The boys were all on the road this week. The under 13’s ground out a win at Brighton SC, the 14’s won at Hampton SC, the under 15 were unlucky against Keysborough and the under 18’s were frustrated at top of the table Doveton.

Under 13’s

The boys had an early start at Brighton and, both sides started off strongly; Brighton using their bodies and speed to break through the midfield and GFC players playing smart and simple football.

A through ball from Jobie Heusmann to Billy Whitmore saw him make an outstanding run towards the box, only to be taken down in the box but no foul was given. Ethan Farrell got finger tips to the ball then was assisted by the upright to clear the ball.

The defence were playing well, and the combination  of a strong, smart midfield was once again at the heart of the structure.  The boys played the ball out from the back like a training routine with quick release ball movement and high tempo football.

Antony Katiforis delivered a switch pass to Kishen Parikh who dribbled with confidence past three Brighton players into the box and was taken down. A penalty kick was awarded and goalkeeper Ethan Farrell put the ball away to give GFC a 1-0 half-time lead.

The second half was full of chances for both teams game but a confident goalkeeper GFC and defence were hard to break down. With three minutes to play, great ball movement by the team saw Billy Whitmore ended with a great shot which was well saved by the keeper.

The boys held on for a win on the back of a solid team effort.

Under 14’s

The Under 14s travelled to Hampton and played in sunny but windy conditions. Gippsland went in front midway through the first half when Tristan Donoghue was fouled just inside the 18 yard box. Connor Dastey stepped up and tucked the penalty away to give Gippsland a 1-0 lead which they took into the break.

With a strong wind at their backs in the second half Gippsland controlled the game and went 2-0 up through Adam Semple who finished off a Blake Whykes cross.

Hampton got one back with 10 minutes to go to ensure an uncomfortable end to the game for the Gippsland boys. However, a Blake Whykes goal appeared to seal the game for Gippsland but Hampton didn’t go away and made it 3-2 which was the final result. 

The win puts the Gippsland boys into 4th place on the table. Tristan Donoghue, Rueben O’Brien and Steffen Aboltins put in strong performances for Gippsland.

Under 15’s

The U15’s played away to Keysborough this week and were missing a few key players with Jack Walton heading to England and Isaac Boulton in New Zealand with the Futsal Representative team.

The boys responded well to training during the week and maintained possession and move the play forward with more intensity and although playing into a stiff breeze during the first half, dominated the game.  Goal scoring opportunities presented themselves but the Keysborough keeper was equal to the challenge, pulling off a number of excellent saves to keep his team in the game at the break with the score locked at 0-0.

The second half started similarly to the first with GFC dominating possession, but unfortunately unable to break the deadlock. As the second half progressed Keysborough were defending in numbers and trying to attack with the long ball on the counter attack.

The Gippsland FC boys were equal to the task in defence and counter-attacked to set the forwards with goal scoring opportunities but frustratingly they could not convert.

With the game looking as though it would finish with in a stalemate, the hosts scored with a sucker punch to lead 1-0. GFC fought hard for the final minutes trying to get back on level terms, but could not peg back the deficit.

Although the result went against GFC the boys played very well for most of the game and were extremely unlucky not to get a better result. The style they played and the improvement in the areas that were down the week before was very pleasing to see. The group continues to gel and work hard as a team and the results will take care of themselves as the boys continue to grow and improve.

Best players were Ben Elliot, Zeb McLeod, who had an outstanding first half, and Daniel Gatpan who showed why he is in the Victorian squad.

Under 18’s

After more than three weeks on the sidelines with byes, catch-up rounds and forfeits the U18’s finally returned to the park when they travelled to top of the table Doveton.

Despite the break the Gippsland boys came out looking sharp and dominated midfield possession for most of the first half that would have casual observers believe GFC where the top team.

Lots of possession but a lack of a final finish meant a luckless first half for Gippsland and both teams went in 0 – 0 at half time.

Injury and illness left Gippsland with only one substitute but the boys didn’t let that worry them as finally their dominance was rewarded with a goal in the 55^th minute.

After penetrating the Doveton defence with a strong run, Chris Oulton’s shot was blocked by the keeper but the rebound was neatly headed in by Nelson Tombra. Unfortunately for the visitors, Doveton bounced back quickly to even the score.

The game then developed into an end-to-end affair as both teams searched for the winner, but  both teams shared the points.

Whilst disappointed in not getting the 3 points this was an excellent result for a team short on both match practise and numbers.

This week’s matches – 17 July, 2016

The weekend sees all the teams at home in Trafalgar. The under 13’s take on Glen Eira Eagles at 11am, the under 14’s face Mornington SC Blue at 12.15pm, the under 15’s play Clarinda United SC at 1.30pm and the under 18’s opponents are Endeavour United SC with kick off at 3.00pm.