Round 14 - Stonnington

A comfortable win today for the boys against an outclassed Stonnington outfit. The score was 6 nil at half time, once again with many chances going begging. The boys managed another 6 goals in the 2nd half, but we really missed a big opportunity today to close the goal difference on Monash.

No disrespect to Stonnington, but they really should be competing in a Joeys league. These poor kids have now had 67 goals pushed past them, with only 1 goal to their name. It can't be much fun for these 11 year olds to get up early every Saturday morning, knowing that they are going to get another drubbing at the hands of the opposition.

These types of matches also offer no value to the teams that dominate so easily. Hopefully the people in charge at Stonnington learn from this years experience and place their children in a better situation before they loose their love for Football.

Special mention to Billy this week, who came out of goals for the 2nd half and scored a cracking goal !

Round 13 - Boroondara

A cool and overcast morning at Wembley Park for today's round 13 encounter with Boroondara. Last time these 2 teams met it was a convincing 7-1 victory to the boys from Canterbury Road. However as we know teams improve as the season progresses, so we began this match as we would any other with the score nil all.

Boroondara have indeed improved since our last match against them and they began the game with vigor and determination, forcing us to defend early. Eventually Box Hill cranked into gear and you could see the boys were warming up like a reliable old heater on a cold Winter's day.

Stackie made a few positional changes today, most noticeably with Alex starting in defence and Aaron D up front with Johnny. As it turned out it was Aaron D who made the first impression on the score sheet, with a well time volley after a ball came in across the box. All the boys were rapped with the result and it was seen as a good omen for Aaron's Dad who is recovering in Hospital from a sudden illness. Get well soon Dom, we all miss you and want you back with us ASAP !

Box Hill had now chugged into about 4th gear and we had control of the match. We kept Boroondara pinned down in their defensive half and apart from the occasional long ball out of defence, they really didn't muster much forward momentum. After a number of well constructed passages of play went begging for a result, we managed to find the back of the net after Johnny laid off a well weighted pass to Jesse, who drew the keeper off his line before neatly chipping the ball over his head.

So 2 nil at the break and we were looking dangerous, but still our finishing is letting us down. Super Coach Dave Stack rallied his young chargers in the change room at half time and asked them to show Boroondara no mercy in the 2nd half. We would need a good Goal Difference by the end of the season to help our chances of securing the championship.

Box Hill came out firing and it wasn't long before we were creating chances again. One passage of play saw Nick take a sensational corner, which Aaron S should have converted....the ball popping out of the box to be hit on the volley by Sam, only to find a defender in the way. Then another shot from Alex, which hit the bar, then another shot by Matt which somehow got deflected and then finally a ball across the face of goal that found no one waiting at the far post. Stackie just laughed and said..."I think that sums up our season....put that video on the Blog"

More goals did eventually come however, courtesy of Alex, Jordan and Jesse....but 5 would be the final total, probably half of what we should have converted. Having said that the boys did knock the ball around nicely today and it was good to see the ball being played back to our defenders when the opportunity arose. Paul and Charlie did some nice work on the wing together as did Kosi and Michael in defence. Nick had a blinder today and he really made a big effort to win the ball in the 50 / 50 tackles. Billy was not bothered too much by Boroondara today, but you can see his confidence growing every week, those goal keeping sessions are really paying dividends.

In other news Monash defeated Bulleen convincingly with a 4 / nil victory. Although it gives us a 5 point break over Bulleen, it also means that we need to get our kicking boots on in the remaining matches to close down our goal difference with Monash.

You can bet that Wembley Park will be a very tense place on August 24th....

Round 12 - Bulleen

A crucial match today against 2nd placed Bulleen. We have been sitting 1 point behind them since we lost to Monash back in Round 8. Today we were determined to prove a point and come away with a win, especially after our Round 3 draw with them in a game that we squandered many chances.

Training this week focussed on finishing in and around the box. Our plan was to press Bulleen early and force them to make mistakes. We had to start the game as the agressor and close them down quickly when they had the ball.

As such we began the match with great vigor and determination. Sam went on an early run down the wing and crossed the ball into the 6 yard box. We were a split second late but the early signs were looking good. The key today would be how to beat Bulleen's talented Keeper (Lucas). He is very good with high balls and knows how to position himself well. So our accuracy with low balls into the corners would come into play.

Bulleen managed to defend one of our early attacks with a long clearance that caught our defenders too far up the ground. We managed to regain our shape but Bulleen had the ball in our 18 yard box and were trying to get a shot away. One of their players went down amongst the congestion, but play momentarily continued. Then after some very vocal calls for a penalty, the Ref blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. As unfortunate as this decision was, our boys got on with it and the Bulleen forward marked out his run up. Billy was very busy on the Goal Line making himself look big and menacing. The Bulleen forward hit his shot and Billy picked it, moving the right way to deflect the very dubious penalty away from danger.

Box Hill then went on a frenzy of attacking movements, always keeping the Bulleen defenders guessing. Sam was working hard with Charlie on the right wing, while Alex and Johnny were doing the same on the opposite side of the park. We had Bulleen on the back foot and if it was not for Bulleen's Keeper we should have put 2 or 3 good chances into the back of the net. Nick with a long range crack from outside the 18 yard box, Jesse with a couple of clever chances inside the box, Matty with a shot from close range....the list goes on.

