Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the weekly roundup. We actually play in the
Provisional league South East. So where did we head this week? You've
guessed it, we went North! Up to Eltham North actually. To be honest we
found ourselves in a nice setting and the welcome was friendly enough. So
would the general ambience and bonhomie manifest itself on the pitch? Read
on to find out.
Round 11 v Eltham North
Venue ... Eltham North Reserve
Weather ... A bit breezy, a bit chilly and at one point it was raining with
the sun shining. Odd.
Reserves
Result ... 3-0
(Halftime score ... 1-0)
Scorers ... Matt Soon, Matt Soon and Matt Soon (he missed plenty too)
Today is the shortest day, but we are going to rename it "Matt Soon Day". As
you can see, Matt had a big say in what happened grabbing his second
hat-trick of his short career. He did have a little help from his mates
though and he also could have had a few more had he not been so nice to the
locals. Once again, the reserves had to shuffle players around as pestilence
and plague put paid to some of the lads. Dan was missing in action and Bill
O was unavailable. The usually dependable U18 fill-ins were also washing
their hair so we ended up lining up with only the bare 12. Never mind,
sometimes the lads perform better with their backs to the wall.
In a reshuffled back line, Tony G was drafted in as sweeper. Sean and Josh
were either side of him and Bill G just in front. The midfield had a
familiar look with Yure, Sam, Eddie and Murray holding the fort. Matt and
Lloydy up front to give us a cutting edge. Little Sean was relegated to the
bench, since his boots had forgotten to join him on the journey north.
Murray came to the rescue with a spare pair so all was good.
The first 15 minutes came and went without anything of note as did the next
30. Except for the magnificent Matt Soon. An early chance went begging but
the opening goal wasn't long in coming. Sammy moved up front gathering the
ball on the right side of the box. He hit the by-line then whipped in a ball
that Matt caught first time slotting in at the near post. Cool finish to a
super move. Surprised? Not really because surely he had to get one sooner or
later. Another half volley was sent inches wide (well actually, nearer the
corner flag) and the lads had taken control. 1-0 at the break and a couple
more would be needed to make the game safe.
Sean W came on halftime for Josh, who'd succumbed to the lurgi. Yure dropped
in a right back and looked like he was made for the position.
The second half pretty much carried on in same vein. Tony was class at the
back and Murray was having his best game so far in the centre of midfield.
The home side were made up of a very enthusiastic bunch of young players,
who eventually just ran out of legs. It was left to Matt to grab his second
and third of the game. His second came from a super piece of individual
skill on the edge of the box after Lloydy had gone past 3 or 4 defenders.
Matt in the meantime had also managed to stuff up an easy one-on-one with
the keeper and also send another easier chance just past the post. Terrific
stuff. Buy a copy of the DVD to see for yourself. I'm not making this up.
So 3-0 it ended up and well done Matt. First on the pitch to congratulate
Matty, at the end of the game was coach Andy. After 2 defeats since he came
back from Europe, the monkey was finally off his back, as we were unbeaten
while he was away.
Top stuff lads and a good way to get back on the winning trail. 3 points in
the bag and a great haul of 19 points at the halfway mark. We managed to get
23 points in the whole of last season so it's a super effort so far. Keep it
up lads, 11 games to go and who knows what will happen. But if Matt gets
some consistency, we might even give the teams at the top a nudge.
Seniors
Result ... 0-2
(Halftime score ... 0-1)
Scorers ... None this week, from us anyway.
There's a fairy story about three little pigs, where the nasty wolf says
he'll "Huff and he'll puff and blow your house down". It was a bit like that
today where the lads did a lot of huffing and puffing, but with little
effect. The Eltham house was made of stern stuff and wouldn't be knocked
over. Nor were they particularly cultured in their approach, but it
ultimately proved effective as they managed to get their first win of the
season.
The seniors were without Nanos this week, but this allowed Theo to get his
first start for the "Ones". Apart from this change, the starting 11 had a
familiar look, and were joined by Sav, Prashan and Alex on the bench.
As for the game, it was largely a scrappy first half as the lads from the
Glen resorted to the same unsophisticated football as the locals. Not too
many passes went to feet and long balls were the order of the day. Chances
were few and far between for either side. Greg had a header go wide and Kon
had a couple of long range efforts. Steve V also gave the home keeper some
exercise, but nothing too troubling. It came as somewhat of a surprise that
Eltham took the lead, although they were helped by the referee. A soft
penalty was calmly put away, giving them a 1-0 advantage at the break.
Savva and Alex were brought on a halftime to add some silk and steel to the
team. Savva especially pretty much took control of the midfield and the game
was played in the Eltham half. More huffing and puffing but scoring seems to
be the achilles heel of the Waverley Warriors. The lads are creating enough
chances, as we saw Alex thunder a half volley over the bar, Steve again
seeing another shot blocked and so on and so on. In pushing on, the lads
were caught again on the break and although there was a suspicion of
offside, the second goal was the final nail in the coffin.
75% of the play and possession, but 0% of the points. Tells its own story
but we need to get some happy endings to some of our stories. Somewhere in
our team there's a good side waiting to get out. Can someone please find the
key?
Not a great haul of points from the first half of the season, but all is not
lost. There is only one way now lads and that is up. Keep your chins up
along with the spirit and we'll get there. Roll on Brighton, we owe them one
for that 1-4 reversal at the start of the season.
