It's a bumper edition!
Just when you thought we couldn't find more column inches for you to read... this week we have match wraps from every GV Suns squad - our under 12s through to our Seniors.
We encourage you to read all the game wraps - firstly because so many of the squads really stepped up on the weekend, but secondly because they demonstrate the consistent coaching direction and expectations that we are building though all levels.
It's this alignment and consistency - from Tommy's Under 12s to Nick's Seniors - that's building our depth and allowing more and more of our local talent to move through into our Under 20s and Seniors squads.
A big thank you to all out coaches who continue to provide the match wraps each week.
Meet our GV Suns Young Guns
Thanks to the coaches, team managers and players for cooperating with our request for team photos - it wasn't easy staring into the bright sunshine! The photos now add a bit of colour to our weekend game wraps and are available on the GV Suns operations Facebook page.
It's inevitable that a few players and team managers were unavailable so we will endeavour to get full squad pics as we continue through the season.
In the Shep News - Under 13s
Our U13s feature in today's Shep news with Fabian stealing the back page! Also a great wrap of the weekend's games. Make sure you grab a copy.
Thanks Shep News!
Thank you Linesman and Learners
A big thank you to Pat Kielty for his very entertaining, interactive and passionate lines training course last week. There was plenty of positive feedback from the four dads who participated. Well done Pat, well done the guys.
Under 13 Team Manager changes
Following Maria Sepe's appointment to the Board last month, she will stand down from her role as U13's team manager to concentrate her efforts on her board position and as secretary of the GV Suns. As we enter into licence renewal discussions we are grateful to have Maria's help.
We will shortly advertise for a replacement team manager but if you feel inspired please don't wait to be asked!
Reno's Wrap
Are we moving in the right direction?
Over the past two weekends there has been some small signs of moving forward. It is evident that if our teams perform with confidence and purpose that they can match it with other teams at this level.
It is essential that all of our young players work with their coaches to set individual and team targets. The most important aspect here is to remain focussed and positive even when the pressure of the game is on. A key element is to take the main framing moment from training into the game.
Our players need to concentrate at training and make sure that they completely understand what the key focus is. They then must rehearse it consistently and attempt to apply it in the game.
For example: If the training focus is to get compact immediately as a transition to BPO, then this must be an immediate and proactive response when we lose the ball in the game. The player should not be waiting for the coach to remind them of this during the game.
Another important sign that we saw on the weekend was the number of our younger players watching our U/20s and senior team. This is a worthwhile experience for them as they can appreciate the intensity and efficiency that our modern game requires.
Cheers, Reno.
Weekend game wraps
Under 12s
Tommy Giuliani
Fantastic response to last week's flat performance against an opposition who had only lost once this year.
As ever the performance is much more important than the result and after an intense week of "First Touch" training,the boys were able to execute their core skills more effectively.We stripped back the pre game, talked less and it freed them up. The ball movement was more precise and at the appropriate high tempo and, more importantly, our defensive pressing and recovery of possession was better.
The midfield trident were able to create numerous opportunities for our attacking third and after going a goal down, the boys kept their heads up and steamrolled their opponents.
I'm pleased to report a fantastic "culture" this week - we will strive for this, as attitude will remain a developmental cornerstone for these kids. Individually I must single out praise for Nick Mori who was enormous at centre back, defended superbly and provided a perfect platform to build our play from the back in possession - superb!
Gerald Corbo continued his superb form p shing higher up the pitch, combining tenacious defensive work creativity and scoring a special goal. Finally Enrique Goggin was masterful in his positioning with and without the ball at CDM/6. He broke up Kingston's attacks, screened his back 4 and anchored the midfield beautifully.
Great team performance Suns!?
Under 13s
Matthew Lelliot
F
A very entertaining game and in my opinion the best footballing game played by our young lads so far.
Teng Kuol scored the first of our goals dribbling around four defenders before placing it into the bottom corner, individual brilliance at its best. Our second goal was our best goal of the year from my perspective - a real team goal. It started from the back, wonderful build up, and finished with a Billy Browne curler into the far side of the net.
