MATCH DAY EVALUATION
Match Day 12 – Box Hill vs. Bulleen
Conditions: Mainly sunny with some cloud and some gusty breezes. Pitch in reasonable condition but green grass is virtually non existent in centre corridors. Still flat and level but showing evidence of wear and tear.
PLAN: Team was asked to:
• 110% from the start of play
• Defensively strong in first 10-15
• Be ready for hard tough play as Bulleen will want revenge
• Keep the ball on the ground
• Tackle hard, tackle often
This week’s blog will be short and succinct and take a different format to previous.
There is little to comment on with regard to Box Hill as the team was unable to cope with the physical pressure of Bulleen. Box Hill pumped the ball long every chance they got, yet the balls played out from the back and through the midfield by BH often missed the target, were poorly directed and weighted and or chose the wrong option. We constantly played high balls in to forwards who were man marked and covered by 1 or 2 additional players – a lack of footballing intelligence evident!! Despite being told to play the ball round and use our strengths, we didn’t seem to be up for the contest. As usual at home, a mix up led to Bulleen scoring a goal on one of their brief foray’s forward.
Half time score 0 - 1
Second half was little better, BH reverted to 4-4-2 and to be honest, were rarely troubled by Bulleen. But still, the contest and desire to win a hard ball, tackle an opponent, and use our skills and play was not displayed. The refereeing was inconsistent and slow, and Bulleen used every time wasting trick in the book, as I would have told them if I was their coach. BH won a penalty for an infringement in the box and scored. We had some half chances after that but never really looked like scoring
Final Score 1 - 1
Overall Comments
Opposition: As I indicated to the team prior to the match, Bulleen were humiliated on their own ground by BH in Round 3. As such, I felt and advised the team Bulleen would play defensively (which they did) and they would be hard and physical (which they were). They played 3-4 at the back, man marking de Blasio the entire game always having a spare man at the back. They had a speedy and skilful left mid who caused us some issue.
Box Hill: Shocking……… I could write pages on what the team lacked and didn’t do correctly. But I won’t.
Every player needs to take a good long hard look at themselves and decide whether and how much they want this championship.
More importantly, if players harbour a desire to play in Super League, they must first win this league, then decide their appetite for a league that is 5 times harder and faster than the A league we are in.
Look at yourself and assess:
Did I present for the return pass?
Did I pass effectively and to feet?
Did I think and make the right decision?
Am I willing to do anything to win a hard ball or do I do ‘just enough’….?
Am I willing to put my body in the line for my team mate?
Do I jump for every header and win every ball I compete for?
Did I give everything or just enough, leaving responsibility to others?
Am I following the tactics and instructions given to me by the coaching staff?
Do I play selflessly or SELFISHLY……….?
Am I willing to do anything for the next 6 weeks to drag my team over the line?
The BH Player’s first chance to redeem themselves comes Tuesday night against Fawkner who are 8 points clear in North 15A league, then against Casey away
Training is mandatory for all for the next 6 weeks UNLESS I know you are injured or VERY unwell…….
Coach: John Di Martino 27th July, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Round 11 - Manningham
MATCH DAY EVALUATION
Match Day 11 – Manningham vs. Box Hill
Conditions: Sunny with some cloud but a lovely day. Pitch in had a significant slope down to one corner. It varied between grassless in the centre corridor to quite lush on sides and n corners. A good breeze was helping one end markedly.
PLAN: Team was asked to:
• 110% from the start of play
• Retain possession
• Be patient and wait for the right opportunity
• Keep the ball on the ground due to breeze
• First tackle the hardest
First Half: Team was sent out in a 3-1-4-2 formation. Bircham was selected as the holding midfielder, with Kasapidis partnering Nguyen up front (De Blasio had been absent from training all week due to illness so started on the bench. Box Hill commenced going up the hill and into the face of the breeze. Manningham started, as suspected with a 5-6 man defence, ensuring multiple defenders were present on all our forwards, Nguyen in particular. This lead to an almost non existent midfield for the Manningham team. As such, Becker, Orlando and then Mazzollini and our wide mids were given large amounts of room to play, with Lee and Mills-Warthold lending good support on the overlap and in support of the forwards. To some degree however, this lead to the BH players having too much time on the ball and selecting the wrong options versus those times when we play better teams and we have less time on the ball, we actually move it better and more speedily.
