May 31, 2011
Housewives of the OC cleaned up
Joyous scenes as AC Malvern managed to snare their first victory after a come from behind 2-1 victory over Old Camberwell on Sunday.
The boys from Malvern were yet to get within two goals of Old Camberwell in their previous meetings, only scoring twice, and would therefore go into the battle for last spot as clear underdogs.
As always at Deepdene Reserve the centre of the pitch was in an appalling state resembling a tar pit more than a football pitch. This would prove to be an added challenge on judgement when moving the ball forward.
Kick off was interesting with the ball moving a metre then stopping dead in the muck. After a quick adjustment the game rolled on and it wasn’t long before AC was on the back foot.
Five minutes in and the Real Housewives of OC had a corner. A beautifully struck kick found the head of the lanky number 8 who was unmarked and an equally beautiful finish found the ball in the back of the net. It’s been a long time since Malvern have scored the first goal in a game. On this occasion falling behind so early could’ve been a massive dent in their pride.
No to be deterred by the deficit the boys from Malvern had a sense of belief and attacked the ball with great venom. The game was shaping as a shoot out with end to end stuff testing the lung capacity of many, although not VO2 Max Pete.
Jay and Pete were immense, almost as happy as pigs in shit in the middle of the park as they controlled proceedings. The Real Housewives weren’t too interested in getting dirty which allowed for plenty of space to create attacks. The revelation of season 2011, Mr Jones, was on fire on the right wing. His work off the ball was as impressive as his work on the ball which was frustrating the OC.
The Housewives did have their fair share of pushes forward, but the pairing of Owen and DeBartolo stood strong and were ably assisted by their right and left lieutenants. An intense battle would break for tea with OC up 1-0.
Tweets a plenty and word was spreading through the social networks of the quality of the battle which saw the crowd grow by 150 percent during the break.
AC didn’t disappoint the building crowd which included new converts in the Ashman’s (Bill and Steve) as they continued the attacks on a slowly folding OC. Would anything materialise? Why would today be any different?
The difference today was awareness. AC finally knew where their players were. Beautiful long balls switching wings had the Housewives confused and bemused. They had not seen such quality since the night before when Barcelona tore apart the Man Spew defence. OC defenders could be heard explaining the events “I went this way, he went that way and the ball, well the ball went over there”. AC had employed the Messi effect and a goal was surely coming.
Despite all the ‘beautiful football’ the first goal came as a result of a calamitous error by the goalie that would have made David James look good. In the end newbie T-Unitt tapped it in to draw the game level and have him at two goals from two games. “I was almost embarrassed to tap it in it was that easy. Even Pricey would have scored it despite his Toblerone boot” said Terry after the game.
Persistent attacks followed as the crowd couldn’t contain their excitement anymore. The noise spurred the red and black juggernaut into full flight as they sensed the kill of their weakening opponent. With time came chances, each getting closer by the minute.
Finally a brilliant piece of work that started from right back and connected no less than six players finished with Jay smashing the ball into the back off the net from distance. The crowd erupted and
Jay ran the fifty metres to the bench to celebrate in a euphoric scene. A 2-1 lead with fifteen minutes to play....squeaky bum time as one person put it.
The lead only spurred the boys on, fashioning many chances which fell short on result. As time ticked on the score remained at 2-1. With 30 seconds to go OC had their last chance with a header flicked on, but Tim was up to the task saving the ball and the game.
This was a fantastic result for the team after a season of torment. Next week the lads line up against table topping and in form Ol Xav’s which will be a much greater task, but I’m sure they’re up to it.
AC Malvern 2 - 1 Old Housewives of Camberwell
Unitt, Byrne
Best in show: Dave & Daniel (tied)
WAG's player of the match: Steve
Ashman & Son award: Steve
Big Bad Basil's the Bullmastiff's best in show: The Chihuahua over the fence
Most likely to lose their arms outside a window of a train: Pricey (keep the Jesus arms down boy)
The boys from Malvern were yet to get within two goals of Old Camberwell in their previous meetings, only scoring twice, and would therefore go into the battle for last spot as clear underdogs.
