Scotch College

Match Reports -Round 6 - 1 June 2008

Seniors

1st XI

Scotch 0 - 3 Wesley

G Patouras

Our spirits were lifted during the week on the news of the return of senior players in Nick Jarman, Sam Shearer (injuries) and Versace Wong. But we lost two others in Anthony Palazzo and Alex Harris to flu and injury. Wesley, traditionally a strong football (soccer) school was going to be a challenge for us. Our Captain Lachlan Cohen playing injured showed the way for the team through his determination and spirit. Although we tried we lacked the required skill level to really cause any concern for Wesley. There is only so far one can go with motivation and attitude, you need skill for the remainder of the journey in most cases. Once again we will plan and prepare for our next game against Xavier in two weeks time. May all players enjoy the rest and most importantly prepare themselves properly for the on coming exams.

2nd XI

Scotch 1 - 2 Wesley

D Latimer

The Scotch seconds had an unfortunate loss on the weekend 2-1 away to Wesley. In perfect conditions for soccer, an evenly competitive first 75 minutes of the game saw no goals despite decent chances for both teams. Generally the play was highly contested and patchy, mostly fought out in midfield. But whenever called upon our backline setup defended resolutely, with plenty of cover from the sweeper. However, we couldn't quite create enough going forward as our attempts on goal were few and far between. This is something that has troubled us this season, we've been unable to support our forwards and showcase our attacking capabilities.

With fifteen minutes left Wesley broke the drought scoring a well-worked goal. To the boys the credit, instead of dropping their heads they bounced back only minutes later in defiant style. From deep in defence we moved forward on the counter-attack, expertly stringing passes together in a great-build up leading to a goal. The play was brilliantly finished by Aiden Chu with an unstoppable strike from a tight angle to even the score.

Unfortunately with minutes to go, we turned the ball over in attack and our enthuisasm and hunger for that elusive winner cost us the game. We committed too many numbers forward as our defence was left stranded resulting in an easy tap in for Wesley. Its unlucky this late lapse of discipline denied us again as we played a solid match throughout. Each week the scoreline is getting better and were improving as a team so that first win isn't far off! Well done to Aiden, Tallis, Taylor, Ming and Anthony who produced standout performances.

3rd XI

Scotch 4 - 3 Carey

M Keks

An early morning in Bulleen obviously wasn't popular - both teams had only 8 players in this game. We made a great start, going 2-0 up through a pair for Keith Chan. Unfortunately Keith was then tackled badly, resulting in a suspected broken ankle. A man down, we played magnificently, managing to both hold the Carey forwards and pose a threat up front. We went 4-1 ahead before Carey had a late flurry, but we held them off for our first win of the season. Goals: Chan (2), Maxwell, Tham. Best: Yang, Chan, Frederick.

4th XI

Scotch 3 - 4 St Kevins

W Riedler

This was the best match and opposition this season. Even though we lost 3 - 4 to St Kevins, it was a very exciting match and it was unfortunate that we conceded two goals in the last three minutes - yet we also squandered several chances to score.

5th Red

Scotch vs Caulfield Grammar

J Kafkas

5th Blue

Scotch 8 - 0 Melbourne Grammar

A Vickers

The Fifths Blue dominated against an undermanned Melbourne Grammar side. The final score 8-0, with 5 goals from Mohammed and 3 from Riley. Thanks to all the Fifths Gold players who played for us.

5th Gold

BYE

P Astruc

Year 10

10A

Scotch 2 - 0 Wesley

E Broadbent

10B

Scotch 5 - 1 Brighton Grammar

A Ouzas

The 10B's were set to face a team in Brighton Grammar that they had comfortably beaten 10-0 at the start of the year. Scotch adopted to a new formation of 4-5-1 to exploit the width of Smith Reserve. In the opening exchanges the midfield took absolute control of the game and the passing was precise. 20 minutes in, a penalty was awarded to Scotch for handling the ball in box and it was 1-0 to Scotch. Brighton got back into the game but the Scotch defence, that is now a solid unit, was too strong. A free-kick outside the box saw Nivae step up again for his most practiced shot, and it paid off. A great shot into the top right saw scotch up 2-0 at half-time. The aim for the second-half was to keep the clean sheet and bag a couple more goals. Scotch scored another before a defensive error allowed Brighton to get one back. Scotch continued to take control of the game and goals from Jeremy and Tristan (produced by a great assist from Dave) meant that we came out on top. 5-1 the final score. A great game from all.