The Manningham coach also resorted to many interchanges, in an attempt I would guess to limit the damage to his team. Their structure however lead to them having to resort to kicking the ball long out of defence only to have it returned almost immediately by the BH backs and mids. A couple of ‘nervous’ challenges, i.e. refusal to head the ball lead to a couple of anxious moments for the bench and coaching staff. BH were probing well and getting to the 18 yard box but weight of numbers and poor final pass selection meant the 1st goal was quite a while in arriving.
Good interplay between Pagotto and Bircham, and a cross by Kasapidis lead to Nguyen opening the scoring after 15 minutes. Becker let fly with a number of shots but he displayed an inability to ‘hit the target’ rule. Pagotto then broke his duck since joining the team and after taking what seemed to be too many touches, fired low and hard into the corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Half time score 0 - 2
Second Half: A number of changes were made in an effort to get more goals from the team and to allow all players on the bench to play at least a ½ of the game. Drossas went to Left wide mid, Lee to Right wide mid, Bryden to the Right back position, Kasapidis to defensive midfield, and the centre mids were Bircham and Mazzollini with De Blasio partnering Nguyen. Becker was rested to keep him fresh for the Bulleen game next week. After a promising start, Bryden was replaced by Orlando as he rolled his ankle and had to sit out the rest of the game. Nguyen started brightly and fired over the top of the bar. Kasapidis carried the ball well and also fired over the top. De Blasio ran on to a well placed ball and made the score 3-0 to BH. After 15 minutes, Pagotto and Clark replaced the two ‘Sams’ in midfield and combined reasonably well, though Pagotto needed to be told a couple of times to work harder up and down the park as a midfielder. In addition, the two forwards were running away from the ball again and not playing as well as they did last week by coming and meeting the ball and turning away as well as moving around. A good cross by Drossas led to the 4th goal by Nguyen. Having the slope and the breeze was allowing BH to swarm forward and attack as they wished. Some poor first touches were letting us down as were poor crosses into the box that fell short or were plucked out by the Manningham GK. Crosses by Drossas and Mills Warthold as well as nice interplay through to Pagotto by Bircham lead to 2 more goals for BH.
Final Score 0 - 6
Overall Comments
Opposition: Manningham played as most teams will play against us in the second round. Large numbers of players behind the ball, stout and resolute defending and no ambition to play soccer on display. They were rarely able to string a number of passes together and they were constantly being changed around by their coach with multiple interchanges. In truth, I felt sorry for them as they cannot and will not learn anything this year except to ‘kick it long’.
Box Hill: Given conditions, and the way Manningham played, to get 6 goals is a good result. We must learn though, that having extra time on the ball to play it about does not give us license to waste our opportunities and chances. We must improve our first touch as well as this was poor at times. What was most pleasing was how all players contributed and played their part in the win, including the reserves.
Bullen next week – I think the team and coaches are looking forward to playing them on our field and show them just how good we are. They will defend and try to kick us off the park so we must be patient and controlled. Our skill, ability and team spirit will deliver us a good win again, if we do what we do best – PLAY FOOTBALL THE EURO WAY, THE BOX HILL WAY…….
NOTE: Malvern lost to North Caulfield 4-1 putting BH 6 points clear and 21 goals goal difference in front. Close, but still NO CHOCOLATES !!!!!
7 weeks to go and UNLESS VERY ILL, SEVERELY INJURED OR IN A WHEELCHAIR all must train!! …..
Coach: John Di Martino 20th July, 2009
Match Day 11 – Manningham vs. Box Hill
Conditions: Sunny with some cloud but a lovely day. Pitch in had a significant slope down to one corner. It varied between grassless in the centre corridor to quite lush on sides and n corners. A good breeze was helping one end markedly.
PLAN: Team was asked to:
• 110% from the start of play
• Retain possession
• Be patient and wait for the right opportunity
• Keep the ball on the ground due to breeze
• First tackle the hardest
First Half: Team was sent out in a 3-1-4-2 formation. Bircham was selected as the holding midfielder, with Kasapidis partnering Nguyen up front (De Blasio had been absent from training all week due to illness so started on the bench. Box Hill commenced going up the hill and into the face of the breeze. Manningham started, as suspected with a 5-6 man defence, ensuring multiple defenders were present on all our forwards, Nguyen in particular. This lead to an almost non existent midfield for the Manningham team. As such, Becker, Orlando and then Mazzollini and our wide mids were given large amounts of room to play, with Lee and Mills-Warthold lending good support on the overlap and in support of the forwards. To some degree however, this lead to the BH players having too much time on the ball and selecting the wrong options versus those times when we play better teams and we have less time on the ball, we actually move it better and more speedily.
