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Elite 1 - 3 SV Cina
Write up by Isaac Round Six saw the mighty Elite travel out to Lower Hutt to take on Stokes Valley CINA. The Elite were feeling confident after coming off a big win in the week prior and were sitting comfortably in second place on the table. Stokes Valley had also enjoyed a decent lead up to the game and were sitting in fourth position. In order to put pressure on the Cuddly Tawa Bears the Elite really needed to get the W. Unfortunately, as has been the tone this season the Elite struggled to get numbers together for this crucial fixture with the spine of experienced Wellington United veterans unable to lace up. Dave was up to the task and with the help of a few junior players he was able to work his magic once again to ensure that the Elite could field an eleven. Boosted with the spark of eternal youth provided by Levi, Ben, Kengo and Dan, the Elite lined up as youthful as ever. The Elite started slow with the players struggling play their usual tiki taka football on the thick native NZ bush. The usual incoherent Irish encouragement was a notable absentee as the Elite players tried to find their rhythm. A slow ball was played into the middle and like hyenas sniffing blood the Stokes Valley players pounced on the counter attack and charged towards the goal. Despite the Elites defenders putting their bodies on the line the Stokes Valley striker was able to curl one into the back of the net. Stokes Valley one - Wellington United nil. Moments later Stokes Valley were on the counter attack again when their winger charged down the right side of the pitch. The winger whipped it in to his target man and, to the surprise of everyone on the pitch apart from the Stokes Valley winger himself (an absolute screamer if you ask him), the ball landed in the top left corner of the net. Before getting a shot on goal the Elite found themselves two goals down after 25 minutes of play. As the game went on the Elite were able to get their foot on the ball and began to control the game, stretching the Stokes Valley defence from one side to the other looking for gaps in CINA’s solid defence. After beating a player, the Elites newest players linked together when Levi fired a low cross across the 18-yard box to find Ben on the edge. Ben, cool as double denim in the 90s, slotted it past the Stokes Valley keeper to bring the Elite back into the game. The rest of the half was a cagey affair with both teams creating chances. Notable mention must be given to the Elites ‘Ronaldo Rolf’ who turned the Stokes Valley centre back inside out but not even his best efforts could tie up the game for the Elite. The second half saw the Elite push hard for the equalizer and their attempts got as close as the woodwork. Credit must be given to the Stokes Valley defence who stood organised and strong all game. As impenetrable as your year 8 crush, the Elite attack just couldn’t find a way in. Deep in the 69th minute Stokes Valley beat the Elite defence with a long ball and after a silky turn their striker knocked it home to make the score 3-1. Despite showing a lot of tika in parts, and bringing on super sub Dave ‘The Brave’ Richardson (as Striker???), Stokes Valley proved too good for the Elite and were deserving winners at the end of the day. MVP Points: 2 – Kengo, a real presence in goal and without a doubt kept Wellington United in the game. 2 – Rori, despite creating confusion by having two names he proved versatile and hungry to the end. Played effective balls out from the back and demonstrated good communication. 1 – Stu, made some crucial challenges when it counted and was strong on the pill. Delivered good ball to the midfielders. 1 – Angus, big Gus brought the game to the opposition and was composed and deliberate at the back. Write-up by Stu
Elite 6 – 1 Mooseknuckles Elite faced up against the struggling Mooseknuckles on Saturday at Newtown Park 2 hoping to continue our strong start to the season. Fielding a full team continues to be a struggle for us this season but we managed to pull together a strong starting line up with Damo taking another one for the team and helping us out in goal and Chris jumping in on the right side of defense. The game started slowly with the Elite controlling most of the possession and the mooseknuckles content on sitting back and catching us on the fast break. We continued to move the ball around nicely and out from the back showing more composure on the smaller pitch. Possession and pressure finally paid off when Tim broke the deadlock midway through the first half. The Mooseknuckles pulled one back with a scrappy goal and we went in to the break 1-1 feeling as though we should have done better. The second half started slowly for us as the Mooseknuckles pressed us. Decs then pulled out one of his signature sprays to fire the boys up, we then began to move the ball around a lot better and run the other team around forcing a couple of great saves out of their keeper with a couple of great strikes from Shane up top. Pressure continued to mount, and we forced a couple of corners. Then came the decisive moment a left foot screamer by Stu- he expertly