Back on the road again this week, we enjoyed the luxury of a short 10 minute
drive down the East link to the delights of Doveton. Dont let the name of
Doveton fool you by the way. The last dove to be seen down there was
actually the main ingredient of a mysterious stew. Never mind though, the
locals were welcoming enough so we looked forward to getting on with round 4
at Power Reserve. This is how the action unfolded in the action-packed
league division III .....

Round 4 v Endeavour Hills
Venue ... Power Reserve (named after the high voltage lines nearby, we
think)
Weather ... wind blowing too fast for us to notice any
Crowd ... not many, but there were plenty of steamed up cars in the car
park. (because of the inclement weather)

Reserves
Result ... 4-4
Scorers ... Yureshan, Sam, Dan, Bill G.

This week Tony G was sidelined after getting the old wisdom teeth out and
with a couple of other MIA's, we were down to a measly 2 on the bench.
However it gave us the opportunity to pull in one of the U16's as cover and
Dean Salamouras was given the chance to experience senior football for the
first time.

So with the real referee displaying invisible properties, the locals
provided a myopic substitute. The game started on time at exactly 3 minutes
past one. At exactly 3 minutes plus 5 seconds past one, we were one-nil up.
Yes, it was that quick. In fact the peep from ref's whistle was still
echoing round the ground when Yureshin scored. At kick-off, James knocked it
to Ian, who then rolled the ball back to Eddie. Yureshan was then sent down
the right. Taking it on about 20m, he then sent in a cross of such exacting
ineptitude that it confused even their keeper. A flap and a fumble and the
ball fell gently over the line to give us the lead. Little did we know this
was to open the flood gates for a goal fest.

The next 15 or 20 minutes saw plenty of end to end action, but the Waverley
boys were pretty much in control for the opening period. James was sent
through a couple of times only to see his shots squeeze narrowly wide. Sam
also had chances as did Ian and Eddie. However it was the home side who
managed to snatch an unlikely equaliser. As the ball was crossed into our
box from the left, it seemed to being going harmlessly over. Sam was under
the ball but it brushed his arm and the ref had no hesitation in pointing to
a spot. We say 'a' spot, because there was no real spot. It was found and
the ball was placed on it to stop it running away again. Anyway, back to the
action, Steve S almost managed to keep out the penalty, getting a hand on
it, but it trickled in so 1-1 it was.

The action continued and keen to make amends, Sam got involved in just about
every attacking move from the Waverley lads. He finally got his reward,
heading our second from a cross by Yure. Great stuff. Now could we hold onto
the lead until halftime? The answer was no. Caught on the break, their
Adebayor look-a-like got in between our two defenders and slotted in their
second equaliser of the day. This finished the scoring for the half and just
as well. We all needed to catch our breath. Mind you we had to do it all on
our own as the home side ref could only see blue on the pitch. Having no
official ref can make it difficult, but you have to respect that. However,
when they only see things one way, respect sticks in the throat, gets
jumbled up a little, then comes out as "cheating twat" or "you've got to be
joking, you dickhead" or something. Yure's sliding tackle was penalised for
studs up (studs 1.5cm from the ground). James head was nearly taken off by a
foot up (studs 1.5m from the ground) but play on. Guess which one was nearer
their goal.

Whinge over and halftime safely tucked away, the second half started in
equally frantic fashion. The boys in white dominated from the start and were
camped in the Endeavour half. The pressure intensified and from a corner on
the left, the ball cannoned around. Bill G latched onto the loose ball
ramming it home for number three. The pace of the game matched the wind and
the referee was struggling to keep up. In the end he succumbed to cramp and
ended being the first replacement of the day. The replacement ref came on
and we hoped the standard would improve. We needn't have worried though as
his first big decision went our way, a penalty, by way of a handball just
inside the box. The spot hadn't moved since we found it last and Dan stepped
up to calmly slot home the fourth.

A 4-2 lead and all was well in our world. Looking forward to a table topping
end to the afternoon, we didn't expect the onslaught from a fired up home
side. Losing James to an ankle injury and Bill to old age, we copped 2 goals
late in the game to see 2 points get blown away in the howling wind. The
third home side goal came from a poorly defended corner and the 4th from a
needlessly conceded free-kick on the edge of the box. And so the game ended
with honours even though we almost treated it as a loss, such is the
expectation of the team.

