We new this was going to be the game that would test our metal. The top of the table clash the fans had been waiting for. A true test of our skill, determination, style and good looks. After last weeks close (but not) game, we were far more prepared for a tough match. The lads new what they had to do when they arrived at the stronghold, that is Beach Rd. After a good long week of rain which hindered our build up (very little practice) the ground was sticky and slightly messy around the goal mouths.
We warmed up well and got set to roll. Tane once again got the whistle duty and we started with our usual line-up. United kicked off and we were into it. We started strong and put pressure on straight away. Their coach commented to me after the game that they weren't used to this so our plan had worked. We scored first to take an early lead. The game was intense and everybody was feeling it. There was a great deal of expectation and excitement from the sideline from both sets of supporters. The boys held strong for the first 25 and we went into the break 1-0 up. There were some interesting times in the first half which needed to be addressed. The most obvious was letting them get in front of our goal unmarked. To their credit, the boys listened and fixed the problem in the second half.
We conceded a goal for the score to level 1 all. We shifted some players around and mixed things up a bit. TJ went into defence where he finished the game very strongly, intercepting some forward passes at crucial times. Riley continued his good form with some awesome corners and goal kicks which took a lot of pressure off our defensive end. Nick battled away as usual with some big tackles. Luke made some great passes setting up our second goal and began looking for those spaces. Tony continued with his hard running and made some critical tackles in the mid-field to slow things down. Ben has established himself as the number 1 goalie. His confidence has increased unmeasureably and it has given the team confidence and another very positive string to its bow. Jono gutsed it out as usual, running a half marathon in the space of the game. Matt did very well even making it on to the field considering he had been sick the previous day.
Another own goal from us off another corner (something to work on coach!) drew the score to 2-2. A late flurry from both sides could have seen another goal to either team but the result was probably a fair indication of the game. Two top sides giving it their all in an evenly contested match. Our boys left it all out on the field and can be extremely proud of themselves. The teams 3 cheered as a group and we got a great photo of them both.
Score 2-2 (Matthew 2)
Name : Taylor Dallimore
Age: 10
Nick Name: TJ, Tay Tay
Star Sign: Gemini
School: Tahunanui
Position (Soccer): Centre (Right)
Favourite Club: Chelsea
Favourite Player: Didier (diver) Drogba
Favourite thing about Soccer: I like to make dashing runs down the sideline to enable me to make clean, crisp passes into the centre for my team mates to score fabulous goals ( I like kicking the ball). I enjoy developing the essential footwork and ball skills to beat opposition players. ( I like doing skills).
Comment about the Tahuna Magpies: "We are the Champions my Friend..... and we'll keep on fighting 'till the end". (aren't magpies birds?)
As we arrived at Saxton field we realised it was the first time the Magpies had ever played there. The boys were keen and everyone was on time. We warmed up and were looking good.
We knew that this game was going to be harder than the previous week so we were trying to mentally prepare for this. The game on our pitch was running late so we agreed to play on number 3. We kicked off and the fun began. We scored an early goal which was a good sign. However, the game fell to pieces for most of the first half. The Warriors scored an outstanding goal from a beautifully crossed ball which was volleyed into the back of the net. We couldn't get any combinations going and we struggled with our positional play. There were glimpses of hope but we were definately not in top form. The Warriors scored another goal from a nice corner to take a 2-1 lead into half time.
The boys got a little rev up at half time about the fact that they looked like they had all been up till 3 in the morning on the booze. The call was made to step it up in the second half and play out of their skins for the remaining 25 minutes. I was to ref the second spell so some of the boys frustrations about inappropriate language and questonable tackling would be alleviated. The guys turned on an impressive 25 minutes of attacking football. They had excessive amounts of shots at goal and had it not been for an outstanding game from their goalie a large score line would have resulted. The boys clawed their way back to a 2-2 draw and with about 5 minutes remaining scored what looked like a game winner. The Warriors had not looked like scoring and had barely made it out of their own half. As sport goes, it took only one break away which resulted in another corner. It was beautlfully taken again and put pressure on our defence. Somehow (wink) it made it over our goal line with only a couple of minutes left on the clock. Desperation took over as the Magpies tried everything to try and seal another goal before the final whistle. Unfortunately, the ball didn't make it into the net again with the final score being 3-3. Matthew (3) Player of the Day: Riley Merthens- solid in defence and put pressure on in attack. Great corners.
