Around the Grounds
It was a quieter weekend down at Westside in Round 7, with only 7 Junior teams playing home games and the rest on the road for away games. However, the atmosphere on Field 1 has been amazing the past few weeks with our 3-5 year Wolverines participating in the Miniroos Kick-off Program led by our Senior Men’s players.
All of our Junior teams remain competitive within their allocated divisions and with further hard work at training, they will continue to develop, improve and see results from their efforts.
U6 Tigers
The Tigers Round 7 match was away vs Pine Hills U6 Crocodiles. The Tigers started the match strong with plenty of energy and great attacking. Max S put the Tigers in front with the first goal of the match then Theo followed for the Tigers second goal. Pine Hills fought back in the second half to equalise the contest and then pulled ahead in the final minutes off a lucky kick from the side line.
The Tigers played very well in the match however fell short in the scoring to finish with a 3-2 loss. The Player of the Day Awards went to Max S, Blake and Ryker.
U8 Hornets
The Westside Hornets hosted the Bardon U8 Killer Snakes at home on Saturday. Despite missing Ned and Mason, the Hornets displayed exceptional determination as the rest of the team stepped up their game.
Oscar and Micah took turns in the goalkeeper position this week. In the opening minutes, Salvi unleashed a powerful shot, followed by another attempt that found the back of the net, securing the first goal of the game. Liam F and Liam M followed up with shots of their own, both narrowly missing the target.
Throughout the first half the Hornets dominated possession, maintaining impressive control of the ball, with great runs from Romeo and Henry in particular. However, the Killer Snakes defended valiantly, keeping the scoreline at 1-0 in favour of the Hornets at halftime.
The second half saw an outstanding display of teamwork and passing from the entire Hornets team. Each player took their chances with multiple shots on goal, contributing to the relentless offensive pressure. The cohesion within the team was evident as they started to gel and synchronize their movements on the field.
Bardon, determined to level the playing field, struck early in the second half with a great goal. However, the Hornets quickly countered with a fantastic combination play between Salvi and James, resulting in another goal. As the match neared its conclusion, the Hornets managed to hold onto their lead, demonstrating strong defensive play. The final scoreline read 2-1 in favour of the Hornets, securing a hard-fought victory in what proved to be yet another tough and closely contested game.
Henry’s exceptional running and pace down the line earned him the well-deserved title of Player of the Day. The team has come along in leaps and bounds, trying hard to implement what they practice in training. A big shout out has to go to Ned, who is off with a broken thumb for several weeks. Ned has come along to every game to cheer his teammates on and to help Coach Falcs with strategy. Thanks Ned!
U9 Vultures
The Vultures flew north to Pine Hills to take on the Anacondas mid-morning after a bye last week. Fletcher was away sick, otherwise a full squad was on deck for Round 7.
The match began with Pine Hills camped in our half, only excellent defending from Henry, Leo, Elijah, Edgar & Ellis kept them out.
Attacking wise the Vultures couldn’t get a shot on target despite some fantastic field position, Archer sent a rocket into the side netting, Theo put a perfect cross in for Archie who returned the favour himself later, James fought hard down the wing & in front of goal, Lihkit made a break past the last defender but was accidentally tripped from behind on his run to goal!
0-0 halftime reflected the even contest.
The second half started well for Westside with Theo grabbing a nice opportunity in front of goal that just missed.
Then Pine Hills came hard at Westside forcing Edgar to make two excellent saves, another Pine Hills shot bounced off the Westside post as the match tipped towards Pine Hills. A rare lapse in defense saw Westside unable to clear a ball near their goal, with Pine Hills just pushing the ball over the line. But it wasn’t long until Pine Hills first half goalkeeper (who was kicking over halfway) got a clear opportunity to power one past Edgar for a 2-0 lead. That seemed to fire up Westside, a nice pass from Archer to Ellis set Ellis on run where he turned one defender, beat two more as he took a direct route to goal, his shot saved, but Ellis followed up and scored a great goal for Westside! 2-1 … 6 mins to play..
The boys turned it on for an exciting finish, Ellis crossed into Lihkit, who couldn’t quite reach the ball, Leo placed a corner in the box that caused trouble, Archie had a shot blocked as the Westside supporters cheered their team home.. but it wasn’t to be, 2-1 to Pine Hills.
Once again the fast finishing Vultures put on an exciting show. They fell short of the win, but won over the crowd with their fighting spirit and entertainment. Well played boys!
Player of the Day awards went to Archer – great shot on goal, passing to Ellis, and support play, Henry – top defending, particularly in the first half under long range goal kicks and Ellis – lifted the team with our goal of the season, top turn, chop, acceleration, shot & follow up.
U9 Falcons
The Falcons Round 7 match was away versus UQFC U9 White. The UQFC team did well to capitalise on their chances early in the match which put the Falcons on the back foot from the start.
The Falcons struggled to keep their form and positions in the field which in turn led to more chances for the opposition. The Falcons found themselves in a big deficit at halftime which was very hard to climb out off, however showed good spirit in the final minutes of the match in an effort to score at least one goal but time ran out. The Falcons recorded another tough defeat with the Player of the Day awards this week going to Oliver and Jasper.
