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.

Here comes the defence!

Calling for the ball

On attack

Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Post match interviews

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! :-)