
on his own. Instead of putting in the cross Mike slid a pass along the ground
wide of the wall which Mark ran onto and turned past the goalkeeper to finish
off a lovely move. 3-0 and at this point the score flattered us. We hadn't too
much that was badly wrong but we hadn't done too much good work either.
However, we were working hard and getting the rewards for the pressure we had
put on the opposition. For the rest of the half we continued to bluster
on (much like the weather) but without any end result.
At half time we squelched in to the dressing room to receive a
dressing down from Coach Papas for a very disappointing performance. We were
urged to move the ball a bit quicker, to shoot when we had the opportunity and
keep up the workrate as the opposition were tiring. At half time Carson
revealed he had a slight hamstring pull so he was taken off as a precaution and
Tom Wyatt took up the attacking midfield role.
We started the second half well and passed the ball around
nicely but without any end result. Meanwhile Dandenong had decided that attack
was the better form of defense and had pushed more players into forward
positions. They also started to play more diagonal balls over the defence. Most
of the time these were coped with easily but we've struggled all season to
defend properly for 90 minutes. This week was no exception and after holding
our line well for about ten minutes we inexplicably forgot and tracked back
with runners. One player who decides to track back when the other three are
holding their line makes the line useless and by doing this we gifted Dandenong
an opportunity to get back into the game which they duly did, beating Matt with
a one-on-one chance that he could do little to keep out. With the goal came
some encouragement for Dandenong and they pressed forward causing the defence
to make some more sloppy mistakes. Fortunately they didn't cost us a goal and a
quick break down the left by Aaron produced a diagonal ball across the
Dandenong back four. Degsy won the footrace to the all and lifted it over the
outrushing keeper. One bounce later it was in the back of the net and we had a
3 goal cushion again. We failed to capitalize any further however and on almost
their next attack Dandenong forced a corner. The resulting cross came over and
found a Dandenong player on the 6 yard line who was completely unmarked. He
dispatched a fine header into the corner and we had conceded another soft goal.
Thankfully, on almost our next attack we forced a corner. Aaron's cross was low
and hard to Degsy who let it slip through his legs and into the far corner.
Happily for Aaron Degsy didn't try to claim a hat trick and the goal was
credited to the corner taker.
For the rest of the game we hustled and bustled without really
coming too close to scoring. Equally, Dandenong threw more and more men up
front (ending playing something like 3-3-4) but failed to create anything
dangerous and the final whistle saved everyone further punishment. We trooped
off into the changing rooms for some warmth and another rendition of the club
song.
It wasn't a game for the purists and we didn't play anything
like as well as we had done the week before but we still managed to score five
goals. It's disappointing that we conceded two soft goals but we can and will
improve in that area in the coming weeks. Maybe it's a good sign that we won
easily without playing well. Hopefully we won't have too many games like that
this season.
As usual, thanks to the supporters who continue to turn up in
numbers on a pretty foul day. We really appreciate everyone turning up and next
time we'll try to reward you with some better weather and better football.
Mike Beaumaris Reserves v Seaford (Away) Match
Report
Venue: Beaumaris Reserves
Result: Beaumaris Reserves 6 -1 Seaford (2-0 HT)
Goalkeeper:
Matt
Barraza
Left
Back:
Nat Fogarty
Centre Half:
Mark
Muckley
Sweeper:
Mike Stone ©
Right Back:
Peter Gregorczyk
Left Midfield:
Aaron Reinhardt
Holding
Midfield:
Dale Rawlinson
Attacking
Midfield: Andy Walker
Right
Midfield:
Tom Wyatt
Striker:
Derek Parry
Striker:
James Thornley
Ben Eastwood (left midfield 2nd half)
Rom Fortunato (striker 2nd half)
Joel Morgan (right midfield 2nd half)
None
J
Aaron Reinhardt (penalty)
James Thornley
Derek Parry
Rom Fortunato (2)
Own Goal
The only disappointment from our trip to Seaford was that we
started the day 3rd on the ladder and were still 3rd when
we finished. Apart from that it was an extremely good day in the office for
everyone concerned. Week 6 saw the now obligatory squad changes with long
awaited and welcome returns for Derek "Degsy" Parry and Joel Morgan after
injuries. Dale Rawlinson was rewarded for a great second half performance the
week before by being restored to the starting line up. In the same vein, Peter
Gregorczyk and Tom Wyatt were handed starts after showing well the previous
week.
