Click here for this weeks 'Special Report'.
nd here we are again. Another week safely tucked away and Saturday coming
into full view. We had to take a short trip up the Eastern freeway to the
magnificent sports complex of Trinity Grammar school. What a place, they had
everything. They even had spare coaches boxes, for crying out loud. Some
grounds barely have any. The only let down was the changing rooms, but I
think we were being a little picky. Anyway, looking at the pitch, there was
no reason why the lads couldn't turn on the style, and turn it on they did,
as you'll find out if you read on ....
Round 21 v Old Trinity Grammarians
Venue ... Trinity Sports Complex (WOW!)
Weather ... Pretty good and thankfully no wind.
Reserves
Result ... 4-2
Halftime ... 3-0
Scorers ... Alex M (3), Kenny
With a number of forced changes to the line-up, into the side came Ruby,
Alex, Dean and Kenny. Ruby joined us from the Masters and was playing his
second game for the Reserves, oddly enough against the team he played his
first game against. Dean Salamouras was also excited to get another chance
to play in the reserves. He'd obviously spent a lot of time on his hair just
for the occasion. Alex, the flying winger, and Kenny, the excitement
machine, were both familiar faces and they too had a major impact on
proceedings.
From changes in personnel, there were some significant positional changes
too. With 2 games left and only pride and a bit of fun to play for, we
thought we'd mix things up a bit to see what would happen. So, Matt Soon
found himself at left back, Sean Weston was given his chance in the stopper
role, allowing Dan to push up into midfield.
Pretty much for the first time this season the Glen Waverley boys were in
charge from the start and for the most part it stayed that way for the full
90 minutes. Old Trinity were barely in the game and their chances were
limited to some half chances on the break and a short period at the end of
the game when changes were being made.
The lads took the lead after about 10 minutes and it was no more than they
deserved. Using Kenny's blistering pace down the right he crossed the ball
for Alex to finish off. It was only a matter of time before the second came
and this time good work down the right from Prashan, led to Kenny slotting
the ball home. Alex got the third of the half and his second, actually
scoring with his right from a loose ball in the box.
Old Trinity really had no answer to the passing and movement of the
visitors, and it must have came as a bit of a surprise as they thought the
game was going to be a stroll in the park. They weren't expecting to be so
comprehensively outplayed but the writing must have been on the wall when
Bill G and Prashan both nutmegged their opponents in the same pass and move.
Playing sexy football, they were, playing sexy football.
The superb display of attacking football was in no small part due to Ruby
and Kenny, who were causing so many problems for the home side up front.
This gave our midfield of Dan and Murray space and time which they exploited
to good effect. Prashan and Alex were also enjoying the freedom out wide.
Even Bill G and Matt Soon galloped forward from time to time, overlapping
and lending support to every free-flowing attack. Theo was virtually
untroubled all game at sweeper and Sean Weston gave a commanding performance
at stopper, a lot of moves starting from his cultured passing.
At 3-0 up, the lads would have been excused if they had taken their foot off
the gas, however there was no let up. The attacking play continued and a
penalty came from another burst into the box by Kenny. Looking around for
likely penalty takers, it was left to Alex as he was given the opportunity
to grab his hat trick, which did superbly.
With the game effectively over, a raft of changes saw Eddie on for Dan,
Chris for Kenny, Dean for Ruby. This seemed to disturb the equilibrium and
the lads conceded 2 late goals. This flattered the home side as they had had
no real answer to the fluid attacking Glen Waverley side. Overall on chances
an 8-2 scoreline would have been a more accurate reflection of how well the
lads played.
Apologies for rabbitting on a little too much today, but the lads
performance deserved due recognition. Hopefully next week they can finish
the season on a high and cement a richly deserved 6th place.
Now let's see if the Seniors could keep up the momentum and give the school
boys another lesson in sexy soccer.
Seniors
Result ... 2-1
Halftime ... 1-0
Scorers ... Metin, Nanos
The senior lads were looking for 6 points out of 6 in the remaining 2
rounds, to give them the best chance of grabbing the vital 10th spot in the
league. So the pressure was certainly on today as they took on the
Grammarians from Old Trinity. (I wonder if there is a new Trinity?). Old or
new though, there was no complaints about the pitch this week. Nice and flat
and with no wind to battle against, everything looked good.
Changes this week? Alistair in for Steve in goal, Micky V back into the
team, returning after suspension, and Steven back into the starting line up.
The bench was strengthened this week with Dean, Anouk and Petey all itching
to get into the action.
This week we were again blessed with a referee, who meant business from the
start, clamping down very quickly on any dissent. In fact Greg was the first
recipient, who was told to shut up in no uncertain manner after Greg had
told the referee his thoughts.
