Thank you Gowrie St
Primary School
Gowrie Street Primary School students kept their calm and lead a very excited Seniors team on to the pitch on Sunday afternoon. Around 30 students joined in and the feedback suggests they had a great time. The young stars also provided some half-time entertainment playing mini-soccer games and showcasing terrific enthusiasm and more than a little skill!
It was terrific to have such a positive response from Gowrie Street and great to see our senior players embracing our latest community involvement initiative.
Gowrie Street's Xavier King tosses the coin at the start the game between GV Suns and Melbourne City.
For more photos please visit GV Suns FC Facebook page.
City Link closed Saturday night and Sunday morning
CityLink has advised that works on the Tulla Widening Project will see CityLink closed in both directions between Bulla Rd and Bell St from 11:30 pm Saturday 18 June until 7:30 am Sunday 19 June.
The Bell Street and Bulla Road entry ramps will be closed in both directions from 9pm.
Signed detours will be in place along Pascoe Vale Road, Woodland Street and Bulla Road.
For more information on the closure and detours visit
www.citylinktullawidenging.vic.gov.au or follow
@CityLinkMelb on Twitter.
Subscribing to our newsletter
Halfway through the season and we are still receiving requests to subscribe to our newsletter - what started as a distribution list of about 75 members has almost doubled so hopefully that's a sign we are meeting a need for you, the Club and our supporters.
If you would like to sign up grandma, uncle Jo or even the family budgie its a really easy process.
- send this email to the person who wants to subscribe or if you know their email address click on 'view in browser' at the top of the email
- click on the subscribe tab that appears at the top of the page
- Fill in the subscriber details (you can use this to add another email if eg if you want the newsletter sent to your work and home emails)
- A confirmation email will be sent to the new email address and once the owner of that address accepts they are on the list and will automatically receive our newsletter each week.
And if that's too hard please just send us an email at operations@gvsuns.com.au - everyone is welcome!
Reno's wrap
This time of the year is a reflective time. School students have finished work requirements and exams and will get reports soon. This reporting time is a time to reflect upon one's performance, reset goals and put measures into place to change behavior in order to achieve them.
At the Suns we too, have reporting requirements. We will be videoing coaching sessions and as coaching staff we will assess our performance along with player performances.
We look forward to changing our approach and look to accommodating some individual training regimes to help our players develop better. There is no doubt that our overall performances have been below par, however, there are glimpses of moving in the right direction.
We have a very important coaches meeting next Tuesday evening where we will address performance and future direction. This is a positive approach to getting better performances happening in the second half of the year.
This time is a good time for our young players to watch highlights of the Euros and Coppa America. Our players should be tracking various players for the good habits and skills that are being performed rather than following the ball and looking at results. I watched Brazil and Peru the other day and took particular interest in the Brazil players when in BP and BPO situations. They epitomized the ethos of our curriculum. Individual players performed as a player should, such as:
- Full backs getting high in attack
- Wingers using explosive pace to get beyond their defenders,
- Triangular shapes all over the park to retain possession
- Quick transition into compact shapes in order to win the ball back quickly (they did this with aggression and desire)
- Crisp and clean touches when under pressure by the opposition.
I ask how does this develop? With practice, practice and more practice, all with positive desire and energy. No time for bad body language, mediocre effort and acceptance of mistakes. Watch the Brazilians, this is the beginning of a good' habit education' in football.
Cheers,
Reno
One on One
Gurang Kuol and Gerald Corbo meet Mohammed Ramos, aka “RAMOS”
This week GV Suns under Under 12s players sized up Mohammed Ramos. And the interview started with a few logistical problems - two of our pint size U12s interviewed our 6’6” senior player. The player profile shot shows the outcome - and after some adjusting all round we got the shot.
Player height 6’ 6” in the old scale
Weight 80 KG’s
Age 19
Marital status Very much single
How did you get started in soccer?
Started playing with mates for fun, then with Shepp United SC
Did playing other types of sport help improve your skills as a soccer player?
I only ever played Soccer, l had a go at Volleyball for a while, you need good height in Volleyball
Who is your favorite soccer player?
Sergio Ramos García the Spanish superstar who plays for Real Madrid
What advice would you give to young players who want to play for the GV Suns seniors?
Always work hard and listen for your coach's directions
What is your favorite pre-game meal?
Chicken and Rice
Do you have any pre-game rituals you do to prep before a game?
l pray for my team before a game
Favourite movie and why?
Goal, a touching rags to riches soccer players story
What are some of the lessons you’ve learned on your Soccer journey?
Determination, friends and family
What type of music do you listen to?
Sals Arabic wedding music
What is your preferred social media?
Facebook - my handle is Mohammed Alghazaly
Thanks Ramos and Gurang Kuol and Gerald Corbo members of the U12’s mosquito fleet.
If you would like to have a go (seniors or juniors) in our one on ones please contact Paul Uniacke.
Weekend game wraps
Under 12s
Tommy Giuliani
It was an a engrossing game on Sunday against NPL powerhouse and reigning champions Bentleigh Greens. Once again our boys showed they can compete against the very best talent in the state. During the warm up I must admit I thought they looked like under14s, they really were physically huge - bearing in mind we have 3 bottom age players, one player still has two years remaining in the 12s!
