Lokomotiv Cove 0 - 1 Maroubra United

SHUT OUT KEEPS MAROUBRA TITLE HOPES ALIVE


The Green Machine had stalled in recent weeks and with our semi-finals aspirations on the line today, a victory was imperative. Maroubra entered the game with 13 players and with a few players still battling niggling injuries and no recognised goalkeeper the task was going to be a tough one against a determined Locomotiv desperate to stay in the hunt for a Semi Finals birth.

This was highlighted as both teams looked to stamp their authority on the game early with several tough tackles made and I think playing a 4-5-1 formation at the start helped us break down their options. The Maroubra defence was strong and resolute thwarting their incisive passes down the wings or through the centre and showed a great deal of composure under pressure - something that was clearly missing last week.

As the game wore on and Loco trying a variety of options to break our Wall, the pressure and frustration levels of our opposition began to build and all of a sudden they were more interested in arguing with the referee than playing the game. In total contrast, the Maroubra team was talkative, positive, reaffirming positions, marking, which was a pleasure to watch from the sideline.

In the second half, the Maroubra Team were keen to be more aggressive moving to a 442 formation with first half goalie Justin swapping with Napoleon to partner Nelson up front. The move sparked the Maroubra team into gear with Justin's height advantage causing several concerns for the Loco defence and midway through the half had broken clear from the halfway line creating a 2 on 2 situation sliding the ball to Nelson on the left who unfortunately found the keeper with his effort.

Several more chances were created in the second half with Keith instrumental in supplying some quality passes to yours truly on 2 occasions only to be thwarted by a soft shot or poor cross. The first occasion, Keith had effortlessly beat his opponent to make a strong run down the left wing and looked up to find yours truly "steaming" in at 10km an hour into the goals. The cross was pin point perfect to find the Gaffer who surprisingly controlled the cross well and unfortunately not used to such situations my attempt on goal was not one for the highlight reel.

The second occasion Loco attempted a through ball which Geoff intercepted and with great vision our media liaison officer produced a sublime pass out wide for me to run onto and play a square ball to Keith who ran at the heart of the defence and provided a return pass deep down the right wing and subsequently produce a pathetic cross...I can clearly say the footing in that area of the field was exceptionally tough to negotiate as it was deceptively flat to produce a quality cross!!


Our Goal
With the score 0-0 deep into the second half and Maroubra pushing forward, sustained pressure down the left resulted in the ball falling to Frankie near the edge of the box which he prodded forward to Justin on the right side whose shot was turned around to secure a corner.
In a scene reminiscent to a training ground drill we worked on at the start of the year, Nelson teed up the corner as the tall timber made their way into attack. Watching on from the sidelines, Nelson's cross was more like a chip shot into the green on the 18th at Moore Park Golf Course but it was a perfect cross as it found Russell to head into the right corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.


Overall
This was indeed a team effort today and everyone contributed and played a vital part in securing the victory and I am proud of how you all handled yourselves after the game. I have spoken about the rock like defence at length, but our midfield/strikers were exceptional too working hard to get back and help our defenders when required and then to back that up and roll forward in attack.
Special thanks to Justin and Napoleon for sharing the Keeping duties today and interchanging during the game. I tip my hat to you guys for a solid effort and helping us achieve our first clean sheet of the season.

Big thanks also to Con for bringing the beers and Napoleon the shirts and as per normal Nap 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 again and enjoy the 3 points for the next couple of days as we back up against Waverley!!


Team Sheet:
Justin, Peter, Russell, Geoff, Jason, Rod, Napoleon, Keith, Leo, Brett, Nelson, Subs: Con, Frankie

Maccabi 5 - 2 Maroubra United

 

MAROUBRA ENCOUNTER SEMI FINAL YIPS

With Semi Final positions still up for grabs, it was an opportunity for the Maroubra 35s to steer the ship back on course after a disappointing draw against Pagewood B's. Despite having several personnel out and another half dozen battling injuries the Boys in Green ran out on a rain drenched Mission Field full of confidence. Despite a strong start by Maroubra, dominating possession and field position, somehow our plans were thrown into disarray quickly when Maccabi took advantage of some good fortune with 2 goals against the run of play, with the muddy goal area playing right into the home side’s hands.

