Hello everyone. Here we are again, with your weekly fix of all things
football in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne. You might have already
noticed that the wheels well and truly came off the wagon this week. Things
didn't go quite according to plan, but that certainly wasn't for the want of
trying. Anyway, we have struggled this week to put anything meaningful down
to print, but here's the bare bones of what happened yesterday. We've added
in a few stats to try and be a bit more upbeat, so see what you think.

Weather - Certainly wasn't as warm as where our hosts came from.
Pitch - Had about 4 or 5 different types of surface varying from flat and
hard (as in cricket pitch), to bare (as in shanty town).
Crowd - Boisterous locals and a few visiting fans hiding under trees to keep
out of the rain.
Canteen - Subway - 3kM north, Macca's 3.1kM north, Pizza Hut 3.2kM north,
but sod all where we were.

Special note - The main special note this week obviously has to be the Call
to Arms round. This round is dedicated to the Cancer Council and a moments
silence was observed, before the seniors match, to allow reflection and for
people to remember those touched by Cancer. Oh, and Ozzie won $5,000. Cool.
(We'll get a separate story up on the front page of the website in due
course.)

As we said in the preamble, there really isn't too much to write about this
week. The lads just didn't turn up to play and got the spanking they just
about deserved. Not sure if it was the last minute changes, due to late
withdrawals or the pace and intimidation of the opposition. Either way, the
home side took the "biccies" on the day.

To be fair, no blame can placed at the youngsters who were drafted in late.
It was great to see 2 new faces getting game time in the reserves. From the
U18B side, we saw the talented pair of Ryan Chong and Marcus Wong. Coming on
late in the game, they didn't have too much of an opportunity to change the
course of the game, but they did get some invaluable experience at this
level. Looking good guys, and you'll be welcome back.

As for the others on the day? Con K, with his XL shorts, tried manfully
against the giants. Gilly was giving his opposite number a tough time, but
did spend a lot of the game on the back foot lending a hand in the backline.
The midfield of Theo and Muzz tried hard, but couldn't stem the tide.
Highlight of the game for us? Sean's save early in the first half. Then the
ref blowing his whistle for full time.

Sorry, but there's really not much else can be written except to add some
positives to the day .... so on reflection we can say

... this is only third loss of the season
... this is only second time they haven't scored this season
... the lads are only 2 points short of last season's points tally
.... And they're still TOP!!!

So a bad day at the office for Simon and the boys, but we can see from the
stats above that they've had more good days than bad. Back on the case next
week boys and make sure the chasing pack doesn't get too close. Now is there
a canteen to enjoy? No there isn't so we go hungry and thirsty. Ah well. Now
what happened to the seniors.

For the seniors report this week, we can just about say, the better team won
on the day. They've got an exceptionally talented midfielder and captain,
who ran the show for them. A goal in each half was all that was needed to
secure the points for Sandown.

The Glen Waverley boys did put up a fight though, and Sandown did have to
work hard for the win. The lads were also hampered by late withdrawals as
Micky V succumbed to tonsillitis. (at Christmas, would it be tinselitis?)
This allowed Dan an opportunity to get his first start of the season for the
seniors. He looked comfortable and played well at sweeper, in a re-jigged
3-5-2 formation, and when Micky V returns, Hoppy will have another option to
chose from.

The new formation was set up to combat the pace and flair of the Sandown
players and to a large extent worked. Lloydy in the middle and Dean and Pete
in the backline, got good early challenges in to ensure the home side were
aware they were in for a battle. Chances were sporadic at best from either
side, but the home team did get the better of them. The opening goal coming
midway through the first half from a sharp move down the right, followed by
a square ball into the path of an un-tracked midfielder. There was a hint of
off-side. Well, we hinted anyway, by yelling - "that's offside you cheating
(insert swear word here)-wit."

From there on, things didn't get too much better. As we said, there sporadic
chances that fell to Met, Nick Mav and one loose ball that allowed Kon to
try a half-volley, but none either troubled the keeper or the scorer.
Half-time came and went in a blast of hot-air as Hoppy tried the hairdryer
treatment on a beleaguered set of players. It didn't have the desired effect
as the lads fell a further goal behind. Another quick break wasn't dealt
with and their number ten, capped off a m-o-t-m performance with a goal.

Like the reserves earlier, it was a bad day at the office for the boys from
the Glen. Third week in a row now though, so pressure is on to get back to
winning ways next week. Earlier in the season, it was same three teams who
put a dent in the Glen Waverley season - Ringwood/Harrisfield/Sandown. So
maybe the speed hump is now out of the way and the lads can taste three
points again soon.

Trying to finish on a positive note as with the reserves write up we must
remember ....

- the lads have score more goals this year than any other season
- the lads have already got more points than any other season
- the lads have won more games than any other season

.... and are still in THIRD place with a good shout at second, come season's
end. Still all to play for. Now for something to eat.

See you all next week at one of our many home grounds. Not sure which one
yet, but you can be guaranteed it will have a canteen and barbeque. Ta ta