Quake Vs. Phoenix Review

 

 

Major Sponsor - JR Electrical

Also Sponsored by – Clintons Toyota & Dunsheas United Realty

Quake took on Dural Warriors at ‘The Epicentre’ on Saturday and what a battle the day turned out to be. In the end we had 2 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses to total 10 hard earned Club Championship points. Reports follow.

Academy

This was a very closely fought game between 2 evenly matched teams. The defence of both sides dominated with scoring chances being few and far between. Quake continued to play out from the back every time it was the ‘keeper’s ball and also pressed high to try to force the turnover. Another good display of skills and tactics from the boys.

12 Boys won 5-2 (Adrian Neoklis 2, Matthew Khalil 1, Yossi Sawalha1 and Angelo Kalamvokis 1)

The boys got back to their winning ways again this week after a close but disappointing loss last week. As often happens with this team the game was close for the first 10 minutes or so until the boys’ good defence and patience paid dividends and the goals started to flow. The lads built on their 2-0 half-time lead to run out comfortable winners.

At the end of the first round of matches the boys sit in 2^nd place on the ladder with 5 wins, 2 losses and a +15 goal difference.

12 Girls drew 2-2 (Amy Sayer 2)

This wasn’t as good a performance as last week but the girls did hang in the game and came from behind twice to snatch a hard earned draw. The girls have shown plenty of heart in recent weeks and their defence has improved immeasurably since the beginning of the season. Now they just have to get their passing game back in order so they can create more chances and finish teams off. They have another chance next week to show how far they have come when they take on Majik who thumped them in the 1^st round.

The girls sit 3 points clear in 4^th now with 3 wins, 2 draws and just 2 losses with a +18 goal difference.

14 Boys drew 4-4 (Daniel Blachura 3, James Tsokos 1)

Put this down as the one that got away. The boys played their best futsal of the year to build a 4-2 lead with just over 5 minutes left but couldn’t cope when the Warriors played the 5^th man. They had plenty of chances to finish the game off but couldn’t put the ball into the back of the empty net and Warriors made them pay by scoring the 2 goals needed to steal a draw. Daniel Blachura was outstanding today and scored a well-deserved hat trick and Nathan Rapley threw himself at everything in the 2^nd half.

The boys sit 8^th on the table with 1 win, 1 draw and 5 losses but with the improvement they’ve shown in recent weeks we expect them move up the ladder in the 2^nd round.

14 Girls lost 0-5: Sponsored by JR Electrical

With 2 players unavailable, their ‘keeper involved in a car crash and stuck in traffic, and playing a team that had won all of their 6 games to date the girls were really up against it from the start. The plan was to defend first and worry about scoring later but 3 goals in the first 10 minutes put paid to that strategy and the girls had to attack to get back into the game. And, again, they had chances but didn’t take them. This is a good team but not training for 2 weeks and having players missing each week has taken its toll on the girls.

The girls finish the 1^st round in 6th place with 3 wins, 4 losses and a -8 goal difference. They are just 3 points behind 3^rd and could make the finals if they get to training and work hard.

16 Boys won 6-3 (Anthony Haddad 2, Harry Bagot 1, Bradon Clissold 1 and Liam McGing 1)

The boys flew out of the blocks and cruised to a 3-0 lead before they lost concentration and let the Warriors back into the game. After taking a 3-2 lead into half time the lads knuckled down to the job and scored 3 more goals to put the game away. A good team display which puts the boys back on top of the table.

The boys finished the 1^st round as leaders of the pack with 6 wins and just the 1 loss with +23 goal difference and are 2 points clear of second placed Majik. Next week’s game should be a cracker!

16 Girls Sponsored by Macarthur Marble & Granite: drew 4-4 (Ash Norman 2, Ruby Mosca 1 and Jemma Crane 1)

At 1-3 down the girls were down and out and going nowhere. But a free kick by Jemma gave them hope before they then conceded a 4^th goal and it looked like game over. But Ash Norman had other ideas and, playing her best game of the year, she literally threw herself all over the court to spark a revival. With Ruby’s help, the girls equalised and almost pinched a miracle win. If only the girls could play the entire game like they have played in the last 10 minutes of all their games they would be well and truly in the top 4. Perhaps they can.

The team is 8^th on the ladder with just the 2 draws and 6 losses. As we’ve said before, they can do it when they want to – let’s hope we see them at their best for the rest of the season.

Youth lost 1-2 (Shannon Fielding 1)

A fluke winner was the difference in this game with the boys controlling the match for long periods of time only to concede 2 ordinary goals in the 2^nd half. The effort was there but the finishing, and luck, definitely wasn’t and Warriors got away with 3 points they probably shouldn’t have.

The lads finish the first round in 3^rd place on the ladder with 4 wins and 3 losses and the best goal difference of +9. They are well and truly in it, especially when you consider they could have won all 3 games they lost.

Women: Sponsored by Dunsheas United Realty lost 3-4 (Zoeie Redman 1, Logan Garard 1, and Steph Haim 1)

I’ll keep this brief. This was the shock of the day. Dural had their second choice 14 year old ‘keeper in goals and were there for the taking. The ‘keeper played very well in the circumstances but our girls looked to be taking things too easy and missed chance after chance. In fact, if it wasn’t for Mel having a blinder in goals herself the score could have been much worse. Perhaps this is a wake call for the girls who take on a tough Majik team next week.

With 6 wins and just this 1 loss the girls are 5 points clear at the top of the table with a +12 goal difference. Hard work will keep them there.

Men drew 3-3 (Shayne Ardle 2 and Danny Martinez 1)

The men blasted out of the blocks and 2 well taken goals by Shayne Ardle in the first 3 minutes saw them take a 2-0 lead into the half without any real signs of trouble. But Warriors pressed in the 2^nd half and 2 turnovers resulted in 2 goals and Quake were up against it. When Warriors scored the go ahead goal with about 7 minutes left it looked to be over but Quake went to the 5^th man. The ploy didn’t really work in their favour and it was only some good luck and desperate scrambling that stopped Dural from killing the game off with a 4^th goal. With 20 seconds left on the clock Quake won a corner but the ball rolled out of an open door and without a ball to kick in the game looked gone. But never fear – Carlos was alert and got a spare ball to the corner taker who fed it to Danny and, with Dural caught napping, Danny smashed the ball high into the back of the net to pull off the great escape and earn Quake a hard earned point. Another great game with another heart stopping finish!

Quake finish the 1^st round sitting in 4^th place on the ladder with 3 wins, a draw and 3 losses. Considering their start to the season this is very pleasing.

Summary

What a day. It was a hard grind all day and just when it looked like Quake would win the day our fortunes turned and it appeared it would all slip away. But a fight back by the Men salvaged the day and whilst we took only 10 points we can be happy with this in the end.

We are 3^rd in the Club Championship and have 6 of our 9 teams in the top 4. A better start to the 2^nd round than the 1^st and, who knows, we will be right in the mix for the Club Championship.

As always……GO QUAKE!