Match Reports – Round 5: Vs North East Diamonds

Under 17 Girls:

The second game of 2 of the powerhouses in the Under 17 Girls VCL Competition did not disappoint. Once again the match was played at a fast pace early with Zoe Scott showing signs of determination in the number 11 position. Loddon Mallee were pegged in their own half for a good portion of the first stanza but did break forward consistently with hard work moving the ball from defence, through the midfield. North East were able to pump the ball forward on numerous occasions which almost seemed planned at times despite the protestations of their coach who tried to maintain curriculum direction. Lack of a decisive first touch was letting the Loddon girls down a little and it proved costly as a poor touch in the box allowed the Diamonds to deftly stroke home the first goal. An inspiring olympic style baton change of the ventolin between Coach Brown and Team Manager Clare when assisting Jessica, lifted the girls through the remainder of the first half ending with Loddon 1 - 0 down.

 The local girls rallied and dominated possession in the second half for little reward. They did look sharp at the front and so it proved again the Mallee first touch let them down and they turned over possession in centre mid-field allowing their opponents to sweep forward, outnumbering the Mallee defence and score with well placed shots past Alex' and Kari who had been valiant at the back. In between times Mallee kept to its structures and carved out some very good opportunities which were off target where composure was needed. Rebecca Berry did show some of this as she slotted home one of the goals of the season from 35 metres out, cleverly spotting the keeper off her line and chipping her.

 The final whistle saw the Diamonds gaining some revenge for their first defeat the previous week as they inflicted Loddon-Mallee's first defeat of the season 3 - 1. Their sharpness in front of goal proved the difference in the scoreline although Loddon coach Brown said he was extremely pleased with the progress of the team in terms of structure. Areas next to be worked on will be body placement and first touch which hopefully will return them to the winning list next week?

 Under 15 Boys:

Game Five of the Victorian Championship League for the Loddon Mallee (Lightening) U. 15 boy’s team saw them up against North East (Diamonds).

Loddon Mallee Lightning travelled to Harrison Reserve, Swan Hill up against the North East Diamonds. Conditions were prefect for an excellent game to be played. Both teams had only played last week due to the VCL draw arrangements. Diamonds won that round.

A determined Lightning outfit made a number of strategic changes, due to player absences and injury. We welcomed back Sam Farr into defence and Ben Lewin – goal keeper. Rostered off: Jack Vandermaat and Isaac West.

The 2011/12 VCL Season has seen the introduction of Technical and Respect Points. This is to avoid the situation to win at all costs to be the league leader. The points system is weighted such that points for wins/draws will have less impact than respect points and further to these will have less impact than technical points. This playing format will give greater adherence to the National Coaching Curriculum.

The first opportunity to score came from Joe Williams taking another blinding run down the wing to draw a corner from the opposition player. Sam Scoble taking the corner kick was frustrated by the conditions which saw the ball float out of play uncontested.

Within 10 minutes from kick off, they scored the first of three for the half. This was a far different game plan from last week which saw them being shut down by the Lightning with a well developed defensive line. This lead to multiple opportunities to score being disallowed due to the off side rule.

Stand out players for the first half, were Max Perrins exploding out off the defensive midfield half to challenge a number of Diamonds players. Travis Robertson has grown in stature against a strong side by resisting challengers and making the play on the right wing attack. John Roberts was excelling in the Centre Back position and from time to time overlapped from defence to move up the field.

BHP award for their quiet and unassuming demeanour is Steve Robinson and Piers Cresp. Both players consistently make the play and run back to their positions with little fuss. They’re like sleeping tigers, when agitated they ROAR.

On one such occasion saw Cresp strike out down the wing and make an assault on goal. The pass was well received by Godwill Basha and his attempt parried by the keeper back into play. A raffle ensued as to who was going score for Lightning, Sam Scoble with a well placed strike scored resoundingly.

Half time Score line:        NEFC 3 to LMFC 1

Kick off was taken by Lightning which saw them challenge on goal. A very determined squad was on the pitch to play hard and fast against the Diamonds outfit.

Lightning do lack in tall’s but this counteracted by Basha. In the second half he was in every offensive scoring opportunity. He was rewarded in his efforts by scoring Lightning’s second goal. Opportunities were many in this half, Perrin’s had multiple attempts on goal and Sam Scoble’s direct free kick, are only a few to mention. It can’t be long before Perrins see’s some of that winter competition magic coming through into this season.

Diamonds scored another three goals in the second half due to the defensive half not moving the ball out of defence with certainty. However, they should be rewarded for ‘technical’ points by making every effort to move the ball up from defence rather than kicking the ball long.

Final comments on the game, the second half saw the playing squad structure and statute improve. They accepted the referee’s decision and continued to play possession football. A disappointing result considering last week’s effort but one that the team can take home some excellent episodes of team play. This brings the team results to last position in the U.15 VCL Ladder. However, technical and respect points will see a dramatic change by round seven.

Final Score: North East 6 to Loddon Mallee 2

Under 15 Girls:

Loddon Mallee Lightening under 15 girls played the North East Diamonds at CB Smith Reserve in Fawkner in round 4 of the 2011/12 Victorian Champions League. They commenced the game with a great demonstration of team structure, rapid movement of the ball and always giving the player with the ball a few disposal options. This resulted in them dominating early in the first half and some well earned goals saw them 3-0 up about 15 minutes into the first half. Having only 1 player on the bench, compared to the oppositions 5, saw us tire late in the first half which allowed the Diamonds to score a late goal. In the second half the game was much more even, with 1 goal to each team resulting in a final score of 4 – 2. By the end of the day both Janna Lawson and Isabella Salvo had 2 goals to their names.