Seaford's form before Saturday had been not dissimilar to our own
as they had lost to Old Carey, and drawn to Keilor Wolves. Worryingly,
they'd beaten Endeavour Hills 11-0 away in the season opener but had since
drawn with Noble Park who we put 10 past. In short, they were a Jekyll and Hyde
team. What wasn't clear was which Seaford team was going to show up against us.
Last season Seaford finished 3rd from bottom in the same league as
us. They were a physical side without being dirty and were mostly older players
with a few young ones thrown in. We expected them to be the same this season so
we were surprised to see a predominantly youthful side warm up on the opposite
side of the pitch whilst Aaron was leading the traditional Brazilian warm up.
However, their warm up showed that maybe their first touch could do with
some improvement and in the changing rooms for the pre-match instructions Coach
Papas advised us to start quickly and pressure them from the off, hoping to
force a few errors that we could capitalize on. Other words of wisdom were to
play the ball to Degsy's feet as he's not the greyhound he once was but to also
continue to make runs as he'd play the pass more often than not. John's words
are proving to be well worth listening to and this week was no exception.
The half started with our kick off and unlike previous games were
quick out of the traps with some lovely passing and moving possession football
that had Seaford chasing shadows. The midweek practice designed to help the
back four keep possession and switch play was working a treat and the ball was
moving quickly from flank to flank, stretching the Seaford formation and
creating spaces everywhere. It was quite possibly the best passage of football
the Ressies had played since the season began and we soon had the reward the
play so richly deserved. As instructed, Aaron played the ball into Degsy who
turned and moved into the box inviting a tackle. Having been forced slightly
wide the Seaford full back went in for a challenge only for Degsy to push the
ball out of reach and go down due to the contact of the follow through. The
whistle went and the ref duly pointed to the spot much to the disagreement of a
vocal Seaford centre half called "Red" (more of whom to follow). Aaron claimed
the ball, placed it on the spot and put it wide to the goalkeeper's right for a
smart finish. 1-0 and the very least we deserved for some concerted pressure
and possession football. We tried to repeat the trick a few minutes later but
this time the ref saw it differently and had a word with Degsy for "simulation"
as it's now known (or diving as we used to call it). By this time Red was
demonstrating that his name wasn't due to his hair as I had originally thought
but was in fact down to the colour his face turns when he gets upset. If his
mood could be described as simmering at this point he soon elevated it to
boiling when a through ball caught the defence square and the only person not
to stop and claim offside was James Thornley who bore down on the goalkeeper,
striking the ball from the edge of the box into the bottom left hand corner for
a fine second goal. At this point Red looked like an embolism was on the cards.
He couldn't believe that Ben hadn't given offside despite the fact that James
was a good couple of yards onside when the ball was played. And so it continued
for the next fifteen of the half with Beaumaris having the lion's share of
possession and moving the ball around well. Matt was a virtual spectator. The
few attacks that Seaford did muster were cut out very quickly either by the
midfield or the back four. Then, with about ten minutes to go and with
Beaumaris in almost total control, we conceded a sloppy goal. A desperate
clearance out of the Seaford defence somehow found a gap in the back four. The
Seaford number 11 showed some pace to outsprint Pete to the ball on the
touchline and cut in towards the edge of the box. Pete made a tackle that
nearly nicked the ball off him. Mark had another go with similar results and
the number 11 toe poked the ball along the 18 yard line. Nat, who had done his
job and come inside from the left swung a leg to clear it but only managed to
do so into Mike's chest and the ball dropped perfectly for the Seaford number 9
to slot past Matt. On the one hand they took their chance well. On the other we
were sloppy and should have done better. Either way they suddenly had a spring
in their step as they saw that they had a chance to come back into the game and
started to apply some pressure. Thankfully we held firm and continued to play
our brand of football. Bt the half time whistle we had weathered the worst of
the storm and the midfield were just starting to assert their superiority once
more.
