Welcome ladies and gentlemen, and after the precedent set last week, here we
are with another match report up and ready to view on the same day as the
game. So what happened. First of all, we had ourselves an away fixture. So
off we went away, all the way down Jacksons Road to the delightful
surroundings of Noble Park. A pleasant location. Anyway, after the deluge of
the previous evening we did wonder what water logged mud bath would lie in
wait. What a pleasant surprise, the ground was in excellent nick (except for
the obligatory cricket pitch in the middle).So apart from the odd short
sharp shower and brisk breeze, everything was fine, and the lads set about
the task of taking 6 points from the Wolves. Read on to find out how things
went ....

Weather ... Fresh (first prize in the raffle was a heater!)
Pitch ... WJ Turner Reserve, excellent surface apart from the cricket pitch.
Crowd ... Small but parochial. Got quiet as the game wore on. The score
tells you why.
Canteen ... $7 kebabs were splendid. Cup of tea for $1, also cheap as it
gets. Friendly staff.

When we settled down to watch the Ressies, we didn't expect the first half
goal-fest that unfolded. Taking advantage of the terrific surface, the lads
started moving the ball around confidently. With big Tony in the middle
orchestrating things, the speedsters out wide took advantage. It took only 3
minutes for the scoreboard to tick over as young Sam Carl slammed home the
opener. He sent a searing shot through the butter-fingered keepers hands.
The home side offered little, but this could be because the Glen Waverley
boys were dominating. Gilly on the right hand side was proving a handful and
was feeding balls through at leisure to the front men. This domination soon
found the visitors 2 goals to the good. Nick M went on a mazy run, gliding
past two or three players into the box then driving a low shot into the far
corner.

The Wolves heads were starting to drop, but they did break a couple of
times. Dan, Peter S, Kon and Sean W were strong enough though to make sure
they didn't get back into the game. Muzz was giving Tony enough support in
the middle to make sure the Waverley boys had control of the game.  A number
of chances went close with Tony, Dan and Nick all trying long range efforts.
It took until the 27th minute before the boys in green extended their lead
with Michael P slotting home the third. He snaffled up his second, and the
teams fourth, a couple of minutes before halftime.

4-0 at halftime seemed to have been enough to have secured the three points,
but the home side came out all guns blazing. Pushing an extra man up front
and putting in tough challenges in the middle they started to press. The
pressure told and they grabbed a quick couple of goals to bring them within
2. Things started to get a little frantic as both sides continued to push
forward. This attacking intent though had it's rewards as Gilly latched onto
a loose ball and knocked in the fifth. That seemed to be that and the home
side looked a beaten side. They did get the last word as their third was a
wonderful long range strike which young Sean in goal could get nowhere near.
The second half saw the introduction of Mansh who had a great little cameo,
Theo who was solid up front and Sav, rejoining the club after time away.

3 points in the bag.
Simon was happy.
Off we went to get a kebab.
Then we were happy.

Coming off the back of two losses in a row, the senior boys looked
determined as they got the match going. Just like the ressies before them,
Pete and the lads took control straight from the kick-off. Apart from a few
minutes in either half, the boys never looked in any trouble. In fact the
best the opposition could get out of Alistair came from a mistimed back pass
from Metin. The big question was could the Waverley boys convert this
domination into goals. The answer to that question was an emphatic yes. They
answered the question eight times without reply and it could have been a
heck of a lot more, especially if Prashan had buried his chances late in the
game. A little harsh on Prashan, since he did have two assists to his credit
on the day and played his part in a good team performance.

The first half mirrored that of the reserves game too, as the Waverley boys
went into the break four goals to the good. Ozzie and Anthony sharing the
goals with two each. The first coming from a half-hearted defensive
clearance which Ozzie crashed home. The pick of Anthony's was a lofted shot
into the far corner. The front lads couldn't prosper though without the
efforts of those behind. Kon in midfield was running the show, and Gazz was
clearing up anything coming down the left. He even took a leaf out of Ashley
Cole's book as he got involved with Alex in many of the attacks down the
left. Towards the end of the half though, Kon took a knock to the thigh and
had to be replaced by Metin. Jarrod too, was struggling and his place was
taken by Avish.

We could forgive the lads if they took their foot off the pedal in the
second half, but they continued to press. Micky V, Petey, Dean and Gazz were
still keeping it tight at the back and with scrambling defence managed to
keep that elusive clean sheet. Anyway, upfront, the goal machines were
running rampant as Ozzie smashed home his third in front the home fans. A
fourth was soon to follow and he became the second Glen Waverley player to
score four goals in a game. (The first was him too). Ozzie also found time
to play provider as he laid a perfect square ball into the path of Alex who
slammed home from close range.

It was left to Anthony to have the final word as a long range effort found
the back of the net and he became our second hat-trick scorer of the game.
Another first. Lloydy came on late in the game for a tiring Gary. This meant
young Christian, from the U18's didn't get a run after sitting patiently on
the bench. However Christian knew that being part of the team sometimes
means making a sacrifice and was just as enthusiastic in the victory song as
any of the players who played on the day. A credit to youngster and we're
sure his big day will come soon.

So eight goals and three points secured. A clean sheet too made this a day
to remember. Back on the winning trail and a huge confidence boost before
the big game against table topping Aston next week.

Well done to Hoppy and the guys, especially the under 18's who step up each
week. Another page in our short history has just been written with our
biggest ever win. As Peter Kelly said in the room, it won't mean much if we
don't back it up next week. Let's do it.

See you all next week, down at Larpent.