 Under 14 Boys:

Warm and overcast conditions greeted everyone at Swan Hill for play in today’s Round 5 of the VCL competition. The playing surface and surrounds in general were presented in an excellent condition and the anticipation for some high quality football being displayed was in the air !

Our Boys were keen to atone from their previous week’s disappointment against the same opposition and Coach Wayne boosted the available talent pool with the inclusion of Peter and Jordan from U13 team (thank you for your support today boys!)

1^ST HALF:

Lightning commenced the match with the kick off and displayed some great touch and controlled passing during the early minutes. Both teams were getting into stride and evenly sharing possession when a fast attacking break on the left from Aref resulted in his cross being struck first time by Daniel but wide of the goal. The signs of more promising things were there and very soon after, Oscar slotted a well timed through ball for Aref to shoot but again, just wide of the target.

Lightning and Diamonds then shared some quality midfield football and it wasn’t until the 10 minute mark that Diamonds had their first real opportunity from a corner kick that was well defended. Soon after, another Diamond attack was brought undone by some high defensive concentration by Aram in holding out a barnstorming right side attack which looked ominous until a delayed shot sailed harmlessly over the bar.

Lightning took the initiative and a bustling run through the Diamond defence by Keo and shot past the keeper (for what seemed a legitimate goal) was thwarted by the ref’s call for a free kick to Lightning just outside the box !?? Advantage play?? Not according to the referee and the subsequent free kick was well struck by Charlie but saved by the keeper.

Lightning’s defence was playing well with some constructive passing from Jack and Tom but the Diamonds were starting to apply their familiar and continuous forward pressure with some great combination passing, seeing them fire several shots in quick succession, requiring St Ares’ goalkeeping skills to be activated, with other attempts being blasted high over the bar.

The Diamonds were controlling proceedings when Lightning substitutions were made to bring on “fresh” midfield legs with our 2 x U13 helpers entering the fray. Closing in on half time saw a free kick awarded to the Diamonds being passed to an unmarked player at the 18 yard box, resulting in a powerful left foot drive being smashed past a diving St Ares and into the corner of the net. 1-0 Diamonds and that’s where the score lay as the half time whistle sounded.

2^nd HALF

The half got underway with an early attack by Diamonds resulting in a shot wide of the mark as they seemed to be cutting through the Lightning defence lines with some quality through balls.

However a quick build up by Lightning saw a break away opportunity for James following a long range through ball down the right side of the Diamond defence. His shot was well on target but saved by the goalkeeper.

The next 10 minutes provided some real entertainment with both midfield lines holding the ball and supplying the forwards with numerous opportunities, with Lightning and Diamonds “sharing the points” with attempts on goal and the game evenly balanced.

At the 13 minute mark we were privileged not only to witness some great passing by Diamonds to the right side of Lighting’s defence that led to a strong and agile run to the goal line from half way BUT, more importantly for Lightning, we saw a terrific example of determination from Marcus in chasing and throwing himself into the line of fire to block a resulting cross with all he had …Great stuff!

Just when we thought that team lifter would see the Lightning strike back, the Diamonds continued to sparkle and pile on that infamous pressure we had seen 2 weeks running. Regrettably it was the opposition who grasped the initiative in the last 10 minutes and wore down our stoic midfield and defensive lines to slot 2 more goals before full time, the final result being:

Diamonds 3 def                Lightning 0

Under 13 Boys:

Today's re match with North East Diamonds found its way to Swan Hill.   The LMFC and Swan Hill Soccer associations should be very proud of the facilities that were on show for our visiting opponents.   The grounds, coaches areas and team and refs change facilities, were a credit to all who contributed to the set up.   Now for the game...........

 “The Boys Under 13 home team were given the chance to match their skill with NE Diamonds for the return bout after a narrow defeat last week in Melbourne.   The game was played in great spirit and was a very tight affair for most of the first half.   Both keepers had to be at their best,  with our central striker going close after a great header forced the Diamonds keeper to make a very good low save and keep the score at 0-0.   Nearing the end of the first half, Declan Rochford was fouled with what appeared to be a push from behind inside the penalty area the ref had no choice and pointed clearly to the spot.   Milos Babovic strode confidently to take the penalty and slotted home LMFC’s first goal.  No sooner had the kick off been taken when the referee called for half time.

 When the second half commenced, it was business as usual from both sides who displayed some excellent football.    LMFC defence was holding well with the central defenders, in particular, Oliver Leonard-Shannon having a very good game.    NE Diamonds were working their way into the game with some good possession football.     Then mid way through, another LMFC attack led to a handball inside the penalty area and with the number 9, Peter Marziano slotting home a fine penalty, score was now 2-0.   Marziano finished a fine game by getting on the score sheet.   All credit to the team for fighting it out as NE Diamonds certainly displayed some good possession football and pushed hard at LMFC.   Our boys were able to keep them at bay and when the final whistle sounded the points remained with the home team.   Both teams should be very proud of their efforts and displayed some excellent football.”    Well Done LMFC who have had an excellent start to their 2011/2012 summer campaign.”

 Under 13 Girls:

This week’s game was a bit of a letdown for the girls as they were outplayed by the North East Diamonds. The girls tried hard but were outclassed by their opponents. Three goals were scored in each half for the Diamonds and considering last week the girls only lost 1 nil to the same opposition 6 nil was not what the girls would have been expecting. Let’s hope they re- group and come ready to play next week as we know they have the capabilities to play good soccer and are well coached by Tony. The final score 6 Diamonds - 0 Lightning