Fortune favours the bold

Saturday 21 August 2010

The druids over the hill (and far away) had been working overtime perfecting the steps to their rain-dance, and it looked like they had finally got it right, as the channel was blessed with tank-filling, garden-watering rainfall. A slight misstep in the Druidic choreography however made it seem like the rain might not stop in time for Saturday's games. The soaking made Woodbridge Oval a more appropriate venue for a performance of Swan Lake than football, forcing the cancellation of Junior games and the migration of the Under 16 game to a slightly-less-aquatic Kettering Oval.

Spirits were high within the Woodbridge under 16 team as they rowed to Kettering, the team's shaman had studied the portents, and declared that the birth of a Southern Right whale in the channel earlier in the week was a 'well-wickid' omen. Even so, circumstances forced the team to adopt a complex numerological strategy designed to make the most of a weird Saturn/Pluto astrological event in order to counteract the fact that they only had ten players for the game.

The upshot was a pretty interesting and competitive match-up with both teams playing an impressive, and in the first half, rather defensive game. Clarence's disciplined back line was doing a great job of stymieing the Woodbridge attack, and their Keeper – who from a distance looked a lot like Germany's Manuel Neuer – made it clear that he was not going to concede goals easily.

The more fluid Woodbridge defending was also on fire, cutting short Clarence forays into the Woodbridge half. Jack was making some crucial clearances and winning important aerial balls, Vincent was magically appearing from thin air to thwart any danger in front of goals, Sindri had his mojo on again repeatedly stealing the ball from opposition players. Plus Deans, Kye and Rainen were blasting about making nuisances of themselves around the middle of the park.

Solid defending meant that the game remained at nil all for some time, but eventually Jy opened the scoring with a magical ball that finally bypassed the German keeper. Clarence's response was quick in coming; and it was a pretty cool bit of hoodoo too, a high ball from way back that caught Aiden off-guard and resulted in a goal that will no doubt be talked about for years to come in the Clarence camp. As the whistle blew for half time the score stood at a very respectable one all; the defenders and goalkeepers on both teams could be proud of their performances.

Woodbridge consulted the oracle at half time, keen to find an answer to the stalemate. Nike, the goddess of Victory, who just happened to be tootling past on her little red Vesper, stopped long enough to mention that she had particularly enjoyed their gun-slinging performance against Nelson/MacKillop a few weeks previously; and suggested they might try a similar strategy here. Unfortunately none of the team speak or understand Greek so the Goddess's sage advice fell of deaf ears.

Luckily the team seemed to have reached a similar conclusion anyway, they had studied the Feng Shui and seen where the chi was being blocked by the poor placement of a vase of flowers. A slight rearrangement of the furniture was all that was required to get the energy flowing again. Subsequently the second half was characterised by much more attacking play, and a further seven goals were scored – that's an average of one goal every 5.71 minutes – exciting stuff! Woodbridge boots were behind 5 of those 7 goals. Jy charmed the ball into the opposition's net one more time; Bolan abracadabra'd a couple in and Phineas waved his magic wand and added his name to the sheet twice too. Clarence also managed to get a couple more goals, so the end result was Woodbridge 6 – Clarence 3.

All in all it was another fantastic effort from the team, one that cements them firmly the top of the division 2 ladder.

In a parallel universe, where everything happened a mere fraction of a centimetre to the left, Rainen's magnificent performance had netted him a hat-trick. In our slightly right-of-centre world however, his shots glanced off the post or were collected by the keeper and the hattrick just failed to materialise.

Alio

Bye, bye FBI

After the suspicious disappearance of the Woodbridge versus Knights match report from last week, it has been decided not to entrust the reporting process to Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder of the FBI any more. No attempt will be made to recover the report, as it was largely about alien abductions in any case with precious little reference to the game at all.

This week’s match report has been left in the much safer hands of Bill and Ben, from Flowerpot, and it goes a little something like this:
Blip blop little weeeeeed.
…

Oh well, looks like it’s down to ol’ Muggins again… so here we go (‘ere we go, ‘ere we go…)

As luck would have it, a large proportion of the Woodbridge under16 squad travelled to Wellesley Park on Saturday for the second leg against South Hobart. A couple of them arrived hopefully at the Wentworth St stadium just down the road, thinking perhaps they would be playing in the Forestry Tasmania Premiere League… perhaps in a few years boys…

For some reason, yet again only 10 of the under 16 team seemed keen to take on South Hobart, and for the second time coach Dalles sought and received approval to field one of Woodbridge’s younger players. This time it was Dean’s younger brother Blake, who was absolutely awesome and played a level headed and skilful game. It was almost as if he had played with the under 16s before, as he read their play and passed the ball with astounding accuracy.