As always at Deepdene Reserve the centre of the pitch was in an appalling state resembling a tar pit more than a football pitch. This would prove to be an added challenge on judgement when moving the ball forward.
Kick off was interesting with the ball moving a metre then stopping dead in the muck. After a quick adjustment the game rolled on and it wasn’t long before AC was on the back foot.
Five minutes in and the Real Housewives of OC had a corner. A beautifully struck kick found the head of the lanky number 8 who was unmarked and an equally beautiful finish found the ball in the back of the net. It’s been a long time since Malvern have scored the first goal in a game. On this occasion falling behind so early could’ve been a massive dent in their pride.
No to be deterred by the deficit the boys from Malvern had a sense of belief and attacked the ball with great venom. The game was shaping as a shoot out with end to end stuff testing the lung capacity of many, although not VO2 Max Pete.
Jay and Pete were immense, almost as happy as pigs in shit in the middle of the park as they controlled proceedings. The Real Housewives weren’t too interested in getting dirty which allowed for plenty of space to create attacks. The revelation of season 2011, Mr Jones, was on fire on the right wing. His work off the ball was as impressive as his work on the ball which was frustrating the OC.
The Housewives did have their fair share of pushes forward, but the pairing of Owen and DeBartolo stood strong and were ably assisted by their right and left lieutenants. An intense battle would break for tea with OC up 1-0.
Tweets a plenty and word was spreading through the social networks of the quality of the battle which saw the crowd grow by 150 percent during the break.
AC didn’t disappoint the building crowd which included new converts in the Ashman’s (Bill and Steve) as they continued the attacks on a slowly folding OC. Would anything materialise? Why would today be any different?
The difference today was awareness. AC finally knew where their players were. Beautiful long balls switching wings had the Housewives confused and bemused. They had not seen such quality since the night before when Barcelona tore apart the Man Spew defence. OC defenders could be heard explaining the events “I went this way, he went that way and the ball, well the ball went over there”. AC had employed the Messi effect and a goal was surely coming.
Despite all the ‘beautiful football’ the first goal came as a result of a calamitous error by the goalie that would have made David James look good. In the end newbie T-Unitt tapped it in to draw the game level and have him at two goals from two games. “I was almost embarrassed to tap it in it was that easy. Even Pricey would have scored it despite his Toblerone boot” said Terry after the game.
Persistent attacks followed as the crowd couldn’t contain their excitement anymore. The noise spurred the red and black juggernaut into full flight as they sensed the kill of their weakening opponent. With time came chances, each getting closer by the minute.
Finally a brilliant piece of work that started from right back and connected no less than six players finished with Jay smashing the ball into the back off the net from distance. The crowd erupted and
Jay ran the fifty metres to the bench to celebrate in a euphoric scene. A 2-1 lead with fifteen minutes to play....squeaky bum time as one person put it.
The lead only spurred the boys on, fashioning many chances which fell short on result. As time ticked on the score remained at 2-1. With 30 seconds to go OC had their last chance with a header flicked on, but Tim was up to the task saving the ball and the game.
This was a fantastic result for the team after a season of torment. Next week the lads line up against table topping and in form Ol Xav’s which will be a much greater task, but I’m sure they’re up to it.
AC Malvern 2 - 1 Old Housewives of Camberwell
Unitt, Byrne
Best in show: Dave & Daniel (tied)
WAG's player of the match: Steve
Ashman & Son award: Steve
Big Bad Basil's the Bullmastiff's best in show: The Chihuahua over the fence
Most likely to lose their arms outside a window of a train: Pricey (keep the Jesus arms down boy)
May 23, 2011
He's big and red.....watch him!
A hard fought battle at the Stadium of Shite ended in a 2-1 victory to Old Melbournians on Sunday. Despite a gallant effort and a dominating display for most of the match, AC couldn’t get across the line.
The dressing room pre-match was brimming with excitement on the back of last week performance. An unlucky 3-1 loss against the table topping Bayside gave the boys a glimmer of hope against the mid table OM’s.
