R
1st, 2nd & Res Grade
Senior Coach - Steve Soars 0422104441Round 2
Date Played: 15 May 2013
Team Played: Newcastle Suns
Result : 4-1 win
Match Report: Mid week and opportunity arose to play round 2 wash out v Newcastle Suns. To be honest washouts are a nightmare. Playing in a short time after a bruising encounter the team carries injuries and going into the weekends game against Belmont Tingara we will have players out through injury.
1st Grade - 4-1 win. Timbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrr. The Lumberjack fired scoring all four goals. The score however did not reflect the scoreline. The team jumped to a 2-0 lead before the usual niggle, questionable tackle resulted in a hostile response from Rossi up front. Result - RED CARD. Confronted with playing only ten fired up the Suns and the pressure was on. Compounded by the loss to injury of our sweeper on halftime. The second half was more of the same with the boys playing defence and break away football. The Suns eventually capitalised and their spirit and intensity rose before the Lumberjack put them two bed with two of his finest. Reality of our game even prior to the send off was poor movement, rushed play and inability to string together passes. Imagine if we had.
2nd Grade - 2-1 win. Second time this combination of players had taken the park and the second the team has tasted success. Across the park we were consistent but went into the break 0-0. We just needed that 2% more and the win was there for the taking. With a deserved goal early in the second to Pete Petryk we all thought we were on our way. Concentration fell, everyone was happy and from the kick off Suns ran up the park and equalised!!!! It fell to Captain Caveman Raymundo Brooker to drive home a spectacular left foot drive from just inside the 18 which the keeper never had a chance of stopping.
3rd Grade - 4-0 loss. The boys have been on the end of some terrible results. No one disputes the fact that we did not deserve the result but the scores do not reflect the game. The team lacks commitment across the entire park. For success to be achieved in thirds we will really require the entire 11 to be playing at 110% otherwise it just wont happen. There is no doubt some of our opposition clubs have a lot of depth but the reality is if we all put in, apply ourselves to fitness and working on our movement then yes we wont win the comp but we will get results.
Sunday v Belmont Tingara with key players injured lets hope we can pull through.
Round 6
Date Played: 11 May 2013
Team Played: Beresfield
Result : 5-2 win Match Report: 1st Grade 5 - 2 win, good effort across the park from all players. There were some periods of play where the quality of football was top shelf. We continue to improve in areas such as general fitness - although not quite there and on movement off the ball creating space for team mates. Not one to harp on tactics of opposition or otherwise the less said about the opposition the better.
2nd Grade 2 - 0 win, first win of the year for the boys. With probably their strongest team of the year to date the problem was always going to be if we did not pull a result in this game it was going to be a long, long season. Only downside is the loss of Josh Borthwick who disclocated his knee which probably translates to the rest of the season out. Only upside was a penalty resulted from the encounter that resulted in the injury.
3rd Grade 1 - 0 loss, whilst we failed to capitalise on two absolute howler of chances in the first half and lost opportunity elsewhere, I must say this was probably the best display of football the team has put together. All we need to do is raise the bar a notch higher with commitment and results should flow.
Many thanks to both volunteer referees who stepped up at the last moment after allocated association referees failed to appear. It is a thankless job and whilst 3rd grade was unremarkable in regards to ref the same could not be said for our reserve and first grade ref. Whilst comments from the sideline are difficult to control, absolute filth and total lack of respect from the bench is not. Is it any wonder the association lost a large number of referees over the off season.
Round 4
Date Played: 4 May 2013
Team Played: Morriset
Result : 7-0 win
Three or so years ago a highly talented Morriset outfit gave the Lions a spanking at King Park. From memory a 10 - nil spanking. Yesterday that white wash was almost equalled as the Lions returned the favour.
1st Grade. 7 - 0 win. A great game to watch in you were a member of The Pride, that loyal band of supporters, who have stuck by over the years. Commitment to each other, possession and movement off the ball were the key ingredients of the match. It is difficult to put a finger on any individual in this game as all made great contributions but the effort of Zac Ross and the game he has brought to the team since his positional move cannot be faulted. Sure The Lumberjack gifted him a number of his 4 goals but without the effort to get there the result may have been different. Defensively the boys were solid and played some beautiful football out of defence. At times it may have caused great concern for the bench but at the end of the day they backed each other and it paid off.