The game itself was the toughest so far; described as “intense” by the players and “exciting” by spectators. Forget last week’s backhanded compliment, this game was tougher by an order of magnitude.

I think it would be fairly safe to say that South Hobart dominated possession in the first half, and the fact that the score at half time was 0 – 0 is testament to some great defending by the Woodbridge boys and some absolutely outstanding goalkeeping by Aiden.

Possession in the second half was more even, and play bounced from one end to the other, as the teams seemed to take it in turn attacking each other’s goals. Woodbridge had quite a few chances, some of which South’s keeper collected and others which were off the post, too wide or to high. South, likewise, made numerous attempts on the Woodbridge goal with the same results.

The score remained at nil all until deep into the second half, when Jy managed to finally get the ball past the keeper and into the back of South’s net. South Hobart, having the luxury of a million substitutes (or thereabouts), responded by taking off a defender and popping another attacker on to the field. There may not have been long left on the clock, but the game was still up for grabs.

The last few minutes of the game were as full-on as the rest of the game had been, but no further goals were netted – leaving Woodbridge with a hard fought 1 – 0 win.

The Hex Files

aka WSC Vs Knights
(expurgated)

Saturday 7 August 2010

HEX Case File No: WSC2-GKFC4


...contents removed...

The Magnificent Eleven

“When you're ridin' ahead of the herd, you should take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there”
Anonymous cowboy

It was a game of two halves. That might seem like an obvious statement - of course a football game has two halves, that's why oranges were invented! But close your eyes and travel back in time to the Saturday just gone - on second thoughts don't close your eyes – read this instead, and all will become clear.

It all began in a dusty little one-horse town that the old-timers call Cambridge, Arizona (very old timers, with no sense of geography).

The Woodbridge Boys moseyed on into town, their horses kicking up dust as they emerged from the dry sagebrush on the outskirts. They were feeling ambivalent; on the one hand they were confident of their aim and their quick draw; and they remembered the previous show-down against these cowboys, when they had given their all and emerged from the fray as 4 – 1 victors. On the other hand, they knew that this was a new-look Nelson/MacKillop gang; all the way along their dusty journey they had seen the Wanted Posters plastered to walls and blowing around the prairie like tumble-weeds. They had overheard the talk in the towns along the way too, the Nelson/MacKillop Lads were a gang to be reckoned with.

Anything could happen.

The first shot was fired by Nelson/Mac, but the Woodbridge supporters smugly reassured themselves that the Woodbridge lads tend to respond faster than a toilet stop in rattlesnake country¹. On the side lines they watched expectantly; surely an answering salvo would be fired soon? But no; instead Nelson/Mac drew their guns, and fired in two more goals before the whistle blew for half time; shock ricocheted around the Woodbridge camp. Three nil down, Holey-moley! It looked like the Nelson/MacKillop dudes² were really going to clean Woodbridge's plow³

At half time there were no oranges, despite having been invented several paragraphs ago.

Oranges or not, half-time can make a huge difference to a game. We've heard those curly wolf⁴ coaches who, when their teams are losing, berate their squad mercilessly, we've heard the teams who bicker amongst themselves, flinging blame around as if it grows on trees. Neither approach seems to work that well. What is needed is a unified response, a plan, if you will.

...and level headed Cap'n Phineas was the man with the plan. A plan that did not involve backing down, a plan that did not even involve sneaking over to the opposition team's kit bag and stealing their snake-oil⁵.

When the whistle blew to signify the start of the second half, the score stood at Neslon/MacKillop 3 – Woodbridge 0. Nelson/Mac must have thought that they had the game wrapped up in rawhide and shoved into the bottom of their saddle-bags with their beef jerky and bedroll. A three goal lead is quite a comfortable margin, so they circled their wagons and all but holstered their guns.

Woodbridge came back to the field with all guns blazing. Phin, leading by example had soon fired in a top-notch goal. It came from outside the penalty area and shot into the top corner of the net, rebounding off the post. On the side lines a huge sigh of relief followed the raucous celebration. At least now it wasn't going to be a complete rout; 3 – 1 is a much more respectable loss than 3 – 0 (or worse).

