A cool morning at Timber Ridge Reserve today for our 1st official game of the year against Manningham. The pitch resembled a Cow Paddock, courtesy of poor maintenance from the Manningham City Council over the Summer break. You have to feel sorry for the players at Manningham, having to train and play on such a poor surface.
The game got off to a scrappy start with both teams bunching up and crowding the ball. Eventually Box Hill started to push the ball around, but it was very hard for us to play our signature passing game on such a bumpy surface. Our Midfielders started to find each other and eventually we had some nice passages of play up the wings and through the middle of the park. The 1st goal came from one of these forward thrusts, with new lad Johnny running into the box before calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net.
Half time saw us with a 1 nil lead, however it could have been more if our accuracy was on target. Stackie asked the lads to keep working hard for the ball and to pass the way they were facing. We had a lot of possession during the first half, but our score did not reflect the hard work that we had done.
The second half saw a more attacking style of play from Box Hill and we were able to keep the ball in our attacking half for long periods. Our passing and movement into space created many headaches for Manningham and also resulted in another 3 goals for us, courtesy of Alex (2) and Jesse (1).
Overall everyone played well and contributed to the result, however we can all play much better and work harder for each other. Hopefully next week we can get back to our regular game style on a much flatter and consistent Wembley Park.
Gaffer.
