Another cracker morning at Rogers Park. The pitch is still in great condition and with little rain this winter so far we have had an uninterrupted season. Long may that continue. Although Murphy’s Law, now that I have mentioned it we will probably be in for a deluge. 

A tough game this Saturday, tough in respect to how we approach it. We had a big win last time against the Piranhas and the prospect was for something similar. We needed to get the boys to think about something apart from scoring goals, not an easy task. We talked about passing, something we generally do very well, and not worrying too much about scoring goals. Easier said than done when white line fever kicks in. However to the boys credit they started off well and moved the ball around the pitch. Good talking from the boys made this easier as they had options of who to pass to. It was good to see the boys passing back as well, something that isn’t always intuitive as it doesn’t always make sense to go backwards before you can go forwards. 

Half time came and we were up by three to nil, a far cry from 12 nil last time. Full credit though to the Piranhas who have improved a heap since our first round clash. One thing I noticed during the first half was the boys with big smiles on their faces and laughing. I said at halftime it was great to see them having a lot of fun. The second half was a bit more of the same, some good passing but this time some great finishing. The Marlins ending up winning 12 nil, with Lachie and Oscar both scoring four goals, Finlay two and Luke and Mackenzie one apiece. 

Player of the day went to Oscar for some more great work out on the right flank and in the midfield. He controlled the ball well, made some great passes and picked up four goals. Could have been five except for a dubious hand ball call… Steve from 50 metres away and looking into the sun didn’t see a thing but Ref Andrew who was right there somehow saw a hand ball. To be fair, in the ref’s defence Oscar did look rather sheepish when asked if the ball hit his hand. 

Lachie picked up the Hot Chocolate award (ok I’m a bit biased). It was for one moment right at the end with a goal from a free kick from a seemingly impossible angle. Everyone was lining up for a pass into the goal but Lach thought he’d have a go and slotted it in the goal himself. Not bad.

 Thanks again to Andrew for ref’ing and to Kenny for running the subs. Thanks to the Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Aunties, and Uncles etc for their support. The kids appreciate it and can hear all the support on the field. Special thanks to Jesters Pies Howick and Esquires Coffee House Howick for our Player of the Day prizes. Please support them when your player gets their player of the day treat.