Albion Park Junior Soccer Under 13.3 Round 4. Vs University at Terry Reserve #1, Albion Park

Albion Park Junior Soccer Under 13.3 Round 4.

Vs University at Terry Reserve #1, Albion Park

In a top of the table clash between first and second on the ladder, in conditions that were reminiscent of March rather than deep in the winter, the young Albion Park 13.3 team fought periods of lethargy with moments of brilliance to wear down their opponents and come away with a reasonably wonderful 4-0 victory.

The game began in a flurry, with the Park team going forward early through some good work by Matt Shepherd and Josh Peters down the right of the field. Josh’s ball fell at the feet of Cohen Dick who put through a wonderful cross into the goal mouth, where Kyan Van Helden was able to get his head (actually it was his neck) onto the ball and guide it into the goal for an early 1-0 lead.
The remainder of the first half was a tough slog, with some tight decisions either way for both teams when it came to arms and shoulders in tackles. The University team was much bigger than the Park kids but they refused to be pushed off the ball despite sometimes being hurled to the ground hard. It was impressive and at times brave efforts from the kids, with the blonde headed bopper and Heath Gillis especially findng this, with kids twice their height thinking they could get around them and finding out that they could not.
There were moments of excellence at different periods. Will Schofield put through a brilliant ball from the back that Josh ran on to, but the shot under pressure was pushed wide. Along with Will at the back, both Luke Beesley at sweeper and Matt Shepherd at right back were simply marvellous, pushing their opponents out to the wings when they had the ball and gave them almost no easy shots on goal. Luke Golding had more to do this week than he has in recent games, but he defused every ball that came his way with ease and great positioning. Through the middle of the field Kane Rex, Indiana Middleton and Lincoln Calder all worked hard in getting the ball forward. In the dying moments of the first half Josh made a cross that then went through two others to fall across the goal mouth to where Ky was waiting in front of goal with no one in front of him. It could only be a goal, but Ky’s wide eyes at this easy addition to his seasons tally must have blinded him, as the miskick trickled ever slowly to the line, and the keeper fell on it just in time to deny the goal, and for the whistle to blow half-time leaving Albion Park leading 1-0.

The second half started much like the first with Albion Park attacking early. From the back Luke Beesley made a great steal from his opponents attack, and moved wide down the left and making the perfect pass to Cohen on the left wing. Cohen ran hard in space before passing to Ky whom had run hard to get into space on the left. He beat three men with wonderful footwork before crossing to the blonde bomber in the centre, who steadied and got the ball to the right where Heath was in the clear, and he rifled home the strike of the day into the top centre of the net with a brilliant ball. The good guys had a 2-0 lead and some comfort returned for the coaching staff

The second half was a much better performance from the team. They ran and worked hard together and showed how important fitness can be, as well as the benefit of a large bench to give everyone a good rest when needed. Another wonderful run from Anton Anoop through the middle of the field, beating four players before expertly pushing the ball forward found Kyan racing hard on the right of the goals, and his flying shot just passed by the right post. The pace engine room of the blonde bomber and Heath, who both created great speed which sparked the team in attack and defence, kept the home team on the attack. They both combined with Anton to give Heath another chance to score, but the ball fell loose at the final attack. Josh then returned to beat his man point blank before putting a gorgeous ball in front of Heath, but the resulting tap just went a touch too far.
Eventually something had to give, but it was from another excellent piece of play that brought it about. It started down the left-hand side again with excellent work from Jack Pomery and Zoe Middleton keeping the ball alive, before it was pounced upon by Anton, who then beat two defenders beautifully before running forward and crossing into the centre where Josh waited. Unfortunately his air swing left him lying on the ground with his dignity busted. However the ball was kept alive by Heath Gillis on the right, and after beating a couple of defenders he crossed back into Josh, who with no one around him lined up and completed the goal. At 3-0 the result now appeared in the bag.

 
The superior fitness of the Park kids continued to set up chances, and soon Josh forced his way through with only one defender and the keeper to beat. The foul from the defender was obvious and called, and Josh took the penalty from outside the box, kicking a beautiful curling shot over the wall and into the top left of the goal for a 4-0 lead, which is where the game finished. Josh was named as player of the match, a great reward for a game that he orchestrated wonderfully through the middle of the field, with wonderful help from his teammates in the middle.