At half time John made a few adjustments. Pete came off as he was
required on the bench for the 1st team. Ben came on into left
midfield and Aaron demonstrated his versatility by dropping into right back.
Degsy, who had been expected to come off at half time reckoned he was OK to
give it another ten minutes or so that was the only change we made. John then
implored the team to reestablish their grip on the game by more passing and
switching play. Most important was to get Seaford chasing the ball once more
and not give them the opportunity to get back into the game. Another pearl of
wisdom was to take the opportunity to shoot from distance when we had it and
for the forwards to follow it in.
The second half started very much like the first. We quickly won
possession and kept it for long periods. I'm considering renaming our coach
John "Nostradamus" Papas as about five minutes in Tom Wyatt (I think) was
presented with a shooting opportunity which he took. The goalkeeper spilled the
ball and Degsy was following it up to poke it over the line, much to the
annoyance of our friend Red. At that point Degsy decided to milk the applause
by taking himself off. Red said "By bye Pops" which was very humorous since
Degs had created the penalty, had in the rack pretty much all the first half
and then beaten him to score in the second half. Degs was replaced by the fresh
legs of Rom whilst Tom, who had said he was suffering at half time, was left on
for a while longer as he'd been having a field day against the Seaford left
back all game. The decision to leave Tom on proved to be a good one as in
almost the next attack of the game Tom went past the left back for the
umpteenth time, pulled back a fine low cross to Rom who timed his run to the
front post and swept the ball past a goalkeeper who hadn't done much wrong but
who had still conceded 4. As a reward for his efforts Tom was given a rest and
was replaced by Joel for his first run out of the season. What followed was
pretty much more of the same as we continued to attack at will. The wingers
were finding plenty of space as we stretched Seaford on a big pitch. They were
also making good use of that space as Ben got around the back once more, put
over a fine cross that a Seaford defender decided to put into his own net.
Around this point Red was taken off to save himself further punishment (and
quite possibly a stroke). He outlasted "Pops" Parry by a good five minutes but
hadn't anything like the same impact on the game. Shortly afterwards Rom found
himself with the ball at his feet in the middle of the box. After a bit of
Samba style footwork he managed to work some space and put a right foot shot
past a thoroughly deflated goalkeeper.
Eventually the referee brought the game to an end. Although I've
concentrated on our attacking football I should say that everyone played their
part. Nobody had a bad game and it's great to see how we can swap players in
and out and continue to play great football. The back four were solid pretty
much throughout. Apart from picking the ball out of the net once, Matt caught a
few crosses, took a few goalkicks and jogged about to keep warm. He really had
little to do but what he did have to do he did well. Matt is improving with
every game. His technique is really coming along and he's proving to be the
surprise find of the season. Nat had a great game at left back and ran himself
into the ground. Mark was strong throughout and Pete and Aaron had great halves
at right back. In midfield Dale was imperious and Andy Walker did everything
but score, linking really well with Dale and the forward line. The wingers were
a real threat all game with Tom showing his class and Joel showing just what a
strong bench we had on the day. The forwards were rampant and showed why we are
the clear leaders in the goals for column this season.
Last season scoring goals was the weakness in both the 1st
and Reserve teams. The Ressies have now scored 27 goals in 6 games and the
first are a goal behind the top scorers on 17. Both teams are playing a good
brand of football and the future looks very bright. We have a growing crowd who
seem to be enjoying watching both teams play and there's a great buzz around
the club.
Special mention this week to someone who didn't play for the
Reserves. Travis Chalk-Hatton didn't get a run in the Reserves in the first
game. In game 2 he was given his chance and he's made the most of it with his
reward a start in the 1st team in game 6. He scored the only goal of
the game in a hard fought 1-0 victory. I expect others to transition during the
course of the season and do a great job. Equally, some of the guys who are
getting a run in the 3rd team will get their chance in the Reserves
and I'm confident they'll do well.
