This week the under 12 group travelled to play Bentleigh Greens. Over the last few training sessions the under 12 group has been working on the transition phase of their game.
- If you are attacking and lose the ball, you are immediately in the transition-to-defend phase (BPO).
- If you don't win the ball during this transition-to-defend (BPO) phase, you get set defensively and you are now in the defending phase.
- If you win the ball back during transition-to-defend (BPO), you immediately move to the transition-to-attack (BP) phase.
- If you win the ball back during the defending phase, you also immediately move to the transition-to-attack (BP) phase.
- Having established an attacking pattern during transition-to-attack (BP) you are now back in the attacking phase.
- If you lose the ball again, the sequence begins all over again.
Going into the games we talked about what was required from the players when moving from defending to attacking or from attacking to defending. We also talked about the need to quickly pass the ball when moving from defending to attacking to try and catch the other team off guard.
During the games both teams moved well from each transition phase, though at times they needed a bit of encouragement from the coaching staff. The ball movement by the players at times was good to watch with just our final pass not quite hitting the target.
After the game I spoke with the Gold team and congratulated them on their transition part of the game and highlighted some passages of play that really stood out and showed that when they work together they can match the other teams. I also spoke to them about needing to defend facing forward rather than from behind.
This type of defending meant the team conceded several free kicks that resulted in pressure being put on the goalkeeper and conceding goals.
U16s
Paul Nieuwenhuizen
Over the last few weeks the under 16s have worked on putting pressure on the opposition in their backline to try and win the ball back quickly and also in the midfield. Going into the game against Bentleigh we emphasised the need to apply pressure on our opponents early and when we won the ball to move it quickly into our forwards.
We started the game by really applying pressure and were rewarded with a goal. However, we quickly conceded 2 goals due to desire to keep pushing forward rather than consolidate. Despite the setbacks we continued to create scoring chances due to the pressure we continued to apply. Unfortunately we gave away another 2 goals before halftime as a result of poor decision making in goal scoring areas.
Half time saw the positives of the first half highlighted - the pressure applied and goal scoring opportunities created, but also pointing out the need to be efficient and confident when we have the ball.
The second half saw the team really step up to the tasks required. The boys worked really well to pressure and frustrate Bentleigh and forcing them to turn the ball over. This pressure and the quick forward movement saw us create a number of goal scoring opportunities, however we failed to take advantage off them.
Unfortunately we conceded a goal with the second last kick off the game. In the end the 5-1 loss in no way reflected the evenness of the game. The boys were reminded after the game of the real positives they achieved in the game and if they played like that every week they will get results.
Our club Annual General Meeting will commence from 6pm on Friday 25 May at the main Pavilion.
The best way to find out is to attend the AGM and check out the audited financial statements, this will give a break down of where your fees and money is spent and when.