On reflection, we can be pleased that the lads are still unbeaten. It took
us until round 10 last season to get as many points as we have by round 4
this year. We're scoring in every game and playing some good football into
the bargain. Title challengers? Too early to tell, but they are showing they
belong in this league. Well played lads and top marks for Sam, Ian and Yure
who put in what should have been match winning performances. Congratulations
to Dean S, for his debut in the Reserves.

Finally we say farewell to Eyyup as he heads off back to Germany after his
all-too-brief stay here in Australia. Rarely mentioned in the match reports,
he was one of our quiet achievers who went about his business on the pitch.
He'll be welcomed back anytime and hope he keeps in touch, hopefully as he
gets that contract with Bayern.

All done now with the Reserves, we look forward to next week's top-of-the
table clash with the Argonauts of Bayside.



Seniors
Result ... 5-3
Scorers ... Nanos (2), Dean, Petey, Alex

We'd just been treated to an eight goal thriller in the reserves game, so it
was up to the seniors to keep up the momentum and see if they could match
the excitement. We were not disappointed as they too provided a fantastic
spectacle for the hardy souls braving the chilling wind.

The squad remained largely unchanged from last week, with only Met and Steve
S missing from the starting line-up. Met's hammy was not fully recovered, so
this gave Dean another opportunity to show what he could do up front.
Alistair needed to be given some game time in the firsts to see what he
could do, so he was entrusted with the gloves today.

Okay, with the referee struggling with the English language it was left up
to the whistle to peep in English. This we understood and so the match
started. It was clear the Larpent Legends are happier playing on a better
surface and so it proved today. Power Reserve had been dramatically improved
since our last visit and the pitch played its part in the ensuing goal-fest.

I've been reminded of how much the midfield was controlled by Greg. Just as
well because I couldn't remember at all. What I do recall however is Kon
having a major influence in the first half especially as he put himself
about. Sav too, enjoyed a fair amount of ball in the middle of the park.
Alex and Petey were just about given the freedom of the wings and it was
from these two that we scored our first 2 goals. Pete grabbed the first
slotting home from just inside the box.

The lead was short lived though as Endeavour pushed on with the wind to
their advantage. Winning a corner on the left, the ensuing kick was sent
into the 6 yard box. An innocuous ball was expertly turned into his own net
by Steve V off his chest. An undeserved equaliser was quickly erased from
the memory banks as Alex got our second. He latched onto a crossfield ball
from Sav/Kon/Greg (you chose) then attacked the box with venom. He was
closed down quickly by the keeper and defender, but got his foot to the ball
first and got the reward he deserved by scoring. Like the reserves in the
first game, you can't let our lads look after any of your dogs - they can't
hold onto a lead. The locals got back on level terms in fortuitous
circumstances (that's lucky shits for the benefit of Dean and Petey).
Another corner from the left was sent high into the 6 yard box. The ball
drifted in on the wind and beat everyone into the far corner. A one in a
hundred chance but there we are.

So there we were, all square at halftime but looking forward to having the
wind in our favour in the second half. A few adventurous ones amongst us had
some of their canteen's offerings, but the wind was strong enough not to
need any artificial assistance.

Back to the game and the Waverley lads took a stranglehold on the game.
Pressing continually from the start this pressure eventually told. Michael
Nanos finally found his goal scoring touch by slotting home a well placed
shot low inside the bottom left hand corner. Back in the lead and looking
good. With the goals continuing to flood in, it's difficult to recall
precisely in what order they came. Endeavour grabbed a third, but Michael
and Dean put the game out of reach of the home team getting our 4th and 5th.
Michael's second of the game was a ripping half-volley from inside the box
and Dean's came from a looping header over the hapless keeper. Dean enjoyed
his goal as did the rest of the lads as they joined in the celebration.
Deano had been getting some verbal diahorea from the home side supporters
and he enjoyed giving it back in the best way possible.

Matey and Anouk were sent on to replace the tiring Kon and Steve V. Prashan
also made his debut in the seniors, but struggled to get to the pace of the
game.Nevertheless, the scoring stopped at 5. Enough is enough. So the ref brought
proceedings to an end but the celebrating had only just begun. The Waverley
chant had never been shouted so loudly as it was today. The first win of the
season and the Glen Waverley show is well and truly up and running. A
tremendous result, but 1-0 would have done just as well. The "old-lags"
stood up and were counted today, but there were equally impressive
contributions from Sav, Julian and Dean.

Catching up with Steve in the after match celebrations, he said "Enjoy the
win tonight lads, you deserve it. But then  start to focus on our next game.
We've got to keep up the momentum as we meet the challenges ahead." We left
him looking forward to the challenges ahead, but also enjoying what had gone
on before.