Around the Grounds
In Round 5 a number of our Westside teams had fiercely contested wins at home and playing away. A number of Coaches have mentioned that their teams are really starting to improve their game play from all the hard work put in at training!
Coaches kits were handed out over the last week and it was great to see all our Westside Coaches looking slick and professional in their new kits on the side-lines!
U6 Tigers
The Tigers played their first away game this season against Dayboro Orange. They were a much bigger, stronger and faster team than previous opponents. For most parts of the match the Tigers struggled to get the ball out of our end especially when awarded a free kick positioned in front of our goal. That proved easy picking for Dayboro Orange as we were not able to muster any good attack of our own.
However, very good hustle in the middle by Oscar, Theo and Ryker with Ryker scoring the only goal for the Tigers. Asher, Blake, Max and Frankie did well to defend but Dayboro Orange managed to pick up loose balls and get through our defence for clear shots on goal.
Considering the Tigers missed training this week due to the rain and had a couple of sicknesses run through the team they played well to hold off the Dayboro Orange attack. Great resilience by the Tigers also to block out the score and to keep playing hard until the final whistle. The final score was 5-1 for Dayboro Orange with the Player of the Day awards going to Oscar, Blake and Frankie.
U8 Hornets
Westside Hornets hosted Newmarket U8 Ignite in a thrilling soccer match at home. It was the second time the Hornets have faced a Newmarket FC team, and they were hoping the score would go the same way as their prior game against the other Newmarket team!
Liam F and Ned both had an impressive performance, each scoring two goals for the Hornets. Mason and James took turns as the goalkeeper, displaying their skills between the posts. The match was fiercely contested, but the Hornets emerged victorious with a final score of 4-3.
Coach Falcs couldn’t be happier with how the team performed, and as such, everyone was awarded Player of the Day awards. Well done Hornets!
U9 Raptors
A triumphant return to home this week for the Raptors with a strong 1-0 win over The Gap. Our boys came to play today, and were dominant, if a little wasteful in the early plays, but as our touch improved The Gap were forced into more and more last-moment tackles and saves.
Patty made early attacks through the centre and looked very dangerous in front of the goal, and Magnus was also looking to pounce on anything loose in the box.
Jax played with discipline on the right wing, and Mika and Leo were defending high with confidence. Max worked hard in the midfield and was the difference on the scoreboard with a lovely strike from outside the box finding the back of the net.
The second half continued well as the Raptors looked to increase their advantage. Good shape across the park meant we held our composure as some frustrated opposition players began to get a bit physical. Beau and Toby worked in some strong play from the wings, and we were unlucky not to put a few more in the net.
The Gap threatened on the counter-attack, but composed defence from Will A and Leo held the line, as well as a game-saving one-on-one save from Will T in goal.
The boys were very happy to chalk up their first win of the season. The Player of the Day went to Will T for a commanding performance between the sticks, and the training award went to Max.
U9 Falcons
The Falcons Round 5 match was away against Bardon Latrobe U9 Avengers. The Falcons came out strong this week, with a really quick goal by Ned to put the Falcons ahead in the first few minutes of the match. The U9 Avengers managed to equalise pretty much thereafter but that didn’t hold back the Falcons offensive. A cross kick from Cooper over a couple of players to pass the Avengers goalie in the top corner put the Falcons ahead once again. The Falcons finished the first half ahead 2-1.
The Falcons did a goalie swap with Harper replacing Ben in the second half. The Falcons form and position on the field this week was great, which allowed constant pressure and to hold the Avengers back in their end. Ned found the back of the net for his second goal of the match putting the Falcons up 3-1 but the Avengers didn’t appear to give up finding the back of our goal to stay in the game at 3-2. There was excellent defensive play by Braxton and Archie to neutralise the Avengers attack in crucial moments of the match. Harper also made a critical save for what could have been the change of momentum in the match if the Avengers scored.
As time started to tick away in the final couple minutes of the match, the Falcons scored an outstanding goal. A direct pass up the line, then another pass through the middle directly to Ben who was positioned in the box to score his first goal ever! Very well executed passing to setup the goal to seal the win.
The Falcons came up close a couple of times this season but this was a convincing win and truly well played with a final score 4-2. The Player of the Day awards this week went to Ben and Harper.
U9 Vultures
The Vultures played their third Moggill opposition of the season – Moggill Spurs – at home on a beautiful morning for football.
Westside still missing Archie (get well soon mate!), were all pumped for their 9:30am home kick off. And it showed on the field, with plenty of energy and attacking moves. James, Theo, and Elijah started as our front three and all ran and tackled hard. Henry, Leo and Edgar supported Ellis in goal with some quality defending.
Moggill Spurs were quite a strong side, and ran well down the sides and always had players in the middle ready for a cross. It was exactly what we practised ourselves at training, and are working towards. Leo was kept particularly busy defusing the raids, as was Ellis in goal!
