Maroubra United 3 -1 Maccabi Hokoah

SEcond Half BlitZ destroys Maccabi hearts

Congratulations Team on an excellent 3-1 victory. Once again this was another tough game and it was great to see everyone working together to get our formation right for the second half which was undoubtedly our best of the season.

We tried out some new things today with Rod assisting Nelson upfront and while he did very well there he was definitely missed by the back four so for the second half normal service was resumed with Rod taking up his usual position in front of them and Justin moving to the right.

We were a completely different team in the second half, controlling the game and carving out a number of opportunities. The interchanges seemed to work seemlessly today with everyone knowing exactly what their job was.

Special mention to Napoleon 'The Tank' who had an awesome game & his running battle with Maccabi's top player all match (& that I think Nap enjoyed a little more than he let on!).

Also another great game by Scottie putting his body (especially his nose!) on the line and keeping us in the game!

Our Goals:

Its all a blur to me but here goes...

Hot Shot Wayne brought his shoooting boots today and got on the scoresheet not once but twice!

The first was assisted by Jason’s knockback header and Leo's pass to Wayne for him to finish with panache!

Rod’s exquisite finish from all up of 25 yards was the game turner and Maccabi heads visibly dropped after that

Wayne’s second rounded off another great move down the right wing with Nap at the heart of it  and cross from Leo which killed the game off giving us that little cushion which made all the difference for the last few minutes

Big thanks also to Pete for bringing the shirts and beers today and as per normal has the difficult task of selecting the 3,2,1 Players Player of the Year votes. When you have done so, please email our Team Auditor Wayne only to keep record.

Well done all and enjoy another well earned 3 points

Team Sheet:

Scott, Jason, Geoff, Russell, Peter, Rod, Justin, Napoleon, Frank, Brett, Nelson, Subs: Wayne, Con, Leo,  Dennis

Look forward to reading and hearing your thoughts and comments.

Maroubra United 2 - 1 Lokomotiv Cove

X Factor play steals the points for Maroubra at Coral Sea

Congratulations Team on another great 2-1 victory. This was another testing challenge for us and we came through that at the end with the 3 points and as we are now into the middle part of the season, it is great to see we are winning the close matches as we continue to put the puzzle of our team together.

What do I mean by that? We have already formed a strong defensive unit and today was an opportunity to put the midfield to the test and see what our options were (which we have several). Fitting 6 or so quality midfielders into 4 positions is a difficult but a very satisfying dilemma. We need to take advantage of this and we had a good rotation going throughout the game but we also need to be careful and not get overzealous with our interchanging as there were occasions where we lost a bit of structure and players out of position.

I was however delighted with this group today including Rod, debutant Justin, Keith, Con, Brett et al and in particular Napoleon who had a strong second half (but needs to remember we are in an O35s comp so the legs are not as fast as they once were!! haha)

Having said that, one statistic that has gone unnoticed is our half by half performance. Of the 14 halves we have had to date, we have lost just 3, with 2 of them coming from the QPR match. Personally, this is a great team achievement so we are clearly doing something right as the ladder also indicates and as I mentioned above, once the pieces come together we are going to be even stronger and dare I say take this comp by storm!

Our next challenge in bringing these pieces of the puzzle together is to identify our strike weapons to support Tom and Nelson up front. I have a few ideas for the Maccabi match and at this stage i will say...Rod, we may need you to bring your shooting boots on Wednesday!

Back to the game, I thought we did quite well in patches again as our passing game is developing and strong defending as usual. As I eluded to above, we need to work on our play in the last 3rd of the field to reward the good lead up work and put a few goals away. We also lost a bit of our confidence up to half time after we conceded a goal but I was pleased at the interval there was no arguing, but lots of positive talk and communication and we got back to it and our patience and perseverance did pay off in the end.

In contrast, the Lokomotiv players started losing their cool and got frustrated which as we have seen this season is a great thing for us as we maintain our focus on the game while the opposition are more concerned about fighting with the referee (or with each other). Our success rate to date is evidence enough to see that we don't need to fall into that trap (but if you are going to, do it AFTER the game!)

I would also like to make a special note to our Keeper Scottie who had a Massimo Taibi moment but for the rest of the match kept like Petr Cech. As we all know, we don't have a specialist keeper and despite having a troublesome knee injury, Scottie has taken a hit for the team and put his hand up to take on these duties and pulled off some great saves today and kept us in the game. Great effort Scottie!!!

Our Goals:

Our first goal came courtesy of the penalty spot with the Lokomotiv defender clearly handling the ball. On this occasion, there was no desperate attempts from our starting central defender (Geoff) to take out our specialist penalty taker. Rod collected the ball and placed it at the spot and was ready to go until the ref decided to do a bit of gardening and move the ball - I was not a happy camper that he was messing with the artists work. Needless to say, Rod tucked the ball away to the keepers left to take us to a 1-0 lead.

And what about our second goal? At the start of the year, I mentioned Jason could well be our X Factor in the big games and today he lived up to that billing. With the game seemingly headed for a draw, it was time to try something different which led to this week's Inspirational Coaching Move* to bring Jason on to right midfield. With our last attack of the day, Jason made a great attacking run deep down the right to get what appeared to be a great cross for our attackers to latch onto but the keeper was in all sorts with one eye on the ball and the other on the oncoming traffic, he misjudged the trajectory as the ball floated over his head before nestling into the side netting .

Big thanks also to Frankie for bringing the shirts and beers today and as per normal has the difficult task of selecting the 3,2,1 Players Player of the Year votes. When you have done so, please email our Team Auditor Wayne only to keep record.

As for this Wednesday, we are scheduled to play Maccabi and at this stage it is on with a kick off time more than likely at 7pm. Please standby for more information on this closer to the day.