latched on to a downward header from Shane and managed to hold of the keeper whilst turning and emphatically dispatched into the bottom corner a real strikers finish, easily a contender for goal of the season. This goal then opened the floodgates and we proceeded to dominate as Turk, Shane and Isaac all chipped in. We could have had more goals with a couple of great strikes by Rolf & Shane both hitting the woodwork. The away team seemed to throw in the towel late in the second half which allowed for some free-flowing football and a few more chances. Overall a great performance by the Elite but we should not get complacent going into next week’s away fixture. Positives to take away from Saturday was the great ball movement and positioning of the team we managed to keep our shape right up until 90 mins which showed we were focused and not content for the game to become a free for all. Negatives, we were caught on the break a couple of times with some route one football and there was some slack marking during the first half but luckily, they were not clinical enough to make us pay. Special mention has to be made to Damo and Chris for filling in and Dave stepping up to ref again. MVP Points Tough this week with the big win 3 – Tim – Stuck to his defensive duties all game whilst still managing to get forward and be a threat in front of goal. 2 – Isaac – Composed on the ball, distribution was clinical and a great finish for the goal. 1 – Shane – Was a great outlet up top, came deep to get the ball and always challenged well in the air. Write-up by Rolf Elite 1 – 1 Seatoun Back-to-back home games for the Elite as they are facing Seatoun, who managed to stay unbeaten in their first 3 games, including a draw against league leaders Tawa Bears. With 6 points from the last 2 games the Elite are slowly starting to gel together and morale was high, but a horror scenario arose as 5 players couldn’t attend the game on Saturday. Team manager Dave used all his resources to get some fill-ins, but most of them also had to give a negative reply. On the game day the Elite were lucky to have a 12 man squad including Decs (who already indicated wanting to start from the bench) and Patrick who’s normally only refereeing. This game squad included JL and Damien from the Honeybadgers helping out as well. They were keen to test their skills on the Cap 6 level while keeping in mind they also had to play their own game with the Honeybadgers, which started later that day. Great effort guys! Also joining the line-up for the first time, was Kengo. He recently arrived in Wellington, and when Dave found out he was a goalkeeper he had to sign him up for the Elite. As the game commenced on a cloudy afternoon, the Elite were struggling to get a grip on the game, with Seatoun having the upper hand. Seatoun had some great technical players in midfield, and 2 very adapt strikers. The Elite’s midfield stayed deep for most of the game, keeping a solid defensive formation and for a very long time they were able to keep Seatoun only putting in some long range efforts. However, the shots were usually easy prey for Kengo who enjoyed an excellent debut. It wasn’t until halfway through the first half before the first great chance for the Elite came up, as Turk was set up one-on-one with the goalie. He took a shot, but the goalkeeper saved it, and the rebound by Rolf ended up wide of the goal. There was a brief moment of controversy as the Elite claimed the goalkeeper used his hands outside the box, but the referee was having none of it. The Elite later had some more shots from distance by Stu, Isaac and a free kick by Damien. But with Elite slowly pushing forward, the space opened up for Seatoun, and they used it well. First Rori was able to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity with a professional foul just outside the box, but not much later the 0-1 came on the scoreboard. Seatoun outnumbered the Elite on the left flank in the counter, and after a few touches their striker had an easy tap-in. It wasn’t against the odds, but the Elite knew something was still possible today. Determinately they kept possession of the ball, trying to find an opening, and just before half time they were rewarded. The ball fell into the box, Seatoun were unable to clear it, and after a short scramble, Decs managed to tap it in, 1-1. The second half had a similar outlook, with Seatoun generally being in control. However, except for a few long distance efforts, there weren’t any great chances for them. The biggest opportunities were again for the Elite, with Turk showing up in front of the goalkeeper again twice, but he was unlucky and the goalkeeper stood his ground with the help of his defenders. A few more long shots by Isaac and Gav looked dangerous, but they were from too far out to be a real goal threat. Halfway through the second half Seatoun were claiming a penalty, but the ref didn’t want hear about it. The ball was being played by Rolf, and the Seatoun attacker was clearly looking for penalty by diving to the ground. It wasn’t the last bit of controversy as nearing the end of the game Rori and Stu charged the same player and Rori’s elbow unfortunately ended up