Fletcher, Likhit, and Archer entered shortly after Moggill took a 1-0 lead with Ellis crawling hard to dive on the ball before it just rolled over the line. The Vultures didn’t give up and pressured Moggill in front of goal forcing them into clearing a kick into their own defender which rebounded into their own goal…. 1-1!!
Fletcher celebrated hard on half-way, but that is how it remained until the break.
The second half was another hard-fought contest, with chances for both teams, and quite a few corners for each team. Moggill scored what would be the winner with 10 mins to play with a rare lob over our goalkeeper that just dropped enough to go in… The Vultures continued to fight hard against some quality opposition and Ellis created a nice cross, but the Moggill keeper grabbed that, and the game finished 2-1 to Moggill!
The boys weren’t outplayed and should feel proud they were able to defend against a good passing opposition, whilst troubling them at the other end.
Coaches awards this week went to Leo for excellent defending against 3 or 4 opposition players who weren’t afraid to take us on, and Ellis for taking the training drill to the field and demonstrating some nice runs down the side and crosses.
U10 Brumbies
This week the Brumbies had an early home game against Newmarket. The pitch was wet and slippery from the early morning dew.
Newmarket got a lucky first goal when Quinn stopped it but it slipped out of her hands and into the net. There was a lot of defence and fancy footwork which made for an exciting game with plenty of passing and good setups for goal attempts from the Brumbies.
Chloe had a couple of good attempts at goal and Amber, Chloe, Ruby and Piper kept the pressure on.
Newmarket scored 2 goals early in the second half. Amber took a tumble and got winded and was helped off the field. Piper scored a goal that rolled in past the opposition.
Quinn succumbed to a hand injury and not long after we had Chloe injured and she also left the field.
Piper scored another goal for the Brumbies taking the final score to a 5-2 defeat.
Player of the Day awards this week went to Ruby and Quinn – well-done girls!
U10 Dingoes
The Dingoes made their second trip of the season out to Bardon to meet with the Dirty Dragons. Daniel was named captain, and Coach JP reinforced the team’s focus on accuracy during the pre-game warm-up. The team huddled together just before kickoff and chanted, “1-2-3 Westside.” Pumped up, the boys ran onto the pitch.
The game was intense in the first 10 minutes. Ben saved two goals, and Harlem took two strikes at the Dragons’ goal. Diego’s skills were on display, with excellent footwork and a solo run weaving through the defensive lines.
Although the boys conceded a goal halfway through the first half, they responded immediately with a shot on target. Harlem then scored a left-footed goal, sneaking it past the keeper at the near post. Max had a good first half, chasing the ball, passing, and even tackling on occasion, which is uncharacteristic of him.
The Dingoes were eager for a goal, with the score level at 1-1. Our midfielders did an excellent job of winning the ball back, leading to an attack that resulted in Harlem scoring a second goal, bringing the score to 2-1 in favour of the Dingoes just before the halftime whistle blew.
As the second half began, Diego, Braxton, and Harlem all took shots but were unfortunately unable to score. The Dragons responded by putting pressure on Daniel and Joel to clear the ball, but the attack was relentless, and they equalised, bringing the score to 2-2.
The game was intense as both teams pressed to take the lead. During a routine goal kick, a Dragon striker seized an opportunity and scored, placing them in the lead by one goal.
It was an end-to-end match. The Dragons kept up the pressure, forcing Ben to make two truly impressive saves that were applauded even by the opposition’s parents. Joel did not stop running and could be seen all over the pitch, from clearing the ball in defence to assisting with attacks. In the final minutes, Diego beat two defenders and squeezed a cross into the danger area where Joel was waiting. Joel took the ball on the bounce with an impressive volley-like technique but was unlucky not to score.
The Dingoes put in a fantastic effort giving the sideline spectators a nail-biting finish.
See more of the action here:
U11 Wallabies
In an exciting away match, the Westside Wallabies faced off against Bardon Latrobe FC. Coach Ben took the reins standing in for Coach Brett for the day. The match kicked off with great energy from both sides. Just five minutes into the game, Dash scored for the Wallabies capitalizing on an assist from Benson.
Bardon Latrobe FC quickly responded with a goal of their own and unfortunately for the Wallabies, another 3 in quick succession taking the lead going in to half time.
Undeterred, the Wallabies entered the second half with renewed determination. Rhys scoring a great goal early on.
The Wallabies’ defense was excellent keeping Bardon Latrobe FC at bay until the final seconds when a goal snuck through sealing Bardon’s victory.
Players of the Day were Remy for his excellent positional play up front and Rhys for his relentless running throughout the match and never giving up. Congratulations!
U11 Wolves
After a challenging but still successful previous round, somewhat normal service was resumed with most players available. Only Maxi was out this week having sustained an ankle sprain.
Round 5 saw the Wolves coming up against the ACE (Albany Creek Excelsior) U11 Hearts. Going into the match we expected this to be a tough game. ACE is one of the biggest clubs on the northside, fielding 38 teams across all the community levels from U9 – U12! Due to the lunchtime kick-off, we were fortunate before the game to find ample space for a solid warm up. We could tell the Wolves were rearing and ready to go.
