Round 7 - Bulleen

Today we played our Round 7 match against the 2nd Bulleen side in our group. Box Hill got off to a quick start, attacking from the outset. Some early chances went begging, but Nick found his distance from just inside the 18 yard box to get things underway. A great shot that gave the Bulleen keeper little chance of a save.

Box Hill continued to press hard in the first half but our normal passing game was lacking and too many players were rushing and trying to take too many Bulleen players on. As such the general standard of play was fairly poor and the game quickly became unsettled. Not long before halftime we managed to convert our 2nd goal, courtesy of Dylan who made no mistake from the 6 yard box.

The 2nd half saw Box Hill continue to dominate possession, however we continued to play a very individualistic brand of football. This meant that we lacked discipline close to goal and allowed Bulleen to clear far too many balls that we should have scored from. To their credit, Bulleen defended in strong numbers and continued to chase down every ball. They also had a few chances to score late in the half, however we managed to eventually clear the ball with long kicks out of the box.

So another victory to the young Kangaroo's but by no means a performance to be proud of. Perhaps the lack of training during the week had a negative impact on the boys, more reason to put down the PSP and get out into the back yard for those 100 touches per day !

Video Highlights - Round 5 Knox UTD

Round 5 - Knox UTD

I get really annoyed when people say one thing and then do the complete opposite. Such was the case today at Knox United, the Ref stating quite clearly before the match that he would not call Off-Side unless a player was camping in the goal mouth. Hence when he called Michael Off-Side (he was probably a body width in front of the last defender) you can imagine my frustration and to top it off I copped a mouthful of sarcasm from Knox's Coach. How quickly they forget what environment they will endure at our next meeting !

Now that I have got that off my chest, it was fair to say that Knox managed to keep the pressure on our lads during the first half. We did control the majority of the play, however we were not really playing our usual style and we were rushing our passes instead of slowing the game down and dictating the flow of the game.

Knox relied too much on one player who camped on our last defender all day. Any through balls that managed to get to him were quickly cancelled out by great defensive play. Aaron, Declan, Hamish and Jordy all combining to work the ball out of danger areas. No score at the halftime break, however I reckon the Knox Coach fancied his chances.

Clifton and Dave gave the lads some words of wisdom during the break and encouraged the boys to relax on the ball and control it with a good first touch. We were clearly the more dominant and skillful side, so we needed to play to our strengths and take the early initiative in the 2nd half.

The boys listened to the halftime advice and our midfielders started to knock the ball around very nicely. Jesse and Nick were winning the 50/50 balls and they had great support from Kosi and Dylan on the wings. Meanwhile Aaron (D), Charlie and Michael were causing the Knox defenders a lot of problems

2 well constructed goals were our reward in the 2nd half, with Jesse finishing both chances. However the work that went into creating the goals was fantastic and this was evident by the way that the boys celebrated after each conversion. As parents we are lucky to witness such wonderful passages of play, especially considering most of the lads are still only 9 years old.

Marcel once again kept a clean sheet and he made the right choices when Knox had a couple of late chances in the game. Next week we meet Monash at home and hopefully they bring down their best squad. Last year we had some great matches against Monash and the boys always look forward to a tough contest.

Video Highlights - Round 4 Doncaster

Video Highlights - Round 3 Bulleen

Round 4 - Doncaster Rovers

Today we travelled to Anderson Park to play against Doncaster Rovers. We have always had interesting games with this club, so we were ready for anything to happen. As it turned out the morning was very enjoyable, with parents behaving themselves and a good game of Football to watch.

In the first half we were kicking against the wind, however we had the benefit of the Sun at our backs. Both teams looked a bit lazy in the first half and the ball seemed to just ping pong it's way around the ground without much control. We had a few good chances to convert, however we rushed our shots and missed our opportunities. We also failed to take a controlling touch when we had time, preferring to just kick the ball quickly.

