Scotch College

Match Reports - Round 9 - 19 July 2008

Seniors

On Saturday morning, the Seconds were able to continue their winning momentum after the lengthy holiday break with a well deserved 1-0 win over Caulfield. The minimal preparation wasn't evident as we picked up where we left off last match, pushing forward with purpose and defending with determination. In an even first half, both sides created good chances and forced several last ditch defensive efforts to keep the scoreline nil all at half time.

Admittedly, we were unorganised and lacked numbers through the middle of the ground and were a little stretched in defence as we tried on a new attacking formation. However in the second half we went back to the formation we've been accustomed to and gained the ascendancy immediately. We attacked their half in packs, wave after wave putting pressure on their defenders to clear the ball. It was most impressive the way we quickly turned defence into attack.

We passed really well and were able to hit targets up the ground providing goalscoring opportunities. Every attempt to penetrate our goal was shutdown by our sturdy backline structure that fought hard to keep a valiant clean sheet. As the final whistle drew nearer we pushed harder and looked more and more likely to score. And finally with less than 10 minutes remaining we scored the winning goal with a fabulous team move capped of by an excellent finish from Tim Ranson.

It was a great feeling to enjoy our second win on the trot, displaying our capabilities at the right end of the season! Well done to Adrian Truong, Chris O'Yang and Tim Ranson whose work rates up forward were pivotal to the attacking performance and the goal. Also Taylor McPhail deserves credit for his solid performace as goalkeeper making countless difficult saves in the first half to keep our hopes alive.

As the season has gone on, the 3rds have been getting steadily better, with the standard of play and teamwork improving match by match. Here, in our first match for months at Scotch, we finally got the result that our efforts have merited. We dominated the game, never letting the Caulfield defence rest, and though we had a few shaky moments in our defence, our backline never stopped closing down and pressuring. Up front, we were always dangerous, and though we could have been more clinical (especially towards the end of the match) we scored when we had to and killed the game off. Goals: Pointon (2), Gan, Yang. Best: Pointon, Frederick, Teo.

The 4ths had an interesting match against Caufield Grammar. While we had a lot of territorial advantage we scored only one goal and missed several chances. On a fast break Caufield Grammar scored and the result 1 - 1 draw was somewhat disappointing as we had again several opportunities to score but missed again. All boys played well but in particular the three defenders and goalie were very solid in defence.

Scotch 5th Gold travelled to Fawkner Park to play a Melbourne Grammar side that had greatly improved since we first played them this season. A very close and hardly fought first half remained even, ‘til Grammar kicked a good goal late to go in to half time 1-0 up. Scotch had to regroup and came out in the second half fired up. About halfway through Harris scored the equaliser, then with just 5 minutes to go Andrew headed a winner to which Grammar did not have the time to respond. A good close game and a great victory for Scotch.

Year 10

On the back of work experience week and the holidays, we came into this game badly underdone and missing several key players, we were forced to change our line-up considerably. From the outset, we failed to assert any authority on the game as Caulfield proved to be a very classy team.

After going into the break at 0-1 down, the boys lifted early in the second and began to put pressure on the Caulfield goal. Unfortunately, Caulfield were able to put the match out of reach with a second goal and the floodgates opened late on to give the game an unjust score line.

Our first defeat since the opening round, we will look to bounce straight back to our winning ways this week.

Played as a friendly between the students (only 8 per side). The Blue team was far the better team on the day.

Played as a friendly between the students (only 8 per side). The Blue team was far the better team on the day.

Year 9

The 9B’s and their new recruit Sam Hamza on the right wing, managed a great start against Caufield Grammar on this sunny Saturday morning. Taking total control of the first 5 minutes, Scotch managed to open the score when a great centre from Sam Hamza was clumsily pushed away by the keeper, but closely followed by Mark Reily who scored in the open goal.

Caufield then started to push forward, as we started to panic and could not clear the ball from our half. Caulfield scored four in what will be remembered as one of the hardest 30 minutes of the season.

But the dichotomy of this game between the first and second half could not have been clearer and once again, we got back on a pitch in high spirits and quickly took control of the game. A glorious direct corner kick form Mark put us on the right tracks, and Caufield started to realize that the Scotch 9Bs never give up, and we quickly came back to 4-3.

But the last five minutes proved once again that soccer can be the most cruel of sports, as a counter attack form Caufield, apparently from an offside position, killed our hopes as they scored the most cruel of all goals this season.

5-3 would be the final score, and we needed all the drinks, crêpes and cakes waiting for us on the sideline to forget the pain of this cruel defeat.

The match came very close to being over before it had even begun, as the Carey side failed to have the required 7 players on the pitch come kick-off. They soon had 8 but no other players turned up for them. To try and even up the match, Scotch played with only 10 men for the entire match.

The game began and the first goal was scored in the opening 45 seconds. From then on there were many goals to come and one could only feel sorry for the opposition's goalkeeper, as the shots kept finding their mark.