Nelson/Mac seemed a bit surprised, but now their Smith and Wessons stuck in their holsters and they seemed unable to stem the flow of the game which had swung completely around. Jy followed Phin's example striking the ball hard so that it flew faster than a speeding bullet into the bottom corner of Nelson's net. Nelson MacKillop 3 – Woodbridge 2; if the Woodbridge whipper-snappers were going down, they were going down in a blaze of glory.

Of course 3 – 2 down wasn't what the boys had in mind, and having put in a blinder of a first goal Phineas decided he would reload his six-shooter and replicate Jy's goal, another low ball blasting, bullet-fast into the bottom corner. The supporters on the side lines went crazy, drowning out those who were honking their horns from the comfort of their Conestoga wagons – a three-all draw, we could live with that.

Quick Sheriff, blow your whistle before Nelson/Mac can get their Winchesters out!

Winchesters, however, are relatively cumbersome weapons, they weighed the opposition down and before long Nelson/MacKillop's game seemed to have played out⁶; Woodbridge sure had put a spoke in their wheel⁷.

The pistol toting Woodbridge gun-slingers now had a win in their sights. Quick draw Jordan, who for weeks has been surprising older and taller lads by repeatedly winning headers, reminded the Woodbridge supporters that he's pretty awesome with his boots too. With only minutes to spare he latched on to a corner ball expertly delivered by Bolan and chipped it over the keeper. “Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!” As they say south of the border. “Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!” they continue, because they are pretty darn-tootin' excited about it!

Still, the Mexican commentator's excitement paled in comparison to the hysterical fandango⁸ on the Woodbridge sidelines.

Nelson/MacKillop could see that the jig was up⁹ and when the Sheriff declared the game over moments later the score line was Woodbridge 4 – Nelson/MacKillop 3.


1. Really, really fast! (Grant & Naylor 1993)
2."Dude ~ an Easterner, or anyone in up-scale town clothes, rather than plain range-riding or work clothes."(Atwater 2001))
3. "Clean his/your plow ~ to get or give a thorough whippin'. " (Atwater 2001)
4. "Curly wolf ~ real tough guy, dangerous man."(Atwater 2001)
5. Snake Oil - steroids
6. “Played out ~ exhausted.” (Atwater 2001)

7. “Put a spoke in the wheel ~ to foul up or sabotage something.” (Atwater 2001)
8. “Fandango ~ from the Spanish, a big party with lots of dancing and excitement.” (Atwater 2001)
9. “Jig is up ~ scheme/game is over, exposed.”(Atwater 2001)

Ref:
Atwater, G.M. 2001, Western Slang and Phrases, retrieved August 3 from: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poindexterfamily/OldWestSlang.html

Grant, R. and Naylor, D. 1993, Red Dwarf: Gunmen of the Apocalypse, [TV series]

Under 16 Youth Plate Semi Final

Had you been at Woodbridge Oval on Saturday afternoon, glancing occasionally at proceedings on the pitch, you might well have thought that Woodbridge was winning their Youth Plate semi final encounter with Huon Valley.

No doubt you would have admired Woodbridge's blistering attacks on the Huon goal. You would have seen the ball sailing repeatedly towards the net only to be thwarted at the last moment by the Huon Keeper. You would have seen spectators rising from their seats in anticipation then sinking back, disappointed, seconds later. It was a roller-coaster ride of emotion.

If the game had been all about possession, Woodbridge would have scraped 4 – 3 win, had it been all about shots on target, it would have been somewhere in the vicinity of a 10 – 4 win for the 'bridge.

Unfortunately the game was decided on goals scored.

None of ours went in.

Alio

WSC U16s Vs Kingborough

The Woodbridge Under 16s played at home against a ten man Kingborough team on Saturday. You would imagine that would suggest a large win for the home team, however Kingo had a couple of really, really fast players, youngsters on loan from their mixed under 16 - 19 team; plus, even more worrying they had ex-patriot, and master of the midfield, Jack A.

So winning took some doing.

Fortunately for the home team Phineas was on fire, so we doused the flames and sat back and watched in awe as he proceeded to chalk up a marvelous hat-trick, two goals in the first and another in the second. Bolan, manning the fire extinguisher, managed to pop in a couple for the home team too and Deans cleverly converted a fantastic pass from Jy on the wing, to bring the Woodbridge tally to six.