Well done all and enjoy the 3 points this week

Team Sheet:

Scott, Jason, Geoff, Russell, Peter, Rod, Justin, Napoleon, Frank, Tom, Wayne, Subs: Con, Leo, Keith, Dennis, Brett

Look forward to reading and hearing your thoughts and comments.

* In consultation with Frankie and Dennis

Leo

Maroubra United 2 - 1 Pagewood "B"

Gutsy Performance Downs Pagewood

Congratulations Team on another great victory against a determined Pagewood B Team. Today was going to be a test of character for us to see how we would back up after a loss and i thought we came through brilliantly so well done all!!

Once again, the victory was built on another strong defensive effort but more importantly we are continuing to develop our passing game which is improving each game so let’s keep that going.

Today was truly a team effort (including Tom for his 2 minute cameo appearance), the determination and desire to win was there and this was evident with the ferocious tackling and creativity often posing plenty of questions for their defenders especially in the second half.

As the game was slipping away for Pagewood, their stress levels increased with several players visibly not happy with what was happening. Our ability to frustrate teams out of the game, while we keep our cool is a great asset so let’s remember this when the opposition try to wind us up in tight matches - let’s keep our cool and stick to our simple structures and plans which are working.

Special thanks to Keeper John for making himself available at the 11th hour to replace an injured Scottie ( personally i think Scottie was concerned of the potential backlash he may have received from his midweek comment about the gaffer's playing ability !! :) ) Anyway, John has been a colossus in his 2 matches for us and on both occasions was 10 minutes away from getting a clean sheet - thanks John!!

Also like to thank Yoshi and Bernie from the O45 teams for coming along to offer their support on the sidelines during the game. We are always happy to accommodate them in our team when required so thank you for your continued support and it is great to know that you are there to offer your services when required.

Our Goals:

We scored 2 top shelf goals today. Our first was a wonderfully taken free kick from Keith - curling the ball around the well-built wall while the keeper was left stranded on the spot admiring the view as the ball was coming his way. Needless to say, the Maroubra supporters were in raptures not only applauding the skill and technique of the goal but several of the players on the sidelines started shouting "Bend it Like Keith".

Our second came from an inspirational coaching masterstroke* to switch Peter to right back from left back at the start of the game. With our attacking free kick, Rod stepped up to drive a rocket into the Pagewood wall which deflected to yours truly only to strike it again into the Pagewood defender. 

The ball deflected into the path of Peter who took control of the ball and struck an audacious shot that at first appeared to be heading for the trees but as the ball approached the posts, the keeper back peddled and clutching at thin air to make a save, was beaten as the ball hit the back of the net. To say Peter was delighted is an understatement and as I was the first to help him celebrate his wonder strike, Peter came up with a hug that I think broke a few of my ribs!! As a result, I will be forwarding this week's medical bill to Peter as I will be checking to see if my ribs are still intact.... 

Big thanks also to Napoleon for bringing the shirts and beers today and as per normal has the difficult task of selecting the 3,2,1 Players Player of the Year votes. When you have done so, please email our Team Auditor Wayne only to keep record.

Training is on Wednesday so please make the effort to be there at 6:30pm or text Wayne or me if you are not available.

Well done all and enjoy the 3 points this week.....

Team Sheet:

John, Dennis, Geoff, Russell, Peter, Rod, Keith, Wayne, Frank, Nelson, Napoleon, Subs: Jason, Con, Leo, Tom

Look forward to reading and hearing your thoughts and comments.

* Based on feedback from Peter and Dennis

Leo

Maroubra United 1 - 4 Queens Park Rangers

The Streak had to End...

The streak unfortunately has come to an end but we came up against a strong QPR side in today's top of the table clash and I am slightly disappointed as this result was not the birthday present I was looking for and secondly, this has probably knocked me out of any chance I had of taking over the Barcelona Managerial role!! 

QPR played very well today and although they managed to comfortably win 4-1 in the end, we fought hard and we should not be disheartened with the result as 2 of their goals were from penalties, a well taken free kick and the 4th goal was in the last minute of the game as we pushed forward in search of a goal.   

Despite the loss, I believe we learnt alot out of this game. For one, high balls against a tall team and giving them free headers doesn't work and secondly we looked good with our short passing and not panicking under pressure which we need to do more consistently rather than in patches. There is plenty of talent, skill and depth in this team and it will be only a matter of time (sooner rather than later) of getting the right attacking combinations and partnerships going so plenty for me to think about this week.

As for our goal, for a moment I thought I was watching a replay of Cisse's goal against Chelsea midweek.  Our sharpshooter Tom shooting from distance (I don't recall how far out but I dare say this may vary depending on the amount of alcohol consumed) found the top left hand corner of the goal leaving a hapless keeper clutching at thin air. This takes Tom's tally to 7 for the season and was unfortunate not to be on 8 following a curling free kick that was this time deflected by an outstretched diving keeper. 

Special thanks to Scott today for putting his hand up for the Goalkeeping duties with a bung knee. It was a tough day at the office, and I hope you are not discouraged by the result especially as they were awarded 2 gifts to score....

  

Big thanks also to Rod for bringing the shirts and beers today and as per normal has the difficult task of selecting the 3,2,1 Players Player of the Year votes. When you have done so, please email our Team Auditor Wayne only to keep record.

Training is on Wednesday so please make the effort to be there at 6:30pm or text either Wayne or me if you are not available.

Team Sheet:

Scott, Dennis, Geoff, Russell, Jason, Rod, Frank, Keith, Wayne, Nelson, Tom. Subs: Con, Napoleon, Peter

Look forward to reading and hearing your thoughts and comments. 

Leo