| Glen Waverley Soccer Club - Mens Seniors & Reserves |
Round 6 | 15.5.10
| Game RatingsSeniors
Reserves
|
Reserves
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to this week's offering from
the Glen Waverley Amnesiac. It'll be gently, gently, softly, softly today as
many us will still be recovering from the highly entertaining FA Cup Final
night. Apart from the hugely enjoyable Chelsea/Portsmouth battle, highlight
of the evening would have to be the Karaoke Kleening singing sensation
Freddie Psathas. Doing a passable rendition of the Queen classic "I want to
break free" whilst waltzing round North clubrooms with the vacuum cleaner.
Only thing missing were the stockings and suspenders, but we won't go there.
OK, enough of the late night frivolities, what happened during the daylight
hours? Read on and let's see, shall we? Yes, lets.
Venue ... Glen Waverley North, our home away from home.
Pitch ... green and fresh
Weather ... sunny with just a wisp of a breeze
Canteen ... superb, as always
Crowd ... leaning heavily towards the upper end of 50
First home game of the season for new coach Savvas and he was looking
forward to introducing some new and fresh ideas into the team. This week he
was able to call upon his most experienced players in the squad. Dan, Tony
and Gary were all back in the side. The only absentee of note was Ozzie,
who'd succumbed to a groin niggle in the week. The other major change was,
of course, the change of venue. Moving to GWN, we'd take advantage of the
excellent condition of the pitch.
The game started brightly, because the sun was out and the floodlights were
being tested. The referee also featured in the brightness, wearing a rather
fetching bright blue number. Having Dan and Tony back in defense gave the
side a very solid look, and they dealt with most of the visitors attacks.
They were ably supported by Bill G and Pete S and as a unit played without
too much pressure for most of the first half.
In the middle of the park, Muzz was buzzing around and generally stifling
most of White Stars attacking intent along with the tireless Gazz and
non-stop running of Stevie Wong. Playing with three up front, Theo was
flanked by Sean and Peter Kav. The new formation didn't take long to get
going and the ball was moving swiftly in transition through the midfield.
Sean was enjoying his first start of the season and took his chance well. He
played some delightful balls into the box. Best chance of the half probably
fell to "The Hunter" Theo, who's shot in the box, was brilliantly saved by
the in-form visiting keeper. In fact the keeper, kept the White Star lads in
the game with a couple of top notch saves. Sean also had a good chance to
open the scoring but sent his shot past the post.
Scoreless at halftime and not a bad game, but on reflection, the Glen
Waverley boys should have gone in at least one goal to the good.
At the break, Peter Kav couldn't return and was replaced by Yure. Peter had
taken a bit of a whack in a late challenge and was struggling. Anyway, Yure
was a speedy and able replacement and he carried on where Pete left off. The
goal drought was finally broken with Theo sniffing out a chance 10 minutes
after the break. A goalmouth scramble and the ball fell invitingly and Theo
gave it the treatment. So lots of jumping up and down, cuddling and "my
you're so good"'s.
Playing uphill, the lads would now have to face an onslaught as White Star
went in search of an equaliser. Theo's reward for scoring was to be subbed.
Scratch head. But Ian was another who could still do a job. Kon too had also
been sent on in place of Bill G, who had been playing as solid as ever in
the back four. Ian had a great chance to get the second, but his knock past
the advancing keeper was cleared off the line. Another chance was well-saved
too and these missed opportunities were to cost the side as the visitors got
a rather fortunate penalty. Muzz conceded a penalty for handball (hand under
the armpit apparently) and the visitors were back in it. They sensed blood
and the pressure in the last 10 minutes payed off as they snatched the
winner with only seconds on the clock. A well taken effort from an
unchallenged player on the edge of the box. Reminiscent of the second
against EB last week.
The final whistle sounded and the lads were consigned to their second defeat
in a week. Still the football was good and there were some solid
performances from Dan, Tony, Muzz and Gazz. Plenty of chances created, in
which case they'll always be in with a chance. Now to get back to scoring
and winning.
The crowd had started to build in anticipation of the Seniors match. So we
grabbed a delicious burger topped with sumptuous tomatoes, crispy lettuce
and a sprinkling of crumbly cheese, settled back and readied ourselves for
the action.
the Glen Waverley Amnesiac. It'll be gently, gently, softly, softly today as
many us will still be recovering from the highly entertaining FA Cup Final
night. Apart from the hugely enjoyable Chelsea/Portsmouth battle, highlight
of the evening would have to be the Karaoke Kleening singing sensation
Freddie Psathas. Doing a passable rendition of the Queen classic "I want to
break free" whilst waltzing round North clubrooms with the vacuum cleaner.
Only thing missing were the stockings and suspenders, but we won't go there.