The game started with AC building on their performance from the prior week. Passes were being strung together and control was maintained in the midfield. A shift of Pete into a central role with Jay and Dave slotting into centre back with Rich Owen was proving to be a very strong spine.
The capacity crowd watched on as an impressive performance was put on by the red and black (more impressive than so far this season anyway). Jones, playing on the left, was the architect of many of the first half attacks as he pinballed passes with teammates as he made his way down the wing. Unfortunately for AC they were unable to get on the end of the crosses. So no goal resulted.
Captain Cresswell, taking a leaf out of Jay’s book led by example dropping back to help the midfield maintain the ball and create chances with Jones and Tucker. AC would only manage to get one shot on target for the half which was saved.
Despite the positive efforts AC still couldn’t break the duck in the first half. Fortunately, through a brilliant defensive effort by the Fantastic Four saw OM’s hit the sheds without a real scoring opportunity.
The buzz of electricity in the rooms was amazing. Finally for the first time this season a sense of belief existed. Coach Dennis had two instructions before the second stanza; “keep doing what you’re doing” and “watch out for bid red on our left side”.
A slight reshuffle of the structure had new signing ‘the Unitt’ playing on the right and after dusting off the early cobwebs was showing some good signs.
AC was physically dominant winning the 50/50’s and looking like it was only a matter of time before they’d score. This would change when Big Red stepped up on our left – as predicted. The solid red nut was allowed to play five minutes of football and in those five minutes the score was 2-0.A momentary lapse can be costly in this game, and this was a prime example.
AC bounced back with Pinkney smacking the wind out of someone half his age and Colin continuing his dominant form this season despite what initially looked and sounded like a broken leg in a late tackle.
The next was either through luck or good planning, but Dennis shifted the Unitt up front and the benefit followed as Terry took on the defence and slotted home his first goal for the club.
AC had OM’s on the back foot and continued pressing for an equaliser. Some were a little over zealous as Stu attracted the wrath of the opposition, the ref and of course the coaching staff. The coaching panel were later overheard contemplating marking line down the wing for Stu to stay in not unlike the doubles line on a tennis court.
Unfortunately the game ended with OM’s one goal to the good, but once again a major step forward for the clubs performance. The lesson from today’s game is watch out for Big Red!
AC Malvern 1-2 Old Melbournians
Unitt
Best in show: Colin Brien
WAG's player of the match:Daniel Jones
Most in need of a straight line: Stu Fleming
(prize - a signed copy of Johnny Cash's Walk the line)
The dressing room pre-match was brimming with excitement on the back of last week performance. An unlucky 3-1 loss against the table topping Bayside gave the boys a glimmer of hope against the mid table OM’s.
The game started with AC building on their performance from the prior week. Passes were being strung together and control was maintained in the midfield. A shift of Pete into a central role with Jay and Dave slotting into centre back with Rich Owen was proving to be a very strong spine.
The capacity crowd watched on as an impressive performance was put on by the red and black (more impressive than so far this season anyway). Jones, playing on the left, was the architect of many of the first half attacks as he pinballed passes with teammates as he made his way down the wing. Unfortunately for AC they were unable to get on the end of the crosses. So no goal resulted.
Captain Cresswell, taking a leaf out of Jay’s book led by example dropping back to help the midfield maintain the ball and create chances with Jones and Tucker. AC would only manage to get one shot on target for the half which was saved.
Despite the positive efforts AC still couldn’t break the duck in the first half. Fortunately, through a brilliant defensive effort by the Fantastic Four saw OM’s hit the sheds without a real scoring opportunity.
The buzz of electricity in the rooms was amazing. Finally for the first time this season a sense of belief existed. Coach Dennis had two instructions before the second stanza; “keep doing what you’re doing” and “watch out for bid red on our left side”.
A slight reshuffle of the structure had new signing ‘the Unitt’ playing on the right and after dusting off the early cobwebs was showing some good signs.
AC was physically dominant winning the 50/50’s and looking like it was only a matter of time before they’d score. This would change when Big Red stepped up on our left – as predicted. The solid red nut was allowed to play five minutes of football and in those five minutes the score was 2-0.A momentary lapse can be costly in this game, and this was a prime example.
