Around the Grounds
It was fantastic to see a number of highly contested games at Westside in Round 14, along with hearing about the successes of some of our teams playing away from home! Each and every team has improved throughout the Season and it is great to see the kids taking their mid-week training efforts and implementing it into the weekend games!
U6 Tigers
The Tigers Round 14 fixture was at home against Samford Mariners. The Tigers faced this side previously in the season opener for a 6-4 win and again during one of the Triple Headers in Samford for a 2-all draw.
Both teams appeared equally matched in previous games with goals being scored when the players are not bunched up for either a clear breakaway or long shots reaching the goal. This was the case again in this match.
Samford managed to get past our defence for a couple of clear breaks to our goal that were the difference in the score. The Tigers going down 3-1 with Theo scoring the only goal. The Tigers resilience was on full display to shake off the defeat fairly quickly with a creative post-match photo.
The Player of the Day awards this week went to Theo and Max H.
U7 Geckos
It was a close game this week for the Geckos, with Pine Hills having the run of things early. But the Geckos grew into the game and really showed they are learning to spread out.
The Geckos were able to implement passing and crossing in this game, which led to four different goal scorers for the first time this season. It was a really great match to watch that ended up with 7 goals each.
Player of the Day Awards this week went to Miller for scoring his first goal of the season off a great cross from Henry; and Oskar who scored 4 whilst recovering from illness.
U8 Hornets
The Hornets played Brisbane City Halliday for their Round 14 fixture. Their previous game against this team had been exceptionally tough, with the team losing by a significant margin. It was amazing to see the improvement and determination of the kids. City once again played hard, but the final score was very even, with Westside scoring 6 goals, to City’s 7 goals!
Salvi was awarded Player of the Day for his awesome hat-trick. The boys, Coach Falcs and parents celebrated before photo night on Tuesday with a pizza party. A great time was had by all!
U9 Falcons
The Falcons Round 14 fixture was at home against Taringa Rovers Lizards. The Falcons faced this side earlier in the season for a 2-all draw, however the Falcons came out firing this week for a win.
In the opening minutes of the match, Braxton made a superb pass to the middle to set up Cooper for a nice goal. Ben in goal made a few nice saves also to keep Taringa off the scorecard to end the first half 1- nil.
The match continued in the second half with back-and-forth chances between both sides until Archie scored the second goal for the Falcons to give the boys a comfortable lead.
The boys played really well in defence to minimise Taringa shots reaching our goal. Jasper in goal in the second half made a critical save to keep the momentum with the Falcons. The Falcons made some good passes to each other to move up the field quickly.
Cooper got rewarded with his second goal off a funny bounce in front of the Taringa goalkeeper which dribbled past him for an easy goal. A well-deserved 3-nil win for the Falcons to break a two game losing streak with solid goalkeeping by Ben and Jasper for the Falcons and the first shutout of the season.
The Player of the Day awards this week went to Cooper and Jasper.
U9 Vultures
The Vultures had a full team for the first time in months for a trip out to Moggill.
Ellis started in goal, with Henry, Leo, and Theo defending what was a fast start by Moggill who repeatedly troubled Ellis in goal. Mid-half Moggill had found two goals, but that seemed to inspire our boys, with Fletcher, Leo, Archie, Likit all shooting & troubling the Moggill goalkeeper.
2-0 at the break.
Edgar in goal, and Ellis up front with Theo and Archie on the wings. The second half continued with more shots from Westside; Theo, Ellis, and James all with chances. Eventually Theo was able to kick one past their keeper and we were finally on the board! Eli, Archer, and Likit worked hard in the middle, making plenty of tackles to keep play in Moggill’s half. Edgar had a few saves to make, but not too many, only a mix-up between our defenders & keeper gifted Moggill their 3rd goal.
3-1 to Moggill it ended.
The boys provided an entertaining game, over half the team took shots at the opposition goal, a real improvement with many now confident enough to shoot.
The Player of the Day awards went to Archer – plenty of tackling in the middle chasing some good Moggill players all morning; Likit – plenty of tackles today against some good attackers to reduce their scoring; and Theo – first half excellent defence, second half ran the ball at the opposition goal, and was rewarded with a goal.
U9 Raptors
The Raptors travelled to our neighbours The Gap FC to take on their Kangaroo team. It was a hard-fought match with the Raptors deserved winners 3-2. See the highlights below:
U10 Brumbies
Last week the Brumbies travelled to Narangba for Round 14 against Narangba Eagles. Winter is definitely coming to an end and the sun was belting down on us, making it pretty warm for the girls on field.
The coach of the opposition team is a colorful character, which made for some extra loud cheering from the Westside supporters! Watching so much Woman’s World Cup has really inspired our all female team – from rocking their face paint & Matilda’s hairstyles, to some serious stepped up footwork. They were focused on tackling and ball possession as well as marking the opponents like glue.
The heat resulted in some very red-faced girls as they covered a lot of ground. They fought hard but were defeated 2-nil despite their best efforts – great game ladies!
