Due to overnight rain, the grounds have been closed and the game cancelled.
No practice on 5 July or game on 7 July.
Enjoy the holidays & keep practicing!
Saturday, 30 June 2007
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Game 10 - Jaguars vs Lower Hutt Falcons
Result - Loss - 2 - 1
Player of the day: Amanda "Lou" - for excellent defence and positive passing.
Areas to develop: Positional play (still bunching together and chasing the ball), fitness and goal scoring.
We played well enough to win the game for the last 19 minutes of the first half. Our goal came 5 minutes before half time when we were putting a lot of pressure on their defence and AJ got an excellent shot through the goal.
The jubilant shouts and high-fives meant the team felt good about working together to enable the goal to be scored.
Unfortunately, Lower Hutt had scored their first after 40 seconds (very soft goal after our whole team was caught napping and out of position) and their second at the 6 minute mark (very lucky when they missed and the ball ricocheted off one of our players over the line).
It would've have been nice to have had the win and this team were beatable.
The highlights for me were:
Amanda "Lou" having her best game after putting her hand up to be a defender.
Bosco "The Boot" who continually turned their attacks around.
Caleb "The Rock" who masterfully catches the opposition offside (and nearly stopped their second goal with some tactical offside moves).
Cody "Blocker" with his solid "don't mess with me" tackling. I was impressed with his skills heading the ball
Andy "The Terrier" who was tenacious with his tackling and fed useful ball to the strikers.
Sam "(in the) Action Man" was always keen to get involved where the ball was. I was most impressed with Sam's over the head kick (I'm sure he's been practicing it).
JD "Charlie" had some useful passes and positioned himself well for goal scoring opportunities.
Vinnie "Love the mud" was goalie for the day and was keen to get down and dirty. He made some terrific saves and cleared the ball solidly.
Vincent L "Flash Gordon" had an excellent game with linking passes and strong tackles.
Cameron "The Clone" was busy in midfield and it seemed like there were at least 2 of them on the field at times. He was able to nullify their attacks and put a lot of pressure on their goal.
AJ "In the net" was well positioned to take advantage and score our goal.
Aaron "Speedy" was unlucky not to score. His strong kicks created some good opportunities.
Josh "007" came so close to scoring. Next time buddy!
Liam "Tank Engine" was strong on the field and made some great crosses into the goal area to set up scoring opportunities.
It was encouraging to see moments of brilliance within the team. There is some real talent developing.
I had to get up at 4:45 this morning to get to the game from a conference in Matakana (north of Auckland) and although we didn't win, I'm glad I made the effort.
There'll be a bit to work on at practice: 4pm - Thursday.
Saturday, 16 June 2007
Game 9 - Jaguars vs Stokes Valley Stingers
Result - Draw- 1 - 1
Player of the day: Vincent L - for useful positional play, linking well with the strikers and attacking in defence.
Areas to develop - Continuing to focus on passing (& receiving passes) without giving away possession. Players also need to develop their skills to become confident and competent in different positions.
Our team played much differently from when we previously met (and lost) to the Stingers. We had a lot more structure, stronger defensively and formidable in attack.
Our first goal was after 8 minutes when Aaron bet the defence and booted the ball past the keeper. Although Aaron had a few more shots none went in. One went agonisingly close when it hit the crossbar though.
The subbing seemed to work well, with 3 subs each quarter.
Stokes Valley's goal came with 9 minutes left on the clock after a lucky bounce over the keeper's head, although midfield & defence shouldn't have allowed them to have the shot in the first place.
There were many positives to take from the game:
Josh kept another clean sheet in goal.
Cody is a skillful and strong defender who didn't let anybody get past him.
Vinnie moved from striker to defence and made some great clearances to turn around the opposition attacks.
The pressure Aaron exerted on their goal through the entire game was tremendous.
Vincent was a useful link when he was on his wing and made great interceptions as the first line of defence when they were attacking.
Bosco was simply brilliant in defence. He has the power to get the ball up where it needs to be.
Sam was busy on the field, keeping up with the play and making some good passes.
Cameron was in the perfect position throughout the game and read the game well. Stokes Valley's goal was scored while he was off the field. His talent certainly shone through.
Amanda made some great passes and is looking more confident with her tackling.
JD was more aware of where he needed to be on the field and made some positive passes and tackles.
Andy made some excellent passes and dropped back well when the run of play was moving against us, or when a defender had moved up.
AJ put himself in good positions but the defence had him well covered.
Caleb organised the defence well and was also off the pitch when Stokes Valley scored. He also has a mature awareness of the game and is able to read the play to close down attacks.
Liam moved from striker to mid-field in the second half. He had the ball at his feet a number of times as striker and was unfortunate not to score.
In hindsight I probably should have had 4 defenders in the second half to protect our lead.
Practice will again be focusing on tackling, shooting and passing so we can keep possession and score more goals.
Hopefully the future games aren't as intense as today's. I'm not sure my blood pressure will cope! :-)
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Game 8 - Jaguars vs Upper Hutt Cougars
Result - Win - 3 - 0
Player of the day:
Cameron - for strong midfield play.
