Match Reports – Round 3: Vs Rivers

Under 17 Girls:

The match against Rivers began with Loddon-Mallee lining up as per the curriculum in their 1-4-3-3 formation whilst Rivers had resorted to 1-5-2-2 soon after the whistle due to the pinpoint passing and breadth used by the Loddon-Mallee team.

Possession from the back and use of width soon resulted in a set of immaculate passes culminating in Paige setting up a tap-in for Ili to begin the avalanche of goals for Loddon-Mallee. Through balls with regularity built the scoreline with Lizzie, Pittsy and Paige scoring with ease as the possession domination resulted in the inevitable 'cricketesque' score. Half-time 6 - 0.

 Coach Brown demanded more of the curriculum in the second half with a big game against North-East next week beckoning. The girls duly obliged though the midfield dominance was less evident as they tried to overplay a little. Nevertheless Rivers were split open on a myriad of occasions due to the continuing width employed by the Loddon-Mallee girls.

Kayla came on to replace an injured Alex' and played with the poise we have come to expect from a player who will go a long way due to her team ethic and mature decision making.

At 9 - 0 the final whistle was music to the ears of Rivers and much credit must go the Loddon-Mallee girls who were true to their coaching right to the end. 

Under 14 Boys:

"It's a beautiful day for soccer", words of wisdom from Greg Payne before our boys took on Shepparton in Cobram. Coming off a draw the week before the team were looking for their first win, and on such a beautiful day, you just never know.

Shepparton came out of the gates full steam ahead with plenty of attacking play in the first 10 mins and it took a bit for our boys to fire up.  The push forward came hard from Aref out wide, but just couldn't get it through with some unlucky offsides and just off target shots. The hard work from the midfield finally paid off with a ball straight down the middle through to Keo who won a foot race to the ball and just got his, wait for....LEFT boot to it, the ball went powering under the keeper into the net while Keo just had time to jump over the keeper on the ground.....GOAL!

1-0 up before half time was a good feeling for the boys, and coach Wayne was feeling just as good as the team was now starting to find their way together his words echoed these feelings about playing as a team and working together.

The second half started as the first, with some strong go forward from Shep again, this time paying off with a couple of back to back goals which took the score to 1-2.  This however did not worry Lightning with some strong defence to hold them off for the rest of the match. Our attack got better and before too long a lovely strike by Yani Voliotis, from the 18 yard line saw the score level again, 2-2.

A great game to watch with a lot of spirit and effort. The team is getting stronger and moving well together with each game, we are  thinking a win is not to far away and I'm sure its on  everyones minds as we head to Darebin this week end.

As we look back on the game, it was a beautiful day for soccer, and the company was great too!

Under 13 Boys:

A road trip to Cobram was required for us to face off against Rivers FC in what turned out to be a tight first half in windy conditions.  The under 13 Lightning boys controlled the half with good possession play combined with good ball movement through all positions of the ground.  Our central defenders were containing forward attempts by a skilled Rivers attack while Archie Bissinella was busy distributing the ball from our midfield.  A goal at the 8 minute mark to Alex Caldow was the only score when half time interrupted play.

Alex found the net again two minutes into the second half and Oscar Perez added another five minutes later from a free kick.  The Lightning boys were looking in control when a slight defensive lapse allowed Rivers to dash through for a well-earned goal.

Our disciplined and systematic approach to the task continued with enthusiasm resulting in a quick response through our fast paced striker Peter Marziano – score 4-1.  That’s how the score sheet remained despite a couple of player positional changes late in the game that made several attempts to get through a busy opponents defence.

Any game where there is difficulty selecting best player’s is a sign of a balanced and consistent team effort which was demonstrated again and is now a trademark of this playing group.

 Under 13 Girls:

On a very cold and windy day the Lightning girls found the going tough and were unable to score a goal against the much taller and stronger Rivers team. The final score been 2 Rivers, Lightning 0