U11 Wolves
This week saw the reverse home fixture against the UQ Falcons, who had beaten the Wolves 3 – 2 earlier in the season. Historically UQ have always been tough opponents, having been one of only 2 clubs to beat the Wolves last season. Although, it was fair to say that the Wolves more than held their own in the physicality of the previous game. Having largely closed the gaps in defending corners and playing out from the back, this week’s training focused on throw ins and off the ball movement. Following on from last week’s very tough and well fought game at Toowong, we were expecting a slightly easier day at the office.
The boys started very brightly, there were 4 great chances in the first 5 minutes. It was surprising how dominant they were considering the prior result, a testament to how hard they have trained and improved throughout the season. Eli broke the deadlock about half-way into the first half, and shortly after secured a second with his left foot into the bottom corner. Week by week, with confidence growing in his ability to finish with both feet, it’s proving decisive in moments as the opposition defence can’t get set to get a block away.
The boys continued to dominate, but as is often the case in this scenario, some gaps were left open for counter attacks and less focus was being placed on the defence. Prior to kick off, Noah had been taken off throw-in duties to make sure the middle of the park was covered to help contain any breakaway opportunities and hopefully win the ball back high up the pitch, this worked in periods. Eli got his hat trick before halftime, a great team goal, with Dexter picking the ball up off a throw-in and putting a great ball into Eli to finish. For the most part, the off the ball movement from throw-ins was better following the training.
3 – 0 Half-time.
The half-time break centred around what the boy’s thought was working and what they could improve upon. James mentioned the good wing play and movement of the ball. From a coaching standpoint, they were reminded of the last game where they were 3 – 0 up and it ended 3 – 2 (very tight at the end, no fingernails left after that one). They were encouraged to close the game off by getting the next goal. As well as this, there were a few instances where the opposition weren’t being closed down quick or tight enough, they were reminded of the appropriate distance to apply enough pressure without diving in and being beaten 1 v 1. The last point focused on clearing balls under pressure in the box, still a bit of hesitation and too much thinking going on in front of goal.
The second half kicked off and murphy’s law kicked in. They conceded a goal from not clearing the ball out of the box! Fortunately, the boys showed good composure, keeping their heads and getting on with the task at hand. It wasn’t long before Eli got his 4th, again with his left, the feeling was this could be a goal fest. Then out of the blue, Noah scored his first goal of the season! Noah has been striking the ball really well recently, but due to mainly supporting the defence, he rarely gets an opportunity to have a crack. There was some confusion about a potential foul, but no whistle from the ref. Noah picked up the ball on the edge of the box and smashed it in. Great awareness to keep playing and great finish.
The boys kept going after the game, UQ getting the occasional counter, but the boys continued pressing and it was paying off. Teo got himself on the score sheet following a great press from the team, they are really starting to move collectively to cut off passing lanes and win the ball back. Dex was having a blinder down the right, playing at right back for some periods of the game, he was making some excellent through balls. As well as this, he excellently defends corners at the near post, nearly always winning the ball and heading or clearing out of danger.
Generally, the defence was having a quiet day at the office but still played well for the most part. James and Maxi making some critical challenges at times, Sam continuing to contain well, preventing crosses and counters. UQ did catch us off guard to get one more goal, Eli managed to get 2 more, taking his tally to 6 for the game! It ended 8 – 2, the Wolves biggest win at this level and for the season so far!
As a team, the end of season goal is to win the last 5 games and get 50 goals. Currently being on 36 goals this will be a challenge, but given our home form and the fact that 3 of the 4 remaining games are at home, the Wolves can do it!
Player of the Day awards went to Eli and Dex. Eli took his tally to 23 goals for the season, saying “I had to have a great game and win today, because it is Mia’s (his sister) 18th birthday”.
U12 Gliders
This week the Gliders faced UQFC Sapphires again having faced them in Round 3 where the score ended 3-0 to the Sapphires.
The first 10 minutes were very difficult for the Gliders. The Sapphires consistently managed to get possession and with some precise crosses to their strikers, the Sapphires scored 2 goals. The Gliders did not get disheartened and focused on maintaining their positions, marking their opponents and Blair found her confidence in goal.
Between Isla and Blair, the Gliders did not let anything else past the goal line. Charlotte tirelessly pursued the ball and passed it down the line while Freya was attacking on the left wing.
The second half saw the Gliders confidently entering the field and the midfield through some timely substitutions, maintaining pressure and the Gliders were moving more confidently between offence and defence. A notable formation change from 3-3-2 to 3-3-1-1 which closed the gap between midfield and strikers.
Clearly rattled the Sapphire’s defence got more physical than what was acceptable with some sharp elbows and a few grabs but it did not faze our Gliders who maintained their composure and did not take the bait.
KB and Katie found their rhythm more and more in the second half and after a tremendous run on goal, Katie outplayed two defenders and the goalie to score the only goal of the second half.
The Sapphires had a number of corner opportunities due to the defence clearing the ball backwards, but the Gliders performed solidly in the set pieces. Both the Gliders and the Sapphires had a free kick on goal which was the first time the Gliders formed a wall and to their credit, they did not flinch when the heat was on.
Players of the Day this week went to Charlotte and Katie for their efforts.