Strengths - Strong play when going forward.
Areas to develop - Same as last week, which is to focus on passing (& receiving passes) without giving away possession. Using the field better and not bunching together which creates gaps for the other team.
The team thought this was going to be an easy win, but they were impressed by how much the Cougars had improved. In the first half the Cougars had better positional play.
Our goals all came from some great team work.
This first was when Cody made a great tackle, passing to JD, who sent the ball on to Vinnie who made a great cross for Aaron to beat the keeper in the 3rd minute.
The 2nd was from a corner where our strikers put pressure on their defence and they conceded a corner. Liam made a strong kick into the box where AJ (who had come forward from defence) was in a good position to tap it over the line.
Our last goal (excluding Vinnie's who was unlucky not to have his goal counted) was when Cameron received a great pass up his left wing and took a long-range punt that sailed through the goal.
We had 2 subs for the game and I was able to give some players a go in new positions. Most players are most suited to their usual positions but some need to be reminded about their roles.
In addition to winning the game through strong team work, my other highlights were:
Once again Josh had a strong game in goal, keeping another clean sheet. He never looked troubled and dealt easily with the pressure.
Cody had a great game. There were never any concerns about his tackling ability but his strength is getting the play going in the right direction.
Vinnie moved from defence into striker and did his best to score. He had 3 near misses before he got one in, unfortunately it wasn't counted. Vinnie's versatility in any position is a real strength.
Bosco has found his role at the back. His defensive skills neutralises attacks and his strong kicks gets the play going our way.
Sam was busy on the field, keeping up with the play and making some good passes.
Cameron was also busy on the field and illustrated how a mid-fielder should play - moving forward on attack and back on defense, linking the strikers and defenders..
Andy had his strongest game of the season in mid-field with some excellent tackling and positive passing.
Amanda also had her best game, making strong challenging tackles and useful linking passes.
JD was keen to score and kept moving forward when he could sniff a goal. He also tackled strongly.
Aaron was the left striker again today and seemed hungry to score. It only took 3 minutes for him to score the first goal and he was well marked after that, but was still able to create some more opportunities.
AJ was as a defender for much of the game. He has a good ability to read the game and even though he was new to the role was able to contribute positively.
Caleb was Mr Reliable as the central defender, controlling the defensive line. This was certainly a strong part of our game as their attackers were being pushed back and unable to get into scoring positions.
Liam attacked the goal and set up goals for the other players. The opposition obviously recognised the threat he posed and marked him (annoyingly) closely.
It was a game to take many positives from, especially the way we played as a team. We will need to work on some of the areas that left us exposed, which other teams could exploit - especially our positional play and passing earlier.
I'm looking forward to practice so we can develop these skills. Meanwhile, we can bask in the glory of another good win!
Monday, 4 June 2007
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Game 7 - Jaguar vs Stop Out McCreadie
Result - Win - 2 - 0
Players of the day:
Josh- for a terrific goalkeeping skills that kept a clean sheet with fantastic saves!
Liam - for great positioning, controlling and go-forward play.
Strengths - Players playing in their positions.
Areas to develop - Passing (& receiving passes) without giving away possession. Using the field better and not bunching together which creates gaps for the other team.
It's amazing what a win can do for morale (especially the coach's)!
We had no subs (AJ, Caleb & Vincent were unavailable) so each player had a HUGE game. They stayed in the same position for the whole game which seemed to help their structure on the field. Not sure if the new Nike match ball made a difference but it worked for us!
I realise playing in the same position isn't always ideal, as different players want to play in different positions at different times. I do try to accommodate as many of these as I can and we are fortunate there are many versatile players. Overall I try to create a strong team by having players in a position they are suited for.
Wins only come after good defence, combine with solid mid-field and attacking strikers.
Besides winning by 2 goals there were many other highlights.
Josh was outstanding in goal with solid saves and good clearances.
Cody was reliable in defence, taking on their strikers and winning the ball. Our first goal was the result of Cody making a tackle, then a lob pass upfield to Liam.
Vinnie was relentless as the centre defender. The defenders did well to catch a player off side which resulted in a turn over of possession.
Bosco is very strong in defence when tackling head on.
Sam was captain today and continues to improve every game. His tackling was effective and was able to feed the ball upfield.
Cameron is a natural mid-fielder and was able to read the game and intercept passes. I hope he can pass these skills on.
Andy had a useful game with tactical passing and tackling to feed players around and ahead of him.
Amanda made some excellent tackles and useful passes. This was her strongest game yet & I know she will continue to make progress.
JD was getting used to his new position and was able to provide useful links from the right wing. He was tenacious in defence and positive on attack.
Aaron was on the left wing but was promoted to striker. This proved effective as he was on the end of the first goal and created the own goal by crossing the ball into the goal area, the keeper was unable to control the ball and it deflected off a Stop Out defender into the goal.
Liam also peppered the goal and was unlucky not to score. By keeping the pressure on attack we are able to control the game for substantial periods.
I felt really proud of the team today & they seemed deservedly proud to win a great game.
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