U9 Raptors
A triumphant home game for the Raptors with a 2-1 win over Taringa Rovers. The squad was depleted due to illness (get well soon Patty and Will), but eight Raptors showed up hungry to play. From Taringa’s kick off, Jaxon and Beau were tackling and pressing forward. Moments later Beau put in a beautiful cross from the right which was well defended, before retrieving the ball, playing an identical cross in that this time found Toby who volleyed it into the net. Minutes later, Leo from right back played a lovely ball down the line finding Jaxon. Jax touched on and played square to Max, who expertly placed the ball past the keeper to make it 2-0 inside three minutes.
Taringa were shell-shocked, but held on for the next five minutes and brought themselves back into the game. Leo and Magnus held firm at the back and chased down a few breakaways. Taringa pulled one back before half time with a tricky left-footer that found a tight path through a lot of legs to find the bottom corner of the goal.
The second half was goalless, despite strong play from both sides. Will was strong in goal, coming out to deal with 1-on-1s confidently. Mika made several last moment blocks, and Max kept the Raptors ahead with a goal line clearance with the keeper beaten. Magnus, Toby, Beau and Max pushed hard, forcing saves from their keeper but Taringa’s defence held strong. Mika nearly found Jax’s head from a corner, but was denied by the hand of god.
Player of the Day went to Beau whose workload was outstanding, and the Training award went to Magnus for two strong sessions this week.
U10 Brumbies
U10 Dingoes
After losing their last two games, the Dingoes were eager to return to their winning ways. They faced the Anacondas at Taringa. Just before kickoff, Coach JP asked the boys to focus on controlling and passing the ball.
The Dingoes applied constant pressure from the start, with Diego unlucky not to score in the first 10 minutes. Despite creating several chances, the Dingoes were unable to break the deadlock.
Ben kept a clean sheet with a brilliant run out of his goal to clear the ball, preventing the Anacondas from taking the lead. It looked like the teams were going to end the half without a goal, but then Harlem scored.
At halftime, the boys were wiping their faces with juicy oranges. Coach JP asked them to mind their positions and keep their shape.
The second half began, and the Dingoes were pumped and ready to increase their lead. With some excellent teamwork, Harlem put a brilliant through ball to Diego, who took a few steps, picked his spot, and slotted the ball into the back of the net, making the score 2-nil. The boys smelled blood and tried to capitalise on every opportunity. Toby tried his luck from the edge of the keeper’s box, and the bouncing ball was too much for the keeper, bringing the score to 3-nil.
Elliott had a good game chasing down the opposition, pressuring their attackers, and clearing the ball.
As the game entered its last minutes, Zane found himself with the ball right in front of the Anacondas’ goal but was unlucky to be met with congestion. Just before the game ended, Harlem tricked the Anacondas’ sweeper and slotted the ball into the right corner with his left foot.
The final whistle blew, and the boys showed appreciation to the Anacondas with the ceremonial chant, “2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate – Tarin-ga-… claps”. Post-match, Coach JP emphasised that they won because the boys played as a team.
See more of the action here:
https://fork-slime-4be.notion.site/Anacondas-0-4-Dingoes-2023-06-03-3dacd9b97d5b4bc89f7c2c4f7d4e19f0
U11 Wallabies
The Wallabies went up against Virginia United Heat for an away game this week.
The 4-1 loss did not represent how well the Wallabies played – with some great tackles and holding of their positions. The Virginia forwards stayed deep making it difficult for the Wallabies defense but they all played their hearts out covering a lot of ground during the game. Lysander also had some excellent saves as goalie in the second half.
Congratulations to our goal scorer Dash, with Player of the Day awards going to Jack and Lysander for their efforts.
U11 Wolves
This week saw the return of a full squad, with Dexter and Finn back in the fold. An unusual afternoon for coaches, parents and players with 3 Westside teams playing at The Gap back-to-back involving various siblings and friend groups. The Wolves had the last game of the day following on from the U12 and U13 girls’ teams with a 3.20pm kick off. Another unusual stat, this being the 3rd of 4 consecutive away games for the Wolves in the draw.
In training during the week, we had been working on attacking formations starting from wing positions. Some of the main concepts we covered were diagonal runs from the forwards to confuse the defense, timing of runs to meet the ball in the box to finish quickly and playing balls in early from wide positions to prevent the defense from being able to be set in position. Unfortunately, this didn’t prove to be effective preparation. The Wolves were playing up on Field 3, for those that have visited The Gap you would know that this field is quite small, especially compared to the setup at Westside this season. On top of that the goals are quite a bit smaller than the standard size. This meant there was not a great deal of space to work in and as a result the game required short passing, tight control and through balls on the ground to be more effective.