Undefeated after four games, and with four clean sheets, the Park has set themselves up as the team to beat this season. There are tough games to come so laurels cannot be rested hpon5, but if they continued their hard work at training and get off to a more consistently fast start rather than a lethargic one then here is no reason why they cannot continue on this excellent season.

Albion Park Junior Soccer Under 13.3 Round 2 Vs Russell Vale at Terry Reserve #1, Albion Park.

Albion Park Junior Soccer Under 13.3 Round 2.
Vs Russell Vale at Terry Reserve #1, Albion Park.

After a good victory last week the team was looking forward to their first home of the season. The school holidays unfortunately robbed the game of some of its spectacle as Russell Vale could only muster 9 players, handing a big advantage to the Albion Park team. To their credit, the Russell Vale kids never stopped trying, and indeed put on some excellent plays especially in the second half. By the end though they had been dominated out of the match, with the Park kids playing out to the end for a 16-0 victory.

The kids scored eight goals in each of the halves, but the start was still a little sluggish and not what they have trained for. Eventually the team got on he board after five minutes, with Anton Anoop again using his silky footwork in the middle of the park to get past his defenders and then find the back of the net. This settled the nerves of the players and the coaches alike, and further chances began to come along. The extra space through the middle of the field actually seemed to stifle the attack of the Park kids, with eyes open on the goal rather than their teammates in the open. Opportunities arose, and Cohen Dick jumped on one perfect pass from Josh Peters to beat the keeper and take the lead to 2-0, before Will Schofield made a lovely run down the right and then finished it with a terrific right boot that hammered into the back of the net to give the Park a 3-0 lead.
Despite the lack of a midfield presence for Russell Vale, what won Albion Park this match was their superb run down the wings. In the first half it was the brilliant combination of left back Luke Beesley and left half Heath Gillis that provided all of the impetus for the team. Heath ran himself to a standstill, fed expertly from the back by Luke whose speed and size had his opponents well covered. Both these guys were just fantastic. Their work was directly responsible for the continued chances that came Park’s way. Kyan Van Helden was fed two great one-on-one raids with only the goalie in front of him, but both shots went wide. He learned from these miscalculations, and on his next two opportunities he beat the keeper before kicking into the open goal, increasing the lead to 5-0. With the lead secured other players were given their chance to be involved. Kane Rex also had several opportunities to get on the board, and eventually found the right strike to be on target. Cohen and Josh had moved out to the extremes to replace the tired incumbents and made their presence felt, first when Cohen made a great pass across from the right to Josh on the left where he struck the ball home, and then Josh played to the whistle after an aborted goal kick, stole the ball and wove it past the keeper to take the half time lead to 8-0.

The half time talk was to continue to play wide, and not let up, but to play to their ability. This produced a goal within 60 seconds of the restart, with Heath and Cohen combining to put Anton into the clear, where he again sublimely placed the ball between the posts.
Despite the scoreline, Russell Vale made some lovely attacking raids, and it was up to the Albion Park backline to keep the game in check. The blonde headed energizer bunny played another great game, being fast enough to shut down the raids that came his way, while Lincoln Calder again provided a tall and strong barrier at the back. Will at stopper in the second half again kept the opposition at bay while Matt Shepherd defended well and facilitated the ball back forward on numerous occasions. Luke Golding in goals was left alone for most of the match, but when he had to turn on, he did magnificently. Russell Vale got off one great shot in anger for the whole match, a ball that would have found its way into our goals if not for a magnificent save from Luke stretching high with his left hand. Super stuff.
This great defence allowed the attacking line to continue forward, and they began to take bigger and more extravagant chances. Two of the better goals, in regards to teamwork, came through the middle of the half. The first came from the halfway line, with Jack Pomery taking the ball towards his opponent, where he passed it to Anton who flicked it back as Jack ran past, before he found Josh on the left who crushed it home. Not long after this another long play started by Heath again found Jack whose excellent run through the middle was assisted by Anton, before the final through ball was finished off by Kyan. Beyond this was some great individual goals by Cohen, whose run down the right on his own saw him beat the keeper one on one before kicking the goal, and by Kyan with a big left boot from distance, and by Josh, whose launched chip shot from just inside the box beat the rushing keeper beautifully. Josh was also unfortunate to have a cracking right boot from well outside the box crash into the crossbar and bounce away. With some more mixing of the playing positions for the final ten minutes, it was pleasing to have both Luke Beesley and Jack get the chance to score their own goals, and to convert them as well. When the final whistle blew, it left Albion Park as winners by 16-0.