in the Seatoun attacker’s face. The whole bench of Seatoun riled up and it took some stern words from the ref and the Seatoun goalkeeper to prevent the situation from escalating. Shortly after everyone finally calmed down the ref blew for the final whistle. The Elite can be proud for standing their ground this week and one can only imagine what this team is capable of when they are at full strength. Next week the Elite play another game at their home ground, this time facing the bottom-ranked Lower Hutt Mooseknuckles. MVP Points As everyone had a solid game, this was a tight call. 2 – Isaac – Starting at the wing, and later in midfield he remained composed on the ball and was well positioned in defence. Had some opportunities from long distance, but was unlucky in his efforts. 2 – Jase – Once again a rock in the defence, organising his team members well and not giving the Seatoun strikers an inch. 1 – Kengo – Unlucky not to get a clean-sheet on his debut, but proves to be good goalkeeper for the Elite. Calm and confident, and had some great distribution. 1 – Turk – Him and Gav were mostly outnumbered by Seatoun defenders, but he used his movement, pace and dribbling skill well to get one-on-one with the goalkeeper on 3 occasions. Should've scored at least one though. Write- Up by Dave
Elite 1 - 0 Olympic The first home game of the season and and a return to Newtown Park #1 for the Elite. Following a tough mid-week fixture and a dominant away leg to the Hutt, the lads were fired up for a another strong performance against a team showing some early form in the grade. Newtown Park hasn't started the season in the best of nick to start the season despite (apparently) much work from the council on the turf during the off-season but the Elite were lucky enough to have had a good storm bring much rain and regrowth ahead of their first run out on it. No one was enjoying that rain quite so much only a week before during our match however. Despite a few notables absences we had a starting eleven and even a few subs on deck and were lucky enough to have the youthful trio of Tim, Gus and Issac all on deck to help out - despite clearly having all made a trip to the barber this week. CJ returned from a golfing hiatus to take up a spot in goal on the hallowed turf and only time would time if his legs could hold out for the full 90 before he needed a lie down between the sticks. The first half was a cagey affair with both teams having patches of possession and some go forward, but neither team managing to get quite the foothold in the game they wanted. Gav was providing a solid outlet up front (even if straying offside on a few too many occasions), while a makeshift defensive three were doing and admirable job of cleaning things up at the back screened by some excellent midfield work in front of them - all of which was under the constant advisement of the little general in goal. Everyone on the pitch was digging deep. The constant battle for meaningful possession combined with a large, wide pitch meant some tired legs out there for both sides but Olympic seemed to feel the worst of it making subs every three minutes for most of the half. Half time came and the message was simple in that we just needed to keep playing our game and the chances would come. The second half saw a few changes in personel for both sides but this fixture seemed set to remain a tight affair and you'd have been forgiven for thinking the deadlock would never be broken. However a whipped in cross scarmbled into the back of the net proved otherwise. Some might suggest there was a hint of own goal but the prevailing opinion was that one of the youth trio got a toe on it - who could tell who though given their bold new looks. Olympic knew there was still much to play for and took of defenders to bring on an extra striker. Super defender Niall was brought in to counteract the change and brought his new striking form found with the Tuatara to a defensive role. You might be able to take the man out of striker but you couldn't take the striking instinct out of the man as he put on a master class of backheels and cruyff turns as defensive moves. CJ remained calm despite the shenanagins and even took a brief nap during the second half only to discover a shot bearing down on him. Luckily he scrambled back to his feet just in time to watch it sail high and wide. Olympics best efforts didn't prove enough to overcome the staunch defending of the last 15 minutes and a one nil victory was secured, alongside the first clean sheet of the season. A hard earned three points today but a well deserved spot at second on the table. MVP points Stu - 2 points - was the key to breaking up play and winning ball in the first half and put in a big shift to still be out there every it everything in the second Gav - 2 points - Was very unlucky not to score during the first 45 but provided a constant threat up front before shifting deeper to help out some tired legs. Shane - 1 point - As he does every week he ran his ass off and constantly gave the midfielders an outlet Jase - 1 point -Playing in his least favourite spot but lead the denfence well and was key to ensuring we came away with all three points in this one. Write-up by Jason