AC bounced back with Pinkney smacking the wind out of someone half his age and Colin continuing his dominant form this season despite what initially looked and sounded like a broken leg in a late tackle.
The next was either through luck or good planning, but Dennis shifted the Unitt up front and the benefit followed as Terry took on the defence and slotted home his first goal for the club.
AC had OM’s on the back foot and continued pressing for an equaliser. Some were a little over zealous as Stu attracted the wrath of the opposition, the ref and of course the coaching staff. The coaching panel were later overheard contemplating marking line down the wing for Stu to stay in not unlike the doubles line on a tennis court.
Unfortunately the game ended with OM’s one goal to the good, but once again a major step forward for the clubs performance. The lesson from today’s game is watch out for Big Red!
AC Malvern 1-2 Old Melbournians
Unitt
Best in show: Colin Brien
WAG's player of the match:Daniel Jones
Most in need of a straight line: Stu Fleming
(prize - a signed copy of Johnny Cash's Walk the line)
May 20, 2011
When a loss is still a win
The dark clouds of weeks gone by were looming, but thankfully failed to arrive. Despite the dry weather AC yielded to the stronger and numerically superior Bayside team, going down 3-1 in the end.
A skeleton squad was hastily pulled together as it seems the Ex-pat footballers Union deemed this would be a bye weekend for many of AC’s footballers. Missing seven players from the line up the Malvernites were heavily reliant on ring-ins to ‘fill the void’. All was going well until the night before when a couple pulled out.
Eleven fine men were left (with Dave’s dad on standby) to take the field for battle. In the face of adversity true men stand up – and today was no exception.
From the off there was a steely resolve to the boys in red and black. Brilliantly led by the stand in keeper Jay; the lads ran their guts out and staunchly defended their goals. A switch to centre back for Dave seemed to create extra stability and with Damo and Adam having the games of their life things were looking good.
Pete and Engel were on top of Bayside in the midfield and playing tantalising through balls to Stu and Garriet, but they just couldn’t break through despite some great efforts and running.
Disaster struck at the 19th minute mark when a freak goal came from a lob from outside the box off the boot of number eight. Jay was unlucky to see this sail past him as I’m sure even Pepe Reina wouldn’t have stopped this one. Unfortunately for AC, soon after a second equally freakish lob from the same man would sail into the back of the net and have them two nil up. We were later to find out that he does this at least five times a year.
For the first time this season AC showed some fight, a positive attitude and they were united in a quest to come back instead of dropping their bundle.
Attacks began from the back with Rich and Dave and Pete was on fire winning the ball with ease. Eventually AC won a corner and the old duo of Engel and Owen combined with Owen heading home his first for the season.
The panic button was hit and Bayside were worried. An arm wrestle ensued with neither team gaining the ascendancy until late in the piece. A leg weary AC left a gap on the right which Bayside took advantage of, slotting home the games last goal past a hapless Jones who had just stepped into goals.
The score line might not be pretty; however this was truly the first competitive game for the season where AC had a chance without the freakish goals. A lot of positives today – let’s hope they roll into next week.
AV Malvern 1-3 Bayside
Owen
Best in show: Pete Phillips
WAGs player of the match: Damo Buellens
Best lead role in a mini series: Jason Byrne
A skeleton squad was hastily pulled together as it seems the Ex-pat footballers Union deemed this would be a bye weekend for many of AC’s footballers. Missing seven players from the line up the Malvernites were heavily reliant on ring-ins to ‘fill the void’. All was going well until the night before when a couple pulled out.
Eleven fine men were left (with Dave’s dad on standby) to take the field for battle. In the face of adversity true men stand up – and today was no exception.
From the off there was a steely resolve to the boys in red and black. Brilliantly led by the stand in keeper Jay; the lads ran their guts out and staunchly defended their goals. A switch to centre back for Dave seemed to create extra stability and with Damo and Adam having the games of their life things were looking good.
Pete and Engel were on top of Bayside in the midfield and playing tantalising through balls to Stu and Garriet, but they just couldn’t break through despite some great efforts and running.
