We're back after a 2 week break. Did you miss us? Probably not. But you must
be interested enough if you're actually reading this. The break was needed
by everyone, not least the players who were looking to recharge the
batteries and shake off a few niggling injuries. Recharging the batteries is
also known as drinking in the pub, as the lads decided to have a night off
training too. There are some tales to tell from the night at Century City
Walk and the Wheelers, but they'll remain a secret for now. So with bodies
refreshed it was time to get back to the action. Off we go with this week's
futile attempt to accurately reflect the weekends happenings ....
Round 10 v Old Trinity Grammarians
Venue ... Larpent (can you smell the burning pies) Reserve
Weather ... We've had warmer days
Reserves
Result ... 0-3
(Halftime score ... 0-2)
Scorers ... None, but we came close a few times!
Last time out, the lads unbeaten start to the season came to a grinding halt
and they were anxious to get back on the winning trail. However they were
hampered by injuries, illness and unavailability with at least 8 players out
from the 2 squads. So the call went out and was answered by Bill O and Rob C
from the masters, Kenneth Trac from the U18's and Dean ("These jelly beans
are nice") Salamouras all helping to boost the numbers. The lads were also
grateful to Dan for pulling on the keepers jersey in Steve's absence. Pity
the FFV didn't cover the shortage of referee's as well. But anyway, Louie
was happy to pretend he knew what he was doing and took on official duties.
With so many changes, the lads were going to find it tough going, but to
their credit they settled pretty well. Yure on the right and Murray on the
left gave the side some width and they looked good going forward. For the
first 15 or 20 minutes, the visitors struggled. Sean and Sam in the middle
tried manfully but started to lose ground to their more physical opponents
and it wasn't long before St Trinian's finally got their noses in front. A
bit of a nothing ball out to the left wasn't dealt with and the ball was
eased past an advancing Dan. The second goal came within 10 minutes. A
speculative ball into the box ended up lobbing the keeper. Fortunate? Maybe,
but it was 0-2 and it was an uphill struggle from then on.
The Glen Waverley boys are made of sterner stuff these days and dug in. The
first clear chance for the home side came as Rob lashed in a fearsome drive
which clattered off the upright. Matt Soon raced in and managed to miss the
rebound from 5 metres with the goal at his mercy. From this moment the
afternoon was starting to take on a familiar pattern to those who have been
involved in the game for a long time - we weren't going to score. Try as we
might the ball would just not go in. Rob managed to hit the post again and
continuous pressure in the second half could not breach the visitors
defences. In the push to get back on terms, the visitors managed to grab the
third and final goal on the break. Totally unjustified and hard on the lads,
especially Sean Weragoda who had a fine game at left back and Dan in goal.
Dean enjoyed a few quality touches and Kenneth was unlucky on few occasions.
It's not often you can say 0-3 was unlucky, but the lads were. Three times
the post came to St Trinian's rescue today, so on another day the score
would have and should have been different. Moment of the day should be
reserved for Sam, last seen using a frozen pie to ease a bruise on his head.
He couldn't remember who he was, so we told him he was Ronaldo. We last saw
him trying to find Paris Hilton's number and looking for directions to
Madrid. All good Sam, total commitment equals total stupidity.
So could the Seniors turn around our fortunes? Let's find out ....
Seniors
Result ... 1-1
(Halftime score ... 1-0)
Scorers ... Greg Tzitzitzitzivakopolous
The seniors season so far hadn't gone quite according to plan. Some good
performances had not been rewarded with results, so the lads were determined
to put things right today. Again they were hampered by the reduced numbers,
but we can now boast some strength in depth. It was good to see Anouk
restored to the starting line up and Theo was rewarded for his efforts, by
being promoted to the "ones".
