Around the Grounds
It was a stunning Autumn’s Day at Westside and around the grounds for Round 5, with a number of our Junior teams putting in spirited performances for their matches. Plenty of goals again and some fantastic results right across the age groups.
U6 Sharks
We had an away ‘triple-threat’ game against 2 Samford Rangers teams. The team took a break first, we came onto the field ready to go. We had some great breaks through the defence from George and Arthur. Strong defence from Melita and Cade helped slow the other team down.
We ended up with a 2-1 win in the first game.
We were still pumped up from the first game, with great defence again from Melita & Cade, Evelyn’s ball control and passing, pressure on the ball from Lewis, line breaks from Issac, George and Arthur helped us to a 3-2 win in game 2.
Our Players of the Day were:
Melita: some great defence to stop the attacking team and passing to get the ball to our team.
Evelyn: great running with the ball down the line to pass to her teammates.
Well done Sharkies..!!
U6 Dolphins
On Saturday 18th May, the Westside U6 Dolphins faced the U6 Pine Hills Pythons at our home ground. It was our first time playing on the new field, and we felt fortunate to perform in front of the beautiful mural. The Pythons proved to be excellent opponents, with parents from both teams enthusiastically supporting all the children. Our Dolphins demonstrated excellent goal defence, a testament to our recent focus on having the team quickly return to defend when the opposition has the ball. The new skill was effectively implemented during the match, resulting in seven goals scored, which boosted our confidence on the field. The were so excited after having a visit from Jo and really motivated them when they got back on the field – thanks Jo!
In the initial weeks, we faced challenges with the post-game handshakes, a new experience for many of our players. However, this week marked noticeable improvement, reflecting our conversations with the children about the fundamentals of sportsmanship and respect, both towards teammates and opponents.
During training this week, we concentrated on ball mastery and shooting drills, followed by a mini-game. We take great pride in seeing the progression of the team as they acquire new skills and apply them during games. Thanks to our awesome coaches Big Mike and Grant, the children are demonstrating improved skills and cohesion each week. Well done Dolphins!
U7 Lions
Another tough match for the Lions out at Pine Hills against the Anacondas. The Lions demonstrated their defensive play yet again, putting lots of pressure on the Anacondas in the first half.
Both teams aiming for the goals and hitting the post multiple times. Saving goals with clearances again, a number of the Lions team were quick to block the Anacondas.
Bob was very focused, eyes on the ball and players throughout the match. Victor showed his versatility, shifting from an attacking style to defence throughout the match.
By half time, the day had begun to warm up. The players enjoyed some fruit and a sit down, taking in some great tips on how to “carry the ball”.
At the beginning of the second half, the team were more focused and confident. Xander and Ethan attacking the ball. Byron timing his kicks and Clara making sure she was in the midst of the play. Milo kept going, continuing to intercept the ball and never giving up. The score doesn’t show how close the game was, losing 5 -0.
We have gathered some great training ideas over the next few weeks.
Player of the Day Awards went to Bob and Milo this week, both showing focus, determination and persistence.
U8 Goannas
In a thrilling encounter between the U8 WGFC Goanna’s and the formidable Moggill Wolves, our lads showcased their skills and determination on the pitch in Game 5 of the 2024 season.
Right from the kick-off, both teams displayed an unwavering commitment to their game plans. The Goannas emphasised strong defensive organisation, fluid passing, and relentless attacking intent. Conversely, the Wolves came prepared with their own strategies, ready to counter the Goanna’s every move.
The match saw a fiercely contested battle in the midfield, with both teams vying for control and possession. However, amidst the game’s intensity, Charlie broke the deadlock, slotting home a well-crafted goal past the Wolves goalkeeper.
Though the final score was 4-1 in favour of the Wolves, the Goannas can hold their heads high, knowing that they gave it their all on the field. While the result may not have gone in their favour, the Goannas emerged from the match with valuable lessons learned, ready to bounce back stronger in the next game.
Players of the match were awarded to Charlie & Ryan.
U8 Chameleons
The U8 Chameleons played against the Mitchelton Jets this past weekend. The Chameleons played hard, battled the midday heat, and aggressively worked to gain possession of the ball. While the game ended in a 2-8 loss, the Chameleons never gave up and continued to fight for each ball on the field. Both goals were scored by Elijah, who, once gaining possession, would dribble around and through a few players to meet with the goalie one-on-one. The team’s continued perseverance and determination during the game is an amazing thing. The game also allowed the Chameleons to work on teachable moments when it comes to goal kicks and goalie throws.
James earned player of the week for his ability to stop forward movement of the other team and taking advantage of opportunities to move the ball forward. It was his defensive perseverance that helped the Chameleons gain ball possession.