Disaster struck at the 19th minute mark when a freak goal came from a lob from outside the box off the boot of number eight. Jay was unlucky to see this sail past him as I’m sure even Pepe Reina wouldn’t have stopped this one. Unfortunately for AC, soon after a second equally freakish lob from the same man would sail into the back of the net and have them two nil up. We were later to find out that he does this at least five times a year.
For the first time this season AC showed some fight, a positive attitude and they were united in a quest to come back instead of dropping their bundle.
Attacks began from the back with Rich and Dave and Pete was on fire winning the ball with ease. Eventually AC won a corner and the old duo of Engel and Owen combined with Owen heading home his first for the season.
The panic button was hit and Bayside were worried. An arm wrestle ensued with neither team gaining the ascendancy until late in the piece. A leg weary AC left a gap on the right which Bayside took advantage of, slotting home the games last goal past a hapless Jones who had just stepped into goals.
The score line might not be pretty; however this was truly the first competitive game for the season where AC had a chance without the freakish goals. A lot of positives today – let’s hope they roll into next week.
AV Malvern 1-3 Bayside
Owen
Best in show: Pete Phillips
WAGs player of the match: Damo Buellens
Best lead role in a mini series: Jason Byrne
May 12, 2011
Thunder....it really is frightening.
The dark clouds remained from last week, but this time they brought with them an almighty Thunder from Dandenong who flooded the AC net, taking the points with a comprehansive 7-1 victory.
The day began with torrential rain just as the players arrived at the Stadium of Shite with vision reduced significantly; it didnt get much better from there.
Taking to the water soaked pitch the lads from AC were hoping that the rain would be the great leveler; however it wasn't long before they realised that this would not be the case. The slick moving Thunder controlled the game with ease string together pass after pass as a bemused AC watched on.
Some great work from Colin at the back and Tim in goals managed to keep the ball out of the net, but then the first trickle before the flood came as a result of a penalty. A diving tackle in the box was mistimed by Damo who took down the attacker and the ref appropriately penalised.
One nil down and without a ray of sunshine on the horizon, things were looking glum very early on. As a pure spectator it was a privilege, despite being soaked to the core, to watch a midfield control and move the ball around the park with accuracy and skill. The lads from AC resembled training cones as Thunder did as they pleased before slotting home another.
With 20 minutes left in the half the sun poked it's head out for a fleeting second, but this was enough to inspire the boys in red and black as they started playing some football. Whether it was learning from the lesson Dandenong was teaching them or a reminder of what they applied in preseason training - it didn't matter. AC was now here to play and play they did.
Dandenong were on the back foot and now forced to defend attacking runs from last weeks goal scorer Jonesy and Pete which transferred into chances for Tucker and Cresswell. Things were happening and there was hope of turning around the deficit after Captain Cresswell put one in the back of the net after some great football from Jay and Dave and a lay off from Garriet.
After a superb sustained effort from AC the Thunder were able to sneak in a late goal on the counter attack just before the half time break.
A buoyant half time speech from coach Dennis included pearls of wisdom such as "we're still in this. If we play like the last 20 minutes there's no reason we cant get a draw"
What goes up must come down, or so Isacc Newton says, and AC came down with a thud. The second half was a procession for the Thunder as they managed to pile on four goals.
AC almost set up a guard of honour as the Thunder moved through the midfield and with most of the defenders having a nightmare day the resistance was left to two; Colin and Tim. Unfortunately, unlike Rambo, they were no match for a parading battalion of the Thunder Army and the scoreboard reflected so.
Yet another disappointing day for the red and black Malvernites where the simple things let them down. Poor or no passing, no second efforts or chasing back and even Pricey stopping to pull out the Jesus arms in the box whilst play continued cost AC today. The ref, taking pity on our souls, stopped in after the game to offer advice saying "you're not going to win games unless you can string passes together". Sage advice from a wise man, but the question remains can they put it into practise?
Can AC stop the bleeding? or will the time of death be an early call? Tune into next weeks episode to find out - same bat time, same bat channel.