Provisional league South East. So where did we head this week? You've
guessed it, we went North! Up to Eltham North actually. To be honest we
found ourselves in a nice setting and the welcome was friendly enough. So
would the general ambience and bonhomie manifest itself on the pitch? Read
on to find out.
Round 11 v Eltham North
Venue ... Eltham North Reserve
Weather ... A bit breezy, a bit chilly and at one point it was raining with
the sun shining. Odd.
Reserves
Result ... 3-0
(Halftime score ... 1-0)
Scorers ... Matt Soon, Matt Soon and Matt Soon (he missed plenty too)
Today is the shortest day, but we are going to rename it "Matt Soon Day". As
you can see, Matt had a big say in what happened grabbing his second
hat-trick of his short career. He did have a little help from his mates
though and he also could have had a few more had he not been so nice to the
locals. Once again, the reserves had to shuffle players around as pestilence
and plague put paid to some of the lads. Dan was missing in action and Bill
O was unavailable. The usually dependable U18 fill-ins were also washing
their hair so we ended up lining up with only the bare 12. Never mind,
sometimes the lads perform better with their backs to the wall.
In a reshuffled back line, Tony G was drafted in as sweeper. Sean and Josh
were either side of him and Bill G just in front. The midfield had a
familiar look with Yure, Sam, Eddie and Murray holding the fort. Matt and
Lloydy up front to give us a cutting edge. Little Sean was relegated to the
bench, since his boots had forgotten to join him on the journey north.
Murray came to the rescue with a spare pair so all was good.
The first 15 minutes came and went without anything of note as did the next
30. Except for the magnificent Matt Soon. An early chance went begging but
the opening goal wasn't long in coming. Sammy moved up front gathering the
ball on the right side of the box. He hit the by-line then whipped in a ball
that Matt caught first time slotting in at the near post. Cool finish to a
super move. Surprised? Not really because surely he had to get one sooner or
later. Another half volley was sent inches wide (well actually, nearer the
corner flag) and the lads had taken control. 1-0 at the break and a couple
more would be needed to make the game safe.
Sean W came on halftime for Josh, who'd succumbed to the lurgi. Yure dropped
in a right back and looked like he was made for the position.
The second half pretty much carried on in same vein. Tony was class at the
back and Murray was having his best game so far in the centre of midfield.
The home side were made up of a very enthusiastic bunch of young players,
who eventually just ran out of legs. It was left to Matt to grab his second
and third of the game. His second came from a super piece of individual
skill on the edge of the box after Lloydy had gone past 3 or 4 defenders.
Matt in the meantime had also managed to stuff up an easy one-on-one with
the keeper and also send another easier chance just past the post. Terrific
stuff. Buy a copy of the DVD to see for yourself. I'm not making this up.
So 3-0 it ended up and well done Matt. First on the pitch to congratulate
Matty, at the end of the game was coach Andy. After 2 defeats since he came
back from Europe, the monkey was finally off his back, as we were unbeaten
while he was away.
Top stuff lads and a good way to get back on the winning trail. 3 points in
the bag and a great haul of 19 points at the halfway mark. We managed to get
23 points in the whole of last season so it's a super effort so far. Keep it
up lads, 11 games to go and who knows what will happen. But if Matt gets
some consistency, we might even give the teams at the top a nudge.
Seniors
Result ... 0-2
(Halftime score ... 0-1)
Scorers ... None this week, from us anyway.
There's a fairy story about three little pigs, where the nasty wolf says
he'll "Huff and he'll puff and blow your house down". It was a bit like that
today where the lads did a lot of huffing and puffing, but with little
effect. The Eltham house was made of stern stuff and wouldn't be knocked
over. Nor were they particularly cultured in their approach, but it
ultimately proved effective as they managed to get their first win of the
season.
The seniors were without Nanos this week, but this allowed Theo to get his
first start for the "Ones". Apart from this change, the starting 11 had a
familiar look, and were joined by Sav, Prashan and Alex on the bench.
As for the game, it was largely a scrappy first half as the lads from the
Glen resorted to the same unsophisticated football as the locals. Not too
many passes went to feet and long balls were the order of the day. Chances
were few and far between for either side. Greg had a header go wide and Kon
had a couple of long range efforts. Steve V also gave the home keeper some
exercise, but nothing too troubling. It came as somewhat of a surprise that
Eltham took the lead, although they were helped by the referee. A soft
penalty was calmly put away, giving them a 1-0 advantage at the break.
Savva and Alex were brought on a halftime to add some silk and steel to the
team. Savva especially pretty much took control of the midfield and the game
was played in the Eltham half. More huffing and puffing but scoring seems to
be the achilles heel of the Waverley Warriors. The lads are creating enough
chances, as we saw Alex thunder a half volley over the bar, Steve again
seeing another shot blocked and so on and so on. In pushing on, the lads
were caught again on the break and although there was a suspicion of
offside, the second goal was the final nail in the coffin.
75% of the play and possession, but 0% of the points. Tells its own story
but we need to get some happy endings to some of our stories. Somewhere in
our team there's a good side waiting to get out. Can someone please find the
key?
Not a great haul of points from the first half of the season, but all is not
lost. There is only one way now lads and that is up. Keep your chins up
along with the spirit and we'll get there. Roll on Brighton, we owe them one
for that 1-4 reversal at the start of the season.