It was a great team effort yet again, precious few mistakes were made, and those that were, were swiftly punished, giving the Kingborough lads 2 goals to our 6. Don't despair though Woodbridge, one of those goals was scored by a very talented, very fast Kingborough lad who is so good that he usually plays – and scores (8 times and counting) – against 17 to 19 year olds.

So well done Woodbridge, once again some fantastic team work and great, skilled play.

Alio

U16 match report - of sorts

Woodbridge 5 - Clarence United 2

The under 16's game on Saturday could be likened to a sandwich; Clarence provided the fresh full-grain bread with a goal at each extremity of the game, and Woodbridge supplied a flavoursome filling of five goals. The game began shortly after 11:15 am, by which time eleven Woodbridge players had arrived at Cambridge, which was ample cause for celebration in itself. Aiden, Deans, Jack, Rainen, Sindri, Kye, Nadirah, Jordan, Jy, Phineas and Bolan – a full squad! Forget sandwiches, break out the cake!

Perhaps we should therefore say that the game was a bit like a delicious sponge cake; Clarence provided the light and tasty sponge (ie goal) at each end of the game, and Woodbridge provided the ever-so-sweet, five-goal, jam and cream filling. Whichever way you slice it, this was an exciting game; a game which Clarence began early and emphatically with an awesome goal and a dusting of icing sugar. Woodbridge were a bit rattled; but spectators know from past experience that when the chips are down, this team gets frying - which kind of messes with the whole cake metaphor; but cake is never in the vicinity of teenagers for very long in any case.

So, in the first half of a game that was much more like a piping-hot, fresh from the fryer fisherman's basket than a sponge cake, Bolan and Phineas provided three sizzling goals between them (Bolan 2, Phin 1). Jordan had served up a beauty too, garnished with a sprig of parsley and a squeeze of lemon, unfortunately he was offside so the goal was dipped in tartare sauce and disallowed; never-the-less it still served to rattle the Clarence defence and worry their keeper. At half-time, when the teams retired briefly to the sidelines to find absolutely NO oranges (or squid rings for that matter) the score-line stood at 3 – 1 in the visitor's favour.

The second half was a different kettle of fish; crumbed and deep-fried (or perhaps not but this metaphor has a mind of its own) With several Clarence players committed to marking Bolan, Phin and Jordan were able to run riot in the midfield and Jy was freed up to remind us that the jinx has well and truly lifted. He peppered the Clarence goal with shots and ultimately provided Woodbridge with another two goals. The first was a borderline affair, only just crossing the line, but the second is etched firmly into spectators minds; a beautiful long pass from Sindri to Bolan who, with four opposition players converging, lobbed it across the field to Jy who salted it away into the back of the Clarence net. Clarence managed to plate up one more goal before the whistle sounded, to bring the full-time score to Woodbridge 5 – Clarence 2.

Awesome team play yet again from the Woodbridge guys and gal, a veritable feast of fantastic football.

Alio

WSC U16s 3 - South Hobart 1

A great performance again this week from our Under 16 team, many of whom had competed in a school indoor soccer tournament at Huonville on Friday; a tournament in which they remained undefeated throughout and in which they had conceded no goals. It is testament to their skill, fitness and determination that Aiden, Bolan, Jordan, Kye, Phineas and Rainen had kept something in reserve for Saturday's game against South Hobart. Deans, had also played for the school team – scoring 2 great goals against Dover – but was unavailable for Saturday's match up.

The eventual score-line of 3 – 1 in Woodbridge's favour, belies the fairly even distribution of possession throughout the game. Woodbridge's defending though, was on fire; Rainen and Kye still pumped from the previous day's performances, plus Sindri and Jack who were calm and sure-footed, stymied the majority of South's attacks, letting precious little through to Aiden and forcing the visitors to mostly take ineffective shots from distance.

Woodbridge on the other hand displayed superior finishing in this game; Bolan grabbed the lead for the team about halfway through the first half and Phineas, who, about 5 seconds into the second half, demonstrated how shots from distance should go. But best of all a beautiful goal from an acute angle off Jy's new boots convinced us all that he is not jinxed after all, Hooray! Many thanks go to Jayden who agreed to play up with the older lads to give Woodbridge a full eleven players, he joined Riko and Jordan in a very effective, even if youngish midfield line-up. Excellent work.