Louise earned player of the week also for her defensive perseverance, for her to see the other team’s strengths and weaknesses, and her ability to communicate with her teammates while on the field. The way she helps her teammates with her position on the field as well as using her voice is awesome.
U9 Hornets
The Hornets played away against Bardon Latrobe u9 White on Saturday. The Hornets managed to get in two training sessions during the week and were feeling pumped, with all players available for the match.
The first half started with even pressure from both teams, with shots on goal from Henry, James, Romeo and Ned, which were saved by the Bardon keeper. Unfortunately, the Hornets seemed to lose a bit of focus as the half progressed, and by halftime, despite keeper Paul’s best efforts, Bardon were 3-0 up.
In the second half Ned went into the keeper position, and the Hornets came out with renewed energy. They weren’t able to get a goal past Bardon, but they conceded only one, which bought the final score to 4-0.
Lots to work on after this match but the Hornets are a determined bunch! The Player of Match went to Ned for doing his job well, and the Killer Python award this week went to Paul.
U9 Bees
Week 5 and the Bees have gone from strength to strength as they become more disciplined in playing in what seems to be a very successful 3-3-1 formation, notching up a second win in as many weeks.
The first half saw Austin in goal but impenetrable defence by Adam, Henry and Aureus meant that Austin barely saw the ball. The boys moved the ball down the midfield superbly, making plenty of space with some solid runs down the wings and precision passing. The team had plenty of possession in their attacking third and began converting it into goals. Oskar scored the first goal, followed by Parker and then a second goal for Oskar as Parker set him up with an excellent pass in front of goal. The Oskar/Parker show was broken up by a goal from Adam before Parker scored his second goal too.
Henry was goalie during the second half, and with all the action in the first half down our end, could have been forgiven for expecting an easy time of it. Instead, a penalty for Toowong early in the second half due to a handball gave them a good chance to get on the score sheet. Henry kept a cool head under pressure and comfortably saved their on-target penalty, sustaining the Bees’ hope of a clean sheet for the first time this season.
After that, the Bees’ attack continued with the same intensity as the first half. After a shot by Parker just hit the post, it was followed up by shots by Tommy and Adam hitting the back of the net. Guénhaël took a shot at goal which was just wide of the post before more goals by Tommy and Parker. The Bees finished the game with their best-ever result of 9-0.
U10 Falcons
Another great game for the mighty Falcons. A hard first half with several goals put away against us. The boys didn’t let it phase them though and after a bit of regrouping at half time we managed to take the game to UQ. Ryan and Patrick worked hard on positioning themselves out wide to create better chances, therefore a joint man of the match for them. Declan, Braxton and Ellis all scored fantastic goals to climb back to some redemption. Alas it was a little too late and we suffered defeat, but the boys can be proud of another great comeback.
U10 Vultures
In a thrilling showdown, Westside U10 Vultures clinched their first victory of the season in a hard-fought 2-1 triumph against UQFC U10 Green.
The Vultures are showing remarkable improvement with each game.
From the outset, the Vultures showed great teamwork and resilience. Archer’s impressive runs down the flanks kept the opposition on their toes, while Sam P. excelled in passing and setup. Ben’s strategic throw-in proved instrumental in setting up Jasper’s goal, securing a crucial advantage for the Vultures.
Harry’s relentless pressure upfront and vigorous running tested the opposition’s defence, while Jackson’s defending thwarted the advances of UQ Green’s formidable attackers, despite their imposing stature. Max commanded the field with strategic runs and precise crosses, further bolstering the Vultures’ offense.
Owen’s marking helped the team’s defence, ensuring minimal breaches in their lines. Jasper’s exceptional goal in the heart of the midfield provided the perfect finish.
Ben, Jasper and Leo won this week’s Coach’s Awards for their outstanding efforts – well done boys!
U11 Dingoes
The u11 Dingoes were at home this week against Taringa Rovers u11 Pumas. It was an early game which usually works out well for the boys. We were down a couple of players due to injury, but Ned and Ellis from u10 Falcons stepped in to help, which was awesome. It was lucky we had them as it turned out Taringa only had 8 players, so our two super subs played a half each for Taringa, which was certainly appreciated by the Taringa coaches.
From the first touch it looked like it might be an even match up, with Taringa defending well. Unfortunately for Taringa, the Dingoes decided today would be the day to put on a bit of a show for the home crowd. The pattern basically went past, pass, score for the entire first 25! By halftime the Dingoes were 7-0 up with goals going to Harlem (3 goals), Diego (3 goals), Toby and Joel (1 each).
The Taringa kids were looking pretty miserable going into the break, so at halftime Coach Stephen made some changes to the positions to give Taringa more of an opportunity. GK Ben moved out of the nets for the first time this season and went CM. Daniel who is our superstar CB went striker and Diego who always plays up front went GK. It gave the boys a good giggle to see Diego hanging out in the box without much to do!
