Round 2 - Manningham

MATCH DAY EVALUATION

Match Day 2 – Box Hill Inter vs. Manningham (Under 15 A’s)

Conditions: Perfect. No breeze, excellent turf, good grass coverage, sunny and no clouds with a temp of 18 degrees.

PLAN: Team approached game to use high pressure and high speed tactics, whilst retaining control of the ball on the deck.

First Half: BH started well, moving the ball and retaining possession for 27 touches before Manningham touched the ball. Good composure and structure was displayed however incisive movement resulting in shots on goal were not evident for the first 10 minutes. Manningham were clearly retaining 4-5 men in defence and midfield in an effort to stifle Box Hill and resorted to playing long balls out of defence to their running forwards. Our makeshift defensive pairing of Lee and Bryden stood up well, albeit with a few scares at times. As the half progressed it was clear that once a goal was scored, more could follow. The Box hill midfield was bossing the centre of the park with Becker and Clark controlling and holding play and trying to use the width of the home ground. After 15 minutes the first box hill goal was scored by Nguyen, quickly followed up by De Blasio. De Blasio scored and absolute cracker before half time to make the score line 3-0 for the home team. A good team effort overall and most pleasing was the way the late changes in the back line were accepted and team rules and structure adhered to without question.

Half time score 3 - 0

Second Half: Team started with the Bondole/Kasapidis centre formation in defence which would only make the team stronger in defence. An ‘ambitious’ shot from half way from Kasapidis went into the goal after bouncing over the defence and over the keeper – excellent! This appeared to break their confidence and more goals came through Nguyen and De Blasio. What is most pleasing is to see the forwards start to understand that side foot goals into the net are just as valuable as rockets that bulge the net. The midfield had a period of 10-5 minutes in the middle of the half where we lost some structure and the midfield ‘hole’ appeared. After confirming capability and energy, to their credit the midfield improved and structure was regained. Clark in the middle of the park gave his all and after another solid and quality display, Becker was subbed off to have a respite. Mills-Warthold, Mazzollini and Orlando were solid all day in all positions. In all, all rotations through the team were accepted and instructions to players coming on and off the ground were adhered to which is pleasing and makes a coaches job much easier. All substitutes did their job and contributed to the team result.

Final Score 7 - 0


Overall Comments

Opposition: Strong team with a reasonable centre half who saved their bacon many times. Speedy forward tried to cause some problems but our defence stood up well. Team resorted to long balls out of defence and stacking the back line which I suspect will become more prevalent as the team progresses through the year. Poor ability to hold and lay the ball meant passes were rare and Box Hill pressured them well

Box Hill: Excellent overall team effort. Ability to hold ball and retain possession is improving. Defence was solid but still ‘scares’ me at times. Against better opposition, inc. Bulleen, Whitehorse and Malvern, we may be caught out. Midfield needs to engage and support forwards more so as to get on scoresheet as reliance on two forwards not sufficient. Structure and shape and ability to shift are getting better but more talking from GK and defence through to the midfield must improve.

A sterner test this week may result in a 4-2-3-1 structure being employed - TBD

Coach: John Di Martino 5th May, 2009