Another great team performance, well done boys!

Not football, not quite futsal

An indoor soccer tournament between 5 southern high schools was held at the Huonville PCYC on Friday (2nd July). Teams from Dover, Geeveston, Glenora, Huonville and Woodbridge took part, each playing a series of fifteen minute games, one game against each of other teams. Since these Woodbridge grade 8, 9 & 10 boys make up half of the WSC Under 16 team, we shall tell you all about it below...

Woodbridge began the tournament playing impressive 5-a-side futsal against the Huonville team until, 5 minutes into the first game, they were alerted to the fact that everyone else was playing 6-a-side indoor soccer; the big, bouncy, fluffy ball (or a head-count of the opposition) probably should have given it away. Luckily Huonville had not managed to seriously threaten the Woodbridge's defence in the first 5 minutes, what with Rainen intercepting the ball and Aiden guarding the goal-mouth. The only goal for the game was scored late into the second half by Bolan, giving Woodbridge a 1 – 0 win.

In the second game Woodbridge took on an impressive Glenora team, whose passing play had been a joy to watch from the balcony, but failed to net them a result against the Woodbridge lads. A goal from Phineas had ensured that Woodbridge was ahead 1 – 0 by half time. The resulting pressure caused the young Glenora team to make some grave errors in and around the penalty box, conceding first a penalty and then a free-kick, both of which Bolan duly converted. The final result was 3 – 0 to Woodbridge.

Woodbridge took on Dover in their third game and two great goals from Deans in the first half were unmatched in the second. Jordan's sublime attacking play held oodles of promise but Dover was determined not to concede any more goals. Defensively, Kye and Rainen played so well that Dover hardly got to venture into the Woodbridge half, and the game concluded as a 2 – 0 win to Woodbridge.

The final match up was against a young well-kitted out Geeveston team, who despite having lost 4 – 0 to Huonville and 2 – 0 to Dover, managed to keep the score to respectable 0-0 at half-time. Woodbridge returned to the pitch in the second half with renewed intent, Phin and then Bolan both netting the ball to ultimately win the game 2 – 0.

Various combinations of Phineas, Jordan, Deans and Bolan in attack, Rainen and/or Kye defending and Aiden's goal-stopping, saw the Woodbridge team head home undefeated and having conceded no goals.

Results:
Woodbridge 1 – Huonville 0 (Bolan 1);
Glenora 0 – Geeveston 0;

Dover 2 – Geeveston 0;
Glenora 0 Woodbridge 3 (Phineas 1, Bolan 2);

Huonville 4 – Geeveston 0;
Glenora 4 – Dover 2;

Dover 0 – Woodbridge 2 (Deans 2);
Glenora 1 – Huon Valley 2;

Geeveston 0 – Woodbridge 2 (Phin 1, Bolan 1);
Dover – Huonville; (result unknown)

Great team effort puts WSC U16 at the top of the Div 2 ladder

WSC Under 16 Vs Glenorchy Knights White

Last time these two teams met was at the beginning of the season and the result then was a very exciting 3 – all draw. This time around both teams began play awash with confidence after securing impressive wins on the previous weekend; the Knights having defeated Clarence 9-2 and Woodbridge on the back of a 4-1 win against Nelson/Mac. On paper, the game promised to be quite exciting and in reality spectators were not disappointed.

On the pitch, the Knights scored first, and just in case they had plans of repeating their 9-goal-scoring-frenzy, Woodbridge thought it best to respond in kind. While Woodbridge's first goal – via our trusty Captain, Phineas - was loudly cheered and a welcome relief, the second and third goals were worthy of the World Cup highlight DVD. Goal two came after a speedy counter-attack; with defenders chasing hard on Bolan's heels and the keeper rushing at him, he kept his head, and at the very last second lofted the ball over the goalie. Time slowed as it arced through the air – a bit like one of those Nike ads [cut briefly to fireworks and scenes of wild celebration on the streets of Woodbridge] – and then the crowd erupted as the ball dropped into the back of the net.

The third goal, from Phin again (begin again), was absolutely awesome too; hurtling net-wards from a distance, it was another Nike moment [cut to cheering crowds lining the streets and waving flags as the Under 16 motorcade drives past] it surprised the Knights' keeper - the ball or the brief visit into the Nike Psyche? no one is quite sure - he barely had time to register the threat before it was past him. And so it was, that by half time some great defending and excellent support in the midfield had helped to ensure a score-line of 3 - 1 in the home team's favour.