The Manningham coach also resorted to many interchanges, in an attempt I would guess to limit the damage to his team. Their structure however lead to them having to resort to kicking the ball long out of defence only to have it returned almost immediately by the BH backs and mids. A couple of ‘nervous’ challenges, i.e. refusal to head the ball lead to a couple of anxious moments for the bench and coaching staff. BH were probing well and getting to the 18 yard box but weight of numbers and poor final pass selection meant the 1st goal was quite a while in arriving.
Good interplay between Pagotto and Bircham, and a cross by Kasapidis lead to Nguyen opening the scoring after 15 minutes. Becker let fly with a number of shots but he displayed an inability to ‘hit the target’ rule. Pagotto then broke his duck since joining the team and after taking what seemed to be too many touches, fired low and hard into the corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Half time score 0 - 2
Second Half: A number of changes were made in an effort to get more goals from the team and to allow all players on the bench to play at least a ½ of the game. Drossas went to Left wide mid, Lee to Right wide mid, Bryden to the Right back position, Kasapidis to defensive midfield, and the centre mids were Bircham and Mazzollini with De Blasio partnering Nguyen. Becker was rested to keep him fresh for the Bulleen game next week. After a promising start, Bryden was replaced by Orlando as he rolled his ankle and had to sit out the rest of the game. Nguyen started brightly and fired over the top of the bar. Kasapidis carried the ball well and also fired over the top. De Blasio ran on to a well placed ball and made the score 3-0 to BH. After 15 minutes, Pagotto and Clark replaced the two ‘Sams’ in midfield and combined reasonably well, though Pagotto needed to be told a couple of times to work harder up and down the park as a midfielder. In addition, the two forwards were running away from the ball again and not playing as well as they did last week by coming and meeting the ball and turning away as well as moving around. A good cross by Drossas led to the 4th goal by Nguyen. Having the slope and the breeze was allowing BH to swarm forward and attack as they wished. Some poor first touches were letting us down as were poor crosses into the box that fell short or were plucked out by the Manningham GK. Crosses by Drossas and Mills Warthold as well as nice interplay through to Pagotto by Bircham lead to 2 more goals for BH.
Final Score 0 - 6
Overall Comments
Opposition: Manningham played as most teams will play against us in the second round. Large numbers of players behind the ball, stout and resolute defending and no ambition to play soccer on display. They were rarely able to string a number of passes together and they were constantly being changed around by their coach with multiple interchanges. In truth, I felt sorry for them as they cannot and will not learn anything this year except to ‘kick it long’.
Box Hill: Given conditions, and the way Manningham played, to get 6 goals is a good result. We must learn though, that having extra time on the ball to play it about does not give us license to waste our opportunities and chances. We must improve our first touch as well as this was poor at times. What was most pleasing was how all players contributed and played their part in the win, including the reserves.
Bullen next week – I think the team and coaches are looking forward to playing them on our field and show them just how good we are. They will defend and try to kick us off the park so we must be patient and controlled. Our skill, ability and team spirit will deliver us a good win again, if we do what we do best – PLAY FOOTBALL THE EURO WAY, THE BOX HILL WAY…….
NOTE: Malvern lost to North Caulfield 4-1 putting BH 6 points clear and 21 goals goal difference in front. Close, but still NO CHOCOLATES !!!!!
7 weeks to go and UNLESS VERY ILL, SEVERELY INJURED OR IN A WHEELCHAIR all must train!! …..
Coach: John Di Martino 20th July, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Round 10 - North Caulfield
MATCH DAY EVALUATION
Match Day 9 – Box Hill vs. North Caulfield
Conditions: Cloudy with some gusty breezes. Pitch in good condition given a week off though grass is virtually non existent in centre corridors. Still flat and level but showing evidence of wear and tear.