I was very proud of our performance - we were brilliant early. All that hard work on "striking the ball/maintaining possession paid dividends. The ball movement was fluid and high tempo, and our core skills were very good.The standard of football was great from both teams, and both defences refused to buckle. Nick Mori coming off ill early in the game robbed us of some attacking threat with Tutu Taya shifting into the back four and the only thing missing was a goal. We need to recapture some sharpness up top - that's two games where we haven't found the back of the net and we'll address this in the coming week.
Bentleigh Greens were very aggressive in their high pressing early in the game from our goal kicks and I was very happy with how the players navigated their way through this with precision and patience. Daniel Linton elevated his game in goals to new heights with his distribution by feet, he was pinpoint and deliberate, allowing us to "Build out from the back". It was of great interest to Reno Lia,our TD,and the players loved his insight on breaking this high press at half-time.Thanks Reno!
Our own pressing off the ball was also very good and we didn't allow them the time and space to hurt us but for on crucial moment in the second half with three minutes to go. A loose first touch in our attacking third allowed Bentleigh to regain possesion.To not work hard to win the ball back (which was our BPO team task!) hurt. We weren't compact in the middle of the pitch and the Bentleigh player was able to run from his defensive third to the edge of our box under no pressure.This was the nucleus of their winning goal, a habit, not a "skill". I spoke to this player at the edge of the pitch and it needs to be a learning opportunity, it might be tough love but it needs to be highlighted, we have to play without the ball.
The players were very upset at the end of the game which points to a great mentality. At least 7 of their games have been decided by very, very late goals - in the last 2-3 minutes. I'm very excited by their development and improvement, we are tighter at the back, better on the ball, we just need to start hitting goals again. Their training intensity is high and I'm sure they'll reap the rewards in the second half of the season. Keep making us proud kids?⚽️??
Under 13s
Matthew Lelliot
A strong start from us had Bentleigh under the pump early struggling to contain the ball under our high press. During the week we worked on getting our midfield players into a position to face forward with their first touch. Safe to say it worked with the Bentleigh coach having an absolute go at half time about his midfield to his team.
After half time we looked a bit off the pace after a few changes to freshen things up, We were 2-2 up until 5mins to go and it looked as if it could have gone either way even with an improved Bentleigh in the second half but another two late defensive mistakes cost us again as we went down 4-2.
I'll cop full blame for this as coach as we hadn't worked on many defensive practices in recent weeks. In saying that attacking wise I thought we were brilliant. Teng Kuol was our best in a new role for himself at left back, Jacob Martinek and Billy Browne continued their stellar form this season with another great outing.
Under 14s
Nathan Saron & James Lelliot
Training at different venues this week didn't interrupt the boys, everyone worked well. We
worked at disturbing & pressuring as well as BP>BPO transition, 2 well received sessions and with some direction from Reno would have the boys ready for another tough game.
Our game didn't start according to plan with the Greens netting two goals in 8 minutes. The boys
were able to gain some control which gave us a couple of chances on goal but unfortunately we
were 0-3 at half time. In the second half our opposition scored two goals in 2 minutes and slotted one late to seal our fate. Thanks Izaak for your effort in goal as Bentleigh had a lot of shots that you saved.
We have a mid week practice match on Thursday 16 June versus the Shepp South Womens team, kick off is at 7:00pm at McEwen Reserve.
Under 15s
Shaun Kane and Glen Wilson
It was a fantastic start to the game from the boys and they were bossing the match in all departments. We were intense, aggressive and organised in defence and composed and fluid in our attacking play. We executed our final passes and shooting well which led to us to a 2 goal lead early in the first half.
The boys were cruising but through increased pressure from Bentleigh and possibly some complacency, we went through a 10 minute spell where we were just booting the ball long, forcing passes that were not on, we abandoned our usual attacking principles and looked out of sorts. This led to increasing frustration and tension in the group during this period. We were dealt a harsh red card for an ill-disciplined slip of the tongue and the referee was only too keen to send our man off.
Even with the 10 men I felt this only galvanised our boys and being a man down, we still looked the more likely outfit to score, and were unlucky not too. We got to half time with the score still 2-0 and we just tried to reinforce to the boys how important it was to work hard and to press and protect the lead and that we had a squad of players we could rotate to provide rest and players that could all make an impact.
Then the second half started and it all got bizarre. I’ve never been one to berate an official, especially in front of the boys, and would never encourage it from my group. However, unfortunately for our boys, who gave absolutely everything, they were undone by some questionable decisions by the referee who seemed to make the boys already difficult task of holding the lead an impossible one. They were handed a penalty (no-one knows what for) right after half time which seemed to give them a boost and our usual intense aggressive defensive style was nullified when the ref blew for fouls anytime our boys seemed to go near their players.
For most of the second half it was about protecting what we had. The boys did so magnificently for the remainder of the half under intense pressure. Even the equaliser conceded in the last minute, a great save by Alou followed by a desperate goal line block by Nick only to be tapped in on the second rebound. It was inspiring to see the desperation and effort to stop that goal from our boys, and this only made me even more gutted for them in the end.