This Saturday we are at home to Dandenong City who are currently 5th
on the ladder. It will be another test and a tough game. If we stick to our
game and play the way we know we can it'll be a great game.
Mike
Beaumaris Reserves v Brighton Match Report
Venue: Beaumaris Reserves
Result: Beaumaris Reserves 4 -1 Brighton (1-0 HT)
Goalkeeper:
Matt
Barraza
Left
Back:
Nat Fogarty
Centre Half:
Mark
Muckley
Sweeper:
Mike Stone ©
Right
Back:
Ben Eastwood
Left Midfield:
Aaron Reinhardt
Holding
Midfield:
Jono Bratt
Attacking
Midfield: Andy Walker
Right
Midfield:
Travis Chalk-Hatton
Striker:
Rom Fortunato
Striker:
James Thornley
Dale Rawlinson (holding midfield Half Time)
Tom Wyatt (attacking midfield 2nd Half)
Peter Gregorczyk (right back 2nd Half)
Mark Muckley (1st half foul)
James Thornley
Travis Chalk-Hatton (2)
Andy Walker
So game number 5 saw squad number 5 with some new faces
and the return of some others. This game saw two regular 1st team
players having a run out with the reserves. They were the central midfield pair
of Andy Walker and Jono Bratt. This meant that Dale Rawlinson was very unlucky
to find himself on the bench having played very well in the last two games that
included a 75 yard rising drive against Noble Park (OK - it was about 20 yards
but every time he tells it an extra 5 yards gets added on). Equally unlucky
were Tom Wyatt and Peter Gregorczyk to find themselves on the sidelines rather
than starting. The familiar faces making a return were James Thornley and Ben
Eastwood unavailable the previous weekend.
Brighton were a bit of an unknown quantity to us but had
won their previous three games against Dandenong Warriors, Noble Park and
Eltham North after an opening day defeat to Bayside Argonauts. As they took to
the field it became clear that they were a young side who would work hard and
give us a good game. And so it proved.
The first half was in all honesty a pretty even affair.
Beaumaris probably just shaded the possession but seemed to have got it into
their heads that any goal we scored had to be walked into the net. We played
some nice passing football but lacked the urgency to get the ball into the box
quickly and were generally guilty of dwelling too long and not taking the easy
early pass. It was a bit like watching Barcelona playing Manchester United a
few days earlier in that we were good up to the 18 yard line but didn't take
the opportunity to shoot when it was presented, instead trying to work the ball
into the congested area only for it to break down. This was despite a Thursday
night session which was designed to get players to take snap shots! Similarly
to the previous weekend, we were also guilty of running away from the man with
the ball rather than to him on too many occasions. For their part, Brighton
proved to be pretty well organized and worked hard for each other which meant
we in turn had to work hard for our share of the ball. Particularly effective,
though not pretty, was the Brighton 'keepers kicking from the hand which were
kicked so high that they seemed to be in danger of taking out light aircraft on
their way to Moorabbin airport before coming down to earth, bypassing the
midfield and as often as not taking one bounce to reach Matt in goal.
With about ten minutes left of the half, and with honours even, James
Thornley received the ball down the left channel, cut in onto the right and
tried a shot from outside the box. Although James swears it was going in all
the way the shot took a bit of a deflection which left the goalkeeper stranded.
We then continued to apply pressure without success until the ref blew for
halftime. We'd played pretty well without doing anything spectacular and had
probably just about deserved our lead in a tight fought contest. During the
first half Mark Muckley got booked for (if truth be known) one of a series of
fouls (though in his defence he was as much fouled against as he was fouling).
Either way, the ref saw fit to take Mark's name whereupon Mark decided to get
involved in every potential fracas for the remainder of the half, despite being
told to shut his mouth and walk away several times.
During half time Coach Papas made his normal balanced
comments on what was going well and what wasn't. He also made a tactical change
and brought Dale on in the holding midfield role, pushing Jono up to attacking
midfield and Andy Walker up front to replace Rom who had been guilty of holding
onto the ball a bit too long when an easy layoff had been available.