PLAN: Team was asked to:
• 110% from the start of play
• 1-2 touch soccer
• Keep the ball on the ground
• First tackle the hardest
First Half: Team changed shape this week. Given lack of goals scored against and strength of defence overall particularly through the middle, a 3-1-4-2 formation was chosen. The defensive mid position this week was taken by Lee in place of the proposed incumbent Kasapidis (suspended for this game). Nguyen was late for the game and was replaced in the starting 11 with Di Blasio. The intent was to allow the central mids to not have to retreat too far back and as a result assist and link with the forwards more effectively. Initial interplay was OK by BH but passes to forwards were missing targets or getting miskicked. North Caulfield were playing with a 1 man strike force, 4 in defence and 5 in midfield which stifled some of the BH play. What disappointed the BH coach was the apparent lack of desire to commit fully to a physical contest. Some players put in just enough, but not enough and this will be addressed this week at training. Players must realise the body has to be committed to win tackles and contests and if a player approaches a tackle or contest half heartedly, they are the ones that will get injured. Some poor kicking from defence and lack of quality decision making led too many attacks breaking down. In addition, some poor decision making by Yu in goal led to great frustration on the bench. Eventually, some fine interplay between Bircham and Clark led to a great cross but no-one was on the far post – again!! We then had a period of 5 minutes where every pass and kick seemed to miss a BH target and land at the feet or head of the opposition. One change was made with Bircham being replaced by Pagotto. Pagotto went wide left with Sam M going into the middle of the park with Becker. Becker was one of the few players committing his body and fighting for every ball. On the 30th minute, some great 1 touch football on the deck split the opposition defence and Di Blasio score with a nice clean stroke into the corner. The half ended soon enough.
Half time score 1 - 0
Second Half: To be frank, the team was given a bollocking at half time. Changes were made and the quality of play in the second half was marginally better from the start. Nguyen came on for Drossas and played easily the best half of football for the year. His passion and commitment to present an option, play the way he was facing and assist the midfield was exemplary and he should take this game as a turning point in his career. Some lovely play by Di Blasio (who also was exhibiting far better decision making and thought processes in his forward play) led to a great chance falling to Nguyen who blasted over the bar from close range. Some interplay on the right between Orlando, Clark and Becker was symptomatic of the BH play – retained possession but we weren’t penetrating. Again, this will be addressed at training this week. Poor play on the right then led to a Caulfield free kick that resulted in a header hitting the BH post – lucky for us but given the number of times we have hit the post and cross bar thus year, it’s about time we had some luck too. A free kick 25 yards out was fired toward the top corner by Pagotto and just missed – quality shot. The team as a whole was fighting well and controlling the game and a goal was coming. Then Nguyen took control of the ball 20 yards out, attacked the bye line and fired a strong low cross across the goal and Di Blasio met it at full pace to tap it in for the second goal. BH played out the last 5 minutes to the end and a relieved bench and coaching staff reflected on a hard fought win, but a win none the less. Sometimes, you have to win ugly.
Final Score 2 - 0
Overall Comments
Opposition: As I indicated to the others on the coaching/support staff for BH, North Caulfield is always hard to beat. They scratch, kick and contest for every ball and play ugly which sometimes leads to the opposition playing ugly. This is what occurred and I was always worried for this matches result. They have a number of tall strong players and will not allow time on the ball. I believe they are capable of taking points off Malvern and Doncaster through the second round.
Box Hill: A reasonable effort only. We started better in the first 5 than in the past few games but lack of hunger, passion and sheer fighting for the ball needs to improve. Football is technical but physical as well and the physical aspect will only get harder next year IF we make SL. Some players better learn this over the next 2 months or they won’t make the SL squad for this reason alone. The second half was better than the first and the interplay between Di Blasio/Nguyen and the rest of the team was a vast improvement. We also saw a number of shots by Becker, and though the shots were weak at times, it indicated the new structure was allowing the mids to link with the forwards. However, our last touch into the box and through ball is not coming off at times. The awareness of when to play quickly and when to build slowly requires improvement. Some players too are too defensively minded and they must learn to lift their eyes and look forward as well as back.
Team was told in the change room no one can miss training for the next 8 weeks UNLESS VERY ILL, SEVERELY INJURED OR IN A WHEELCHAIR!! We must work hard for just 8 weeks, get 8 victories and win the league. We are close, but no chocolates yet lads…..
Coach: John Di Martino 13th July, 2009
Match Day 9 – Box Hill vs. North Caulfield
Conditions: Cloudy with some gusty breezes. Pitch in good condition given a week off though grass is virtually non existent in centre corridors. Still flat and level but showing evidence of wear and tear.
