Hamilton North Football Club

24 April 2010

Mustangs Won 3 – 0

The first game of the season started in bright sunshine and the Mustangs were bright from the kick off.  Strong runs by Lewis Alley, Kelsey Ludlam and Sean Mullins brought some close shaves of the St Josephs post and their ‘keeper into a couple of sharp saves.  Strong tackling by Marius Ings and Amy Timmins kept the Sparks at bay.  When troubled, Quinn Burke came to the rescue ensuring that nothing got past him in goal.  With five minutes left before half time, the Mustangs got their season off to a flying start when Sean broke free from the midfield and dribbled the ball for half the pitch and coolly passed the ball into the bottom left of the goal for number one of the season.  This was then followed up two minutes later when Kelsey ran from the left of the midfield with the ball to force another one on one with the Sparks ‘keeper, whom she rounded and shot into the bottom right for number two.  There was just enough time left for Kelsey and Lewis to have powerful runs, only to pull their shots wide.

For the second half Lewis took over from Quinn in goal and a refreshed  Sparks assumed the offensive.  The Mustangs conceded a couple of corner kicks, but Lewis dived to save and was also quick out to cover any other chances the Sparks generated.  Quinn released from his goal keeping duties of the first half, showed why he was keen to get into the outfield for the second with some skilful dribbling and hard tackling.  He was rewarded midway into the second half with a great solo goal to make it three for Mustangs and seal a great first victory.

For showing great enthusiasm, good team play, tackling and scoring the first goal of the season, player of the day this week was Sean Mullins.

Grosvenor Park was where we would be playing the third game of the season, Arriving at the park we found that like everywhere else the grass was long just as well we now know what grass looks like after the very long stuff that we played in last week.  At least this time we were not in danger of losing any players and with the sun shining the team was looking forward to another good match.

Our opposition started to arrive whilst we were warming up and we knew we should not fooled by the name of the robots they looked pretty quick.  As we lined up for the match on the field there was no more time to ponder if we ate enough Weetbix as the whistle went.

From the first kick off the Wildcats pretty quickly got into the groove and started to pass the ball around.  No one was more surprised and pleased than the coach as it was obvious that practice was paying off as the team looked to pass both backwards and forwards.  The Robots hardly got the ball and it pretty quickly became obvious that the Wildcats were the better team.

The first half just flew by with some great attack and some very nice goals, every goal was created through some nice passing and finishing with Jordan scoring 4 of goals a couple that no keeper would have stopped.  Jordan really dominated the midfield in the first half and was on the end of numerous good passes.  Our 6th goal came once again from a good pass by Chris that went to Braydon Lowe, he turned and went on a run passing the shocked Robots defender, the keeper came out but to late, Braydon was too good for him and he scored.  At half time we were up 5 – 0 and could have scored more except for some good saves by the Robots keeper.

In the second half Neisha and Jordan swapped with Jordan going into goal.  The Robots came out with renewed vigour and certainly played better in the second half but struggled with our defence and only managed a couple of real opportunities.  Playing at the back or the midfield everyone ensured the Robots could not score.   Kate Durie was often quickest to the ball and ensured the Robots couldn’t string many passes together.  Kate Williams skilfully controlled the back line and made a couple of great runs forward with the ball at her feet. Daniel and Jesse also ensured there was plenty of ball being intercepted at the back and often looked to pass it forward.  Daniel’s positioning was spot on and often ended up with the ball by being in the right place at the right time.

Braydon Wall was strong all match both in the midfield and defence, and on a couple of occasions gave the ball a good lump forward when it looked like the Robots were on the charge snuffing out their attack.

As the half unfolded Edward and Jarred remained busy in the midfield, often finding Chris open out wide who looked to pass at every opportunity.  It was no surprise that a few more great passes saw the ball go out to the right wing where Neisha got round one player and passed the ball back towards the edge of the box where Jarred was waiting and quick shot on goal by him suddenly saw the score out to 6 – 0.  There were a few other opportunities but on the whole this half was much more even.

Player of the day went to Chris who was involved in many great passing moves that resulted in goals.  However a non scoring moment which involved 4 one touch passes by Chris and Jesse was certainly a highlight to remember from this match.

Unbeaten the Wildcats wonder just who they will play next.

Cheers
The Wildcats Coach

Welcome the newly formed team THE BRONCOS-Jamie, Adam, Daniel, Cameron, James, Kasandra,Pablo, Sean, Sam, Caleb and Jodie. Not forgetting the excellent coaches Jorge & Steve.

Caleb unfortunately was unable to play in this match due to illness. Hope he gets better soon.Daniel was also unable to play due to a pre-arranged commitment.

What a great start to the season. This was the first time the team had played together in a match and certainly showed great enthusiasm and commitment to working together as a team. The first half found them finding their feet against an established team. All players were actively involved in the game and gave it their best shot ..on a full pitch as well. Great stuff!! The second half saw a great effort in team work and individual players becoming more confident and determined to do well. Super cool. All of the team showed good ball work and effort in trying to create chances to score and outrun the opposition. Sam our brilliant goalkeeper was particularly consistent and tried his best to prevent those goals. Well done Sam!!! Kasandra and Jodie also provided us with a good example of determination to do their best. Well done girls!! Adam too he scored our only goal.

All of the players provided an entertaining and exciting match and kept us parents on our toes. Our next match will be just as enjoyable and a great challenge for us to develop our skills and scores those goals – Bev Teague-Brown, Broncos Manager

The second grading match brought us to Hillcrest Stadium a fine venue. The weather held out and stayed sunny and warm. This seemed to inspire our players.

The team quickly settled and proceeded to take control of the pitch ensuring that the ball in the first half of play only reached the inner sanctum of our goal area a few times. Sam our goalkeeper took it in his stride and used the goalpost to ponder about life and watch his team score a series of spectacular goals.

Caleb scored our first goal within the first few minutes followed closely by a second. Well done Caleb which earned him the title of player of the match. The team continued to demonstrate some awesome passing and ball skills. James wants on to score two goals, Sean two goals, Cameron two goal followed by Jamie who scored our last goal.

The opposition came back in the second half scoring their first goal in the first few moments and temporarily seemed to gain control of the game .This was short-lived and our team re-gained their composure and continued to play well.

Jorge and Steve our coaches provided direction and encouragement as did our supporters.

Bev Teague-Brown Manager