As it turned out we went to the break at nil all, but the signs were good and we had controlled the majority of the play. The 2nd half would be hard and fast with both teams wanting to draw first blood. Stackie told the boys to keep up the intensity and win every 50/50 ball. We needed to keep the pressure on Bulleen and keep creating chances....the goal would come and we needed to be patient.

Once again we took control of the match and made Bulleen work hard for the ball. Our defenders were doing extremely well and Aaron S, Paul, Michael and Kosi were working well as a team. Our midfield continued to work hard and feed our running players, who were proving to be a real headach for Bulleen's defenders. Aaron D was now sitting up front with Big Aaron and Matty had dropped back into Central Defence.

Once again it was Bulleen's Keeper who was proving to be the main obstacle for us. We had a number of good corners flying into the box, but Lucas was too good with the high ball and he dealt with them easily. Shots from Aaron S and Jesse just went wide of the posts, from where we were standing they looked like they were going in....not to be.

Time was running out and we needed more than just another draw. Bulleen caught us on a break and were running into towards the box with numbers, but Matty used his body well and defended brilliantly as the last man, his efforts winning him a free kick on the edge of our 18 yard box. His clearance was perfectly placed and found Aaron S middle of the park. Aaron turned and passed the ball to Nick, who pushed forward into space before sending Jesse through with a well measure pass. Jesse composed himself, ran into the box and drew the Keeper off his line before neatly slotting the ball into the right hand bottom corner.

Finally our efforts had paid off and we had the lead with only minutes left in the match. As such the final whistle blew not long afterwards on what was the most enjoyable game of football I have seen this year. It is fair to say that there are only 4 competitive teams in this league, ourselves, Bulleen, Esstern Lions and Monash. Therefore games against these teams are the ones that we look forward to the most as we know that we will be challenged.

Bulleen are a good team and they should be congratulated on their efforts. They work hard and when they have posession they move the ball around nicely. Today we just wanted the win more than they did and for once we had just a little bit of luck go our way.

We now sit in 2nd position on the ladder, 2 points clear of Bulleen and 3 points below Monash. Next week sees Monash and Bulleen clash in what will surely be a very hard fought match. If luck continues to favour us we may even profit from the result. But our focus for the remainder of the season is very clear. Work hard during the week at training and play the way we train on game day.

Well done Lads !

Round 11 - Ashburton

Warner Reserve was the venue for today's Round 11 clash against Ashburton. Conditions were perfect for a game of Football and the boys were in high spirits. Last time we played Ashburton we managed to score a comfortable 3 nil win, so today would be interesting to see how both teams have progressed since then.

The match got underway with with both teams attacking the ball hard, Ashburton were doing a good job of manning up and keeping the pressure on our boys. Aaron S was in goals due to the absence of Billy, so our defenders had to step up and work as a unit without him. Matty was in charge in central defence, with Ben, Paul & Kosmo alongside him.

Box Hill eventually managed to control the majority of possession and we had some very good early chances. It was Alex who eventually scored the first goal, followed by the 2nd and then the 3rd...so a well deserved Hat Trick for Mr Fast Feet.

Stackie was happy at half time, but asked the boys to really try to get the score board ticking over. He was also pleased with everyones efforts and determination in the 1st half. Special mention to Kosmo who was having his best game so far this year.

We started the 2nd half where we left off in the 1st half and continued to move the ball around nicely. Some early corners created a lot of trouble for Ashburton's defenders and we were unlucky not to find the back of the net on more than 1 occasion. Our endeavour continued, especially along the wings with Sam and Paul working well together. Some nice passing resulted in Charlie laying the ball off to Aaron D for a simple tap in and our 4th goal.

Scores remained unchanged until the final whistle and in the end we did it fairly easily. Ashburton do have some talented players, they just need to settle a bit more and not rush their decisions. Good luck to them for the rest of the season.

Next week we travel to The Veneto Club for our return match against Bulleen. The boys are really looking forward to this match and they need to stay focused and deliver the result that we all know they deserve.

Round 10 - Manningham

A late start for us today after the FFV originally booked both U11 teams to play at the same time. In our 1st encounter with Manningham this year we managed to push 4 goals past them on a very rough pitch. Today we had the advantage of playing at home on a nice flat surface, so the expectation to increase our goal difference was high.

It was Box Hill who controlled the match with good passing and control of the ball. We pressed Manningham deep into their defense and continually sent balls into and around the box. Our goal tally by half time was 5, courtesy of Jesse (1), Alex (1), Nick (2) and Matty (1). Billy also got into the action after a Manningham counter attack got too close for comfort, he closed down the striker and dived to his right for a very good save.

Stackie was happy with the boys efforts at half time but wanted to see them maintain their intensity in the 2nd half. Games like this were important for us to capitalise on and secure as many goals as possible to help our position on the ladder.

The 2nd half saw us again dominate possession, however we did not put away our chances. Many easy conversions went begging with shots going wide or over the bar. Nick hit the cross bar after a shot from Matt rebounded off another player in the 6 yard box. Eventually Alex found the target and slotted in another 2 goals to give him his Hat Trick. Andrew finished off with a clever tap in after running into the 18 yard box and slipping past 3 defenders.

Manningham did manage a consolation goal late in the 2nd half after we failed to effectively clear a ball out of defence. However the final whistle blew and we had secured a fairly comfortable 8 - 1 victory.