PLAN: Team was asked to:
• 110% from the start of play
• 1-2 touch soccer
• Keep the ball on the ground
• First tackle the hardest
First Half: Team changed shape this week. Given lack of goals scored against and strength of defence overall particularly through the middle, a 3-1-4-2 formation was chosen. The defensive mid position this week was taken by Lee in place of the proposed incumbent Kasapidis (suspended for this game). Nguyen was late for the game and was replaced in the starting 11 with Di Blasio. The intent was to allow the central mids to not have to retreat too far back and as a result assist and link with the forwards more effectively. Initial interplay was OK by BH but passes to forwards were missing targets or getting miskicked. North Caulfield were playing with a 1 man strike force, 4 in defence and 5 in midfield which stifled some of the BH play. What disappointed the BH coach was the apparent lack of desire to commit fully to a physical contest. Some players put in just enough, but not enough and this will be addressed this week at training. Players must realise the body has to be committed to win tackles and contests and if a player approaches a tackle or contest half heartedly, they are the ones that will get injured. Some poor kicking from defence and lack of quality decision making led too many attacks breaking down. In addition, some poor decision making by Yu in goal led to great frustration on the bench. Eventually, some fine interplay between Bircham and Clark led to a great cross but no-one was on the far post – again!! We then had a period of 5 minutes where every pass and kick seemed to miss a BH target and land at the feet or head of the opposition. One change was made with Bircham being replaced by Pagotto. Pagotto went wide left with Sam M going into the middle of the park with Becker. Becker was one of the few players committing his body and fighting for every ball. On the 30th minute, some great 1 touch football on the deck split the opposition defence and Di Blasio score with a nice clean stroke into the corner. The half ended soon enough.
Half time score 1 - 0
Second Half: To be frank, the team was given a bollocking at half time. Changes were made and the quality of play in the second half was marginally better from the start. Nguyen came on for Drossas and played easily the best half of football for the year. His passion and commitment to present an option, play the way he was facing and assist the midfield was exemplary and he should take this game as a turning point in his career. Some lovely play by Di Blasio (who also was exhibiting far better decision making and thought processes in his forward play) led to a great chance falling to Nguyen who blasted over the bar from close range. Some interplay on the right between Orlando, Clark and Becker was symptomatic of the BH play – retained possession but we weren’t penetrating. Again, this will be addressed at training this week. Poor play on the right then led to a Caulfield free kick that resulted in a header hitting the BH post – lucky for us but given the number of times we have hit the post and cross bar thus year, it’s about time we had some luck too. A free kick 25 yards out was fired toward the top corner by Pagotto and just missed – quality shot. The team as a whole was fighting well and controlling the game and a goal was coming. Then Nguyen took control of the ball 20 yards out, attacked the bye line and fired a strong low cross across the goal and Di Blasio met it at full pace to tap it in for the second goal. BH played out the last 5 minutes to the end and a relieved bench and coaching staff reflected on a hard fought win, but a win none the less. Sometimes, you have to win ugly.
Final Score 2 - 0
Overall Comments
Opposition: As I indicated to the others on the coaching/support staff for BH, North Caulfield is always hard to beat. They scratch, kick and contest for every ball and play ugly which sometimes leads to the opposition playing ugly. This is what occurred and I was always worried for this matches result. They have a number of tall strong players and will not allow time on the ball. I believe they are capable of taking points off Malvern and Doncaster through the second round.
Box Hill: A reasonable effort only. We started better in the first 5 than in the past few games but lack of hunger, passion and sheer fighting for the ball needs to improve. Football is technical but physical as well and the physical aspect will only get harder next year IF we make SL. Some players better learn this over the next 2 months or they won’t make the SL squad for this reason alone. The second half was better than the first and the interplay between Di Blasio/Nguyen and the rest of the team was a vast improvement. We also saw a number of shots by Becker, and though the shots were weak at times, it indicated the new structure was allowing the mids to link with the forwards. However, our last touch into the box and through ball is not coming off at times. The awareness of when to play quickly and when to build slowly requires improvement. Some players too are too defensively minded and they must learn to lift their eyes and look forward as well as back.
Team was told in the change room no one can miss training for the next 8 weeks UNLESS VERY ILL, SEVERELY INJURED OR IN A WHEELCHAIR!! We must work hard for just 8 weeks, get 8 victories and win the league. We are close, but no chocolates yet lads…..
Coach: John Di Martino 13th July, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
