Round 1 vs Coburg Tigers
Seniors
Sandringham: 16.12.108
Coburg: 16.9.105
Goals: Johnson 4, Siposs 3, Heyne 2, Lourey , Wade , Ferraro , Magner , Steven, McQualter , Irving
Best: Lynch, Steven, Simpkin, Johnson, Stanley, Ferraro
Reserves
Sandringham: 12.8.80
Coburg: 15.15.105
Goals: Meehan 2, Rist 2, Boland 2, Stapleton , Jones, Jetta , Barnes , Andreoli, Shakallis
Best: Fleming, Jones, Andrews, Smith-Cameron, Andreoli, Hallahan
Seniors Match Report By Serge D’Angelo (Asst Coach)
The courage and determination required to win a game of football was clearly displayed by the 22 players who represented the Sandringham Football club in its first win for 2011.
The opening quarter of was extremely hectic as one would expect in the season opener with both sides intent on winning the contested ball.
Kicking against a strengthening breeze we played some excellent team football posting 5 goals.
However at the first break we had early injury concerns and this meant we played most of the day with 2 interchange players. Both Cahill and Geary were sidelined for the rest of the day.
Our second quarter with the breeze was productive kicking another 5 goals but Coburg’s accuracy kept the game very tight even though our defensive pressure resulted in them posting only 2 goals. The Zebras had a 9 point lead at the long break but we had wasted some opportunities to assert our authority on the game as we kicked aimlessly into our forward line.
The players were challenged to continue to work hard for each other and to keep running to create chances up forward. The players respond well and shut down Coburg’s goal scoring with some strong physical football around the middle of the ground.
Although the opposition had use of the breeze we restricted them to 2 goals while also kicking 2 valuable goals into it. We had a number of very tired players but who simply refused to give in . Our new Captain David Gallagher had led by example and he was ably assisted by the likes of James Magner, Jack Stevens , Rod Eddy , Chris Irving and Ricky Ferarro who chased down and halted the Tigers running game. Giving us a 1 goal lead going into the last quarter
The final stanza produced an enthralling 30 mins of football. We had use of the breeze but once again missed some chances increase our small lead. Further injury to Cripps who had provided plenty of dash in the midfield made the task even more difficult as Coburg seemed to have the momentum and the run of play saw them get out to a 2 goal lead deep in the last term. However, the Zebras did not accept the game was over and kept attacking but inaccuracy continued to plague our efforts to win.
Then in a remarkable 2 minutes of play in which Jack Stevens, Reece Stanley, Will Johnson , James Magner , Tom Lynch and in fact every single Zebra player rose to another level and just willed themselves to get the ball forward and kicked 2 amazing goals , one of which took all of 15 secs as the ball was courageously marked by Johnson 2 metres out and as the siren sounded. We had won a game that so easily could have been lost but for the determination of team.
We now have 8 days to recover and refocus our thoughts onto next Sunday’s game at Frankston. We need to continue to work on doing the basics well and to work for each other.
The most important lesson from our first win which we need to take into each and every game we play: Do not give up ever and keep playing team oriented football for the whole game.
Reserves Match Report – Mick Ablett
Well obviously a disappointing result for the boys first up. Our poor Forward 50 entries made it very difficult for us to kick a winning score. We continually gave our forwards little chance through not delivering it to their advantage. However our intensity and work rate (90 Tackles) was second to none and kept us in the game. We found the lead midway through the last quarter however couldn’t quite hang on going down by 25 points. These boys again proved they are more than capable of playing some very exciting football, we just need to eliminate some costly errors and we will be well on our way to achieving the results we deserve.
Better players for the day included Andrew Fleming who along with Maddison Andrews continue to show the way with their attack on the football and tireless workrate, both won their fair share of the footy gathering 21 and 27 possessions respectively, Fleming had an outstanding 18 tackles for the day! Warrick Andreoli continued his good form amassing 27 disposals (14 in the last quarter) and Dylan Jones again showed why he is capable of playing Senior football with another impressive effort in the Ruck. James Hallahan and Kiefer Smith-Cameron were both very good contributors again showing plenty of leadership and quality ball use out of the back half.
Playing Frankston this week for the second time in 3 weeks provides the boys with a fantastic opportunity to rectify last week’s disappointing loss and get on the board in Season 2011. I have no doubt we will continue to improve as a group over the early part of the season as we adjust to each other’s playing style. However it is important to get the wins on the board especially early, and with a group of young players as talented as they are this should certainly be what they have in mind. I have no doubt the boys will bounce back this week and what better challenge to face than against an old rival in Frankston.
Last Modified on 04/04/2011 16:14