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Match Reports - 19 March v Bulleen

Under 12s

Scott & Zac Hutchinson, Tim Nelson
Thanks to Zach for helping out the team and coming across to the dark side.

Stephen was good as always and fights to the end. We have a lot to learn this year and the kids are progressing nicely. It's like the old saying 2 steps forward one back and this is a group of great young kids that want to learn

Great effort team 

Under 13s

Stuart Bethell
Our first Melbourne away game of the season starts with a 2 hour plus drive down to the Veneto Club in Bulleen, plus and an opportunity to play on their synthetic surface.

In training this week we worked on transitions from having possession of the ball to the opposition having it and vice versa. Quick transition is the key here.

We had a tough start to the game with Bulleen having plenty of the ball and creating a few chances, yet in between their dominance we still had a few great chances of our own which we couldn’t convert. Their first goal came after constant pressure on our goal kicks (something that we will be working on in training this week) which lead to an error and gave them the chance to score, 1-0.

This was the turning point in the game. We put a few passes together and a great through ball to create our equaliser, 1-1. All this inside the first 10 minutes. From this point until half time, we grew into the game more and more, keeping possession, putting together passing sequences and creating more goal scoring opportunities. By half time it was the opposition coach glad to go in level.

The 2^nd half is unfortunately where the wheels fell off. As a team our mistakes kept on coming, with each one being very costly. 2-1, then 3-1 and 4-1 to Bulleen. All simple goals but all could have been avoided. The more they scored the worse we played. The team stopped passing and moving and became desperate, trying to take players on or have too many touches. The icing on the cake from Bulleen was a cracker from their right winger who found only a metre of space before smashing it into the top corner from the edge of the area, ending the game with a 5-1 defeat.

Although we had 15 disappointed players trudging off the pitch, it was not as bad as the score line suggests with plenty of positives to take from the day and areas to work on for next week. Go Suns!!

Under 14s

Tommy Giuliani
What a game!!!The way the boys belted out the club song on the pitch at the final whistle showed how much the win meant to them. It was well deserved too.

Pre game and during the week our focus was on " BP-Controlled build-up in the midddle third" and then to receive the ball side on, facing forward and to then play our attackers in early with lots of diagonal killer passes into space, not feet and to turn our opponents around. The team task being "HOW QUICKLY CAN WE WORK THE BALL INTO OUR ATTACKING THIRD?"

This is exactly what happened in the first half and Bulleen had no answers;we created many chances, forcing a couple of great saves from their keeper and continuously got orange shirts into their box, and might I add, in the right areas! Raids down the flanks and top speed runs to the front and back posts. The well crafted  goal was the reward.

We did concede a sloppy "nothing" goal in our 18YB,no one stepped out and we just got caught ball watching, something we'll strive to eradicate and went in 1-1 at 1/2 time. Importantly for me, our shape was good, we stayed compact with two holding mids in front of our back 4 and they weren't able to get in behind us and turn our back 4 around

In the second half our boys "came of age". The first 10 minutes belonged to the Suns and we again scored from an early thru-ball in behind their back 4. We exploited their high line - they left space behind and we took it.

The final 20 minutes was what pleased me most. Bulleen began to dominate posession and pushed us deeper into our own half but the boys didn't buckle. Our boys played without the ball, they closed down spaces, didn't dive in and stayed very compact. In the past there was space to drive a truck between the back 4. Not now,their zone defending, spacing/shuffling/screening was superb and this was what kept Bulleen out. There was a real desperation that hasn't been there previously. They were staunch

I was very tough on them Wednesday. On Friday we had 14 players on the track and they trained magnificently. Training for me is more important than the game on the weekend.We train for 3 hours. The game is 1 hour. They should touch the ball 1000 times a session. Training is crucial.

Well done Suns??

Under 15s

Paul Nieuwenhuizen

No game - match has been postponed.

Under 16s

The U16 boys have been working well and producing a very competitive level of football.

It was a hard away game against good opposition on a surface we do not often get to play on and to top it all off 35 degrees was a challenge too. 

At the start of the game we moved the ball well finding high targets and making good passing combinations which created chances for us. Unable to capitalise Bulleen found their feet and pressed hard on our build up changes to get a 2-0.

We scored our goals from set pieces today. A corner after the first drinks break saw Alou rise above everyone and head home, we faulted under Bulleen's pressure one more time to be 3-1 down at the half.

We started well again in the second half when Alou got a brace from Brenton's well weighted free kick into the box and played a sneaky chip volley over the keeper, at 3-2 I thought we had a penalty from Bowdie's line breaking run but the ref sat the ball just outside the box. 

The heat was a factor and for a period we gave Bulleen too much time on the ball, they were able to take their lead to the final margin of 5-2. Close to cooked, to the boys credit they didn't give up and were close to closing the margin a couple of times before the end.

