Round 7 - Ringwood City

MATCH DAY EVALUATION

Match Day 7 – Box Hill Inter vs. Ringwood (Under 15 A’s)

Conditions: Overcast with sunny breaks and cool conditions. Again, no breeze or advantage to either end. Pitch is starting to show wear and tear but still good grass coverage and nice and flat. Team sent out in a 4-4-2 formation

PLAN: Team was asked to:
· Use team strengths (passing, 2 touch, etc)
· Compete for every ball
· Ensure no early goals against to prevent giving Ringwood any hope.
· Play balls diagonally, not flat or vertical

First Half: Changes to the team were as follows: Bondole and Kasapidis were given a ‘rest’ for the 1st half, Bryden and Lee were selected as central defenders and performed admirably while Orlando was given the right wing back role and Drossas played right wide mid. The game started as a stalemate with Ringwood lacking forward pressure but they were reasonably strong defensively. Their defensive strength came as a result of a combination of factors: strength in numbers by playing 9-10 players behind the ball and an overall size advantage. At one point, a wide cross was met by all 11 players of Ringwood being within 25 metres of their goal. After a number of good plays wide and crosses, including hitting the post (again!!), Nguyen broke the deadlock by controlling the ball well in the box and shooting. This was followed up quickly by Drossas who got onto a cross and following up well on the rebound as his initial shot also hit the woodwork. Box Hill displayed, at times, an excellent ability to play the ball around on the deck and use 1 and 2 touch soccer. Drossas competed well and gave his all. Ringwood midfield was admirably led by a good player called Gino and he caused us some issues late in the half by holding the ball well and getting by defenders to lay the ball off. However, our GK was rarely troubled or called upon to defend his goal.

Half time score 2 - 0

Second Half: Substitutions were as follows: Tolo, Kasapidis, Bondole and De Blasio on, for Pagotto, Bircham, Lee (injured) and Drossas. After a good start to the half, with the ball being passed fluently and solidly by the defence and midfield, De Blasio was able to quickly put the 3rd on the board for Box Hill following good support work by Tolo. De Blasio had earlier rifling a thunderous shot that unfortunately went straight to the keeper so a goal was clearly in the offing for him. As the half continued, after some good interplay, a good through ball by Pagotto was defended well and saved by their defence. Numerous chances, crosses and shots followed and De Blasio stepped up after a good headed through ball by Nguyen to slide the ball wide of their Keeper for the 4th. More good work by the midfield and Mills-Warthold. Box Hill made some further chances and a corner was partially saved but a thunderous left foot volley by Becker resulted in BH’s fifth goal. Then a glorious chance to Nguyen after superb build up play led to a skied shot way over the bar when a side foot was all that was required. The final 10 minutes were subdued and some late changes were made to the team to rest player’s inc. Bryden and Becker. Tolo battled manfully for the last 10 after sustaining a foot injury.

Final Score 5 – 0

Overall Comments

Opposition: A strong team with a number of tall and strong players. They’re central midfielder Gino was clearly skilled and strong and was a great asset in their midfield. In addition, their #8 defender was very quick and held Nguyen well in one on ones. They clearly were martialled to pack their defence and midfield and BH will face this more and more as the season progresses. Ability to hold ball and pass was limited.

Box Hill: A good overall team effort. Everyone who played contributed to the result. Players such as Drossas and Tolo who have had limited game time showed they have something to offer. Pagotto improves every week as his fitness level improves, and ability to pick out a pass and deliver a cross is excellent. There is plenty of improvement in him though. De Blasio was a potent force in the 2nd half but the team needs him to deliver for 70 minutes. Orlando displayed his best game for the year in his wing back role. The midfield and defences ability to pass the ball around was shown at times but greater emphasis on this aspect is required as this is a key strength of the team. We must also learn to deliver shots from out of the box with greater power and direction as this is one way to beat a packed defence.

On another note, Malvern beat Whitehorse. Effectively, the season is now down to a 2 horse race with us leading the ladder by 1 point from Malvern.

EVERY GAME IS NOW VITAL!!!! WE CANNOT AFFORD TO DROP ANY POINTS!!

The teams intensity at training and especially games must continue to be delivered at 110% if we are to succeed in our aim of winning the league.

No-one can drop off and feel comfortable – the best team on Sunday will play and be made up from those squad members that commit at training – no exceptions……

Coach: John Di Martino 15th June, 2009