The changes definitely made the 2nd half a bit more even and Taringa got some pep back, especially with the fast feet of Ned assist them. Ben had a couple of shots on goal which went amiss, and Daniel had a spectacular run which almost ended in an individual goal which was saved well by the keeper, who did an excellent job in the 2nd half. Ben had the opportunity for a penalty due to a Taringa foul which he put away neatly. The GK did score a goal after all (see last weeks match report!). In the second half Theo and Xavier both showed brilliant defensive play, with Xavier in particular keeping possession while on the ground! Harlem and Diego did a swap around for keeper, and Harlem had to stand up to a Taringa penalty due to a handball, which he saved with ease. I think we found our backup GK! In the dying minutes of the match TJ scored again bringing the final score to 10-0
Everyone was super proud of the team and their willingness to play a fair match against a less strong opposition. There is still a lot to work on in particular using the whole field and looking up instead of down at the ball. But it was a great result given the team hasn’t trained for 2 weeks due to weather. Big thanks to Ned and Ellis for joining in for Taringa and helping the Dingoes as well. Players of the match this week went to Theo, Xavier and Toby.
U12 Blazers
This week, the U12 Blazers faced off against Bardon in a match that kept both players and spectators on the edge of their seats. Both teams brought their A-game, delivering a performance that ended in a 2-2 draw.
The first half saw relentless action from both sides, with goal attempts coming thick and fast. Blair showcased her goalkeeping skills once again, while the Blazers displayed exceptional teamwork, culminating in goal attempts from both Freya and Sara. Bardon soon took the lead with the first goal of the game. This only intensified the Blazers determination as Amy showcased her skills, and Piper’s solid defending kept the opposition at bay. Despite Bardon’s early lead, Sara’s impressive strike levelled the score, much to the delight of her proud uncle.
After the halftime break, the Blazers surged ahead with a goal from Freya, igniting hopes of a victory. However, Bardon swiftly responded with a goal of their own. The second half was marked by outstanding plays by all the girls.
Despite the intense back-and-forth, neither team could break the deadlock, resulting in a well-deserved 2-2 draw. As the final whistle blew, players from both teams shook hands and acknowledged each other’s efforts. In recognition of their outstanding contributions, player awards were bestowed upon Sara and Tabitha, while Amy received the training award this week for her dedication.
U12 Warriors
It was derby day at Grovely Park. Temperatures, tempers and tensions were unusually elevated.
I don’t think I could be blamed for stating this too often but in my eyes, every week our boys are getting stronger, getting better and playing more and more as a team. I THINK this is a result of sharing all kinds of events, experiences and emotions.
I’m no expert on boys (apart from having been one a long time ago), not yours and not mine, but I’m guessing they’re coming of age. They’re testing boundaries (though that’s probably a whole of life thing), testing each other and testing themselves. As I remember anyway, that’s what we do / did. Even in this day and age much of it gets brushed off with, “Boys will be boys”, and while that’s a true statement (that has obviously stood the test of time), it doesn’t always cover all sins. What’s so great about our boys though is that, thanks to you (the parents), we don’t need to worry about our boys being boys, because there’s comfort knowing that they’re armed with the tools to sort these things out. Why? Because they’re loved, supported, and held to account in all the right ways that have enabled them to be the boys that we’re proud of them to be.
But back to derby day against the Mighty Mitchie, local legends to some, but raging rivals to the Westside Warriors.
The game started with Eddie, Sam (and maybe Dash) on the bench, Connor in the nets and 3 at the back from left to right we had Jack, Eamon and Rhys.
Ring-in Finn from the u13s was over on the right mid, and Remy and Benson to his left.
That left Chanon teaming up again at the pointy end.
It didn’t take long for the rewards to be reaped from Riku’s master plan when our very own goal scoring powerhouse slotted one away inside 8 minutes. This kid reminds me of a young Ally McCoist and it looks like Lennon was born to score goals. That being said, he also managed a couple of assists from by-line cut backs – one to Finn who slotted it in on 16 minutes and the other to Charlie who finished it fabulously just before half time.
The home team once again were firing on all cylinders and the Warriors were all playing so well as a unit, that even with another 3 goals from Lennon, it was hard to find a standout.
The other 1st half highlights included a couple of lovely strikes at goal from
Remy, some more midfield mastery from Eddie some great tackling by Rhys.
With Mitchie squeezing one in on 23 minutes after a well deserved long range 2nd effort, it finished 7-1 to the reds at the break.
Riku’s halftime ‘harangue’ included a formational switch up to a 2-3-3 set-up and Eamon in goals, which was definitely the way to go with the team being in such a comfortable lead.