With our backs to the wall, the Maroubra team dug deep and fought back strongly creating several attacking chances and felt like it was only a matter of time the green machine was going to click and get onto the scoresheet. Napoleon’s corners were causing havoc for the Maccabi defence. And that it wasn’t long with our first goal being finished off by Russell after another of Napoleons deliveries

It was now imperative to keep the momentum going and the Maroubra boys did so and just before half time parity was reached following a free kick on the edge of the box. The Maccabi wall and defensive structure were in disarray allowing our set piece specialist Rod to step up and calmly strike the ball neatly into the right hand corner of the goals....half time, 2-2 game on!!

Maroubra went into the half time break in great spirits, full of confidence but on this occasion it was our worst enemy as it broke our rhythm and run we had on the game - either that or the half time oranges shared around didn't go down too well. Despite again starting the second stanza strongly, the second half was well, not something to write home about as our ever reliable, structured and disciplined defence was placed under a barrage of counter-attacks and within a blink of an eye Maccabi had burst out to a 4-2 lead and then later put a bit more icing on the cake with another to end the game at 5-2.

We moved away from the successful policies we had implemented early in the season and that was to keep it simple, maintain a solid defensive structure, wear down the opposition and maintain our discipline. This doesn't sound spectacular and although we were not winning by big margins we were still winning because we worked hard and focussed on this strategy. We all witnessed during Round 1 how many times our opposition lost their discipline and subsequently their focus which allowed us to take advantage of this situation - our match this week was totally opposite and was like we got a taste of our own medicine.

Special thanks to our reinforcements from the O45's - Keeper John, Trevor and Jimmy for making themselves available to join in for a 9AM Sunday kick off.

Big thanks also to Geoff for bringing the shirts and beers 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.

Team Sheet:
John, Dennis, Russell, Geoff, Peter, Rod, Napoleon, Keith, Jason, Wayne, Nelson, Subs: Con, Leo, Trevor, Jimmy

Pagewood B 1 - 1 Maroubra United

BOYS IN GREEN STUMBLE TO A DETERMINED PAGEWOOD B OUTFIT

With a semi final spot up for grabs, today was an opportunity to make a statement by securing 3 points and keeping the competition heavyweights in check. The Boys in Green however stumbled against a determined Pagewood B team but fortunately we were able to snatch a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw and a competition point which could be vital at the end of the season. 

Once again, we conceded an early goal which seems to be a regular pattern this season and I am positive this has to do with our unstructured warm up which we really need to focus on improving. I don't think we have had a strong first 20 minutes this year and this is something we need to address asap before the season slips away and it would be a refreshing change to be playing from in front early and put the pressure back on the opposition. 

Our first half was not exactly spectacular and we were hampered early with our left back Dennis trying to turn back the clock to his youth to execute an audacious back heel to Frankie. If this was performed at the Olympics, I would rate the idea a 10 but the execution a paltry 2.5 considering Dennis hobbled of with a hamstring injury...and I am certain this was karma coming back to bite him considering his midweek taunts of several players who were battling their own fitness issues. We created several chances  with Rod hitting the crossbar from a free kick and Glenn lobbing the keeper from distance which sailed wide of the right post and although we were building some momentum we were not able to sustain the pressure as we were giving away cheap position. 

Second half was better with more creativity, flair and making inroads into the Pagewood defence but once again the final pass or options in the last 3rd were coming up marginally short. Like the first half we created several chances including a shot from 30 odd yards from Geoff running on to a long throw in from Russell which gave the Pagewood Keeper heart palpitations briefly before sailing over the bar. If it did go in, it would have brought a tear to this Gaffer's eyes as it was shades of a training drill that we had worked on a few months ago. 