Perseverance in the second half saw the Knights pull the score back to 3 – 2 against as they fought hard trying to regain the upper hand. Again Woodbridge found the answer, for a moment it looked as if it might be Jy providing it, but it seems he'll have to wait until this coming weekend to notch up his first goal for the under 16 team. Instead it was Bolan, putting in his second for the game.

With Woodbridge on 4 and the visitors on 2, the Knights bestirred themselves and turned the flow of the game around once more. A series of well-executed attacks stretched the defence and ultimately paid off for the lads from Glenorchy, giving them a third goal. With the margin narrowed to one, a second draw between these two teams was in sight. Time, however, was on Woodbridge's side and the game concluded with a 4 – 3 victory for the home team.

Once again, it was a brilliant team effort with 11 fantastic performances from the Woodbridge squad (and some great play from the opposition too, but let's leave the singing of their praises to someone else). Having carried on a bit about a couple of the goals has left no room to wax lyrical about the rest of the game – suffice it to say that it was an impressive team effort.

Thanks to the re-jigged Division 2 roster and two consecutive wins, this Woodbridge Under 16 team is the first ever Woodbridge youth team to hit the top of the ladder. Well done team! Massive achievement and one well-earned!

[Cut to scenes of the Under 16 team happily clutching the World Cup trophy, while someone avoids spraying champagne all over them because they are too young for that sort of thing].

Post Script:
Woodbridge extends its thanks to the Glenorchy Knights coach, who kindly stepped in to referee the game – thank you :D

Post Post Script:
If anyone is interested, FFT is conducting a FREE referee training and accreditation course in early July, check our website for details. Given that Woodbridge has two senior and two youth teams competing this year, and that providing a referee for home games is usually expected, it would be useful to have some qualified refs to call upon. Come on, you know you want to ...

An awesome team effort from our Under16s

The team's inaugural game of the modified Under 16 roster was a rematch between WSC and Nelson/MacKillop; although last time they were scheduled to play only 4 Nelson/MacKillop lads showed up. This time 14 opposition players arrived at Woodbridge Oval nice and early, a full squad with a generous sprinkling of substitutes.

The game started well, with Woodbridge taking the play straight into the Nelson/Mac half and threatening to score right from the get-go. Unfortunately Vincent was badly injured in a very physical clash with a goalie twice his size at around the 15 minute mark. His resultant injury will most likely see him sidelined for the rest of the season; a hard knock for both Vincent and the team.

Despite this setback, it seems that the Woodbridge players are really starting to gel as a team; their passing and positional play was impressive, forcing Nelson into largely reactive football for most of the game. The opposition's occasional counter-attacks were stymied on the back-line by an impressively in-form Rainen and some exceptional play by Kye – both lads had to work extra hard to make up for the early loss of Vincent. An intrepid Deans boosted the side's defence, consistently dropping back to defend or providing valuable attacking play, by surging forward as needed.

A solid midfield, showcasing Phineas and Jordan’s speed and skill, consistently moved the play forwards, allowing Jy and Bolan to repeatedly attack the opposition's goal-mouth and keep the Nelson/Mac goalie on his toes.. Bolan had numerous unsuccessful shots before finally threading his way through the defence and putting one in from close range. A hand ball in the penalty area gave him the opportunity to add to his tally, but in a move copied almost identically by Spain's David Villa against Honduras on Tuesday morning (EST), his shot went wide (darn that jabulani ball!), and he had to score his second goal in a more traditional manner.

At half time the score was Woodbridge 2 – Nelson/MacKillop 0; (replicating exactly the full-time result for the Spain Vs Honduras game mentioned previously.)

WSC's Captain, Phineas, as usual, dominated the mid-field, setting up goals, directing play and scoring his first official goal for the season early in the second half; his chance came from a corner ball expertly delivered by Nick. Nelson fought back and managed to get the ball past a feisty Aiden soon after. Finally, around half-way into the second half, Nadirah arrived to shore up the defence, helping to ease the building pressure in the Woodbridge half.

