| Glen Waverley Soccer Club - Mens Seniors & Reserves |
Round 2 | 17.4.10
| Game Ratings
Reserves
Seniors
|
We opened our curtains (or blinds in our case) to a beautiful Autumn
morning. The sky was blue and not a cloud could be seen. So the weather did
it's bit, now we waited to see if our lads could do the rest. A large crowd
was anticipated and the atmosphere built up as kick-off time drew near. Our
touchline reporter got caught up in the action and filed this report soon
after. Here's what he had to say....
Venue ... Mortgage Choice Arena, aka Larpent.
Weather ... Fan - bloody - tastic, a factor 30+ day.
Crowd ... A good one (approx 107) and the medallion seats were full to
capacity.
morning. The sky was blue and not a cloud could be seen. So the weather did
it's bit, now we waited to see if our lads could do the rest. A large crowd
was anticipated and the atmosphere built up as kick-off time drew near. Our
touchline reporter got caught up in the action and filed this report soon
after. Here's what he had to say....
Venue ... Mortgage Choice Arena, aka Larpent.
Weather ... Fan - bloody - tastic, a factor 30+ day.
Crowd ... A good one (approx 107) and the medallion seats were full to
capacity.
Reserves
The ressies we really looking forward to their first home game of the
season, especially after a resounding win first time up last week. Petey and
Ozzie were promoted to the seniors after stand-out performances in the
opening match. So Ian and Sean were brought into the squad and they both
looked keen to get into the action. Kon was a last minute replacement too.
Final newcomer was young Sean from the U16's taking over
in goal from Steve S, absent for the weekend.
For the second week in a row we had a ref for the ressies game. Now we all
had a chuckle when he rocked up, and there were some shaking of heads as his
reputation wasn't the best. However we were glad to see him turn up and as
it transpired he provided some entertaining moments throughout the game. In
fact players from both sides played that well known football pass-time
called "guess the decision". To their credit both sets of players took some
of the more "head-scratching" decisions in good spirit and a good time was
had by all.
As for the game, the first half couldn't have been more one-sided as the
home side piled on the pressure. Whilst there were no clear cut chances, the
Glen Waverley boys were on top. Savva, Yureshan and Lloyd all had
half-chances but were either wide of the mark or well saved by the visitors
keeper. Young Sean in goal for the home team was not really tested but his
handling was solid and seemed confident behind the strong backline of Tony,
Dan and Pete S. The midfield of Gaz, Stevie Wong and Theo worked hard all
game without taking total control, so it was left to Yure and Lloyd out wide
to create most of the attacking options.
The visitors would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle. However
they must have been given the biggest bollocking or something, because they
came out all guns blazing in the second-half. They took the lead about 10
minutes in from what we understand was a shot from way out-side the box. The
reporter actually missed this action, since he taking a comfort break. Never
mind, there wasn't a lot the young keeper could have done about it, so no
blame attached. Sean did make some excellent saves to keep the score at 0-1
and was unlucky when the visitors managed to grab a second when the Waverley
boys were chasing the game.
At 0-2 all seemed to be lost, but we were awarded a penalty, for what can
only be assumed was sympathy. No-one had a clue what it was for, but up
stepped Tony G to grab what proved to be a consolation goal. There wasn't
time left to get an equaliser as the ref had just about run out of puff.
Brighton left with a fortunate 3 points, but our lads can be confident that
they'll still win more games than they'll lose this season. A little
injection of pace up front and they'll be right.
A gentle whiff of "Burger-a-la-Frantzis" wafted across the green and
pleasant land, so a disappointed bunch of ressies consoled themselves with
cooked cow on a bap, and settled back to cheer on the senior boys.
season, especially after a resounding win first time up last week. Petey and
Ozzie were promoted to the seniors after stand-out performances in the
opening match. So Ian and Sean were brought into the squad and they both
looked keen to get into the action. Kon was a last minute replacement too.
