2012/2013 Round 4 Reviews
Under 13 Boys
U13B v Loddon Mallee Lightning
The plan in this game was to be disciplined with our positioning in the middle of the park. We worked on this on Thursday and now it was time to see if it had sunk in. From the outset, the Rivers Boys dominated possession, finding it relatively easy to string more than 5 passes together. A goal came early from Fraser Gosstray playing in attacking midfield and was followed soon after from a David Musafiri goal after he picked up a loose ball.
The back line of Louie, Jack, Kielty and Luca made playing out look easy, using Seb in goals and switching play, making Loddon run ragged chasing the ball. Michael Banister and Burkeley Macfarlane were both disciplined and kept the centre covered at all times. In the last few minutes of the half, Loddon found some fire and forced the ball up the field and had a powerful long shot that sailed into the back of the net. 2-1 at the half time break.
A few changes were made at half time but the focus was still the same. It was Loddon who dominated the first 10minutes, hitting the post in the opening minute then keeping possession in our defending half. The back line and midfield absorbed the pressure, then against the run of play, David ran onto a threw ball and opened the scoring for the half.
The game swung back to us and we started to keep the ball and apply pressure to their defence. We won a free kick within scoring range, which was taken and turned into an 18yard box scramble for possession, that Luca won the ball and passed to Zac Hutchinson who slammed the ball into the net for his first Rivers goal. We then saw a nice bit of combination play from Alec Mills breaking out of defence, linking with Paddy and then to Luca for a beautifully worked goal.
Paddy must have been inspired as he worked hard, trying to win the ball in our attacking half. He was rewarded when he applied pressure to the Loddon back line and Keeper, forcing them into error and winning the ball and scoring his first Rivers goal to finish the game at 6-1.
U13B v Southern Cross
The boys were in a good mood after their big win the day before. The coach arrived late and was greeted with a round of applause from the players. Apologies were made and it was time to focus. The boys new their jobs well and were confident of putting in a big performance.
The opening play saw Southern Cross have a long shot that Sebastian Turner comfortably saved. He played out to Hutchy who was under pressure and he laid it back to Seb. Seb also under pressure, laid it straight back to Hutchy who this time could turn, attack the space then play David, who was tackled and the ball went out for our throw in. Shannon Damchev took a quick throw straight to David who had a long shot that rebounded out from the keeper and Jack Milford picked up and scored his second of the season.
Our team shape was looking good, with width in attack and a distinct midfield triangle. We moved the ball around the park with ease, using Seb to start again and relieve any pressure. There were plenty of shots as some of our boys got a bit hungry shooting from long range but the glory was in the back line with Hutchy, Fiore, Kielty and Paddy winning the ball and playing out using Seb in goals. These guys were outstanding under pressure.
In the second half, we attacked immediately and Alec Mills was unlucky to have his shot cleared off the line. Southern Cross set out to use the wind to their advantage and just bombed every ball long. We stuck to our game plan and it was starting to unfold as the best game our boys have played. Jakob Barlow dominated the midfield and was instrumental in linking passes all over the pitch. Ten passes started to become the norm.
Late in the half, one of the Southern Cross bombs broke through our defence line and a shot was sailing into the back of the net when “Super Seb” dived meters to get a glove to it and push the ball wide for a corner. We set up our “set play” for defensive corners in a quick and disciplined manner. Everyone was in the right position. The ball was cleared to Luca, a quick pass to Fraser and then to Shannon and we scored our seasons second counter attack goal from a corner. Very pleasing.
The day finished with one more play in the last minute that was probably my highlight: Sothern Cross bombed the ball long, Jack calmly played the ball back to Seb in goals, Seb back to Jack, he attacked the space in front, he got closed down but laid a one – two with Jakob and then kept running. Jack then played a beautiful ball to Fraser who finished the job and sealed the game at 3-0.
Atila
Under 15 Boys
The U15 boys took half a game to find their rhythm against Loddon. In the first half they look disorganized, couldn't string more than 3 passes together and positioning was slow. In the second half the U15 boys were much better, transition was good and passing was visual and also creating several scoring opportunities but couldn't capitalize. The second game(Strikers) the U15 boys made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in defence, but were able to rectify them and play some very nice football coming from 2 goals down to level and could of scored 2 more. The transitional positioning when attacking was pleasant to observe and as a spectacle it look like good football.
Cheers JC Giuca
Under 17 Girls
While we had losses in both games on the weekend a lot of positives came out of it. We realised where we made fundamentals errors and tried to fix them and eventually got there but the game got away from us. Our playing out of the back was good and all three of our goals from the weekend started with our keeper and went through untouched in goal. We know we can do it but need to be more consistent. Our first touch again let us down but our ball possession is starting to come good. We have finally found our best structure and will continue to build on it in the coming weeks. More work at training in ball possession and pressing and one of our highlight was our ability to play width in attack.
All in all a positive weekend we just need to put it together for the full 80 minutes.
Tony
Rivers FC 3 - LoddenRivers Mallee Lightning 6 - November 10th
A performance to be proud of -
In truth, the final score line of 6 - 3 doesn't reflect the game, with two Lightning goals in the final ten minutes.
Rivers put up an impressive performance and worked hard for one another, ensuring that the player on the ball had options. Tamika Jackson had a stand out performance dominating the left wing. Tamika utilized the wing, staying high and wide, proving to be great support to our midfield and wing backs. She was rewarded with our opener and the equalizer to make the score 1-1.
EJ Riley did a thorough job in the number 8 position, working hard to pressure the ball and forcing mistakes. Emilia Hanuska along with Molly Kennedy did a great job of controlling the back four, staying compact when Lighting had possession. Tara Ambrosini returned to the field of play after an early injury to score a well composed goal to make the score 3-2. We had many goal scoring opportunities in the second half, however, only Olivia Cornell was able to capitalize to take the score to 5-3. Olivia's presence on the field each week does not go unnoticed, Cornell is an asset to the team and her versatility, determination and vision give the team that extra flair. Overall the game was a pleasure to watch with two quality sides showing their standards.
Rivers V Southern Cross Strikers. 5-0. Sunday 11th November
Rivers U 15 girls put back to back performances together and showed that certain elements were well embedded into the team's style of play. The girls understand the importance of playing out from the back and worked hard in transition at switching the ball to space. Alyssa Roberts started after an injury scare on Saturday and came into her own in the second half with some great covering and successful advances up the wing. Joey Cartwright did well to get up quickly from her encounter with their goalkeeper and slotted away the ensuing penalty, along with another sharp goal before half time. In the second half the spoils were shared between Olivia Cornall and Holly Boldiston and Molly Goldsworthy also found her range and scored. Kate Mansfield put in a great performance combining her natural reflexes with some smart goalkeeping to keep a clean sheet. Overall, a good performance, but also highlighting the need to maintain our width in attack.
The Kerrys
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