Nelson's increasing frustration was becoming more apparent as the game drew closer to an end; Woodbridge had had them on the back foot throughout, and they seemed determined to try and salvage something from the game. But, at 3 — 1 up, Woodbridge was on a roll; and in a mad goal-mouth scrabble, where several boots were aiming to put in the fourth for Woodbridge, it was ultimately Nick's that managed the magic touch. Shortly after, the 'bridge was denied another penalty kick after Jy, on track to score his first for the season, was knocked down in front of the Nelson goal. The game stood at 4 -1 until the final whistle blew.

Well done Woodbridge! An awesome team effort.


Post Script:
If the Woodbridge Under 16s take the cake, then Sunday's games added the icing and the candles:

In Sunday's Youth Plate knock-out round our Under13s dragged Kingborough to a nil-all draw at Woodbridge, forcing the game into a penalty shoot-out which they then won 4 – 3.

The men's team, who also took on Kingborough, played shortly afterwards at Lightwood Park, putting on an fantastic performance and winning 6 – 1. Jy's disappointment at not yet putting his mark on the Under 16 goalscorers’ board was washed away when he was put on as a Super-Sub in the last 15 minutes of the men's game against Kingborough, where he scored a goal for the senior team almost immediately.

What a fantastic weekend of football!

WSC Vs Nelson/Mac; the Ad hoc friendly

Woodbridge starts the winter roster with a rematch against Nelson/MacKillop, 12:30 pm at Woodbridge on Saturday 19th June. Last time these two teams met, some form of miscommunication prevented the bulk of the Nelson/MacKillop lads from actually arriving for the game; we hope that this time they are adequately informed and come down to Woodbridge for what promises to be an exciting match-up.

The four Nelson/MacKillop lads who made it down to Woodbridge last time, stuck around for a 40 minute, 10-a-side friendly, borrowing Vincent and Jy from the Under 16 team, Jacob from the Under 13s and Justin, Dalles and Craig from the men's team. Despite dire prognostications, such as the overheard “we're going to get our (body part)s kicked”, the Under 16s were inspired to play their best game yet.

The 9 – 1 win may not have been official, but it was a morale-boosting way to conclude the autumn roster, and Nelson/Mac need not feel too bad about it, because although they had some talented players on their side, it was largely not the team they are accustomed to playing with. Woodbridge on the other hand looked as if they might finally be coming to grips with playing together, and up front they had fine-tuned their shots to actually bypass the keeper and hit the net.

Bolan reminded spectators of what he is capable of by putting in 5 goals, Phineas and Nick scored a well earned brace apiece and Jordan has broken his goal drought – when that happened in the U13s last year he was unstoppable! Nelson/Mac had numerous shots on goal, but Aiden was in fine form, leaping on everything until a well timed shot from Jy added the visitors to the scoreboard. And that's when the whistle blew...

All the Under 16 teams start winter with a clean sheet.

In its wisdom, and in order to get rid of byes in both Division 1 & Division 2, FFT (Football Federation Tasmania) have re-jigged the Under 16 leagues. Taroona and Huon Valley, the only two Division 2 teams to finish autumn with positive goal differences (8 and 17 respectively), have been moved up to a more suitable Division 1. Meanwhile Clarence United have come to join us in Division 2, welcome Clarence, we will see you on the 10th July at Cambridge :D

WSC U16 0 Vs Taroona 7 (Sat 8 May)

"We lost because we didn't win."
Ronaldo

Dear Under 16s,

Just a short note to offer some advice for this weekend's game, which is to be played against Taroona (again!) 12:30 pm, on SUNDAY 16 May at Kelvedon Park (again!) That means most of us know the way there now – if someone could kindly offer directions to the players missing last week, that would be shiny.

Firstly:
Do not show up for the game on Saturday, as that is way out! Roll up on Sunday and you've taken the first step towards a surprising victory; get there a bit early too, coaches always appreciate that (not Saturday early though...)

Secondly:
While I would counsel not dwelling too much on last week's game you should always take something from a loss – as ol' Schopenhauer once said “Life without pain has no meaning”. Last week's effort was a tad painful, which means there was something important to be learnt from it. Pay attention to Dalles at training, he has a mountain of experience of the game and knows what's what.

Thirdly:
Speaking of mountains; as Schopenhauer's good mate, the Little Engine once said “I think I can! I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!” etc. Yes, that little train did go on a bit, but it had a good point. I think you can, nay, I know you can! You can pull a good performance out of your collective hat, we've seen you do it; let the rabbit of optimism emerge from the burrow of doubt (or the hat of hesitation - take your pick). I'm serious, I'm not trying to be bunny...

