MATCH DAY EVALUATION
Match Day 11 – Whitehorse vs. Box Hill
Conditions: Thin cloud masked the sun making conditions a little cool. A breeze was favouring one end and this, in conjunction with the small narrow ground and distinct slope, would mean the winning team would have the advantage down the hill
PLAN: Team was asked to:
• Consider this a danger game as we were confident Malvern are vulnerable and beatable next week
• Take the game up to them
• Improve on tackling and contested ball from Casey game
• Play to teams strengths
First Half: Team was without Lee (injured) and Pagotto who was only able to play 15 minutes on doctor’s advice. Mills-Warthold started in goal again (I more week Jordan, I promise :-) ). BH started brightly, with Becker showing the way by competing effectively for aerial balls. A cross was met 1st time by Clark but his volley was wide. A subsequent corner led to a speculative volley over the head by Mazzollini and this just went over the bar. It was clear after 5 minutes what Whitehorse’s tactics consisted of. Play deep, and hoof ball long to running forwards but there was little interplay and passing evident. Nguyen had a good long range shot in the middle of the half but it wasn’t proving a good day for the BH forwards. Clark was clearly physically drained after a bout of the flu, and Nguyen and De Blasio were, well……….having a ‘bad hair day’ shall we say. Some brilliant build up play by Becker, Mazzollini and Jake lead to a cross but no one was there to put it in. A number of chances fell to Clark who couldn’t put them away. De Blasio had an opening but shot tamely at the keeper. BH was clearly the superior footballing side and all were playing their part. Drossas was doing well at full back, Jake was strong and creative and Kasapidis and Bondole were their usual imperious best in defence. Bircham and Becker were dominating midfield and showing themselves more than willing to tackle and compete strongly. All in all, a good 1st half by BH but no reward to show for it.
Half time score 0 – 0
Second Half: The team was sent out with no changes. Team talk focussed on us maintaining the pressure, maintaining shape and keeping the ball moving and the rewards would come. The half picked up where the 1st half left off. Whitehorse was clearly rattled and had no answer to the pressure being applied in midfield and defence and could not mount a serious attack. After 10 minutes, Clark who was clearly fatigued was replaced by Bryden. Bryden went to Full back and Orlando moved to wide left. Soon after this he squandered a DEVINE open chance and succeeded in blasting over the bar from 6 metres……Coaches were starting to get the ‘this isn’t going to be our day feeling’. However, at the 16 minute mark, a great wide run by Nguyen and cross lead to
the ball falling to Orlando and he struck it firmly into the goal. From this point on and to their credit, Whitehorse started to apply a little more pressure. Drossas was given a rest and Orlando went to left full back. Pagotto played wide left and had some influence but again, was hampered by injury. Tolo came on and played right mid and applied himself diligently, following the coaches instructions to play strongly and defensively. Whitehorse by this time was starting to get ugly. Verbal stoushes and niggly frees crept into the game and the game as a whole degenerated. Mills-Warthold made some good saves though was never really put in danger. He did very well and his efforts to play in goal are appreciated by all the coaches and his team members. After a scrappy last ten minutes, the whistle blew and we had succeeded in getting the desired result.
Final Score 0 - 1
Overall Comments
Opposition: A strong and willing team but very scrappy. Clearly not able to string passes together when confronted by good opposition. Apart from a strong centre back (recruited from Malvern after their ‘falling out’) they had no player that would make the BH team. Also, many had a very negative and ugly outlook on the game and their opponents. They know how to play their ground effectively and stifle any real movement or play by other teams.
Box Hill: Given ground size and conditions, I was proud of how the boys fought it out to the end. All played their part and what may have been a major stumbling block for the season, was overcome. The 4-3-3 structure is suiting our style of play and I am really looking forward to a full strength side with all players available, going out onto the park and putting on a real show. There is still room for improvement and Malvern who struggled to beat Casey 2-1, cannot and WILL NOT be taken lightly.
NOTE: Doncaster lost at home to North Caulfield so they are now 8 pts behind with Malvern second 6 points behind. We are getting there step by step buts STILL, NO CHOCOLATES!!!!!
4 weeks to go and UNLESS VERY ILL, SEVERELY INJURED OR IN A WHEELCHAIR all must train!! …..
Coach: John Di Martino 10th August, 2009