The change brought some excitement to the midfield and our defence as Mitchie upped the ante and fought back well.
Jack and Sam held firm at the back with steady defending and distribution – even a surprisingly solid strike from the halfway line nearly resulted in the goal of the season.
At the other end, the striking force were offered less opportunities but Dash, Benson and Charlie continued to put in the hard work and were unfortunate not to capitalise on their efforts.
The travelling team bagged another goal from a corner and Finn and Lennon also found the net before the final whistle went.
All-in-all a tremendous team performance where the boys really did work for and support each other. Despite some dodgy throw-ins, man-of-the-match was well deserved and went to Left Back Jack.
9-2 to the Warriors who continue to go from strength to strength.
U13 Div 2
In Round 8, we had Jack and Finn out of action. Kai, from the U13 Bears, kindly filled in for us as GK for the game. It was a 9am kick off, and the wind was extreme, it didn’t make for great playing conditions. North Lakes have been a tough opponent in the past, with coach Jon never converting a win against them in the last 2 seasons. We were expecting a tough game.
The boys started brightly, and they had the wind behind them. This made it a little difficult for the defense in terms of dealing with long balls, but generally they coped well. It was great to see good combination play in the final third between Flynn, Sam and Theo down the right channel as well as Jett and Eli down the left. A promising sign with Eli in particular, playing the ball back to maintain possession when no forward option was on. Sam, Eli and Flynn all registering good shots on target forcing saves from their goalkeeper early on.
Jett was making some great runs and getting in behind the defense throughout the game, in the first half forcing their keeper to make clutch saves. In general, one observation was that the boys were running at speed and beating players but lacking the tight touch control at the end of their runs to simplify the finish or through ball. Something to work on in training. One player who has been clinical in terms of 1 v 1 finishing has been Theo. He scored the first goal, slotting it past the keeper into the bottom corner, his 3rd goal in consecutive games.
The defensive shape was much better, the wing backs were encouraged to alternate in terms of who joined the attack. This was intended to always leave us with a back 3, with James being able to drop into any gaps as required from the CDM position. Dash, Dex, James and Jakub all made decisive contributions to the backline. Dex using his body well to defend a breakaway, pushing the ball out for a corner, as well as clearing the ball out of danger on multiple occasions. Dash was reading the play well, there were multiple times he read throws in plays and was able to win back possession, clear or play forward. At one point, he cleared the ball off the line to save a certain goal. It wasn’t all plain sailing though, Kai made some great saves, especially in a 1 v 1 situation in the first half.
Not sure what it is with these North Lakes teams, but they always seem to score from distance against us. They got an equalizer from long range out of the blue. The boys kept their heads and continued to press; we were always looking more dangerous in the final third. Due to this, we won a lot of corner kicks throughout the game, 14 in comparison to North Lakes 4. One of the notes that came out of the last game was to start runs on the edge of the box and attack the ball. There were multiple close strikes, Theo just missed the target and Eli forced a good save from close distance, it was good to see them attacking the ball. What was even better was when Jonah bundled the ball in from a corner to get his first ever goal! Soooooo happy for him and he nearly got a second from a similar position. That meant we went into the break 2 – 1 up.
Half time 2 – 1 up.
At halftime, a couple of points were mentioned surrounding moving the ball more quickly and a recap on playing out from the back. You could see the lack of team training here in the last 2 weeks, some of the principals had been forgotten.
The boys were pretty dominant overall, but even more so in the second half. Yet it was North Lakes who got the next goal, again from distance! This led to a relatively tense period of the game. The boys did improve their build up play, especially down the right hand side through Dex, Flynn and Sam. There were a few hairy moments, Jakub made some really positive decisions under pressure. James is building into his new position as CDM and was demonstrating his dribbling skills and managing to connect a few forward passes as well. Great to see.
As in the first half, Jett and Flynn were dominant on the wings, in general it was Jett who was breaking the back line. It was sometime coming, but it was Jett who got the 3rd goal, finishing to the near post after a great run. Not long after Eli had a chance 1 v 1 vs the keeper and went for a chip and just missed. He had quite a few chances up to this point and his goal scoring streak of scoring in every game looked in doubt. That was until the last minute of the game! Where he made an awesome run from halfway beating 3 players to give us daylight on the score sheet. It started with great vision from Jakub who played a great ball from the back into Theo. Theo’s assist not 100% intentional but we’ll take it!!! Well done lads.
All in all, a good performance in tough conditions. 26 shots on goal as opposed to 19 by North Lakes, 60% possession. We finally got them! Kai and Jonah took the Player of the Day awards, Jonah’s first goal and Kai making some crucial stops during the match.
Points to take away for training: dribbling technique for tighter touches, throw in plays, building from the back with quicker passes.
