Round 11 as it happened …..

And so it came to pass, our valiant troops were sent forth to do battle on the fields of Broadmeadows.

Steve was unavailable this week as all things maternal on the home front took precedence. Her indoors was about to deliver the “imminent one” and Steve needed to be ready with his beloved just in case. (However he had the phone fully charged and was kept informed minute by minute as the day unfolded) 

Things were stacked against the lads as they were without their regular keeper, Liam having injured his hand the night before. Also Upfield were boasting an unbeaten record and were looking to maintain this. Anyway, the lads rolled up their sleeves and with Steve’s instructions ringing in their ears, they took to the task in hand. If you are still awake, you can read on to find out what happened. If it’s a little serious this week, it’s cos it was serious. We had a seriously defunct referee, the food was seriously dire, the pitch was seriously small and the weather was seriously cold. So seriously, here we go with the serious stuff ....

Reserves

Upfield (2) 3 v 0 (0) Glen Waverley

As kick-off time approached, we were still waiting on players arriving. All of the planning and hard work at training seemed to be in vain as players arrived in dribs and drabs. The last of the drabs finally arrived and we had 11 to start. And start they did. From the word go the young players stood up and took the game to Upfield. The first three or four chances fell to the lads from the East and with more composure in front of goal could have (or should have) taken the lead. With Savva bossing the midfield and Robbie and Alex pressing, the Glen Waverley boys were well in control. Special mention for Robbie this week as he played his 200th game for the club. Top effort Robbie, more on this later. Ari was promoted to the “Ones” and no-one else looked likely or willing to don the gloves. We are in debt to an injured Dan, who bravely volunteered his services and played through the pain barrier. It took a couple of long range efforts to get past him. These two goals however gave the home side some crumbs of comfort leading up to halftime in what had been up until then an uncomfortable afternoon.

As the game wore on it was clear that the lads were not going to get the result their efforts deserved. For long periods of the game the reserves dominated and with a bit of luck (or assistance from the referee) the result would have been different. The referee in his wisdom chose to wave yellow cards around like a man waving yellow cards around. Some were inexplicable, some were unbelievable, but all were for us. Presumably it was because they matched the yellow shirts. Yureshan was the odd man out, given a straight red for swearing at the ref. Yureshan was then given a send off from the home sides keeper that would have made a docker blush. But obviously the man in black didn’t hear that bit. Still it is now becoming a familiar pattern in their venture to the western suburbs. Intimidation and home side referees are now a regular thing and one which the young players will overcome as their experience grows. Well done lads, you stood up well but didn’t get your just rewards. Your day will come and it will be good. So it is written.

Sir Alex was in recalcitrant mood and not available for comment. Not sure what recalcitrant means, but it looked good. If it offends – sorry.

Seniors

Upfield (1) 2 v 1 (1) Glen Waverley

After the disappointment of the Reserves game it was left to the Seniors to it take to the opposition. Upfield are unbeaten so far this season and they would have assumed an easy afternoon was in store. It took them about 2 minutes to realise that they were not going to have it all their own way. Pressure and discipline were the key elements Steve had instilled in his troops and they carried out the instructions to the letter. Pressure was applied across the pitch and the home side’s attacking potential was stifled from the start. In fact it was the Glen Waverley boys who ended up with the best of the openings early in the first half. As the pressure mounted Upfield could find no answer, and it was no surprise they ended up a goal down midway through the first half. Micky V struck a superb shot which hit the far left hand corner of the net, leaving the home goalkeeper stranded. In fact this was a new experience for Upfield as this was the first time this season they had been behind in any match and basically had no answer. It took some intervention from a slightly confused referee, to offer some assistance. He awarded a free kick, for who knows what, to Upfield and the speculative effort seemed to take an age as it trickled goal-ward. With Ari stepping into goal at the last minute it was inevitable there would be some communication breakdown in the defence. And so it proved as the ball ended up in the net, giving Upfield a hardly deserved equaliser. The locals went into the sheds with relief etched all over their faces.  The phones by this time were red hot as Steve got regular updates. At one point we were even going to enlist Justin’s help to do a screen capture for the internet. Again some milestones were passed in the Seniors game with Dean also passing the 200 game mark and Julian get his 100th game under his belt. Well done lads.

The first half performance was as good as anything seen all season with every player playing their part. As mentioned, Ari was a last minute call up and let no-one down. Alex was in the middle of most things in the midfield and Ben and Petey ran their legs off chasing everything down. Unfortunately two silly decisions by “ref of the century” lead to 2 unwarranted goals against the run of play leaving the home side with all 3 points and an opportunity for them to crawl back into their hole and lick their wounds.

Steve worked on a game plan this week, giving the players specific instructions which were carried out to the full. The result is misleading, as to have pushed the table toppers all the way in both matches is a testimony to the players. The matches today gave a good indication of how far we have come as a club. At the midway point of the season, we now average a point a game in Seniors and Reserves. We have scored in all but 6 of the 22 matches played so far and with a little more luck could be pushing the top three. With Micky scoring today, he became the 17th different player to get on the score sheet. Not many teams can boast that record. So all things being equal we can be very proud of the efforts so far. Now let’s build on that success and challenge ourselves to improve on every result in the second half of the season..