Our Goal:

Our goal came courtesy of another inspirational coaching move by taking yours truly off (more like crawling off) the ground to be replaced by Brett. The goal was a blur to me from distance as i was gasping for air but all I saw was a swarm of bodies around the goal line with the ball bouncing around like a pinball machine. Nevertheless, Brett "the poacher" Tennant was on hand to tuck home the ball into the ol' onion bag on the last kick of the day to deflate the Pagewood B team and potentially re-invigorate the Boys in Green for another tilt for a semi final spot. 

Special thanks to Glenn from the 45A's for making himself available and for his contribution and was not far off from scoring a goal as well - Thanks Glenn! Also special mention to our walking wounded including Nelson who was struggling with the flu but kept running until the end, Justin for his determination and fighting a troublesome calf injury (if i am correct?), Keith with his dodgy hamstring and Napoleon with his niggling ankle injury working overtime in midfield, Scottie still going strong in goals with a knee injury came up with a string of fine saves to keep us in the game, Dennis for his cameo performance before injuring his hammy.....actually I better stop as this is getting depressing - probably best to talk about the players that are NOT carrying an injury!! 

 

Is there anyone not injured??

Big thanks also to Russell for bringing the shirts and beers 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, there is training so please make the effort to be there at 6.30pm so we can have a good workout. 

Team Sheet:

Scott, Dennis, Rod, Geoff, Jason, Frankie, Napoleon, Keith, Frank, Glenn, Nelson, Subs: Con, Leo, Russell, Brett

Maroubra United V Queens Park R (Forfeit)

With School holidays in full swing and a number of players away, Maroubra could not field a side. The plan was to borrow some Over 45s but their game was changed back to 3pm at the last minute so they were unavailable.
The sensible decision was made to forfeit and not play 9 starting players including some carrying injuries.

Maroubra United 1 - 3 Redfern Raiders

On a Sunny Winters afternoon, we rocked up at Coral Sea for the afternoon kickoff

Being short a few players, the Over45s who had a bye, volunteered to take up the challenge.

At the kickoff Redfern only had 10 players on the pitch, allowing Maroubra to dominate the early exchanges but it wasn’t long until their reinforcements arrived.

Maroubra managed to get a few early shots in but none were on target so the keeper remained untested. From the 20 minute mark, Redfern were starting to dominate and it took a number of last ditch challenges to keep them at bay.

They took the lead when their influential midfielder (Jonas) took a shot from the left of the area through a crowned defence, deflecting and ending up in the far corner.

Soon after Maroubra won a corner which was perfectly floated in and Russell beat the defence to get to the dropping ball, unfortunately the Sun temperately blinded him. He still made a good contact with his shot just scrapped the top of the bar and over. A Let off for Redfern.

At half time the talk was about raising our intensity and winning the 50-50s but it was only 10 minutes into the second half when big Jonas made another powerful run and blasted the ball from 25 yards, swerving violently and nestling in the top left corner of the goal, unstoppable.

Redfern were on top now but we still managed to win some freekicks and mount the odd solid attack, one of them resulting in Nelson chipping the keeper on his line, 1-2.

The Redfern defence were now taking no chances and smashing every ball clear while their midfield (with Snoopdog back from a 6 week layoff) were now dominating.

Eventually a throughball over the central defence allowed the Redfern striker to finished it all off. 1-3.

There were a number of yellow cards in the second half as Redfern played to the limit of the laws at times but they were deserved winners on the day.

However, we did manage to keep the Falcon off the scoresheet for once!

Thanks to Tom for the beers and who needs to submit his player votes which was no easy task today (maybe start with -10 and work back to see who is left!!)

Special Thanks to the Over45s for helping us out on the day. 

Well, the season is really hotting up now with Pagewood A on a winning streak and Waverly with 3 catchup games to schedule. Maroubra need to refocus and push for that finals berth – Squeaky Bum Time!

Team Sheet:

John, Jason, Dennis, Russell, Rod, Keith, Napoleon, Wayne, Tom, Nelson, Scott Subs: Frank, Yossie, Stan, Joel