A glance at previous results gave us an indication that St Trinian's were
pretty good going forward having scored plenty, but looked fragile at the
back. So the lads thought with a bit of planning and determination a result
was on the cards. Straight from the start they took the game to the visitors
and the early chances fell to Steve's charges. There were a couple of
corners and a couple of long range efforts, but nothing that caused too much
concern to the opposition keeper. By the way, a quick glance at their keeper
had us believing Axel Rose had made an appearance. A couple of minutes later
it was the Waverley warriors who were in paradise city as Greg opened the
scoring. He placed an inch perfect header into the far corner from a superb
30m cross from Steve on the left.
Julian, Ian and Micky V shackled the pacey front men from the students and
gave them nothing to work with. So the lads kept the lead intact up til
halftime. There were no alarms in the first 45 minutes as everything was
under control. What wasn't under control was the opposition coach. His
halftime rant to his players was a joy to behold. It would have made one of
Alex Ferguson's famous hairdryer rants sound lame. But would it work?
Actually yes it did. St Trinian's came out of the blocks in the second half
and got back on level terms within seconds of the restart.
Chances fell regularly for both sides during the second half, but the game
remained a tight and closely fought affair. Kon was dictating play in the
middle along with Greg. Dean was given a man marking job on their
player/coach Atila the Hun, and gave him nothing for the rest of the game.
Alistair managed to pull off one of his now famous one handed saves again,
just to give us palpitations. Theo came on to make his debut for the seniors
and did enough to suggest he can hold his own at this level.
And so it remained at 1-1 as the ref blew for full time. A point earned,
although three would have been just. The lads played a disciplined game
against a team lying third on the ladder, so next time round should have
nothing to fear. Plenty of optimism lads and thank your lucky stars you have
a level-headed coach. Our final word must be one of sympathy to the visitors
players who had to put up with the spiteful vitriol from their idiotic
coach. We thought it was only a game.
A couple of notable highlights today would be Matey and Ian. Matey had
an outstanding match on the right side of midfield showing tireless and
fearsome qualities. Ian was also celebrating his 200th game for the club
both at senior and junior level. Both giving a good example of the
pathway through from the junior club to the seniors. There are plenty
more where they came from too, so the future is starting to look
intimidatingly good."
Good stuff lads, not a bad game and surely enough to build on for the weeks
ahead. See you next week
be interested enough if you're actually reading this. The break was needed
by everyone, not least the players who were looking to recharge the
batteries and shake off a few niggling injuries. Recharging the batteries is
also known as drinking in the pub, as the lads decided to have a night off
training too. There are some tales to tell from the night at Century City
Walk and the Wheelers, but they'll remain a secret for now. So with bodies
refreshed it was time to get back to the action. Off we go with this week's
futile attempt to accurately reflect the weekends happenings ....
Round 10 v Old Trinity Grammarians
Venue ... Larpent (can you smell the burning pies) Reserve
Weather ... We've had warmer days
Reserves
Result ... 0-3
(Halftime score ... 0-2)
Scorers ... None, but we came close a few times!
Last time out, the lads unbeaten start to the season came to a grinding halt
and they were anxious to get back on the winning trail. However they were
hampered by injuries, illness and unavailability with at least 8 players out
from the 2 squads. So the call went out and was answered by Bill O and Rob C
from the masters, Kenneth Trac from the U18's and Dean ("These jelly beans
are nice") Salamouras all helping to boost the numbers. The lads were also
grateful to Dan for pulling on the keepers jersey in Steve's absence. Pity
the FFV didn't cover the shortage of referee's as well. But anyway, Louie
was happy to pretend he knew what he was doing and took on official duties.
With so many changes, the lads were going to find it tough going, but to
their credit they settled pretty well. Yure on the right and Murray on the
left gave the side some width and they looked good going forward. For the
first 15 or 20 minutes, the visitors struggled. Sean and Sam in the middle
tried manfully but started to lose ground to their more physical opponents
and it wasn't long before St Trinian's finally got their noses in front. A
bit of a nothing ball out to the left wasn't dealt with and the ball was
eased past an advancing Dan. The second goal came within 10 minutes. A
speculative ball into the box ended up lobbing the keeper. Fortunate? Maybe,
but it was 0-2 and it was an uphill struggle from then on.