While it was disappointing for their opponents, it was also a shame in some ways for the Park kids, as we won’t know just how dominant they may have been if they had played on level terms. The excellence of several of the kids suggests that Albion Park would have won and won well in such a scenario. We will know more against next week’s opponents in Balgownie.

Albion Park Junior Soccer Under 13.3 Round 1. Vs Coniston at McKinnon Park, Coniston.

Albion Park Junior Soccer Under 13.3 Round 1.
Vs Coniston at McKinnon Park, Coniston.

The first game of the season is in the books, and Albion Park’s 13.3 side kicked it off with a spanking win over long-time hard-core rivals Coniston by 6 goals to nil.

The kids have been caged up for months and perhaps had forgotten what it was to get moving and quickly, as the start was a little lethargic when it came to breakdowns on the ball and getting the ball moving from the breaks in play. The leader in this getting moving for the young team was Matt Shepherd who took control of the sideline and grabbed the ball to make fast and long incisive throws into the attacking area. His enthusiasm began to rub off on his teammates and the Albion Park kids began to move better as a team.
Unlike previous years they were not intimidated by the size of their opponents and they stood firm to move the ball forward in several attacking raids. After one shocking corner from the delegated captain Josh Peters, a second not long after was a beauty, curling at pace into the goal square where Anton Anoop pounced and guided the ball over the line for a vital and pleasing 1-0 lead.

This seemed to spark a response from the Coniston team, but the young Albion Park team also showed a pleasing resonance that gives great hope for success in the coming season. Solid work in defence was transferred into the midfield, where Josh played a lovely ball through to a dashing Cohen Dick who took his shot and found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. Coniston looked to hit back but by now the Park kids had taken up the call themselves and they were working their backsides off running and making sure that the breaks in play were used to their advantage. Late in the half it was Indy Middleton who made his presence felt dashing up from the backline, and a hard won ball was followed by a lovely through pass that once again found Cohen running hard with only the keeper in front of him, and he converted again for a 3-0 half time lead, and the team was motoring.

Favoured with the breeze and their opponents looking directly into the sun for the second half, Coniston knew they had to make early in roads to get back in the match. However, despite their best efforts they were held in check by the defence, led brilliantly by Luke Beesley and the young blonde bomber, who both had wonderful matches. Luke as sweeper stymied every long ball that came his way, while his partner was just as good, using wonderful foot skills to get away from his opponent and sending the ball back to the midfield. Their tireless work was the story of the second half. Zoe Middleton was a star again, not only holding up opponents in defence but making at least three beautiful runs, one memorable one where she beat two opponents and then crossed beautifully to the centre where the attacking raid continued. Lincoln Calder made his presence felt after spending the first half in goals, and his big body strength and speed was superb at the back and in the middle, putting the Coniston players who were used to dominating with their strength off their game. Lincoln made his teammates job much easier with his presence.
Indiana made several incising runs through the middle, and was eventually rewarded for his hard work when the ball moved from Kane Rex through to Jack Pomery and Ky Van Helden to Indy, who manoeuvred through the defensive line and beat the keeper with a lovely strike to increase the lead to 4-0. Ky had done well at striker without finding clear air, but his hard work had helped set up other opportunities. He finally had his moment, when after a good attacking raid down the left Ky picked his moment and slotted the goal for 5-0. With everyone now wanting to get into the act there were plenty of opportunities. Good work from Kane, Heath Gillis and Will Schofield down the right saw several attacking opportunities, and all three had chances at scoring without finding the back of the net. Finally, it was Anton again who with silky foot movements beat a couple of defenders and then beat the keeper to complete a double and send the score out to 6-0, where it finally came to an end.

Player of the Match was awarded to Matt Shepherd who had an outstanding match. Not only is he strong and skilful, his match awareness today was terrific and he was responsible for many great movements during the match. Well done Matt.

Coniston has been a bogey side for this team in recent seasons, and the dominance of this victory shows that the weeks of boring repetitive training have been worth it. They have shown they are a good team from the outset, and will now look to continue that improvement into next weekend’s match.