Woodbridge U16 1st May 2010

This team has only just come together to combine their strengths. The under 13’s team from last year along with some under 15’s and a few first time players make up this years under 16’s.
The first real test came this weekend from the Glenorchy Knights who fielded a strong and committed opposition. The game started at a furious pace and it was the determination of both defensive lines that held strong and kept it nil all for a long duration into the first half.
It must be mentioned that our regular goalkeeper was a great strength and managed to keep the ball out of the net on many occasions.

The deadlock was finally broken by Bolan with a strike that buried itself deep in the back of the net. The tussle continued with some great attacking raids from the Knights and the relentless nature of the attack found a lapse in our concentration to allow a goal in (1 –1)
Jack and Rainen repelled the attacks for a long time which gave our mid fielders the chance to secure a second goal this one went to Vinnie.

Just before half time the score was 2-1 our way.

Phin made some strategic decisions and put a full strength team on the field in the second half. The ball was being battered along with some of our players, Rainen had to leave the field and soon after Bolan injured his back, luckily we had some valiant reserves to take their place.
A change in the defensive line gave the opposition a break and deflected ball went in the net now 2 –2. Nadirah showed how quick she was in defence and kept pushing the opposition winger over the sideline. Then some great footwork sent the ball forward and eventually Vinnie found the back of the net again (3 – 2)

It was looking like a win for us until a set of unfortunate events led to a Glenorchy player running into Kye and a penalty was taken right in front of our goals. A 3 –3 draw was then inevitable. Even though Phin did more than most humans could do and aptly supported by Nick we almost scored twice but it wasn’t meant to be.

The final whistle left us with a 3 all draw and even the opposition coach said this was one of the best games he had ever seen.

I can’t wait to see how this team grows together and where we will be by mid season. I can see some natural talent and some deadly determination that will propel this team, it's really going to go a long way.

Best of luck for next weekend team.
Jafar

Under 16 Div 2 results so far:

Results reported to FFT
Kingborough Lions Blue - 0 lost to Huon Valley - 7
Taroona - 4 defeated South Hobart White - 0


Thus far the ladder would look a little something like this:



Still waiting to see how the game between Glenorchy Knights White and Nelson MacKillop went.

U16 - 1st game not till 1st May...

The season proper starts with a BYE for the team this weekend (Sat 24th April), so their first game will be against Glenorchy Knights White next Saturday (1st May), 2 pm at Woodbridge.

Knights, who take on Nelson/MacKillop this weekend, also played in the Lightning Premiership in Group 2, defeating South Hobart White 1 – 0 and securing a nil all draw with Tilford Zebras.

Lightning Premiership

WSC U16 Lightning Premiership

There are several ways one could describe the performance of our Under 16 squad at the Lightning Premierships; the various oppositions, for example, may use the term 'surprising'. I prefer to use a qualified “awesome”.

Why can't I just come straight out and call them “awesome”?

Mostly because I'm reserving the term for later. This team has so much potential, so much promise, that I am reasonably certain that these first three mini-games are a mere hint of what is possible; and that “awesome” is yet to come.

Group 3 Results:
Woodbridge 3 Vs Kingborough Lions Blue 1
Woodbridge 1 Vs Huon Valley 1
Woodbridge 2 Vs Nelson/MacKillop 1 (for some reason this game is not factored into ladder calculations)

The team did extremely well in this tournament, and yet I sense that they can, and will, do even better.

They currently sit at number three on the overall ladder (minus the Nelson/MacKillop result) and Bolan, who put in two against Kingborough and one against Huon Valley, shares the top spot on the goal scorers ladder with Samuel Ross from the ladder topping South Hobart Red team. Statistically great results for a small country club

Waiting to Play

Woodbridge Soccer Club's new Under 16 team is eagerly awaiting their season's kick off.

Their first game will be competing in the youth Lightning Premierships which are scheduled to start on the weekend of 17th & 18th April, but as yet no details are available about the games.

The roster proper is set to start the following weekend (25th & 25th April) and although the roster has yet to be published, a little birdie informed me that the lads can expect to come up against teams from Glenorchy Knights, Huon Valley, Kingborough Lions, Nelson/MacKillop, Sth Hobart and Taroona.

It promises to be an exciting season.