OK, enough of the late night frivolities, what happened during the daylight
hours? Read on and let's see, shall we? Yes, lets.
Venue ... Glen Waverley North, our home away from home.
Pitch ... green and fresh
Weather ... sunny with just a wisp of a breeze
Canteen ... superb, as always
Crowd ... leaning heavily towards the upper end of 50
First home game of the season for new coach Savvas and he was looking
forward to introducing some new and fresh ideas into the team. This week he
was able to call upon his most experienced players in the squad. Dan, Tony
and Gary were all back in the side. The only absentee of note was Ozzie,
who'd succumbed to a groin niggle in the week. The other major change was,
of course, the change of venue. Moving to GWN, we'd take advantage of the
excellent condition of the pitch.
The game started brightly, because the sun was out and the floodlights were
being tested. The referee also featured in the brightness, wearing a rather
fetching bright blue number. Having Dan and Tony back in defense gave the
side a very solid look, and they dealt with most of the visitors attacks.
They were ably supported by Bill G and Pete S and as a unit played without
too much pressure for most of the first half.
In the middle of the park, Muzz was buzzing around and generally stifling
most of White Stars attacking intent along with the tireless Gazz and
non-stop running of Stevie Wong. Playing with three up front, Theo was
flanked by Sean and Peter Kav. The new formation didn't take long to get
going and the ball was moving swiftly in transition through the midfield.
Sean was enjoying his first start of the season and took his chance well. He
played some delightful balls into the box. Best chance of the half probably
fell to "The Hunter" Theo, who's shot in the box, was brilliantly saved by
the in-form visiting keeper. In fact the keeper, kept the White Star lads in
the game with a couple of top notch saves. Sean also had a good chance to
open the scoring but sent his shot past the post.
Scoreless at halftime and not a bad game, but on reflection, the Glen
Waverley boys should have gone in at least one goal to the good.
At the break, Peter Kav couldn't return and was replaced by Yure. Peter had
taken a bit of a whack in a late challenge and was struggling. Anyway, Yure
was a speedy and able replacement and he carried on where Pete left off. The
goal drought was finally broken with Theo sniffing out a chance 10 minutes
after the break. A goalmouth scramble and the ball fell invitingly and Theo
gave it the treatment. So lots of jumping up and down, cuddling and "my
you're so good"'s.
Playing uphill, the lads would now have to face an onslaught as White Star
went in search of an equaliser. Theo's reward for scoring was to be subbed.
Scratch head. But Ian was another who could still do a job. Kon too had also
been sent on in place of Bill G, who had been playing as solid as ever in
the back four. Ian had a great chance to get the second, but his knock past
the advancing keeper was cleared off the line. Another chance was well-saved
too and these missed opportunities were to cost the side as the visitors got
a rather fortunate penalty. Muzz conceded a penalty for handball (hand under
the armpit apparently) and the visitors were back in it. They sensed blood
and the pressure in the last 10 minutes payed off as they snatched the
winner with only seconds on the clock. A well taken effort from an
unchallenged player on the edge of the box. Reminiscent of the second
against EB last week.
The final whistle sounded and the lads were consigned to their second defeat
in a week. Still the football was good and there were some solid
performances from Dan, Tony, Muzz and Gazz. Plenty of chances created, in
which case they'll always be in with a chance. Now to get back to scoring
and winning.
The crowd had started to build in anticipation of the Seniors match. So we
grabbed a delicious burger topped with sumptuous tomatoes, crispy lettuce
and a sprinkling of crumbly cheese, settled back and readied ourselves for
the action.
Seniors
One of the enjoyable things about writing the team book for the seniors is
the continuity. The team has been settled now for the last three games with
the same names appearing week after week. (wish Kon would have a week off
though, as Dimtrakopoulos gives me a bit of writer's cramp!). Since the team
is unbeaten in three games and fresh from the success at East Bentleigh,
Paul had no reason to change anything. Only Dean was added to the bench,
with Gaz making way.
As you now know, we were playing at Glen Waverley North and everything had
been checked, prepared and nothing had been left to chance, to ensure a
smooth transition to the new ground. However we didn't think to run the tape
measure over the goals. A quick look at the result will tell us that the
goal celebrations would have to be put on hold for another week, but it
wasn't for the want of trying. The woodwork (or metalwork in this instance)
came to the rescue of White Star, once in each half.
The first strike came in the first half as Hoppy hit a dipping volley as
sweet as anything only to see it crash against the crossbar. The keeper
could only stand and admire, but then thank his good fortune as the ball
cannoned off into the distance. Both sides were playing good quality
football and White Star were probably the best side we've played this
season. Micky V, Julian and Kimon had their work cut-out all afternoon
against big but mobile forwards. White Star used the flanks to good effect,
but most of their efforts were reduced to long-range shots and didn't
trouble Alistair too much. Up front, the lads were feeding off scraps. There
was a goalmouth scramble which first Met, then Steve H couldn't put away.