Final newcomer was young Sean from the U16's taking over
in goal from Steve S, absent for the weekend.
For the second week in a row we had a ref for the ressies game. Now we all
had a chuckle when he rocked up, and there were some shaking of heads as his
reputation wasn't the best. However we were glad to see him turn up and as
it transpired he provided some entertaining moments throughout the game. In
fact players from both sides played that well known football pass-time
called "guess the decision". To their credit both sets of players took some
of the more "head-scratching" decisions in good spirit and a good time was
had by all.
As for the game, the first half couldn't have been more one-sided as the
home side piled on the pressure. Whilst there were no clear cut chances, the
Glen Waverley boys were on top. Savva, Yureshan and Lloyd all had
half-chances but were either wide of the mark or well saved by the visitors
keeper. Young Sean in goal for the home team was not really tested but his
handling was solid and seemed confident behind the strong backline of Tony,
Dan and Pete S. The midfield of Gaz, Stevie Wong and Theo worked hard all
game without taking total control, so it was left to Yure and Lloyd out wide
to create most of the attacking options.
The visitors would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle. However
they must have been given the biggest bollocking or something, because they
came out all guns blazing in the second-half. They took the lead about 10
minutes in from what we understand was a shot from way out-side the box. The
reporter actually missed this action, since he taking a comfort break. Never
mind, there wasn't a lot the young keeper could have done about it, so no
blame attached. Sean did make some excellent saves to keep the score at 0-1
and was unlucky when the visitors managed to grab a second when the Waverley
boys were chasing the game.
At 0-2 all seemed to be lost, but we were awarded a penalty, for what can
only be assumed was sympathy. No-one had a clue what it was for, but up
stepped Tony G to grab what proved to be a consolation goal. There wasn't
time left to get an equaliser as the ref had just about run out of puff.
Brighton left with a fortunate 3 points, but our lads can be confident that
they'll still win more games than they'll lose this season. A little
injection of pace up front and they'll be right.
A gentle whiff of "Burger-a-la-Frantzis" wafted across the green and
pleasant land, so a disappointed bunch of ressies consoled themselves with
cooked cow on a bap, and settled back to cheer on the senior boys.
Seniors
The large crowd that had assembled, were now settling back in readiness for
the main event of the afternoon. As with the previous week, and for the
first time ever at Larpent, we had a referee plus 2 official linesmen.
Unprecedented and actually quite amusing as the average age of all three
would have been around 85! Still they were there and we should be grateful.
So for the first home game of the season, Paul had promoted Pete Kelly and
Ozzie, who were in for Met (injury) and Stevie Wong (into the ressies). All
had that look of anticipation and they certainly looked ready to get the
season up and running. To mark the home season opener, a couple of the young
players from the U9's were given the honour of leading the team out onto the
pitch. Their smiles told you all you needed to know about how excited they
were and what it meant to them. (my apologies at this point for not getting
their names, but I'll make sure I do and get them in print at the earliest
opportunity).
Photo's were taken, teams were pumped (so were the balls) and off we went.
Following a similar pattern to the ressies game, the seniors took the early
advantage. Playing down-hill the lads started brightly and should have taken
a couple of the early chances. Paul was hoping the added pace up-front with
Ozzie and Steve would cause some problems for Brighton, but "arsey"
defending and some quality keeping kept them in the game. The visitors
keeper did have his moments too. He cleanly gathered one through-ball and
made to take a quick throw to one of his team mates only to see the ball
stick to his hand and land at his own feet. Could have been embarrassing,
but we weren't quick enough to capitalise. Sniggers all round, but not for
the error, but for the words uttered by a ressie player in the stands. "I
once saw that happen in real life" said our cranially challenged colleague.
We wondered what he was actually watching now - fantasy football?
Moving on, halftime came and went with the only other incident of note being
a yellow card for John S. It says Y1 in the book which means unsporting
behaviour. So come on John, be a better sport next time.