10C Red

Scotch 8 - 0 Wesley

J Jackowski

Scotch faced a depleted Wesley side and found the net three times in the first half.

In the second half, James Kim used his great pace to advantage and by the end of the match had bagged 6 goals.

Farewell to Napone Punyagupta who will continue his schooling in the US.

Goals: J. Kim 6, N. Punyagupta 1, P. Tan 1.

Best: J. Kim, D. Monkhouse, C. Yap and P. Ho.

10C Blue

Scotch 2 – 6 Geelong College

T Raynor

An early start at Geelong College, with an under strength team and no substitutes, did not bode well. However, Scotch opened the scoring, against an 8 man Geelong College side, with a brilliant solo effort by Nasralla. Unfortunately, Geelong responded immediately with 2 quick goals. Scotch never recovered from this, with Geelong going on to score a total of 6 goals, despite having fewer players. Uncharacteristic, poor defending and passing were ultimately our major problems. Kotousov managed to get a late goal for the final result to be 6-2. Man of match: Kotousov

Year 9

9A

Scotch 2 - 3 Wesley

N Konstantatos

Another disappointing result for the boys! After dominating possession, the 9As were simply beaten by the speed and brilliance of one very impressive Wesley forward. Playing on what looked like an ancient Sumerian burial mound, the midfield through the exquisite skills of Dave Newland, Chris Olorenshaw and Tom Druitt, dominated proceedings. The highlight of the game was the two outstanding goals from Lawrence Eglezos and Chris Olorenshaw.

9B

Scotch 3 - 0 Wesley

O Marquet

(N Konstantatos) The mighty 9Bs continued their winning ways with an emphatic victory over Wesley in the autumnally splendiferous Sumerian burial ground located in ancient South Yarra. The team dominated in every facet of the game and was inspired by the telephone hook-up instructions from Mr Marquet who was in Sydney scouting for any stray French or Brazilian tourists who could bolster the already formidable midfield.

(O Marquet) Another strong and exciting game form the 9B's who defeated a good Wesley side 3-0. Great goals form Mark, Raymond and Stephen, a defence stronger than ever, with Lachie, Lyndon, Cameron and Peter on the sides and the now feared central defence pair Wilson-Michael. Another clean sheet for Guy in goals, who has now been unbeaten for 140 minutes! Let's not forget "100 kms a game" Alistair who missed a penalty and "100 km/hour" Phil, and Aitan giving the pace in midfield. If we keep the standard until the end of July, and the Team of the season award will be secured on the top of the bookshelf!

9C Red

Scotch 0 - 3 Camberwell Grammar

D Wolfe

On Saturday the 9C Reds played against Camberwell Grammar at Scotch. The boys were looking forward to having the opportunity to play on the McKendrick oval for the first time. After a pleasing start, the boys soon became tired due to the large ground and at half time the score was 0-1, with Camberwell scoring a nice goal. Jamie Groobie and Aquib Chowdhurry played their best games for the season, with some excellent pressure and tackling in defence. However, their efforts were not enough from Camberwell scoring a further two goals and defeating an enthusiastic Scotch side 0-3.

9C Blue

Scotch 1 - 0 Camberwell Grammar

D James

After coming off an 8-0 victory, complacency could easily have set into the team. This was not the case as our team battled hard, maintaining the possession for long stints but unable to penetrate the incredibly strong Camberwell defence. Their defenders clumped around the ball and protected the goals very well. The first half ended at 0-0, with Scotch having the only couple of shots on target.

Camberwell’s goalkeeper, although short, had excellent handling technique and saved many shots posed against him. But early in the second half, an excellent lob from Edwin Huang fed well to Ed Kiddle, a striker from the B’s. He shot, but it deflected off the keeper and was taken up by Rob Walker who finished well. The boys held on for the rest of the match finishing off another solid victory. Well done to the team considering Sam Hamza was sick and unable to attend, making attacking more difficult than usual

Year 8

8A Red

Scotch 2 - 4 Haileybury

J Astruc

A well contested game against an excellent opposition. J Ryan from the 8 B Reds made a valuable contribution to the team performance.