AC Malvern 1 - 7 Gods of Thunder
Cresswell
Mannie's man of the match: Colin Brien
WAG's player of the match: Daniel Jones
Tit of the week: Pricey
The day began with torrential rain just as the players arrived at the Stadium of Shite with vision reduced significantly; it didnt get much better from there.
Taking to the water soaked pitch the lads from AC were hoping that the rain would be the great leveler; however it wasn't long before they realised that this would not be the case. The slick moving Thunder controlled the game with ease string together pass after pass as a bemused AC watched on.
Some great work from Colin at the back and Tim in goals managed to keep the ball out of the net, but then the first trickle before the flood came as a result of a penalty. A diving tackle in the box was mistimed by Damo who took down the attacker and the ref appropriately penalised.
One nil down and without a ray of sunshine on the horizon, things were looking glum very early on. As a pure spectator it was a privilege, despite being soaked to the core, to watch a midfield control and move the ball around the park with accuracy and skill. The lads from AC resembled training cones as Thunder did as they pleased before slotting home another.
With 20 minutes left in the half the sun poked it's head out for a fleeting second, but this was enough to inspire the boys in red and black as they started playing some football. Whether it was learning from the lesson Dandenong was teaching them or a reminder of what they applied in preseason training - it didn't matter. AC was now here to play and play they did.
Dandenong were on the back foot and now forced to defend attacking runs from last weeks goal scorer Jonesy and Pete which transferred into chances for Tucker and Cresswell. Things were happening and there was hope of turning around the deficit after Captain Cresswell put one in the back of the net after some great football from Jay and Dave and a lay off from Garriet.
After a superb sustained effort from AC the Thunder were able to sneak in a late goal on the counter attack just before the half time break.
A buoyant half time speech from coach Dennis included pearls of wisdom such as "we're still in this. If we play like the last 20 minutes there's no reason we cant get a draw"
What goes up must come down, or so Isacc Newton says, and AC came down with a thud. The second half was a procession for the Thunder as they managed to pile on four goals.
AC almost set up a guard of honour as the Thunder moved through the midfield and with most of the defenders having a nightmare day the resistance was left to two; Colin and Tim. Unfortunately, unlike Rambo, they were no match for a parading battalion of the Thunder Army and the scoreboard reflected so.
Yet another disappointing day for the red and black Malvernites where the simple things let them down. Poor or no passing, no second efforts or chasing back and even Pricey stopping to pull out the Jesus arms in the box whilst play continued cost AC today. The ref, taking pity on our souls, stopped in after the game to offer advice saying "you're not going to win games unless you can string passes together". Sage advice from a wise man, but the question remains can they put it into practise?
Can AC stop the bleeding? or will the time of death be an early call? Tune into next weeks episode to find out - same bat time, same bat channel.
AC Malvern 1 - 7 Gods of Thunder
Cresswell
Mannie's man of the match: Colin Brien
WAG's player of the match: Daniel Jones
Tit of the week: Pricey
May 2, 2011
Ouch, crack and then a mighty wack!
Dark clouds gathered over Fawkner Park as AC Malvern were taught a footballing lesson; going down 8-1 to a ruthless South Yarra.
The day should have started full of promise with what was arguable the strongest line up available for the season launch. The mood was otherwise, as the shock announcement of Dennis' forced retirement reverberated through out the dressing room.
Preseason was over and a moderate amount of work had been done. So it was now time to focus on the task at hand, beating South Yarra. Incidentally, AC have not won at this venue for as long as records have been kept.
The game started with both teams observing a minutes silence in a moving tribute to the passing of South Yarra's President during the week.
The whistle went and every fibre of muscle in the AC machine was kicked into action. Early going was tough with both sides feeling out each other. (Not in a Blue Light disco way - perverts!) SY looked like a team who hadn't played much football as a cohesive unit, but their class was evident. It wasn't long before they all stopped ball chasing, got some structure and started piling the pressure on the AC defense.