Things to work on: Sleep on Friday nights, corners (for and against), shooting at goal (all).
I stumbled across these when flicking through some photos. Brought a smile to my face.. weren't they cute? 7th Grade at Neale Park, Nelson 2005.
It seems as though I am always commenting on the weather....... but I have to say, we arrive
d at Beach Rd to another stunner. The ground is very firm with a good grass covering with a slight
dewy wetness.
Anyway....... The team turned up and we got stuck into warming up. I got the feeling that the opposition may have figured what was in store as they and their supporters looked (and commented) on how what we were doing. The passes were crisp and sharp and the team was together through the whole process.
Kick off arrived at 10.30 and Tane took the whistle. The plan was to work to our strengths again and focus on controlling the ball enabling us to make good passes and set it up to make good shots on goal. What eventuated was a torrid 10-15 minutes where quite a few goals were scored. The levels dropped a bit at the end of the first half but we were comfortably in control of the match. The call was made at half time to play our game and not lose our way. To their credit, the boys continued and upped the anti. Unfortunately, it was commonly agreed tha
t the Cyclones were in the incorrect division as they had sustained some large defeats. I decided not to change the positioning around too much on the field. The idea was to give the boys an opportunity to practice the skills we had worked on. I felt for Ben who was stuck in the goal without too much to do. I'm sure this will change in the next few weeks so he'll be keen and rearing to go.
The final score was 17-1 to the Magpies (Matt 14, Taylor 1, Jono 1, Luke 1). Player of the Day: Matt for scoring a couple of goals.
For our Awesome Team I thought it would be a great idea to set up some profiles to see what the boys think. We are beginning with our most potent attacking force.
Name : Matthew Tod-Smith
Nick Name: Matt (Superboot)
Star Sign: Scorpio
Age: 9
School: Tahunanui
Position (Soccer): Right Forward
Favourite Club: Manchester United
Favourite Player: Christiano Ronaldo
Favourite thing about Soccer: "There's always something new to learn (this part I added) and Trent is an amazing coach who has taught me everything I know".
Comment about the Tahuna Magpies: " No one can stop us"
Once again, the Nelson weather turned it on as we arrived to a beautiful Saturday morning in Upper Moutere. It was a pleasant surprise to see what has been historically a cows heaven of a pitch, as a short and firm surface. Everyone looked keen and fit despite having the Tahuna disco the previous evening ( a shocker has resulted in the past after such events). The lads ran through their jobs and everyone was focused as we approached kick off. The Rangers kicked off and their coach ref'ed the first half.
The boys had discussed the extra size of the field and how we could best utilise it for our style of game. We had practiced and focused on using the wings in practice. Having the extra space on a much larger field would be to our benefit. We played in our usual positions with Matt and JONO (note spelling) up front, TJ and Luke in the middle and Riley, Nick and Ben out the back.Tony started on the bench. Once again we dominated field position and possession from the outset. Our experience in playing regular positions paid dividends as our combinations through the field were at times nothing short of spectacular. It is a joy to watch young lads purposefully passing the ball through the field from inside their own half up to a goal scoring position on a regular basis.
The Centres were always going to do it tough on such a large field knowing that it is their job to get forward and then back in an instant. It was great to see everyone doing their bit. The first half ended with a comfortable 3-0 lead with Matt finding the net on all occasions. The second half was no different with plenty of ball movement and passing taking place. We had quite a few opportunities at goal but were denied by some good goalkeeping by the Rangers Goalie. Tony nearly scored twice as he strived for his first goal of the season. We got another 3 goals in the second half. Two more by Matt (5) and one to Jono off a quickly taken free kick.