S Lim scored the 2 Scotch goals.

8A Blue

Scotch 8 - 0 Wesley (GW)

T Scott

The 8A Blues had a convincing win over Wesley this weekend. With potent striker Peter Massarany attaining his first hat-trick for the team and team captain Daniel Strangward scoring a dazzling goal from behind the half-way line.

As the ball spilled out on the right side of the pitch, Daniel pounced on it with his formidable right boot, clearing it up towards the centre of the park. He connected with it so cleanly that the ball cleared the keeper’s outstretched fingers before bouncing only once to finish in the back of the net.

The entire Scotch team played with purpose, linking beautifully and directing each other like professionals. The manner at which Tom Kent was able to direct play throughout the match was instrumental in the forward line.

Notable players: Peter Massarany, Tom Kent, Daniel Strangward, Gavin Williams.

Goal Scorers: Peter Massarany (3), Ben Grace (1), Tom Kent (1), Marcus Pedersen (1), Daniel Strangward (1), Gavin Williams (1).

8B Red

Scotch 1 - 5 St Kevins

J Jewitt

We had a big loss at the hands of St Kevins out in the countryside of Darebin. Goalscorer was Charlie with a nice finish from a John Stavris through ball. We only had 10 players all game, due to Kartik being sick, which made it difficult from the start to get any meaningful possession. The second half was better than the first and we deserved the goal however we continued to leak goals at the other end as well. Best player on ground was Dan, who worked hard all day both defensively and in attack.

8B Blue

Scotch 8 – 0 Caulfield Grammar

P Roylance

After having only 8 last week, it was good to see some players returning from injury and illness, once again John Stavris filled in for our team to make sure we had the full 11. The link play between midfielders and forwards plus the solid nature of the defenders which was shown so well last week continued well today. Caulfield were outclassed in the midfield as we piled on three goals in the first half due to strikes from Victor Hortin, Tim Sladden and Fraser Vandermeer, the latter being a beautiful strike from the top of the box into the top corner of the goal. The illness/injury curse struck again as playmaker Andrew Li came off with a suspected sprained wrist and we played the rest of the game with 10 men. At half time a slight formation changed meant there was less at the back and the occasional opposition attack was handled well by keeper Jamie Phillips. Goals flowed in the second half as Victor searched for his hat trick. The final score was 8-0, goal scorers Victor Hortin (4), Fraser Vandermeer (2), Tim Sladden (1), John Stavris (1). The team played very well, the defenders kept a clean sheet whilst producing some great through balls to the attackers who were unlucky not to score more. A great team effort and team work was shown by all players who should be proud of their achievements.

8C Red

Scotch 1 - 0 Xavier (BH)

S Ng

The 8c red's started well against Xavier, playing some neat football with Kyle and Oli linking well to the front men with some skilful through balls. The Scotch defence was impressive showing great improvement from previous weeks. They were organised and disciplined which helped keep a clean sheet for Tom in goals. The Red's were working as a unit and a goal finally prevailed with Kyle passing a through ball which split the Xavier defence, allowing Acutt to slot a very classy left corner finish. However, after the goal, Xavier worked their way back into the match but with the tenacity of Andrew Hung and Liang in defence, Scotch finished the half a goal up.

The second half began with both sides attacking well. Scotch had some good runs from Nick Bernardo on the right wing and Phongpol through the centre of the pitch, creating many opportunities. Welbie played a fine line sitting in front of the defence and preventing the Xavier midfielders to run at our defenders. Chris and Maclean proved too good for the Xavierians, with Chris' clearances and fantastic jockeying skills and Maclean's size proved too much for Xavier. Matthew also did well in his first game for the Red's, providing stability to our defence. On the other side of the pitch, Angus did well on the left wing feeding Acutt up front. Tom Wong did well as a buffer for the defence showing good skills in goal to prevent a draw or loss.

The game ended in Scotch's favour. There has been a noticeable improvement in all of the boys, which is great to see!