Earth tremor:
Eight minutes in and the rampant Matthews called an end to his left wing runs and to the game. He hobbled off under the watchful eye of his fan club with ankle knack
EARTHQUAKE:
Measuring 9.5 on the Malvern scale, Eddie came crashing down minutes after Marty left the field. The crack of his knee could be heard across the park and the red and black hearts sank as this would signal the end of second AC Malvern career in a week. Fortunately we were playing outside the front doors of the Alfred and Eddie was able to be airlifted as the game continued. (The medical summary was a fracture which includes a ruptured cruciate)
Within minutes of this devastating double blow Tim found himself picking the ball out of the back of the net, a task he would get used to as the game went on.
A shining light in an otherwise gloomy day was the introduction of Joe Valentine. His pace upfront and awareness started to create all sorts of problems with SY sending three players to mark him. This opened a gap on the left for Jones to slide by defenders and net his first goal for the club; 1-1.
The yarra boys then decided enough was enough and they put the pressure on like the Bombers did to the Gold Coast Suns later in the day. Goal after goal as a helpless Tim was exposed by defensive lapses and they went into the break with a comfortable 4-1 lead.
The second half was no picnic with no reprieve from the pressure. Statisticians were amazed as AC time in possession elapsed to 4min 52secs of the 45min. In the end South Yarra were treating AC as their little brother sucking them in before delivering the killer blow; in this case goals. AC were fortunate to have Tim between the sticks as it could have been a more embarrassing scoreline, if possible.
The game done and a collection of disbelief and thanks that it was over summed up the group as they marched off to the change rooms.
This weeks (virtual) training will surely include focusing on keeping possession and not panicking.
AC Malvern 1 - 8 South Yarra
Jones
Best in show: Tim Nolan
WAGS player of the match: Joe Valentine
The day should have started full of promise with what was arguable the strongest line up available for the season launch. The mood was otherwise, as the shock announcement of Dennis' forced retirement reverberated through out the dressing room.
Preseason was over and a moderate amount of work had been done. So it was now time to focus on the task at hand, beating South Yarra. Incidentally, AC have not won at this venue for as long as records have been kept.
The game started with both teams observing a minutes silence in a moving tribute to the passing of South Yarra's President during the week.
The whistle went and every fibre of muscle in the AC machine was kicked into action. Early going was tough with both sides feeling out each other. (Not in a Blue Light disco way - perverts!) SY looked like a team who hadn't played much football as a cohesive unit, but their class was evident. It wasn't long before they all stopped ball chasing, got some structure and started piling the pressure on the AC defense.
Earth tremor:
Eight minutes in and the rampant Matthews called an end to his left wing runs and to the game. He hobbled off under the watchful eye of his fan club with ankle knack
EARTHQUAKE:
Measuring 9.5 on the Malvern scale, Eddie came crashing down minutes after Marty left the field. The crack of his knee could be heard across the park and the red and black hearts sank as this would signal the end of second AC Malvern career in a week. Fortunately we were playing outside the front doors of the Alfred and Eddie was able to be airlifted as the game continued. (The medical summary was a fracture which includes a ruptured cruciate)
Within minutes of this devastating double blow Tim found himself picking the ball out of the back of the net, a task he would get used to as the game went on.
A shining light in an otherwise gloomy day was the introduction of Joe Valentine. His pace upfront and awareness started to create all sorts of problems with SY sending three players to mark him. This opened a gap on the left for Jones to slide by defenders and net his first goal for the club; 1-1.
The yarra boys then decided enough was enough and they put the pressure on like the Bombers did to the Gold Coast Suns later in the day. Goal after goal as a helpless Tim was exposed by defensive lapses and they went into the break with a comfortable 4-1 lead.
The second half was no picnic with no reprieve from the pressure. Statisticians were amazed as AC time in possession elapsed to 4min 52secs of the 45min. In the end South Yarra were treating AC as their little brother sucking them in before delivering the killer blow; in this case goals. AC were fortunate to have Tim between the sticks as it could have been a more embarrassing scoreline, if possible.
The game done and a collection of disbelief and thanks that it was over summed up the group as they marched off to the change rooms.
This weeks (virtual) training will surely include focusing on keeping possession and not panicking.
AC Malvern 1 - 8 South Yarra
Jones
Best in show: Tim Nolan
WAGS player of the match: Joe Valentine
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