Elite 7 - 1 Stop Out Just 3 days after our season opening game we are at it again. This time the weather couldn't be better, no rain, light breeze, sun shining and a pretty decent pitch. Once again we were a little short on numbers with VAG, AMOD and NAD (names changed to protect the innocent) joining us. We did have a couple of regular season debutants though. They were wanting to make an impression, and impress they did. Along with our regulars we have Greg directing things from the side on his final farewell game. Our opponents were short on players, in fact so short we had no ref. Vag gallantly stepped up to take the whistle to get us underway. Stop out started quite well, controlling the ball and flow of the game. Certainly felt like it might be an arm wrestle. A couple of incisive runs down both sides came to nothing for them. Now was our turn to show some skill and team work. A nice movement down the left wing and we found ourselves making some nice runs behind their defence. No reward yet but it felt promising. For each attack Stop out attempted we had an answer. Tim was shutting their pacy winger while Rori was showing ever potential suitor the side line. Though it was Angus in the middle that commanding things. Bossing their strikers around and not giving an inch. Nothing was getting through and I think AMOD may have fallen asleep in goal. The true puppet masters of the game were our midfielders, Isaac, Decs and Stu. They controlled the pace and movement of the game. For a while I thought they started just toying with the Stop out players, offering them hope and shattering their dreams. They feed a stream of potential attacks, bypassing the Stop Out defence as if they were not there. You could feel the pressure was building and something was coming. Sure enough our first goal came off the head of one of the debutants, Travis. Sending the keeper the wrong way and making the net bulge. We were off the mark. A few more back and forth attempts from each team and the next serious opportunity comes from Turk who slides a through ball for Shane to latch onto and efficiently deposit into the back of the net. Elite up 2 nil. We just continue to move from strength to strength. Tightening our grip on the game. Stop Out heads drop and they begin to make silly mistakes. Their fill in keep makes one too many and Turk pounces on a poor throw out with a clinical finish. 3 zip it is. The Stop Out players are getting frustrated and when a promising attack gets shut down somewhat illegally, they blow up. The fouled player mouths off to the new ref Rori. Not having a bar of it, Rori goes off at the player demanding him to 'come here' in his best teacher voice. Sheepishly the guy obeys. A stern lecture and drop ball latter we know who's in charge and his name isn't Charles. We finish the half with a final well placed pass to Turk who finds himself one on one with keeper and unlike games past, finished it. We walked off the field 4-0 up and the game well under our control. But you can never tell what can changes will happen at half time. Stop out came back much more aggressive, making a few incisive runs in the first minutes. Winning a corner early on, they whipped it in and standing on the post I could see we had it well and truely covered. A sea of Orange covered the 6 yard box and a confident shout from NAD, we knew it was safe. But it was a horrid clearance header that deflected the wrong way and the ball landed into our own goal. Not the start to the half we wanted. Now Stop Out had a spring in their step and a confidence that a come back was due. It wasn't long before our wave of attacks on their goal commenced. We started finding holes in their defence down both sides, though it wasn't till Shano beat the offside trap did we find our best opportunity. As Stop out raised their arms and shouted for intervention, Shane powered through and with the composure of seasoned striker finished their come back hopes. Elite 5-1. In quick succession we were able to put the game to bed, first with a nice cut back from a Vag run down the right side with Turk completing his hat trick. Then shortly later Travis completing his debutant brace from the left wing, professionally slotting the ball home. Elite 7-1. The game still had 20 minutes to go, and at this pace we could hit double figures. But with Vag blazing shots over the bar and yours truely nailing his own players in the back in offside positions, another goal seemed to slip through our fingers. Angus blew the final whistle and we had registered our first win of the season, and in quite emphatic style. With a full squad we could be looking at good season. MVP Points: A hard one given everyone put in a solid performance. 3 Angus: He did not give an inch and commanded the defence into one solid brick wall. 2 Travis: Some great work down the left side, showing skill and pace as well as grabbing 2 goals in his first match 1 Turk: A well deserved hat-trick and you kept your composure to finish nearly all your opportunities. |
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August 2018
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