Trafalgar Victory played Traralgon City White at home for its LVSL Under 14 round 14 match. Coming off the back of a courageous match against ladder leaders Monash, the Trafalgar team were keen to build upon their momentum from the previous week.
Despite having their fair share of possession, Trafalgar could not break the Traralgon defensive line for the first 20 minutes of the match. The Victory were generating plenty of attacking runs yet were being defended well by the visiting team.
With a few positional changes and some discussions with team captain Nic Tammes, the 0-0 stalemate was eventually broken by Trafalgar, who from this point on never looked back. The deadlock was broken via a lovely collection of skills. Michael Judd delivered a delightful free kick to the top of the box, where striker Jack O’Connor provided an exquisite one touch service to central striker Nic Tammes, who calmly turned and slotted a quality goal. It was only five minutes later when Michael Judd supplied a brilliant through ball to Nic, who again, riding high with confidence, ripped his second in succession. A great combination from the co-captains of the team.
The team went into the half time break holding a comfortable 2-0 lead. The second half was similar to the first, in that the opening stages were a real arm wrestle with much contested play. It was a lovely corner kick from Michael Judd, which any senior player would be proud of, that found Darcy Lewis in the back of the box. Darcy absolutely hammered the ball into the back of the net with a superb volley. 3-0 Trafalgar.
Coach Mark took the opportunity to move players around and to give all players the change to play different positions. In doing so he discovered the following:
- Nic Tammes is a very creative striker who needs little to no space to find a shot on goal.
- Darcy Lewis plays the midfield extremely well and has excellent peripheral vision and posesses a killer pass.
- Haylea Porter is the toughest member of our team and never shirks a contest or challenge.
- Hardy Kenny is an elite runner who, despite his relative lack of experience, is an exceptionally talented soccer player.
The ball movement, team play and linkage, both between and within lines, was exceptional during the second half. The second half was well summed up by team parent and supporter extraordinaire, Mr Johann Rothmeier, who stated that “the second half was an absolute delight to watch and that all players should be proud of their efforts”.
The connectivity of the team was well captured by the team’s fifth and final goal. Nic Tammes twisted and turned his way out of trouble at the top of the attacking box and shot a square pass across the top of the box to find Jacob Holmes on the run. Jacob using his pace and excellent close in skill, evaded the Traralgon City defenders and passed another delightfully weighted ball to his right finding Jackson Clerks. Jackson, who had played centre half in the backline all day was given only 5 minutes up front and he made it count. Having received the pass from Jacob, Jackson calmly placed the ball into the side of the net giving the keeper no chance. The ball movement, calling and positional play during this move was outstanding. As was the execution of skill.
All players did their part for the team and it was such a team effort that coach Mark found it extremely hard to award a team player of the day. There were so many contributors towards the win and everyone willingly took their turn in various positions so to allow others a chance in a new location.
Finally, it cannot be overstated what a huge difference having the Ibbotson brothers back in the team makes. Luke is an exceptional goalie and his availability allows both Drew O’Brien and Darcy Lewis to play on the pitch, which in turn provides the team with considerable flexibility within the midfield.
Likewise, Connors inclusion in the backline frees not only ads considerable strength and stability to the team, but provides the flexibility to release Hardy on ball also. The same can be said for Haylea Porter also. Her ability to play any position makes her an extremely valuable commodity in a soccer game at any level of competition.
A great game by the entire team. Well done all.
This week’s BK’s team player was awarded to Jacob Holmes by club president Dylan Wyatt, due to coach Mark’s indecisiveness.
