|
|
|
|
|
“THE
DEN” – Match Report |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Game 8 Manly Vale David Thomas |
|
First Grade – Hard Work Undone Score: 2-3 Goal Scorer(s):
Nick Sheather (2) Match Report: A
disappointing result against Manly Vale has undone some of the hard work of
the past three weeks. After clawing our way back up the table to be within
one game of the leaders, and with the top teams all playing each other over
the next few weeks, it was vitally important we got a result but it was not
to be. After probably playing the best half of soccer for the
season and completely dominating Manly Vale in the first half, we fell asleep
in the second term giving away some soft goals to go down 3-2. After keeping
clean sheets against quality opposition in the last three games some
defensive lapses cost us dearly. We played some excellent soccer in the first half with Tim
Smithies making an outstanding return to first grade at right half and Nick
Sheather, up front, running rings around former Socceroo
Alan Hunter. We had a mountain of possession with Dill and Tim Smithies
seeing plenty of ball in the midfield and Nick
Sheather wreaking havoc up front. We took a deserved lead after sustained pressure on the
Vale defence. A pin point Dave Sutherland cross from the left hand side saw
Nick Sheather catch a hesitant Vale defence napping. Sheath cut in behind
Alan Hunter, and with a superb first touch, easily beat the keeper resulting
in a tap-in for a 1-0 lead. We had several other chances with the keeper
somehow saving a Tim Smithies thunderbolt from outside the box. Another goal
mouth scramble somehow stayed out and hit the woodwork to rebound to safety. The signs were on the wall in the second half as we seemed
to sit off the ball too much thinking that we’d done enough in the
first period to win. Inevitably, Vale came back at us and was only a matter
of time before they scored. We gave the opposition way too much time on the
ball and their first 2 goals were a result of not applying enough pressure. A
succession of several passes down our right allowed Vale to cross the ball.
After losing the subsequent one-on-one tackle, the attacker only had the
keeper to beat and finished well. Vale’s second was another case of the
striker having too much time to shoot and smashed his shot into the top right
corner of the net. Their third was from a defensive lapse leaving Benny
exposed and the attacker calmly lifted the ball over his head giving him no
chance. A late penalty gave us a sniff of getting back in the game but was
all too late. It’s starting to become apparent that we’re
lacking in the fitness department in certain areas which is probably
highlighted by our second half performance. This is clearly indicated by
training attendances as the unfit players are the ones that aren’t
there on a regular basis. We cannot work on problem areas if we don’t
get to training and are letting team mates down that make the effort to turn
up. Regardless of who you are, from now on if you don’t
come to training then don’t expect to get a start. I’ve been too
lenient in the past but this will now change. If you can’t make it to
training then make sure you let the coach know and at a minimum do some
fitness on your own accord. Man of the Match: Nick Sheather Reserve Grade – Hope for a Goal Score: 1-0 Goal Scorer(s): Nathan
Hope Match Report: After
changing the starting line-up a thousand times on Saturday morning due to
players being ruled out/in we finally settled on the starting eleven about
two minutes before kick-off. Darren “Playmaker” Leach started at
right half after a layoff due to heart problems (left ventricle) and Dwayne
was a late inclusion up front after a week on the work bench due to illness.
The game was crucial in the lead up to next week’s top of the table
clash with Pittwater and a win would see us jump 8 points clear of fourth
place instead of just 3. Some innocuous shots in the first half almost led to goals
as the opposition keeper was having troubles holding onto the pill. A
cross/shot from Dwayne wide left seemed easy enough for the keeper to save
but went straight through him and rebounded off the upright. Several other
balls that should have easily been cleaned up by the keeper were fumbled but
unfortunately didn’t lead goals. Chris Charlton was having one of his best games of the
season and made several good runs out of defence down the right hand side. He
linked up well with Leachy and a majority of our attacking raids originated
from the right. Andrew Reid was replaced by Burls in the second period and
created some good opportunities with his long throw-ins. Our first and only
goal came from a throw-in with Nathan Hope slotting the ball home at the near
post from close range. After going up 1-0 we had a multitude of chances to
seal the game but couldn’t finish some good one-on-one chances. The boys were solid once again in defence and it showed on
the scoreboard. Vale never threatened and the lone goal was enough for
victory. A good result against Pittwater this weekend will see us in
a great position with only the bottom two teams to play until the end of the
first round. Man of the Match: Chris Charlton |
|
|||||||||
