Match Reports 2009

 

 

Swansea 2009  - see Umina Photos section also
Jane McGrath Breast Cancer Cup.
 Last year we played in this tournament after being invited to play two weeks prior to the events kick off. They were short numbers and we had the bye that weekend. After being invited we approached our club and they donated our entry fee plus $300 to the event which last year raised $5500 towards breast cancer research. We ended up being in the plate section of the tournament after being drawn in a very difficult pool. All teams finished on the same points and with us having a disadvantage of one corner against us were put into the plate section of the competition which, after some five games we won the final 7-1.
To participate in the competition this year we had to forfeit our competition game at home which at the time we were coming tied second.
After a gruelling first day we ended up making it into the cup section of the competition after a 3-0 win against Valentine, 4-0 win against Shortland, a 0-1 loss against Swansea 1(in a friendly) and a 0-0 draw against Swansea 4 (a mix of Swansea’s U18 side and others).
Day 1 saw 160 minutes of football played by the girls. Day 2 started with a 9-0 win against Swansea 2’s.  The second game of the day was a much awaited game of Swansea 1, which was the team that defeated us 3-2 to keep us in the plate last year and 1-0 loss on a not so friendly, friendly the day before. All of the crowd, as well as coaches and opposition players were waiting to see a great contest, and they were not disappointed.
 This game, as with all games on the Sunday, were sudden death, with the winner of the game going into the cup final. Up until just before half time it was a physical contest with the girls playing some outstanding football, with all players putting in their best effort. Just before half time however there was a challenge in the box which left the Swansea goal keeper unconscious. After a delayed half time break and the removal of the young lady by ambulance, play re commenced. Our players were very upset by the incident and struggled to regain their focus. Swansea however was more determined and their physical style of football, driven by their keeper’s demise, they were after us one way or the other. It took inspirational challenges and runs from our backs to help us regain our right frame of mind. From then play went from end to end with our goalie making many timely saves due to her ability to be in the right place at the right time, making a difficult job look easy. Once we took the long ball out of our game and went back to supporting each other, the football flowed once more. Frustration was mounting from the Swansea side but by now with our mid field and forwards working overtime, our tough game was over 1-0 up. Just over an hour later was the final.
After now playing 260 minutes of football the girls, 3 of which had rolled ankles, a groin strain, blisters galore and corks etc were still in very high spirits, even though you could see the strain in their faces. We put about getting the girls ready by bringing out the artificial warm up (goanna oil and denco rub) and a couple of our mums went about trying to avoid the cramps freeing up their tied bodies. We were to play Adams town rosebuds who were the current cup holders from the 2008 competition, a very good football side. Our girls outplayed, outpaced, out ran, out defended and out stayed a very determined football team to become the holders of the Jane McGrath breast cancer football cup for 2009.
Total of 360 mintues of football played in 2 days, 12 girls in total for our side, every other team had 14 or 15 players to draw from plus extras from elsewhere. We played 7 games in total with all other teams playing a maximum of 6. Words cannot do justice to what all of these girls have done, but hopefully you will get the idea. Game by game their understanding and application of the game they play is improving tenfold. Some of the individual efforts that were displayed were nothing short of inspirational. To top all of this off we took with us a donation through monies raised of $1089.25c which was most gratefully accepted by Swansea football club to be passed on with whatever the event raised this year to the Jane McGrath foundation for Breast Cancer research. Thanks must go to James Da Silva my manager and all my parents, who as always put their hands up to organise accommodation, food, keeping the girls on the paddock with massages, headbands, photos and everything else.
Girls! I am sure all in our club are proud of what you have done in putting aside three competition points to support a great cause! But none are prouder than your coach. Inspirational efforts by all.
Trevor Bleakley.                    

Match Report Umina 8C1 vs SEU 8CI - 18 July 2009

Today we played against Peninsula rivals SEU8C1 and we won the game 3 Nil.

Goalscorers today were Darcy 2, Christopher 1. Our Goalkeepers today were

Aidan and Denzel. This was a game that our boys were looking forward to as

was the coaching staff as we knew we would have a full strength squad. From

the opening whistle our boys looked keen and chased every ball and as a

result the scoring opportunities arose with some near misses to start after

some good build up work from Dylan, Darcy and Leon who controlled things in

the middle of the field. At the same time our strikers Christopher, Jack,

Denzel and Tyree positioned themselves nicely in the goal area waiting for

those crossses to come, which they did but unfortunately for us some passed

across the face of goal and out to the side, but that was a sign of things

to come. Our first goalscorer Darcy again made his trademark dribbling run

down the left hand side of the field beating 1 then 2 then 3 and from an

acute angle he took a shot from outside the box, which whistled past the SEU

keeper and into the back of the net surprising everybody on the sideline,

great goal Darcy. As the half wore on our boys were dominating the game with

several near misses continually attacking down the flanks and creating

numerous opportunities.

Our defensive players Isaak and Ethan were rock solid as I expected and

nothing came close to passing them in the first half. Both defenders made

some great tackles all half and as a result our keeper had a quiet first

half.

After our half time talk the boys seemed eager and wanted to go on with

things and with SEU packing the defence our boys knew to hit the ball from

outside the box and as a result the opportunities arose with Jack, Darcy and

Ethan hitting the ball hard from outside the box, which created a

goalscoring opportunity for Christopher who was at the right place at the

right time to slot in our second goal with a well taken rebound after the

SEU keeper stopped a shot from Ethan. As the half went on Isaak and Aidan

were rock solid in defence with both making those vital tackles when needed.

Ethan pushed forward in the second and is becomming an extra striking force

for our team, but he also ran back to help when needed. Dylan was available

today even though not 100% and also showed good signs with his trademark

dribbling runs and passes all game. Dylan always makes a difference when on

the field as he creates opportunities for himself and his team mates. As the

half wore on our boys put some good passes together, which was grreat to see

and SEU had no answer to our onslaught of opportunities that arose as a

result, and after some good build up work on the left the ball was crossed

in by Darcy heading towards the goal and on its way in it hit a SEU player

on the top of his head and went into the back of the net, so that goal I

will give to Darcy.

Overall great display by our boys today as they dominated the game from the

start. Our defence was strong and our midfielders and strikers all played

their part in a good solid team performance. I would like to thank Dylan for

making himself available today when not 100%, and still he made an impact

during the game. Thanks to Chris our manager for assisting me with the boys,

thanks to Gavin for taking the stats, and of cause thanks to all our parents

and supporters for cheering on the boys all game.

A special mention for our 8S3 team who won their first game of the year

against Peninsula Rivals Woy Woy 8S3 winning 5 Nil. Congratulations to Steve

their coach and to all the team, well done and keep it up.

Ciao Jack