Thank you U16's it is a pleasure to be part of the team with you and if we keep playing football like this it is going to take really lucky sides to beat us.

Under 18s

Glen Wilson & Shaban Mehmet

During the week we worked on remaining compact when our opposition has the ball (BPO), this will make it difficult for them to play through us and would force them either back or out wide……..we also worked on retaining the ball (BP) by recycling it back and switching it across the pitch and not going down “dead end runs” and turning the ball over. 
 
On what was an extremely hot day, quite a few of our lads got their first chance to play on a synthetic pitch and apart from the very different way the ball reacts on the pitch……the thing that was most commented on was the heat coming up out of the pitch itself…..it was extraordinary!

We got off to a reasonable start and although we didn’t look too much of a threat going forward, the compactness we have been working on was okay until about the 15min mark when upon a succession of 3 “dive ins” in a row their right winger was left 1on1 with the Keeper and put it past him to open the scoring.

We continued to try manfully in defence and there were quite a few times where we had reasonable possession of the ball, but the our movement beyond the middle third was quite limited.  After another 10/12 minutes we conceded a second goal. This time another error was the cause due to one of our defenders not pushing up as high as the others, therefore playing them onside. 

As a team unit, the lads stuck to task of trying to remain as compact as they could and it wasn’t until the final minute of the 1^st half where they managed a 3^rd goal of a well played cross to the back post and a nice header into the net. Two errors allowed this, the first was mainly due the amount of time that was allowed to their Right Winger to pick out the cross (should’ve been closed down by nearest defender) …..and then when the ball came in to the back post, we should’ve had much more desperation and got to the ball first – we did have people in the box.
 
The 2^nd half saw some serious injuries – with both CJ & Hammad stretchered off the ground with back and knee injuries respectively.  We also had Fraser come off after 15mins with a broken wrist (he had 2 fractures the year before last – must have chalk for bones)

………..this, along with fatigue caused massive holes start to appear in our defensive shape (mostly in transition from BP to BPO) allowed the opposition score on quite a regular basis throughout the half.  The amount of space that appeared between our lines upon turnover of the ball was huge and is something that we can and will certainly work on. 
 
Though the scoreline of 9 – 0  may not reflect this, we actually did have some good periods throughout the game where we remained compact and resolute in BPO, as well as have some BP periods where we managed to retain the ball to try and work a way through, not get the look we wanted, and we did recycle it back and then across quite a few times.
 
A lot of this may sound like excuses – it isn’t meant to be, credit should certainly be afforded to our opponents FC Bulleen who were a very strong group of lads who deserved their result.
 
We have plenty to work on, and most of it is the plain old basics – so as long as we all work hard at it, we will see significant improvement in time!

Codes of Conduct for everyone

And in other soccer news...

Date: Saturday 25 March 2017

Time: 10:00am – 4:30pm

Venue: John McEwen Reserve, Shepparton. 

To register: click here

Cost: No charge for SJSA. This includes course registration, first season of referee registration free (valued at $100), a green (first year) referee shirt with FFV accreditation badges, black referee shorts, two assistant referee flags, a whistle and a red and yellow card set (Equipment valued at over $80).  There is also ongoing value with access to mentoring within local referee groups and the ability to earn money by refereeing!

Online Laws of the Game Certificate: The Online LOTG Certificate is a pre requisite to attending the level 4 referee course, please print and bring this with you on the day of the course. Please complete this online on the FFV web site

Course Description:

• To undertake this training program you must be at least 13 years of age and have successfully passed the online Laws of the Game within the past two years.
• This training program is aimed at match officials officiating in junior and youth matches.
• The program consists of theory modules, practical sessions and practical mentoring in matches as a referee and assistant referee.

Upon completion of all components referees will be officially qualified as a Level 4 Referee. The qualification is valid for a period of up to 4 years. More information about the Level 4 Referee course can be found here. If you have any questions about the course please email referees@ffv.org.au or call 9474 1800 (option 4)

MiniRoos Certificate coaching course

This course is compulsory for all game leaders who are new to SJSA and have not refereed before.
Date: Tuesday 11 April (During school holidays)
Time: 10am-1pm
Venue: McEwen Reserve, Shepparton
To register: click here  
Further information - please call Jodie on 0439974944

Shepparton hosts Neymar Jr's 5 Qualifier

Shepparton will host one of 38 Neymar Jr’s Five qualifier events across Australia that will decide the Australian national champions who will join 53 countries competing for the global title in Brazil.

The 2017 tournament is open to teams of five to seven players aged 16 to 25, with two over-aged players allowed as part of each squad.

Date: Sunday, 21 May 2:00 pm (GV Suns juniors have a bye)
Venue: John McEwen Reserve

For more information visit Greater Shepparton City Council website or register your squad online.