The second half started and the tactical switch had almost
immediate results. Travis, who had been a danger all through the first half,
got the ball wide down the right, got past his man and repeated James' trick of
getting a deflection past a stranded keeper. At 2-0 we looked like we could
steamroller Brighton who looked to have dropped their heads a little. Dale was
dominating the midfield with Jono, Travis and Aaron were causing problems down
the flanks and James and Andy were lively up front. At the back Nat, Ben and
Mike were having a reasonably easy time of it and Mark was trying out his
amateur psychology on the young Brighton forwards (combined with a bit of
physical intimidation). Eventually the extra pressure had to tell and it
was Travis again who finished smartly off the right hand side for the first
undeflected (if there is such a word) goal of the game. At 3-0 we were cruising
and he coach brought on the two remaining subs. Peter came on at right back to
replace Ben who was pushed up to right midfield to replace Travis who was being
rested for a spell on the bench for the 1sts, as was Jono who was replaced by
Tom Wyatt. We continued to put the Brighton defence under pressure. Some smart
work down the right ended with a sublime cross t the back post and an unmarked
Andy who somehow contrived to put the ball over from two yards. As Dale
commented at the time, it was shades of Ronnie Rosenthal at his best (YouTube
is bound to have a great range of Rosenthal howlers for those too young to
remember the Liverpool forward of the 80's). However, Andy made amends
soon afterwards to score his first and our fourth. At that point it all seemed
a bit too easy and the defence lost concentration for a few minutes in which
Brighton managed to miss a one on one chance with Matt but score a similar
chance a few minutes later (interspersed by a confrontation between Mark and
the Brighton right winger).
And that's how it ended. 4-1 was a reasonable reflected on
our dominance of the game and in the second half in particular we played some
very pleasing stuff, as the growing crowd would attest to. Ask Vice President
Joe Kiss - he commented after the game that the style of play that the 1sts and
reserves are playing right now is as good as he's ever seen Beaumaris teams
play. Mind you Joe is a goalkeeper (currently suspended after being sent off in
the Vets game ) so what does he know about passing and moving
J.
That result saw us move up to 3rd in the
ladder. Old Carey are top having won all 5 games. They are a good side but we
fancy our chances in the rematch. A good season is on the cards for us provided
we stick to what we do in training, work hard for each other and learn from our
mistakes.
Next weekend we are away to Seaford who are 6th. We're all looking forwards to it. Mike
Beaumaris Reserves v Noble Park Match Report
Date:
26th
April 2008
Venue:
Beaumaris Reserves
Result: Beaumaris Reserves 10 (ten) -3 Noble Park
(HT 6-1)
Squad: (4:4:2)
Goalkeeper:
Matt
Barraza Left
Back:
Nat Fogarty
Centre
Half:
Mark
Muckley
Sweeper:
Mike Stone ©
Right
Back:
Peter Gregorczyk
Left Midfield:
Joel Orlandini
Holding
Midfield:
Dale Rawlinson
Attacking
Midfield:
Erdem Mehmet
Right
Midfield:
Travis
Chalk-Hatton
Striker:
Rom Fortunato
Striker: Ange Bell Subs:
Aaron Reinhardt (left midfield 2nd Half)
Umut Ersezer (striker 2nd Half)
Tom Wyatt (attacking
midfield 2nd Half)
Bookings:
Peter Gregoczyk (failing
to drop back 10 yards from a free kick)
Goals:
Ange Bell
Joel Orlandini
Dale Rawlinson
Erdem Mehmet (2)
Travis Chalk-Hatton (3)
Rom Fortunato
Tom Wyatt
In the
match report for our loss to Old Carey I said we'd play worse this season and
win. That statement was written (unknowingly at the time) for this match.
On paper
this was a game we should have won at a canter as Noble Park had lost their
three games up to our match and had somehow managed to accumulate a points
total of -3 - presumably due to some indiscretion or other with the FFV.
However, as someone far wiser than me once wrote, football's played on grass
not paper. Of course that should now be amended to read that football is played
on mostly sand and a few tufts of grass but you get the picture.