By half time it was roughly 10-0 (no-one had properly been able to keep track as they had happened sometimes 30 seconds after the previous one).

Defenders became attackers and attackers became midfielders, it didn't really matter because the goals kept coming. Only our goalkeeper Norman Yan had a quiet game, with 1 touch of the football.

The final score was 17-0 with hat-tricks by Eman and Scott, Michael with 2 goals, a five-goal haul by Ed Kiddle, singles by Shane, Rob, Edwin and the first goal for the former goalkeeper, Will Field.

Congratulations to the boys on such a big win and for showing good sportsmanship.

Year 8

Having not played a match for the past 4 weeks, the 8A Blues turned up raring to go. The first half was a close fought event, with Toby Khoo performing spectacularly in the backline and Jack White scoring towards the end of the half to put Scotch in the lead going into half time. Scotch really found their footing in the second half. With a fearless performance from Jeremy Lee in defense, an impressive display of skill from Ben Grace on the wing and excellence from Gavin Williams in the forward line, Scotch was able to lengthen their lead to 3 – 1 by the final whistle.

Well done to the A Blues for continuing to display their unfaltering team spirit. Notable players: Toby Khoo, Jeremy Lee, Jack White, Gavin Williams. Goal Scorers: Jack White (1), Tom Kent (1), Gavin Williams (1).

On a wet and greasy surface, our boys played extremely well together as a unit to defeat Brighton. Special mention to Sam Palmer who got the ball rolling with the first goal, while both our strikers, Jono and John, finished off our opportunities well. Also, congratulations to Andrew Liu who played his first game for us and contributing well.

The 8 Blues were facing an away game down in Geelong and the squad was diminishing thanks to injuries and illness. With that being said this week the squad was boosted by the return of midfielder Martin and Ray volunteering to play from the alternative B Squad. We had a full team but no subs and as the game developed it was the case of an aggressive opposition and a nonchalant referee. Scotch dominated possession but could not get a clean shot at goal whilst Geelong delivered a few shots from distance that did not trouble the keeper Jamie. At half time the boys complained about some of the tactics of the other team but they were reminded to play their own game and not lose focus. The second half was similar to the first as Scotch dominated possession, the back four of Johno, Hayden, Demetri and Robert played a tight zonal defence that shut down any attacks. Scotch had a few corners towards the end but it looked like the game was destined to be a scoreless draw till Victor Hortin latched onto a deflected through ball to make the score 0-1 to Scotch with only a few minutes left. Scotch held onto the lead and the boys should be proud of their efforts in a tough encounter.

The first half started off in sloppy fashion with many of the Scotch players looking in "holiday mood" which lead to a goal for MGS. However after that goal the boys put their heads down and pressed for an equaliser, with Berny looking threatening down the right wing, but the equaliser came through a mistake by the MGS keeper who ran outside the box with the ball, which gave Scotch a free kick directly in front of goal at the edge of the box. Phongpol stepped up to take it, and in Phongpol style calmly slotted the ball over the wall and into the top right corner. The half ended 1 all.

The second half came with no breakthrough for Scotch, with the skilful MGS players skip past our defence, leading to a goal. Scotch tried to again push for another equaliser through the hard work of Berny and Acutt however both were outnumbered by a MGS team which crowded their defence, sometimes even having their whole team behind the ball. The 3rd and killer goal for MGS came through a mistake in the defence, which was unlucky. Kyle tried to make his presence felt in the midfield however the size and speed of the MGS players clearly overwhelmed the Scotch team. That however takes nothing away from a spirited performance by the Scotch team who did not give up until the final whistle.

The Y8C Blue Team enjoyed a victorious game last Saturday against Melbourne Grammar School. All the players had a good sense of team-work, in particular the three strikers at front. Our team scored three goals by the end of the game. Congratulation to all the boys for their winning and thanks to them for their hard work.

Year 7

Saturday we were playing against very strong Caulfield team. They were much better regarding skills and techniques. The first half we were 2:0 down although our goalie Ashley made 3 or 4 terrific save. Our boys never gave up. They defended much better playing one on one, and managed to score one goal. Unfortunately, our goalie was injured and had to be replaced by Kevin who gave his best shot but Caulfield boys’ shots were too much for us to handle. Eventually we lost by 1:6.

When 10 play a squad of 17 at this level the result is always going to be in doubt. To their credit ten Scotch players held Caulfield scoreless until the last 15 minutes, when tired legs gave way to a constant barrage of interchange (six 2-3 player interchanges in the last 15 minutes).

The boys can be proud of the way they played today. The persistence, resilience and indefatigable spirit of the team speaks loudly of their character and it is a pleasure to work with them.

To the parents who provided the transport and the support for the team I say "Thank you" once again. The boys are clearly a reflection of the values that you hold and you too can be proud of them, even though the season has not been a stunning goal-scoring spree.