We were very unlucky to down 3-2 but I'm happy with how we are building and how we are starting to play.
During the week we worked on creating and finishing goal scoring opportunities and we may need to work on this again this week - despite our dominance I thought we lacked that cutting edge in our attacking area.
Message to the players was to keep their heads up high and don't worry about the result too much but more about the performance because we were brilliant.
Under 14s
Nathan Saron & James Lelliot
The boys had a good week at training and had worked really hard on disturbing & pressuring then
BPO>BP transition.
In the first half we could tell that we were evenly matched with the opponents, but as the half went
on we were not passing or holding possession of the ball to do any damage. This allowed Kingston a 0-2 lead with two scrappy goals.
The second half we didn't conceded any more goals the boys were better at marking up and closing down quickly on BPO, we attacked better centrally but still couldn't find the combination of passes to get back in the match.
We just need to work hard at training and on game day and have the right attitude and confidence to deal with opposition pressure and create more of our own.
Under 15s
Shaun Kane and Glen Wilson
Where do I start? The scene was set with a fantastic sunny morning and the game certainly did not disappoint.
We started very flat and timid, conceded a couple of soft goals and found ourselves 2 behind early on. We perhaps were showing too much respect to the opposition, as has been the case a few times this year. The introduction of Hakan and Fraser gave us an extra bit of bite in the middle and going forward. They both scored soon after coming on to pull us level. Both goals were executed brilliantly with participation and contribution from several players and were a great representation of the way we like the boys to play football.
The matched then ebbed and flowed with both teams giving everything. It was a tight and exciting contest with Kingston scoring a couple more as well as Liam Kielty putting away a couple of set pieces which was pleasing as we have been a threat from corners and free kicks all year.
We felt we had the ascendancy in the second half and were playing the better football, as well as being able to mix it up and fight for every ball. The intensity in the second half was amazing from both teams. Nick Elder got just rewards for his tireless work up front all game forcing a mistake from the GK and slotting it home. We were unfortunate to concede an equaliser right at the end, however based on the way the game went, was probably only right both teams got a share of the spoils. There was still time for Nick to almost snatch a wonder goal winner off a great pass from Kaine.
A highly entertaining 5-5 contest, and a game which was a joy to watch and be a part of, a game that reflected the reasons we love playing, coaching & watching soccer.
We were very proud of the boys and we will work to cut out some of the soft goals but very happy overall. A huge thanks to Stefan filling in at GK who played very well and to Fergus Wilson and Nick Rossignuolo who stepped up to the 15s squad from the 14s.
Onwards & upwards!
Under 16s
Paul Nieuwenhuizen & Shaban Mehmet
Our first win for the season and hopefully the breakthrough we have been looking for as a group!
After last week's poor display, and having the riot act read to them after the game, our U16s responded with a terrific team performance. Manni made the trip from Melbourne which gave us an able replacement for the suspended Alou. Elia put his hand up to play in goals and put in a very serviceable effort.
Despite the lift in effort we conceded 2 goals in the first half, with the 2nd due to poor decision making from a couple of players.
The 2nd half saw a few position changes that changed the game. With Elia up front supported by Willie, Vince (under 15), Elie and Hammed we applied pressure on the Kingston defence which lead to a number of turnovers and the team scoring three second half goals to take the lead.
The front four were supported by Charlie, Jayden, Conor (under 15) with Aziz in defence and Jordan (under 15) and Manni in the middle. With TC back in goals, he controlled the penalty area and continued to lead from the front. The team played committed football right to the final whistle for a well deserved win.
A thank you to Callan for helping out and making his debut in the under 16s. Let's keep moving forward as a team.
Under 18s
Pat Kielty & Shaban Mehmet
After lasts week's much improved performance we again asked the team to raise their game against a good Kingston team who had recently beat the league leaders Bentleigh Greens.