The home side were quick out the blocks, and none were quicker than the two
wide midfielders. These 2 speed merchants gave Micky V and Nanos plenty to
think about, however their crossing ability didn't back up the pace. Too
many times they got into great positions only to be let down by the final
ball. In fact, they both made pretty good impersonations of Leigh Broxham.
Still, Kon and "Shut up" Greg worked hard in midfield as did Justin. A lot
of the home sides attacks were stifled before they started. It was during
one of the breakdowns that Kon latched on to a loose ball sending a looping
ball forward. Metin rose and managed to get his head to the ball and send
his header into an unguarded net. So slightly against the run of play, the
Glen Waverley boys took the lead.
This looked to inspire the lads and their confidence grew. Micky V, who was
playing out of position on the right hand side, was having a super game,
involved in most of the good things happening down the right. The game
started to ebb and flow as both sides had good spells in the remainder of
the half.
Tony, Julian and Ian were also having their work cut out faced with the
pacey home side attack. However it was Alistair who was having the standout
game. When the Grammarians did breakthrough, Alistair pulled off some
stunning saves which served to justify Steve's decision to promote him for
this important game.
Holding on to the 1-0 lead at the break, the lads looked to tighten up and
make sure they would not give up result easily. It took another break, this
time from Nanos to ease the nerves. Another through ball from midfield (we
think it was from "shut up" Greg) caught the home side napping and Nanos
galloped into the box and finished off his first real chance of the game.
This gave the Waverly boys a bit of breathing space, but Alistair was called
upon to make a string of fine saves to keep the home side at bay. Peter and
Anouk were both introduced to add some fresh legs and keep the pressure on
the tiring but still dangerous home side midfield.
Nervous glances at the watch and the seconds ticked away like hours. Surely
the referee must blow for fulltime, but no. There was still time for him to
give a dodgy free-kick to the Grammarians on the edge of the box, which they
finally managed to convert to bring the score back to 2-1. But this was to
be the last action of the day (or so we thought) and the lads had finally
got the long awaited 3 points. Drama followed the conclusion of the match
which is currently under review, but this shouldn't detract from a good all
round team performance.
Part one complete and 3 points in the bag. Now onto next week, where surely
Eltham must play their part in the Great Escape. So with tunnels nearly
complete, let's see if Steve McQueen makes an appearance next week.
into full view. We had to take a short trip up the Eastern freeway to the
magnificent sports complex of Trinity Grammar school. What a place, they had
everything. They even had spare coaches boxes, for crying out loud. Some
grounds barely have any. The only let down was the changing rooms, but I
think we were being a little picky. Anyway, looking at the pitch, there was
no reason why the lads couldn't turn on the style, and turn it on they did,
as you'll find out if you read on ....
Round 21 v Old Trinity Grammarians
Venue ... Trinity Sports Complex (WOW!)
Weather ... Pretty good and thankfully no wind.
Reserves
Result ... 4-2
Halftime ... 3-0
Scorers ... Alex M (3), Kenny
With a number of forced changes to the line-up, into the side came Ruby,
Alex, Dean and Kenny. Ruby joined us from the Masters and was playing his
second game for the Reserves, oddly enough against the team he played his
first game against. Dean Salamouras was also excited to get another chance
to play in the reserves. He'd obviously spent a lot of time on his hair just
for the occasion. Alex, the flying winger, and Kenny, the excitement
machine, were both familiar faces and they too had a major impact on
proceedings.
From changes in personnel, there were some significant positional changes
too. With 2 games left and only pride and a bit of fun to play for, we
thought we'd mix things up a bit to see what would happen. So, Matt Soon
found himself at left back, Sean Weston was given his chance in the stopper
role, allowing Dan to push up into midfield.
Pretty much for the first time this season the Glen Waverley boys were in
charge from the start and for the most part it stayed that way for the full
90 minutes. Old Trinity were barely in the game and their chances were
limited to some half chances on the break and a short period at the end of
the game when changes were being made.
The lads took the lead after about 10 minutes and it was no more than they
deserved. Using Kenny's blistering pace down the right he crossed the ball
for Alex to finish off. It was only a matter of time before the second came
and this time good work down the right from Prashan, led to Kenny slotting
the ball home. Alex got the third of the half and his second, actually
scoring with his right from a loose ball in the box.
Old Trinity really had no answer to the passing and movement of the
visitors, and it must have came as a bit of a surprise as they thought the
game was going to be a stroll in the park. They weren't expecting to be so
comprehensively outplayed but the writing must have been on the wall when
Bill G and Prashan both nutmegged their opponents in the same pass and move.