Tony received the Player of the Day for his gritty determination in all aspects of the game. He ran, tackled and tried really hard. He is making huge progress and can be proud of the way he is training, playing and improving every week.
Final score 6-2 to the Mighty Tahuna Magpies (Matt 5, Jono 1)
It is great to see Nelson Football has got the table of results up.
I have to say it is mighty fine reading at this stage.
Check it out http://www.nelsonbays.mainlandfootball.co.nz/2008/NBFJL10B_Tables.html
The draw can be found here :http://www.nelsonbays.mainlandfootball.co.nz/2008/NBFJL10Blue_Games.html
Our first home game of the season and Beach Rd greeted us like a life long friend. Nelson had certainly pulled another tremendous day out of the bag to make us feel right at home on our Number One pitch. The call was made the night before to arrive at the ground fifteen minutes earlier than usual for a 10 o'clock warm up.
The boys practised well on Wednesday and have begun to 'switch' back on. We had a great warm up with the Spurs which everyone enjoyed. The focus was on the players thinking about the game, making up the rules and assessing how it was working and what if any rules needed to be changed. This strategy is the new push from NZ soccer and goes along the lines of a player based learning philosophy. Similar methods are encouraged in todays classrooms so it is really an extension of this.
The game kicked off a little late after Richmond lost the toss and Jonno (captain for the day) elected to play towards the Tahuna Holiday Park. The call once again was to play hard and fast from the outset. We did that and put the pressure on straight away. Richmond were shaken and we quickly put on on couple of goals. The passing game was working well and the backs and centres were supplying Matt and Jonno with plenty of quality ball. It was great to see the boys aware of the off-side rule and pull themselves back on a number of occasions. Jonno was working the sideline hard and put himself in some great positions to get the ball into the middle for the troops to have a crack at the goal. Matt made some decisive runs which ended up in the back of the Cougars net. Our defence was strong and well held on to a strong 4-0 lead at half time.
We were aware that after last week it was imperative that we finished the game strongly. We played well enough, had some good shots at goal but the big difference was a couple of stunning saves by our goalie Ben Spori who took the wind out of the Richmond sails. Had they scored they may have got their tails up and the game could have ended quite differently. For his outstanding effort in goal, Ben received the Player of the Day trophy and certificate.
Final score 4-0 to the Tahuna Magpies (Matthew, 4)
We arrived at Appleby school to discover that the field we were to play on had not been marked out. After last weeks drama with having no goals on the field at Ben Cooper park I was beginning to wonder about some sort of conspiracy. The Waimea coach was pretty positive and said we would be able to go to Brightwater school and play there. We waited until everybody from both teams had arrived and then made a convoy and headed off to Brightwater. We arrived, unloaded, went to the field only to discover another game on which had only recently kicked off.
Patience was indeed being tested. After a quick discussion the call was made to go back to Appleby, move the goals and use some cones to mark out the field. There wasn't much time for a warm up so we pretty much got straight into it. We kicked off and used our new attack to good effect. Once again the call was made to start strong and we did apply early pressure. We controlled the first half and continued on with a great passing game from last week. The score was 3-0 at the half time break and we were feeling and looking comfortable.
The second half was hair raising experience for those of us on the side-line (except for Mike and myself, but that's another story). I decided to change things around a bit and give Ben a run and put Riley in Goal. The Dragons came out with a little more fire in their bellies and we went on the defensive. We lost some shape to our game and a few more errors crept in. We managed to get one more goal but the Dragons got up and got 3 of their own. We tightened up our D and held on for what seemed like a long seven minutes.
Matt once again dominated the scoring with 4 goals.One a very good shot with his left foot. Jonno continues to run his guts out, Luke and Tony are finding their spots around the field, Nic and Riley showed their value in defence and Ben showed some great decision making with his kicks. Taylor received the Player of the Day certificate for his solid play and improved control in the first half.
Points to work on this week:
- Playing the ball away from the goal. Throwing the ball in. Passing foward to shoot. Changing positions, positional play.
Two games, two wins, a good start to the season everyone. Lets keep positive and keep working hard.
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