As in prior weeks the first half was very even. Generally, throughout the game the ball was getting turned over a lot in midfield due to the condensed space. The Gap had a couple of decent forwards with good dribbling skills that were challenging the Wolves defense. Pretty early on Landon took a hard hit to his hand, but generally they were holding it together at the back. Maxi was effective at containing attackers and driving them wide. We certainly created chances, Teo managed to send one strike into the Aldi carpark at one point. After another well contested first-half, we went into the break at nil-all.
From a coaching standpoint at half-time it was clear we needed more penetration up front. Dex was moved out of right back to support the attack from the right wing. We also discussed goal kicks, as we weren’t executing usual patterns as well as prior weeks. Also, stronger communication was encouraged, as the game was very quiet from both sides early on. Very similar to prior weeks, it felt like a 50/50 game.
The Gap started the second half strongly, they were attacking down our left wing. Maxi was continuing to contain well but was having to concede corners in some instances. This turned out to be our downfall, we conceded an unfortunate goal at the near post via a deflection, then a second from a corner kick. We were 2 – 0 down again like last week. In true Wolves spirit the boys powered on, we put more bodies in attack with Teo joining Eli in the centre in the last quarter. Dex was also firing powerful shots in from the wing, skimming the crossbar on one occasion. The boys were battling, at different points in the second half Finn, Alex, Dex and Teo had to come off briefly after sustaining heavy knocks. Eli was getting shots on target, but their keeper was doing well. Eventually, Eli scored an awesome left-footed volley to get us back in the game.
It was feeling like we could bounce back, then The Gap got a third following some confusion at the back. Landon still managed to make some great saves but was clearly not 100% after the first half knock. We kept pressing until the very end, Maxi, James and Sam were managing to contain their breaks with everyone else pushing forward. It ended up being a frustrating 3 – 1 loss in the end, certainly not because of a lack of effort from the boys. The Football gods must have been conspiring against Westside that afternoon, all teams going down 3 – 1!!! The Wolves have one more away game at North Lakes, we’ll certainly be happy to be back playing at Westside with more space and the awesome Veo camera footage. In training we’ll be focusing on our short-range passing, goal kicks and defending corners!
Player of the Day Awards went to Dex & James for their efforts in attack and defense. Dex very close to scoring and dominating the right wing, James as usual preventing a lot of breakaway chances at the end. James’ first touch and passing have improved significantly already this season. Eli gets a special mention for an awesome goal and testing their keeper continually. All in all, a tough day at the office, a big shout out to all the boys who soldiered on having sustained knocks during the second half.
U12 Gliders
The Gliders faced The Gap’s Santorini U12 Girls in an away game staged dramatically amidst looming mountains and heavy dark clouds. All players were on board this week with Freya back from Norway and it was great to see the girls excited to be together again after warm up.
There were some fierce exchanges of looks between the two teams before the whistle had even blown, with the Gliders making it clear that they meant business.
Ten minutes into the first half and neither team had scored. Tabitha took a ball to the face in defence but carried on bravely. The Gliders managed to push the ball forward and after some tussling in front of goal, Sophia took a shot and scored the first goal of the game for the Gliders.
The Gap sent the ball back down the pitch, but Isla managed to clear it, time after time, booting it back into midfield.
The Gliders were doing a great job, keeping their structure while running for the ball and passing well. After another 10 minutes, The Gap scored a goal, making scores level at half time.
After oranges and a quick sugar hit, the girls returned to the field with clear instructions to run into space, take their time to trap and control the ball, and to stop fighting each other for the ball!
The second half saw some good runs from Nina, Sophia and Scarlett as the girls put their dribbling practice into action. Despite many good saves by Blair, the Gap managed to get another ball through to the net, making the final score 2-1 to the Gap.
Katie gave 100% as usual and, along with Sophia, received Player of the Day awards. A few of the girls were disheartened after the game and consoled themselves with smoothies and bickies from the fanciest canteen we’ve encountered this season.
The Gliders girls not seeing what the parents are seeing from the sidelines: the continuous improvement, the teamwork and the growing confidence. We’re proud of you Gliders and watching you play is the highlight of our weekend. Keep going!
U12 Warriors
The Warriors took on ACE U12 Nice in Round 7 at home in a tightly contested match.
The Warriors had a number of scoring opportunities through-out the match with some nice long balls put through by Sam, Jett, Eva and Flynn to Theo up front, but the ACE goal-keeper was on his toes and cut them off before the Warriors could get boot to ball to score.
ACE went up 1-nil after 5 minutes against the run of play and some defensive errors made by the Warriors.
Eva, Flynn, Dante and Liam controlled the middle well for the remainder of the game, whilst Bryn and Lenox had solid games on the wings. Sam and Dash again had very good defensive games and kept the ACE attackers at bay, with Eamon supporting them well. Jonah again had a very good game in goals, making a number of saves and keeping the Warriors in the match.
The final score ended 1-nil to ACE, however the Warriors could have quite easily got the win today.
Lenox took out the Player of Day award for his tireless effort through-out the whole match, winning the ball back in defence on numerous occasions and working hard in attack on the wing. Bryn received the training award for his effort put in at training during the week which was showcased during the match.
