Another good week for the U11s. With the distraction of the school holidays behind them and a few good training sessions they kids are starting to put it all together. Jasmin was stuck at home with a good dose of the flu. It unfortunately meant she missed out on the trials for the Regional Schoolgirls team. This is really disappointing for her, but I’m sure she will bounce back next year and create havoc again.

The score was 1 nil at half time, but that didn’t reflect the number of chances they created (never does!). The cross bar and goal posts took a pounding during the opening 25 minutes. SamM eventually made the break away and put the ball in the back of the net.

We were fortunate to have Julio around again and he sorted out a few things at half time. SamM made another break, danced around the goalkeeper and dribbled the ball into the net for his second. Things were looking up. Port Kembla pulled a goal back and  had another couple of chances that could have easily had the score at 2 all, but a little luck went our way. We pulled away with well taken strikes to Wilson and Matty D. Ryan again slid the knife in with an unassuming strike at a really fine angle, catching everyone off guard to finish off proceedings and a final score line of 5-1.

Braeden had a sore foot so he spent the whole game in goals and let TomM run around in the centre of defence with the ever reliable TK. If there was such thing as a coaches award (need to sort that out some how) TK saved the break-aways and tidied things up a number of times (read – SAVED OUR BACON) Dean was his usual excited self and ran like crazy from the back line to the strikers position, and occasionally back again.

Mark and Jacob both had runs in Midfield and up front, both enjoyed the change from the defensive line.

SamL came on for a while but I think I was in as much pain as he was, just watching him try to run.

Bally next week, and as far as I can work out they haven’t been beaten this year, should be a great game. 8:30am at home. Look forward to seeing you all there.

The message from the Supercoach (Julio) is clear, passing, passing, and more passing. Plenty of drills to work on at training.

Garry

 Match Report R3

U8 Green Vs Balgownie Black. 

What a match! What a frenzy of football finesse! When U8 Green took to the field something passed between the players; an understanding, an aspiration… a hunger!

 As soon as the whistle was blown announcing the start of the game, all Cobras spread out to maximise their physical presence in the game. Maintaining their positions and seeking opportunities, U8 Green played as a cohesive team. 

 The smaller pitch presented both teams with congestion issues and there were some awkward scuffles and collisions that impeded the flow of the game but these challenges seemed only to fuel the Cobras focus. All players gave their best and a spectacular game of football unfolded.

 Five minutes in and Josh scored a cracker of a goal, his first for the season. Soon after, Tanesha shot one in and the sideline went wild! It wasn’t long before Bailey slipped one past the keeper, securing a comfortable lead. Tom added to the tally with two more goals. All goals were celebrated with massive grins and recognition that all of the goals scored were a culmination of the skills of the whole team.

 Mikey applied effective pressure and jolted the ball out of the scramble of legs on many occasions. For a player who has never played before it is great to see his confidence increase each week. Stuart has been on the hunt since the season began and again made some exciting breaks. His pace and momentum are exhilarating to watch. Anakin was pivotal to many key moments in the game and generously assisted Tom with his first goal. Despite a headache, Jackson had a great impact on the game. His determination and commitment to follow through after a tackle demonstrates his great tenacity.

 Balgownie also played well and in between the magic moments of U8Green’s performance, they managed to secure four solid goals of their own.

Games like this match illustrate the potential of U8 Green. If they continue to play like they did today, as a unified team and with the hunger of a lone wolf, we will bear witness to many more magic moments.  It was both an entertaining and exciting match to watch. Even if the score hadn’t favoured them, it would still be noted as a memorable match of the season.

 Match awards went to Jackson and Bailey for their solid contributions to the game.

 

Well, where to start…. what a great game! Everyone was involved today, both attacking and defending. Everyone was given a position today in our first attempt to play a new type of “spread out” football. Ben and Corey worked really well together today, both in the midfield and upfront, supporting each other and passing. Ryan was our first half goal keeper today, and what a fantastic job he did! He made a number of sensational saves, and was great at finding a Russell Vale player to get the ball back in play. Riley W was all over the wing and made a few great runs, and was also great in defence. Riley E was in the heart of the action today, and did a heap of great tackles, and also had a couple of “near miss” attempts on goal. Josh and Nash were great and made a lot of good tackles defensively, and also some great attacking play. Olivia was superb in defence again… its great to know that the full back is so handy with the boot and she helped get the ball out from our goal area many times. Ben was the second half goalie and made a few good saves too, and Ryan sure found his feet on the field in the second half, making lots of tackles and good runs.
 
It was a great game of football, and a very close result 5-4. A well deserved victory for the kids today, the played well against a very capable oposition. Player of the week this week went to Ben for his tireless running in the first half and great efforts in goals.
 