Playing sexy football, they were, playing sexy football.
The superb display of attacking football was in no small part due to Ruby
and Kenny, who were causing so many problems for the home side up front.
This gave our midfield of Dan and Murray space and time which they exploited
to good effect. Prashan and Alex were also enjoying the freedom out wide.
Even Bill G and Matt Soon galloped forward from time to time, overlapping
and lending support to every free-flowing attack. Theo was virtually
untroubled all game at sweeper and Sean Weston gave a commanding performance
at stopper, a lot of moves starting from his cultured passing.
At 3-0 up, the lads would have been excused if they had taken their foot off
the gas, however there was no let up. The attacking play continued and a
penalty came from another burst into the box by Kenny. Looking around for
likely penalty takers, it was left to Alex as he was given the opportunity
to grab his hat trick, which did superbly.
With the game effectively over, a raft of changes saw Eddie on for Dan,
Chris for Kenny, Dean for Ruby. This seemed to disturb the equilibrium and
the lads conceded 2 late goals. This flattered the home side as they had had
no real answer to the fluid attacking Glen Waverley side. Overall on chances
an 8-2 scoreline would have been a more accurate reflection of how well the
lads played.
Apologies for rabbitting on a little too much today, but the lads
performance deserved due recognition. Hopefully next week they can finish
the season on a high and cement a richly deserved 6th place.
Now let's see if the Seniors could keep up the momentum and give the school
boys another lesson in sexy soccer.
Seniors
Result ... 2-1
Halftime ... 1-0
Scorers ... Metin, Nanos
The senior lads were looking for 6 points out of 6 in the remaining 2
rounds, to give them the best chance of grabbing the vital 10th spot in the
league. So the pressure was certainly on today as they took on the
Grammarians from Old Trinity. (I wonder if there is a new Trinity?). Old or
new though, there was no complaints about the pitch this week. Nice and flat
and with no wind to battle against, everything looked good.
Changes this week? Alistair in for Steve in goal, Micky V back into the
team, returning after suspension, and Steven back into the starting line up.
The bench was strengthened this week with Dean, Anouk and Petey all itching
to get into the action.
This week we were again blessed with a referee, who meant business from the
start, clamping down very quickly on any dissent. In fact Greg was the first
recipient, who was told to shut up in no uncertain manner after Greg had
told the referee his thoughts.
The home side were quick out the blocks, and none were quicker than the two
wide midfielders. These 2 speed merchants gave Micky V and Nanos plenty to
think about, however their crossing ability didn't back up the pace. Too
many times they got into great positions only to be let down by the final
ball. In fact, they both made pretty good impersonations of Leigh Broxham.
Still, Kon and "Shut up" Greg worked hard in midfield as did Justin. A lot
of the home sides attacks were stifled before they started. It was during
one of the breakdowns that Kon latched on to a loose ball sending a looping
ball forward. Metin rose and managed to get his head to the ball and send
his header into an unguarded net. So slightly against the run of play, the
Glen Waverley boys took the lead.
This looked to inspire the lads and their confidence grew. Micky V, who was
playing out of position on the right hand side, was having a super game,
involved in most of the good things happening down the right. The game
started to ebb and flow as both sides had good spells in the remainder of
the half.
Tony, Julian and Ian were also having their work cut out faced with the
pacey home side attack. However it was Alistair who was having the standout
game. When the Grammarians did breakthrough, Alistair pulled off some
stunning saves which served to justify Steve's decision to promote him for
this important game.
Holding on to the 1-0 lead at the break, the lads looked to tighten up and
make sure they would not give up result easily. It took another break, this
time from Nanos to ease the nerves. Another through ball from midfield (we
think it was from "shut up" Greg) caught the home side napping and Nanos
galloped into the box and finished off his first real chance of the game.
This gave the Waverly boys a bit of breathing space, but Alistair was called
upon to make a string of fine saves to keep the home side at bay. Peter and
Anouk were both introduced to add some fresh legs and keep the pressure on
the tiring but still dangerous home side midfield.
Nervous glances at the watch and the seconds ticked away like hours. Surely
the referee must blow for fulltime, but no. There was still time for him to
give a dodgy free-kick to the Grammarians on the edge of the box, which they
finally managed to convert to bring the score back to 2-1. But this was to
be the last action of the day (or so we thought) and the lads had finally
got the long awaited 3 points. Drama followed the conclusion of the match
which is currently under review, but this shouldn't detract from a good all
round team performance.
Part one complete and 3 points in the bag. Now onto next week, where surely
Eltham must play their part in the Great Escape. So with tunnels nearly
complete, let's see if Steve McQueen makes an appearance next week.