After a
midweek draw that accumulated a couple of injuries, and with a couple more
players unavailable due to Anzac Day weekend travels, coach John "Rafa" Papas
rotated the squad once more. Back came Nat Fogarty, Tom Wyatt and Mike Stone
who had been rested in midweek and in came Ange Bell fit again after a
hamstring injury layoff. Out went injured Jules Bethall and unavailable James
Thornley and Ben Eastwood. Once again we were able to reap the benefits of
having a sizeable squad with real depth - we even had a couple of players turn
out for the 3rds on Sunday.
In the
changing rooms before the game John Papas gave the team the benefit of his
scouting of Noble Park a few weeks before and his observations on their
strengths and weaknesses were spot on. Sadly they were largely pearls before
swine as we failed to take heed of the warning on their strengths, instead
choosing to focus mainly on capitalising on the weaknesses. As a result we
failed to shut down their central midfielder who pulled the strings and equally
failed to nullify their striker who ran on to through balls from the
aforementioned midfielder but at least we managed to score a bucketload to
offset the three we let in. If I'm honest the first half saw us play our worst
football of the season so far. We ignored the training of pre-season and in
windy conditions played too many balls long and in the air. This was partly due
to players running away from the man with the ball rather than to him which
meant the player with the ball had two choices: hoof it upfield into the wind
or try to dribble out of trouble. Neither were things we'd done in training or
even done in games. In midfield the wide men stayed wide rather than tuck in as
instructed. The strikers tended to come out to the wings to try to collect the
long ball that hard mostly bypassed the midfield and the back line failed to
switch play and didn't use the easy ball when they had the chance. Altogether
it was a pretty disappointing display. Despite all that we managed to go into
half time 6-1 up and cruising with goals from Joel Orlandini, Ange Bell, Dale
Rawlinson, Rom Fortunato, and Erdem Mehmet (2). Even though we hadn't played
the passing and moving football we've prided ourselves on all season we were
still way too good for a struggling Noble Park who were having an absolutely
torrid time at the back. When you score six in a half it's hard to pick out
individual moments but Dale's rising drive from the edge of the box was
probably the pick of the bunch with Joel's chip over the outrushing keeper for
the opener a close second.
At
halftime we jogged back into the changing rooms feeling pleased with ourselves
only to get a thorough dressing down by the coach. As usual, all the
observations were correct and received no argument. We went back out for a
second half having had our game calmly dissected and had some expectations
realigned. It did the trick as our second half was much better to watch. We
returned to the style of play we had trained to play and made a thoroughly
demoralized opposition work hard to prevent it being a cricket score. During
this time Umut was brought on for Ange, Tom for Erdem and Aaron for Joel. None
of the changes disrupted the flow of our game and we continued to attack at
will with Travis particularly catching the eye. Truth be told Travis had played
well in the first half - the only criticism coach Papas had for him at
half time was that he deserved a goal and needed to shoot more. He obviously
took this to heart as he proceeded to score a second half hattrick, all of
which came from outside the box. Tom Wyatt also produced a fine toe poke past a
forlorn goalkeeper having shown well in his second half appearance.
All in
all the second half was a much better half for us as we got the ball down,
moved the ball well and kept it on the ground. If Aaron had tried to play some
of his colleagues in rather than shoot on sight and if Dale had decided not to
chip the goalkeeper from a 30 yard freekick then we might have scored even
more. The final whistle couldn't come soon enough for Noble Park but when it
did they trudged off thoroughly defeated. We then had a rendition of the club
song in the changing rooms that went on longer than Hertbreak Hotel, Stairway
to Heaven, Bat Out Of hell and Blue Monday played one after the other "Was it
one? No! Was it two? No!......Was in ten? YES! Was it easy? Oh yes!"
At one
point the Fat Lady was seen warming up on the sidelines. Thankfully for
everyone concerned the President has decided it's not becoming of a man of his
position these days so we were spared the experience. Once again - thanks must
go out to a large, vocal and supportive home crowd that included the seniors,
vets 3rds and the usual crowd that get behind us every week. Their support is
very much appreciated.