A goal-less first half, but the game was being played at a fast pace. Maybe
the second half would see either side get some reward for the efforts. Peter
and Brian spent much of the game looking after their opposite numbers so any
attacking had to come from the middle. So John, "Freddie Kruger" and Hoppy
took up the challenge. John had a couple of half-chances (let me know
otherwise John), but the best chance fell to Steve H. A terrific cross into
the box was met by Steve Harvey as he rose highest, but he saw the ball
smack into the bar again. We were up, as we were convinced it was in. But we
were down again.
Met had been replaced by Dean midway through the half and Dean tried at one
point to bulldoze his way through the visitors defence. Prashan and Justin
were given their chance to shore things up, replacing a tiring Brian and
Kon. Justin was celebrating his 50th appearance for the club and duly
celebrated by grabbing the record for the quickest yellow card. The ref
brandishing the yellow, 2 minutes after Justin came on. There were some
physical challenges going on with first Kimon giving his forward something
to think about in a clattering collision. Then Julian getting a beautiful
forehead egg after clashing scones with another opposition forward.
Anyway, with time ebbing away, both sides seemed happy to maintain the
status quo and the draw was the end and probably fair result. Both coaches
would be happy and unhappy in equal measures, but since their coach was
nowhere to be seen, we couldn't ask him. Paul was in rueful mood, rueing the
missed chances and rueing other stuff as well. Unbeaten now in four games, a
clean sheet against one of the top sides and playing attractive football,
the lads can take a lot of credit. Now let's see if we can add a few wins
along the way and get some reward for all the good stuff.
One working week to see off, then we set off to Manningingingham and see
what they're all about. Hope their canteen's prepared.
the continuity. The team has been settled now for the last three games with
the same names appearing week after week. (wish Kon would have a week off
though, as Dimtrakopoulos gives me a bit of writer's cramp!). Since the team
is unbeaten in three games and fresh from the success at East Bentleigh,
Paul had no reason to change anything. Only Dean was added to the bench,
with Gaz making way.
As you now know, we were playing at Glen Waverley North and everything had
been checked, prepared and nothing had been left to chance, to ensure a
smooth transition to the new ground. However we didn't think to run the tape
measure over the goals. A quick look at the result will tell us that the
goal celebrations would have to be put on hold for another week, but it
wasn't for the want of trying. The woodwork (or metalwork in this instance)
came to the rescue of White Star, once in each half.
The first strike came in the first half as Hoppy hit a dipping volley as
sweet as anything only to see it crash against the crossbar. The keeper
could only stand and admire, but then thank his good fortune as the ball
cannoned off into the distance. Both sides were playing good quality
football and White Star were probably the best side we've played this
season. Micky V, Julian and Kimon had their work cut-out all afternoon
against big but mobile forwards. White Star used the flanks to good effect,
but most of their efforts were reduced to long-range shots and didn't
trouble Alistair too much. Up front, the lads were feeding off scraps. There
was a goalmouth scramble which first Met, then Steve H couldn't put away.
A goal-less first half, but the game was being played at a fast pace. Maybe
the second half would see either side get some reward for the efforts. Peter
and Brian spent much of the game looking after their opposite numbers so any
attacking had to come from the middle. So John, "Freddie Kruger" and Hoppy
took up the challenge. John had a couple of half-chances (let me know
otherwise John), but the best chance fell to Steve H. A terrific cross into
the box was met by Steve Harvey as he rose highest, but he saw the ball
smack into the bar again. We were up, as we were convinced it was in. But we
were down again.
Met had been replaced by Dean midway through the half and Dean tried at one
point to bulldoze his way through the visitors defence. Prashan and Justin
were given their chance to shore things up, replacing a tiring Brian and
Kon. Justin was celebrating his 50th appearance for the club and duly
celebrated by grabbing the record for the quickest yellow card. The ref
brandishing the yellow, 2 minutes after Justin came on. There were some
physical challenges going on with first Kimon giving his forward something
to think about in a clattering collision. Then Julian getting a beautiful
forehead egg after clashing scones with another opposition forward.
Anyway, with time ebbing away, both sides seemed happy to maintain the
status quo and the draw was the end and probably fair result. Both coaches
would be happy and unhappy in equal measures, but since their coach was
nowhere to be seen, we couldn't ask him. Paul was in rueful mood, rueing the
missed chances and rueing other stuff as well. Unbeaten now in four games, a
clean sheet against one of the top sides and playing attractive football,
the lads can take a lot of credit. Now let's see if we can add a few wins
along the way and get some reward for all the good stuff.
One working week to see off, then we set off to Manningingingham and see
what they're all about. Hope their canteen's prepared.