Straight out of the blocks the Wolves were pushing hard, you could tell the ACE team was solid, but the Wolves were enjoying most of the possession and creating better chances. The game was following a familiar pattern to recent weeks, with the Wolves pressing high up the pitch and ACE looking dangerous on the break. Their number 9 in particular was finding pockets of space down the right-hand side, and he was fast. This was mainly because of Dex’s advanced position on the right-wing during the attack phases. Dex is excellent at making runs up the wing and playing long balls / crosses into the front line, but it can expose us.
To counteract this, Noah (CDM) and James (CB) did an excellent job cleaning up when ACE did break, and the times Landon was needed he was positioned well and covered the spaces excellently. Landon and the back-line have also significantly improved playing out from the back, which did catch us out earlier in the season.
After numerous chances, with Eli hitting the post and Teo hitting the crossbar. Eli finally broke the deadlock to give us a 1-0 lead going into half-time. The main coaching points at halt-time focused on trying to ensure we tried to get shots in after 1 or 2 touches, and for Eli in particular to shoot with his left foot given the opportunity. The front-line were finding spaces and winning 1 v 1s consistently, but in general were taking too long to get a shot away and not getting the ball out from under their feet.
The second half started in a similar fashion to the first. It didn’t take long before Eli scored his second goal of the game, this time with an excellent left-footed strike into the bottom corner. We rotated positions, pushing Jack into the CF role for a while, and dropping Finn into the CAM role and Alex took up the LB position. Jack, being left footed, finds space and can strike the ball really well. He had quite a few opportunities to bury the game, but that 3rd goal was elusive.
The Wolves were giving 110% and began to tire towards the last 10 mins. ACE managed a break down the right-wing and scored a freak goal from what was essentially misguided cross, certainly no fault of Landon’s. This made for a frantic end to the game, so the boys were encouraged to slow the game down and keep possession. Dex was instructed to man to man mark their number 9, which he did exceptionally well. The boys managed to hold off ACE and come away with a well-deserved 2 – 1 win. It definitely showed signs of how much the team has matured, given the fact they were able to prevent counter attacks and grind out the win. Excellent work boys!!!
The Player of the Day award went to Eli for securing the win with the left-footed strike, and a special mention goes to James who was impeccable at the back. For this week’s training we will be moving back to more striking the ball practice to hopefully convert more chances in upcoming games.
U12 Warriors
After initially having the Bye in Round 5, the Warriors found out late in the week they had a fixture against Bardon Latrobe FC who had been regraded into the K2 division.
So, on Saturday afternoon, the Warriors travelled over to Bardon to take on their U12 Red team. We were down a few players who had booked in weekends away being a Bye, however were able to grab Eli and Dex to fill in from the U11 Wolves after their game earlier in the day.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Warriors and keeper Jonah having to play the game with full size senior goals – but it was the same for both teams – so the team to take their opportunities would finish ontop today. Jonah again did an amazing job making a number of great saves.
The Warriors fought hard through-out the game with a high percentage of the game played in the middle of the field. Possession was going to be a key in this game and something the Warriors have been working on at training during the past few weeks.
The Warriors had a number of opportunities to score goals, but couldn’t find the net through Theo, Eva, Sam and Eli – Flynn was missed up front today.
Lenox, Bryn and Dex all worked hard on the wings, Jett controlled the defensive midfield well, with Sam P and Dashel working hard as usual at the back. Eamon and Eli supported Sam and Dashel in the defensive rolls.
Unfortunately, the Warriors finished the game 4-nil down, but improved their game play in the past few weeks and will no doubt be more competitive the next time around against Bardon.
The Player of the Day award went to Dashel this week for his relentless effort in defence. Eli and Dex picked up awards for their efforts during the game and helping out the Warriors as fill-ins.
U12 Gliders
Westside’s Gliders faced Pine Hills U12 Dolphins in a home game this round. Despite the absence of Freya and Charlotte, the Gliders held their ground in the first half with plenty of good defending from Isla, Alex and Blair, clearing of the ball by Tabitha and Scarlett, and physical pressure from Nina and Sophia while moving the ball up the field. Due to the Gliders’ good forward pressure, the first goal was an own goal from the Dolphins, and by half time scores were level at 1-1.
Scores remained level for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Westside’s lack of substitutes, however, put them at a definite disadvantage against Pine Hills who, with five frequently rotated substitute players, and despite some great saves by Blair, scored goal after goal in the last 10 minutes, defeating the Gliders 5-1.
Once again, Westside’s Gliders played well but in the end Pine Hills’ fresh legs won them the match. Amber played very well from beginning to end and Isla had a good day in defence, even managing to catch the ball between her knees in front of goal at one point, much to the onlookers’ delight, and was awarded Player of the Day.