8C Blue

Scotch 3 – 2 Caulfield Grammar

Dr Xu

Both our team and the opponent had 9 players on the pitch. It seems that most players from the opponent were skilful in terms of getting, controlling and passing a ball. So they shot their first goal in only 5 minutes after the game started. But we soon changed our normal tactics and the three attackers worked well under the leadership of Captain Andrew. In about 10 minutes, Andrew scored our first goal and William shot the second goal in another 5 or 6 minutes. But the opponent got their second goal with 2 minutes. Just towards the end of the first half time, Andrew shot another goal, which secured our winning position. Both teams did not score any goals in the second half time.

Year 7

7A

Scotch 0 – 9 Haileybury

S Hodges

The 7a boys played Haileybury, a larger and well skilled side away from home. Although they fought well the boys were out played on the day and lost 9-0.

7B Red

Scotch 2 - 2 Caulfield Grammar

S Liu

It was a very tough and competitive game. Caulfield Grammar boys pushed very hard in the first half but our boys managed to absorb the pressure, and at the same time organized quite a few attacks on their soil. Eventually their efforts paid off. Cormac scored his first goal. In the second half, we decided to change our pattern by playing 1-4-3-1 to consolidate our defence. It was successful for the first 15 minutes. We not only defended our territory successfully but also managed to score the second goal. It was terrific result. However, the boys started to feel a bit tired and lose some concentration. On the other hand, Caulfield players didn’t lose hope as they pushed up harder and harder. At last their efforts also paid off by scoring 2 goals.

7B Blue

Scotch 0 - 11 Caulfield Grammar

P Lewis

Playing against a faster, more talented team the 7B Blue's were not completely humiliated. The measure of the individual and the team is how they respond to a fixturing anomaly that creates such a mismatch. To their credit, the Scotch team fought hard throughout the game. The tenacious tackling and running from Charles Tuckwell and the brilliant saves in goal by Max Ellerly Thornley in the second half were inspiring. Hopefully the team learned from their opponents that team play, strong passing and control of the centre are a key to good soccer.

7C

Scotch 0 - 7 Haileybury

R Papuga/S Francis

The 7C's took a trip down to Brighton on an early Saturday morning to play Haileybury

College. A few of the lads had obviously had a big night on the town Friday night, as we

only had nine starters for the kick off. Aaron Chan again worked tirelessly in the back line, marshalling Jeremy Tan and Jonathan Beh, but with two less players it was always going to a hard game.

Disaster struck halfway through the first half however, when the referee noticed Christen Paulsen not wearing any shin pads, and was ordered off the park. Since the spare set had already been lent out to keeper Angus Robertson, the boys in red were reduced to eight on the park. Late arrival Deshan was immediately thrown into attack to try and thwart the HC foray's forward.

Down 4-0 at the break, the lads had done well to keep the score line so respectable, but some strong tackling from Jonathan in the backline was slowing HC down. Linus Ng eventually managed to find the ground, and gave the lads in red 10 on the park, and a more competitive edge.

An unintentional hand ball in the box by an unnamed Scotch lad saw the man in black point to the penalty spot, and Angus was called on to try and stop the shot. Mind games ensued, and Angus managed to out psyche his opponent, knowing that he was expected to dive left or right, the Scotchie gloved bandit stood his ground, and saved the penalty as he fended off the ball as it came straight to him. This save will undoubtedly go down in 7C folklore and celebrated for years to come, and at this stage of the season it's as good as scoring a goal for the lads in red.

Even being a man short, Scotchies were still pressing forward with every opportunity to try and get their first score on the board for the season. Good build up work from Linus through the midfield saw Thomas Paulson take the ball into the box. Cracking the ball from the top of the box, the ball cannoned off the upright and out of play.

Only five minutes later, similar build up saw Linus and Jeffrey Wang involved, with Thomas latching onto the ball in the box. Smacking the ball from a slight angle, Scotch supporters went up with a roar on the side line, only to realize the ball had crashed into the side netting. Two of the closest scoring opportunities we've had this season, and they both came from that man, Thomas Paulsen. His growing fan club will see security required down at the 7C's games soon enough, to keep his supporters from invading the pitch.

With the final score line of 7-0, the Scotch lads did themselves proud being three men short for a quarter of the game, and playing a HC team that was the best of their three C teams.