Big weekend next weekend, with our first hub at Russell Vale on Saturday, and our Luke Kerr under 8s Gala Day on Sunday. Good luck, and have fun!!

What a difference a week makes! Last week we came up against a red hot Unanderra team that was well drilled in positional and team play. As a consequence they caught us a bit short and put 4 past us in the first half. A few instructions at half time saw us able to stop the goals and improve our team play. At training during the week the boys worked on their team play and positions and today they implemented the “plan”. Well done boys, the inter change of passing at times today was excellent. This saw us come away with a 1 -1 draw against Wollongong Olympic at Beaton Park. We still have long way to go but the improvement has begun!!!! Most of the boys our now starting to think like footballers!!! I look forward to seeing more sweeping moves like the ones I saw today among Jack Donnelly, Jordan Errington & Jack Bell along with Ethan Johnson, Tom Curren and Jake Ryan. With play like that we are well on the way to being the Barcelona of Cawley !!!!!!

Friday 16 April (Cup)

Fernhill 0 v 13 Russell Vale

 In the space of one week I have gone from my biggest loss as a coach to my biggest win. Games like this don’t come along very often, but when they do and it produces an avalanche of goals you can’t help but enjoy it. To give a write up on every goal would fill a book so suffice it to say the goal scorers were as follows Shae Morgan 5, Matthew Nelson 4, Billy Hobbs 2, Jordan Woods 1 & Nathan Armstrong 1. It’s also worth mentioning the goal assists from Hayden Brown 4, Nathan Hennessy 3, Shae Morgan 2, Billy Hobbs 2, Matthew Nelson 1 & Jordan Woods 1. We even managed to miss a second half penalty but the taker, who shall remain nameless, has saved quite a few in his time, so he’s forgiven. It was good to see Matthew Nelson score his first goals for the club, he and Shae Morgan will be a formidable partnership up front this season. It was also nice for Jawad Khan to return to his old club and come away as a winner. Goal of the game and believe me there were plenty to choose from would have to go to Billy Hobbs for a superbly taken volley. Most unusual goal of the game would have to be when Nathan Armstrong played a one-two with the opposing goalie before tucking the ball away for No.13 on the night. From a coaching perspective I was very pleased with the team performance the talking was good, there was a lot of passing and movement off the ball and of course the finishing. I was also proud of the team for not becoming over confident or belittling the opposition, they kept their shape and played some good football. The true test is whether they can keep it up for the rest of the season against the teams from Division II.

 Regards,

 Shaun Hamlet

Russell Vale Green vs Bulli Gold 17/04 

Today’s match was a tough one. After some words of wisdom and a couple of set play drills, U8 Green took to the field. They started well, held their positions firmly and were focussed- their shape was looking very good. Unfortunately they were under constant pressure from Bulli and found it hard to make solid advances. When the Cobras were able to break away, they were met by the hungry opposition who were able to foil most of their goal scoring opportunities.

Bulli had two particularly awesome players whose assault was relentless which meant that Russell Vale’s gaol keepers were kept very busy.  Josh and Tanesha rose to the occasion admirably under difficult circumstances and fended balls off here, kicked them over there, hampering Bulli’s domination.

Bulli were the stronger team on the day and all of the Cobras contributed to the action filled game. The match awards went to Tom who scored a great goal and to Stuart, who again made excellent runs throughout the whole game.

Players of the week

The Support Crew

First of all thanks to the parents for their wonderful efforts setting up the grounds, running the BBQ, and staffing the canteen. Your efforts were very much appreciated.

Another good win for the U11s. 4 -1 against a fellow division 3 team from last year. We scored all 4 goals in the first half. A hat trick to SamM and one to Matty D. We started like a house on fire but the heat soon took it’s toll. They had a few break-away chances and took one of them in the second half. I felt we pressured them a lot more than the scoreline showed. SamL pulled up lame after a hard week at scooter camp and din’t take part.

TK, Jas and Dean played thier whole game in defence and are starting to get forward and attack, when the opportunity is right. The trick is the timing. Matty, Will and Reuben ran well in the first half before the heat, and probably the School holiday festivities, took it’s toll in the. Matty’s goal was a great one with a lot of passing, Will to SamM, and back to Matty D in free space, the ball sailing over the goal keeper giving him no chance at all.

Braeden and Thomas had half a game in goal each and both made some solid saves. Thomas had his run in the defensive line and Braeden took to the outfield up front.

Jacob and Mark played half a game up front and half in defence, both played very well. If there was such thing as a coaches’ award Mark would have definitely taken it out with his passing, something all the kids will work on throughout the year. Ryan played well in the forst half in his most comfortable position  – UP-FRONT-ON-THE-LEFT sending across a few bombs for the defenders to deal with.

Well done everyone. Next week is out litmus test against last year’s division 2 Grand Finalists Port Kembla, at Port Kembla.