2nd Grade. 3 - 0 loss. There HAS to be better times ahead for the boys. Fingers crossed next week may be the first time we see extra players available for Reserves with suspension and work commitments hopefully allowing for some fresh faces. For those who took the park however there was disappointment. In previous reports a point has been made about commitment and fitness. Todays match report is no different. It is extremely frustrating not only for those putting in but the bench to see a team compete for 65 minutes where we are sure there are more that a couple with extra petrol in the tank before the wheels fall off completely. That is exactly what happened. At nil all at half time and with Morriset looking a little tired, 5 per cent extra from a few would have made all the difference but it was not to be. Around the 65 minute mark the jagged one and before the full time whistle sounded they had three. That said there was some light with a few of the younger players and an older standing up. Prediction for coming weeks - axe to fall.
3rd 3 - 0 win - Forfeit. Thanks to all the boys who attended and played a role on the bench, duty officer etc it makes the day flow that bit easier.
ROUND 3
Date Played: 28 April 2013
Team Played: Garden Suburbs
Result : 3-2 win
Match Report: The Lions travelled to Garden Suburb for a much anticipated clash with the division 1 heavy weights the King Fishers. The day started out reasonably well before descending into chaos and finishing on a high.
3rd Grade. 2 - 0 loss. In a game that never reached any real highs the Lions had opportunity but in reality were lucky to go down by two solitary goals. Player unavailability in high grades had an impact on not only squad strength but also cohesion. Again fitness, there is that word again, had an impact on the game.
2nd Grade. 7 - 1 loss. Without doubt the boys would rather forget about this one. No one can deny the Lions were under the pump early on but to have three goals conceded in a 15 minute spell and all off deflections was a bit hard to take. That said they team stuck in and slotted one back to be down 3-1 at the break. It was not our day however as Garden Suburb capitalised and rounded out the game with a further 4 goals in the second half. Not uncommonly in high scoring defeats praise had to go to Chris McCabe whose contribution prevented a double figure outcome.
1st Grade. 3 - 2 win. By 3pm kick off the vocal Garden Suburb crowd were confident and after 5 minutes went into a frenzy as a DEFLECTED cross was directed into the net off Elliott Ferrier. With wind in their sales The Burbs powered on and dominated the next 10 minutes before the Lions leading goal scorer of 2012, the Lumber Jack put a temporary plug in the whole with a well taken opportunity relying on strength and pace.
No one can deny however that Garden Suburbs were unperturbed as they continued to pressure The Terrace. Eventually the pressure resulted in a further goal as they went to a 2 - 1 lead. The never say die attitude of the Lions however quickly saw The Lumber Jack return fire and then with 10 minutes to go he sealed the game with a Barclay Premier League quality strike from a free outside the area and around the wall, Beckham style.
The final ten minutes saw pressure, pressure, pressure, players cramping and fitness, there is that word again, coming into play but again we snuck away with the three points.
With two games down now the reality is The Lions sit top of the comp but with a bounce or two the other way we could quiet easily be sitting bottom. 2013 will be a tight comp with a number of teams pressing for the honours. What The Lions truly desire is success across the three grades and for 2nds to break their 2013 drought. UP THE TERRACE!
ROUND 1
Date Played: 14 April 2013
Team Played: Kotara South
Result : 4-3 win
Match Report: Well the season proper got underway on Sunday with the 2012 Zone League 2 Premiers travelling to Kotara South. With limited numbers in the lower grades available the day produced a mixed bag of results.
1st Grade. For the first 30 minutes, maybe even the first half supporters would have been thinking another premiership may be just around the corner. The Lions jumped to a 3 - 0 half time lead. Kotara however by no means were overwhelmed and remained highly competitive. In contrast the second half was all Kotara with the Tigers clawing their way back to 3-2 before against the run of play we fired one back to make it 4-2. With 10min left on the clock Kotara returned fire again and at 4-3 not only was a draw looking likely but you wouldn't even consider a loss was out of the question. Fortunately time was not on their side and 1st grade posted their first win of the year. Where to improve - FITNESS!
2nd Grade. The boys probably paid the price for a number of players having to double up in thirds and went down 3-0. Whilst the scoreline was not flattering the game was great as a gauge as to how we will compete in the upcoming season. With a couple of players expected back in coming weeks they will no doubt turn results around.
3rd Grade. Well we have used the get out of gaol card already. Lets hope we don't have to dip into the back pocket anytime soon to see if another exists. The team pulled off a 2-2 draw which would have resulted in the Kotara coach cutting his wrists in the dressing room after the game. Take nothing away from the players though. They never gave up and put the head down and pulled a result out of nothing. Well done boys.
Across all grades this week three things could be identified as areas in which we must improve being, fitness, touch and talk. Lets see how often reference is made to those three issues during the year.
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