All in all, it was still a 2-2 draw, but to go from the position we were in to the one we finished was disappointing. However, I was extremely proud of the boys for their effort and the way they conducted themselves under intense pressure and adversity. For this I highly commend them.
Under 16s
Paul Nieuwenhuizen
With a number of players unavailable due to the long weekend or injuries, five under 15 players once again put their hands up to help out.
Before the game the players were reminded about staying compact to reduce Bentleigh's goal scoring chances, while trying to get numbers forward to support their teammates when attacking. The nature of the 4-3-3 system we are teaching the players will always lead to high scoring games, and so it was that we saw ourselves 3 nil down at half time despite creating a number of chances.
The second half mirrored the first with at least dozen chances created but not finished while conceding another 3 goals.
With Willie, Charlie, Thomas and Alou leading the team, I would like to congratulate the players on giving 100% over the full 80 minutes. And again I congratulate the team on their ability to adapt on the day to incorporate nearly half a new team. Thanks also goes to Stefan Pigatto, Fergus Wilson, Callan Le, Conor Dodson and Kaine Humphries (who was playing his 3rd game for the day).
Under 18s
Pat Kielty & Shaban Mehmet
We went into this game with a positive attitude against a very good Bentleigh Greens SC because we knew we had improved and strengthened the team with some new additions and returning players.
Play during the first half was pretty even and but for one goal scored from a clear offside position and one from a penalty given for an offence committed about a metre outside the box we would have been level at half time. However we found ourselves down 2-0. The boys were positive as they knew they were matching BGSC and had been harshly done by.
The second half began and both teams had chances. We had three clear-cut goal scoring opportunities but failed to convert. During the last 20 mins some of our players began to tire and eventually BGFC won the game 5-0 with at least two of the last three goals caused by our lack of fitness. The scoreline flatters BGSC as we were not that far off the pace and we should see some better scores when we come up against mid table teams.
The first half decisions that went against us hurt us but that is football, everyone makes mistakes including referees. We need to focus on ourselves and improving our fitness as this is not the first time that we have dropped off in the final twenty minutes.
Both Shabs and I agree that the team is getting better but the fitness of several players needs to improve and we will be putting measures in place to address this.
This weekend we face a team not far above us and we are going there looking for a win and we genuinely believe that it is achievable.
Under 20s
David Davkovski & Matt Maiorano
The game was played with good intensity. The boys felt a little disappointed because we were let down by individual skill errors.
Melbourne City was very organised and technically very good. Based on some information we had about how clinical they were in front of goals we opted for a more defensive set up, that being a 4-4-2 formation which meant we only pressed them in the middle third of the pitch. This formation assisted us to combat their rotational play in the midfield. We had to really focus on shutting them down quite late which meant a lot of running.
Our goal was a reward for effort and the first 30 minutes was played at a very high pace. After this we lost some shape but still limited their scoring chances. Our chances, on the other hand, were wasted in front of goal which is disappointing. MC scored with the last kick of the half from a set piece.
We assured the boys at half time that if we kept our shape we would could take the match which wasn't a lie! The guys focused on keeping shape and the pressing was good but an undeserved penalty to MC really hurt us. The boys lost a little more shape after this which allowed the full momentum to go their way. We didn't give up but our skill errors increased and we felt a little overwhelmed.
We let in another goal to make it 3-1 and it might sound silly but the way we reacted was impressive to say the least. Our boys actually lifted a gear, we were tired and sore but we responded with two great scoring chances, no goals but real determination which actually made us quite proud. So well done to our guys against the best!
Thank you to the committees for both juniors and seniors who spent a lot of time finding alternate training and match day ground for this week. From the players perspective it was a smooth week.
Seniors
Nick Kalafatis & Serkan Aktas
What a great response from the boys to last weeks defeat!
We started the game very well and I thought the game was very high quality in the first half, with both teams very good on the ball and in defence. We had a couple of very good chances and down the other end Joey Perkovic (our goalkeeper) in his first game for the team was outstanding. We went into the break 0-0.
We knew we had to be even better in the second half if we wanted to get something out of this game. (After all City was playing for first position in the west group.) We asked the boys to push even higher on our pressing, especially Matty Lelliot and Shaun Kane. When we get on the ball we wanted to really spread them and try to change side to side - as often as the game allows and without turning the ball over cheaply. The boys played a great second half, with great movement of the ball and great composure on it.
There was only one team in the second half! Our boys were running the show and played some great soccer with real hunger and determination - what soccer is all about. We had some players putting in a great performance in that second half. Players like Shaun Kane, Greg Nash, Carl O'Keeffe and Jamie England. In combination with City not being in the some stand as the first half we really dominated the second half.
Great day for the club with the score finishing at 3-1 but it could have been a lot more.
Well done to all our boys for the last 10 plus weeks for really trying to play the way we want them to play. Although it's been a very hard road with a lot of players coming in and out of the team (injuries,cards) it looks like all our hard work is starting to pay off with four wins and a draw in our last six against very good oppositions. Let's just hope it's just the beginning of things to come.