Our next
game is at home to Brighton at 1.00pm. I can't guarantee the same crowd
pleasing scoreline but hopefully it will be a good game of quality football for
everyone.
Keilor Wolves
v Beaumaris Reserves Match Report
Venue:
Darebin Sports complex
Result:
Keilor Wolves
3-3
Beaumaris Reserves (2-1 HT)
Goalkeeper:
Matt
Barraza Left
Back:
Joel Orlandini
Centre
Half:
Mark Muckley ©
Sweeper:
Neil Young
Right
Back:
Peter Gregorczyk
Left Midfield:
Matt O'Brien
Holding
Midfield:
Travis Chalk-Hatton
Attacking
Midfield: Jules Bethall
Right
Midfield:
Ben Eastwood
Striker:
Umut Ersezer
Striker:
James Thornley
Erdem Mehmet
Rom
Fortunato (did not play)
Dale Rawlinson
Derek Parry
None
James Thornley
Mark Muckley
Erdem Mehmet
Our third game of the season was a make up midweek
match under floodlights on the artificial turf at Darebin as Keilor's pitch was
deemed unfit for the season opener. Since that day Keilor had played two games,
drawing 1-1 with Seaford and then beating Dandenong City 1-0. So they entered
the game with what appeared to be a decent record and a solid defence. As a
result, the goalfest that followed was something of a surprise.
In recognition of the 3 games in 8 days, it was
decided a couple of weeks ago to make good use of our extensive squad. As a
result, a few lads (Rom Fortunato, Mike Stone and Nat Fogarty) who played in
the Saturday victory against Bayside stepped down to rest some weary legs and
some new blood was injected in the forms of Joel Orlandini, Neil Young, Matt
O'Brien, Umut Ersezer and a welcome return of Derek "Degsy" Parry from an
Achilles injury. Also missing were Tim Bernau and Aaron Reinhardt who picked up
injuries in the previous game.
After some last minute team changes were required,
primarily due to Erdem being stuck in rush hour traffic, Beaumaris took the
expansive artificial field with a new look captaincy team of Mark Muckley and
Jules Bethell. From the kickoff Beaumaris were bright beacons on a misty
floodlit pitch. Much of the pre-season training seemed to be paying off as
there was plenty of passing (on the floor) and movement when we had the ball
and closing down when we didn't. It didn't take too long to work out that
Keilor had a predominantly experienced team that weren't overly mobile or
blessed with a pacy back line. James Thornley was having an especially good
spell giving his full back a torrid time. James is quick and direct: the
fullback was slow, overweight and carrying a very heavy knee brace. It just
wasn't a fair contest and James was going by him pretty much at will. In
midfield Jules was spraying the ball around smartly and Travis was mopping up
nicely behind him. Joel was getting forwards well and Mark was marshelling the
back line with ease. Ben was providing valuable support down the right for
James, Matt was creating space for Joel to overlap and Neil was doing his
normal, "if it moves, tackle it" routine. Umut was buzzing around the
opposition back four not giving them time to settle and basically making
himself a pest while Pete was having an uncharacteristically subdued time,
castigating himself for not living up to his normal high standard. Eventually
the dominance had to tell and so it was as James pushed the ball past his
fullback for the umpteenth time, burned him once more for straight line speed
and made a bee line for the goal. He then drifted wide and when the goalkeeper
covered the expected drag back across the goals James decided to pass the ball
into the space at the near post that the goalkeeper had left for him. 1-0 and
we were cruising. I was just picturing a double figured haul in 90 minutes and
then inexplicably the wheels fell off. Not just one wheel but all of them - all
at the same time.
Maybe it was because we were finding it all a bit
too easy but all of a sudden we stepped off the gas and gave the opposition
some time on the ball. Keilor didn't draw and win their first games because
they are a bad side. Give them time and space and they'll punish you - and so
they proved as they came back into the game. Encouraged by their increasing
possession they started to press forwards a little and in a congested
goal area their striker managed to go down under a pretty innocuous challenge.