The Glen Waverley boys are made of sterner stuff these days and dug in. The
first clear chance for the home side came as Rob lashed in a fearsome drive
which clattered off the upright. Matt Soon raced in and managed to miss the
rebound from 5 metres with the goal at his mercy. From this moment the
afternoon was starting to take on a familiar pattern to those who have been
involved in the game for a long time - we weren't going to score. Try as we
might the ball would just not go in. Rob managed to hit the post again and
continuous pressure in the second half could not breach the visitors
defences. In the push to get back on terms, the visitors managed to grab the
third and final goal on the break. Totally unjustified and hard on the lads,
especially Sean Weragoda who had a fine game at left back and Dan in goal.
Dean enjoyed a few quality touches and Kenneth was unlucky on few occasions.
It's not often you can say 0-3 was unlucky, but the lads were. Three times
the post came to St Trinian's rescue today, so on another day the score
would have and should have been different. Moment of the day should be
reserved for Sam, last seen using a frozen pie to ease a bruise on his head.
He couldn't remember who he was, so we told him he was Ronaldo. We last saw
him trying to find Paris Hilton's number and looking for directions to
Madrid. All good Sam, total commitment equals total stupidity.
So could the Seniors turn around our fortunes? Let's find out ....
Seniors
Result ... 1-1
(Halftime score ... 1-0)
Scorers ... Greg Tzitzitzitzivakopolous
The seniors season so far hadn't gone quite according to plan. Some good
performances had not been rewarded with results, so the lads were determined
to put things right today. Again they were hampered by the reduced numbers,
but we can now boast some strength in depth. It was good to see Anouk
restored to the starting line up and Theo was rewarded for his efforts, by
being promoted to the "ones".
A glance at previous results gave us an indication that St Trinian's were
pretty good going forward having scored plenty, but looked fragile at the
back. So the lads thought with a bit of planning and determination a result
was on the cards. Straight from the start they took the game to the visitors
and the early chances fell to Steve's charges. There were a couple of
corners and a couple of long range efforts, but nothing that caused too much
concern to the opposition keeper. By the way, a quick glance at their keeper
had us believing Axel Rose had made an appearance. A couple of minutes later
it was the Waverley warriors who were in paradise city as Greg opened the
scoring. He placed an inch perfect header into the far corner from a superb
30m cross from Steve on the left.
Julian, Ian and Micky V shackled the pacey front men from the students and
gave them nothing to work with. So the lads kept the lead intact up til
halftime. There were no alarms in the first 45 minutes as everything was
under control. What wasn't under control was the opposition coach. His
halftime rant to his players was a joy to behold. It would have made one of
Alex Ferguson's famous hairdryer rants sound lame. But would it work?
Actually yes it did. St Trinian's came out of the blocks in the second half
and got back on level terms within seconds of the restart.
Chances fell regularly for both sides during the second half, but the game
remained a tight and closely fought affair. Kon was dictating play in the
middle along with Greg. Dean was given a man marking job on their
player/coach Atila the Hun, and gave him nothing for the rest of the game.
Alistair managed to pull off one of his now famous one handed saves again,
just to give us palpitations. Theo came on to make his debut for the seniors
and did enough to suggest he can hold his own at this level.
And so it remained at 1-1 as the ref blew for full time. A point earned,
although three would have been just. The lads played a disciplined game
against a team lying third on the ladder, so next time round should have
nothing to fear. Plenty of optimism lads and thank your lucky stars you have
a level-headed coach. Our final word must be one of sympathy to the visitors
players who had to put up with the spiteful vitriol from their idiotic
coach. We thought it was only a game.
A couple of notable highlights today would be Matey and Ian. Matey had
an outstanding match on the right side of midfield showing tireless and
fearsome qualities. Ian was also celebrating his 200th game for the club
both at senior and junior level. Both giving a good example of the
pathway through from the junior club to the seniors. There are plenty
more where they came from too, so the future is starting to look
intimidatingly good."
Good stuff lads, not a bad game and surely enough to build on for the weeks
ahead. See you next week