As such the first half ended with no score for either team and both Keepers had managed to clear any danger effectively. During the half time break, Clifton asked the boys to work harder and play their natural game. We needed to take on the Doncaster players and keep the pressure on them. We also needed to get louder and communicate more effectively, too many players were contesting the same ball and getting in each others way.

The 2nd half started a lot better for us and we lifted the pace of the game. Our midfield worked hard to win the 50/50 balls and our wide players started coming into the match. We were attacking the ball and not waiting for it to come to us, which resulted in more pressure being put on the Doncaster Players.

Our hard work paid off when Jesse ran down the wing and then crossed the ball into the 18 yard box to find Nick, who neatly slotted it past the Keeper for our first goal. This seemed to lift the boys even more and we started to run even harder through the midfield. Our 2nd goal came courtesy of a corner kick from Jesse, the ball bending back into the goal and the Doncaster Keeper managing to get a finger on it. The ball hit the underneath of the cross bar and went into the back of the net.

2 nil and the lads had their tails up. Our passing continued to get better with Dylan, Hamish and Kosi doing some great work to hassle the Doncaster players. Our defence was working well as a unit and Jordan was teaming up well with Aaron & Declan. Meanwhile we continued to push hard into Doncaster's defence and it was great to see Michael take on the Doncaster midfield and run with the ball into the box, only to be brought down by an illegal tackle.

An indirect free kick was awarded from the edge of the 18 yard box and Aaron made no mistake with a beautifully positioned strike that gave the Keeper no chance. Doncaster continued to play as well as they could and they managed a couple of late charges up the wings. However Marcel had everything covered and was clearing the ball really nicely out to the wide areas.

We finished off with a 4th goal after Jesse drew the Keeper, then chipped the ball over his head. Michael followed the flight of the ball and made sure of the goal by giving it a gentle tap with his head. Our 2nd half effort was much better and the results were evident. Our running players had come into the game and were maintaining possession by recovering their positions quickly. It was great to see Aaron (D) and Charlie continue to gain confidence and show what they can do.

So the lads continue on undefeated and next week we play Knox United (not Knox City) away. We don't know much about this team as we have not played them before, but lets hope for a great game with plenty of action !

More Video Highlights...

Video Highlights - Round 1 & 2

Round 3 - Bulleen

Our 3rd Round match was against Bulleen at Wembley Park. A good day for Football with cool and overcast conditions. The lads had played Bulleen a few weeks ago in a practice game and came away with a 1 nil win. It would be interesting to see how the boys performed today after a convincing 10 nil drubbing over Ashburton last week.

No Off-Side today, however our boys were instructed to honour the rule regardless. The game got off to a good start with both sides attacking the ball. Box Hill took the early control of the game by winning the 50/50 contests and supporting each other. As usual our defence was rock solid and it is fair to say that teams have found it extremely difficult to get past our back 4.

Our first goal came courtesy of Carlo, who after missing a couple of opportunities earlier in the game, ran through the box a slotted the ball into the bottom corner. We were trying to avoid hitting high balls at the Bulleen Keeper as he is very good in the air. Our 2nd goal came shortly afterwards via a free kick by Aaron S. This is the 2nd week in a row that Aaron has achieved the same result from a free kick.

We finished the 1 st half with a 3rd goal from Nick, a neat pass into space from Jesse set him up beautifully and he made no mistake in hitting the target. Halftime arrived and we had a comfortable 3 goal lead. It could have been 5 or 6 had luck gone our way, however the Bulleen Keeper was good enough to stop a couple of certain goals from going in.

The 2nd half ended up scoreless, however Bulleen did manage a couple of daylight raids into our defensive area. Bulleen had chances but sprayed their shots wide and failed to capitalise. In contrast, Box Hill controlled the tempo of the game and it was nice to see some good series of passes through the midfield and switches of play across the back line.

We had many chances to convert during the second half, however Bulleen managed to clear the ball or their Keeper did the impossible. Next week we travel to Anderson Park to play Doncaster in what is sure to be a hard tussle. Don't expect any favours from the boys in Yellow and Green as they love to try and beat us on their terms.