The second half saw Brighton come back into the game, and like the previous
game they coped with the challenging conditions slightly better. A
combination of a huge pitch, long grass and warm weather seemed to take its
toll on our lads and eventually Brighton grabbed a first then second goal.
This was pretty hard on Julian, Justin, Alistair and Micky, who had been
solid all game. Julian especially, had a super game until being injured late
on. The second goal just about killed the game, except a late, scrambled
goal from Kon gave the home side some hope. Kon benefited from some
excellent work from Petey down the right hand side who whipped in a
wonderful cross. All Kon had to do was bundle it in. A little too late
however as the ref signalled the end of the game.
A disappointed home side left the park, but they can take heart from the
many positives. Brighton gave us 2 whippings last season, so a 1-2 score
which could have easily been 2-1 on another day is a massive improvement.
The lads are creating chances, in which case they'll always be in with a
chance. Now they've got to learn how to take them. Or did we say that last
week?
All right, a great day off the park and could have had a better ending on
the pitch. But the effort was there and we look forward to next week where
we take on league leaders Essendon, where we have the chance to knock them
off their perch.
See you then. Bet their burgers aren't as good as ours.
the main event of the afternoon. As with the previous week, and for the
first time ever at Larpent, we had a referee plus 2 official linesmen.
Unprecedented and actually quite amusing as the average age of all three
would have been around 85! Still they were there and we should be grateful.
So for the first home game of the season, Paul had promoted Pete Kelly and
Ozzie, who were in for Met (injury) and Stevie Wong (into the ressies). All
had that look of anticipation and they certainly looked ready to get the
season up and running. To mark the home season opener, a couple of the young
players from the U9's were given the honour of leading the team out onto the
pitch. Their smiles told you all you needed to know about how excited they
were and what it meant to them. (my apologies at this point for not getting
their names, but I'll make sure I do and get them in print at the earliest
opportunity).
Photo's were taken, teams were pumped (so were the balls) and off we went.
Following a similar pattern to the ressies game, the seniors took the early
advantage. Playing down-hill the lads started brightly and should have taken
a couple of the early chances. Paul was hoping the added pace up-front with
Ozzie and Steve would cause some problems for Brighton, but "arsey"
defending and some quality keeping kept them in the game. The visitors
keeper did have his moments too. He cleanly gathered one through-ball and
made to take a quick throw to one of his team mates only to see the ball
stick to his hand and land at his own feet. Could have been embarrassing,
but we weren't quick enough to capitalise. Sniggers all round, but not for
the error, but for the words uttered by a ressie player in the stands. "I
once saw that happen in real life" said our cranially challenged colleague.
We wondered what he was actually watching now - fantasy football?
Moving on, halftime came and went with the only other incident of note being
a yellow card for John S. It says Y1 in the book which means unsporting
behaviour. So come on John, be a better sport next time.
The second half saw Brighton come back into the game, and like the previous
game they coped with the challenging conditions slightly better. A
combination of a huge pitch, long grass and warm weather seemed to take its
toll on our lads and eventually Brighton grabbed a first then second goal.
This was pretty hard on Julian, Justin, Alistair and Micky, who had been
solid all game. Julian especially, had a super game until being injured late
on. The second goal just about killed the game, except a late, scrambled
goal from Kon gave the home side some hope. Kon benefited from some
excellent work from Petey down the right hand side who whipped in a
wonderful cross. All Kon had to do was bundle it in. A little too late
however as the ref signalled the end of the game.
A disappointed home side left the park, but they can take heart from the
many positives. Brighton gave us 2 whippings last season, so a 1-2 score
which could have easily been 2-1 on another day is a massive improvement.
The lads are creating chances, in which case they'll always be in with a
chance. Now they've got to learn how to take them. Or did we say that last
week?
All right, a great day off the park and could have had a better ending on
the pitch. But the effort was there and we look forward to next week where
we take on league leaders Essendon, where we have the chance to knock them
off their perch.
See you then. Bet their burgers aren't as good as ours.