The ref saw it differently and immediately pointed the spot. The penalty was
well placed leaving Matt no chance and suddenly the game was back on even
terms. To make matters worse, on almost their next attack their midfielder went
to ground under a challenge about 25 yards out. The ref decided it was another
foul and gave the free kick. After a short delay whilst the Keilor team decided
what to do their large striker stepped up to take it. Off a short run up he
took a shot with the outside of his left foot that started off going wide of
the right post but which curled back to go in just inside it. Again, Matt had
no chance. Sometimes you just have to hold up your hands and acknowledge a
great piece of skill. Sometimes it's Christiano Ronaldo doing multiple
stepovers at the speed of sound. Other times it's Zinedine Zidane putting
through an inch perfect pass between four defenders for Thierry Henry to
run onto and dispatch beyond a helpless keeper. Last night it was this guy
banging in a fantastic shot from way way out. We didn't do anything wrong but
were beaten by great skill.
We then proceeded to cling on for the remaining few
minutes and trudged off at half time 2-1 down and wondering where it had all
gone wrong.
Not surprisingly, coach John Papas had quite a bit
to say at halftime. Luckily for everyone John is not the Alex Ferguson tea
throwing, boot kicking, ranting, screaming and swearing type. He's more quietly
spoken and measures his comments with both the good and the bad. What is bad is
an opportunity to improve and that's what the team talk was about. A few
tactical tweaks were made as Erdem cam on for Matt and some positional
adjustments were made with Erdem going into the holding role and Travis going
to left midfield. At the restart the team talk had it's effect and we were
quickly back into our stride and dominating the game. Erdem was pulling the
strings at the back of the midfield four, Jules was picking up the pieces and
distributing well and down the wings Ben and Travis were showing well. Once
again, and as the Keilor boys tired, we got a goal. This was from a corner that
they failed to clear properly. Mark pounced on the loose ball and passed it
beyond the keeper and a couple of defenders into the net. That finishing
practice from a couple of weeks before seemed to be paying dividends as neither
of the goals were blasts but were calmly placed into a space. We then quickly
followed up on our dominance when Erdem produced a lovely left foot shot from
outside the box that caught the keeper off his line and looped gracefully into
the top corner. So from 2-1 down we were suddenly 3-2 up and looking like we
would run on to kill the game off. Sadly it was not to be and with about five
minutes to go we conspired to give them a goal back. It was something of a
comedy of errors as Neil forgot the offside rule and dropped 10 yards behind
the rest of the defence to cover a run. When the ball ran loose Matt somehow
managed to mishandle it which left the striker the simple task of finishing
into an empty net. In three games Matt has made one mistake. That's a pretty
good return for any goalkeeper. For an outfield player who is filling in it's
admirable and everyone recognized that and Matt got no criticism but plenty of
encouragement for the way he's kept goals for us so far.
And so it ended 3-3 in a topsy turvey game that was
very hard to predict. On the plus side we scored three and look like we have
plenty of goals in us. On the downside we conceded three and added Jules to the
injured list. With James and Ben unavailable for the Noble Park game on
Saturday we're going to need that big squad.
Mike
Bayside
Argonauts Reserves v Beaumaris Reserves Match Report
Venue:
Shipston Reserve
Result:
Bayside Argonauts 2 - 4 Beaumaris Reserves (1-1 HT)
Goalkeeper:
Matt Barraza Left
Back:
Erdem Mehmet
Centre
Half:
Mark Muckley
Sweeper:
Mike Stone
Right
Back:
Nat Fogarty
Left
Midfield:
Tim Bernau
Holding
Midfield:
Travis Chalk-Hatton
Attacking
Midfield: Jules Bethall
Right
Midfield:
Aaron Renhardt
Striker:
Rom Fortunato
Striker:
James Thornley
Subs:
Ben
Eastwood (replaced Tim Bernau 1st half)
Umut
Ersezer (replaced James Thornley 2nd half)
Tom
Wyatt (replaced Aaron Reinhardt 2nd Half)
Matt
O'Brien (Did not play)
Aaron
Reinhardt (foul 1st half)
Rom
Fortunato (2)
Erdem
Mehmet (pen)
Tom
Wyatt
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