We had identified shortcomings in a couple of players who were letting their game down with basic errors and these were addressed at training and again before the game. These boys obviously took the advice on board and both gave a much better performance which strengthened the team as a whole and this was reflected in the final score so well done to both of you.
Our goal this week was to use use both wingers and the full backs to hit them on break and play a counter attacking style of game. This style of play can be effective but we have to let them play a high line which leaves us open to attack if we get our offside trap wrong
In the first half Kingston used this to their advantage and went one nil up. Our boys gradually got the idea of this style of play and we hit them on the counter attack and went in level at half time from a good goal (or was it a cross ?) from Kaine Humphries who was the right fullback.
We did ride our luck at times but the defence and the goal keeper kept us level. Willie in particular was a beast and did a good impression of Saheed Akinfenwa (google him) in the role of centre back.
In the second half Kingston attacked straight away and changed their style of play which resulted in a goal for them. Up until this point we were the dominant team and they were defending deep in their own half. Their goal came from a scrappy ball which which was deflected and could have gone out of play just as easily as go in the goal. After scoring they immediately changed their team structure and substituted strikers for defenders and midfielders. It was pretty obvious what their game plan was for the remaining eight minutes- park the bus anyone!
We stuck to our our game plan and eventually with a couple of minutes to go Christian Mahese forced his way through the middle despite several strong tackles and scored from inside the eighteen yard box. The game finished at 2-2 but we did have a chance for a third.
That's two weeks in a row our play has improved and our target next week is to do the same again and get our first win of the season. Both Shaban and I agree that we are moving in the right direction and improving every game. We are looking forward to the next match. Well done boys.
Special thanks to Willie, Kaine, Elia and Liam for helping out.
Under 20s
David Davkovski & Matt Maiorano
Good performance this week and an improvement from our last game anyway.
We had a good chat prior to the game about the expectation we have on the players when they put on the orange shirt. We spoke about becoming a stronger team defensively which was better demonstrated this week. We wanted to disturb the opponents playing style by focusing on pressuring the ball carrier immediately to force a long ball which we believe we are very good at defending. From there we claim the ball and aimed to play a possession type game.
Turnovers were low which is another key pillar to the players development, and as tough as it was, were trying more and more now to make the players feel comfortable to keep possession of the ball in the front third. The boys are responding well. We're a little flat now so training intensity will be raised in the coming weeks.
How about those home made Chicken Schnitzel's in the junior canteen? Hope there here to stay! #Good food ?
Seniors
Nick Kalafatis & Serkan Aktas
Another hard fought game from our boys on Sunday.
We fought throughout the game to get the win but not the way we would like to play as a football team. We defended well at times but we really couldn't keep the ball and get forward with numbers. And when we did our decision making wasn't the greatest.
The first half was really average with us showing too much respect to and, at times, fear of our opponents to try and control the tempo and possession of the ball. Our plan was to go out there and from the start really press them higher up the park and really take it to them. Something that did not happen.
At the break we made two necessary substitutions with Riley Hamilton and Anthony Giannopoulos sustaining injuries. Tristan Zito and Sal Allafta come on with real desire and dedication to change things for us in the attacking aspect of the game and they did just that.
With Shaun Kane coming on the game got better and better with both teams looking for a goal.
The boys really tried to get a winner and the last 20-25 minutes we played very well, but a cheap turn over in our midfield gave them the chance to counter attack from which they scored.
But once again the fighting spirit of this boys and their will not to give up won us a corner kick in the last attack of the game and everyone pushed up. Tristan delivered a well placed corner kick and Fahad Algazally got at the end of it with a great header.
Fahad come back into the team after being on the injured list for the last four weeks and Jordan Montagner in the defensive midfield role did a great job for us.
Over all we are happy with the point the way we got it(in the last minute) and the way we finished the game but really disappointed with our first half approach to the game.
We have definitely got things to work on this week for our next game on Sunday against Eastern Lions. Well done to all of our teams and players for all of their efforts on Sunday. It was a great day.
