Altona City win 2-0 in tonight’s friendly

Altona City have won a tough, mid-week friendly match against Yarraville.  Tonight’s game was played away from home at McIvor Reserve.  In a first for our team, the game was played under lights.  It was great to see the kids do well in unfamiliar conditions and score 2 goals.

Coach’s report Williamstown vs Altona City 13/4/2008

Here is Mathew’s match report for the 13 April 2008 friendly match against Williamstown.

This was a great game and significant improvement from last week which shows how more friendly games benefit all the players. We were very good in the backline, strong in the midfield and clinical in the forward line with the chances we had. It was good to see other players have chances to score this week and Nicky using his ‘left foot’ to strike the ball into the net in the second half.

Important to remember that it is irrelevant who scores the goals as they are ‘made by the team’. This is evident in how we celebrate the goals and how the kids congratulate each other when the ball finds the back of the net.

With an overuse of the whiteboard and 4 quarters to contend with I felt more like an AFL coach than an under 9’s coach. More importantly, all the kids followed my instructions well and performed on the ground as needed.

In this away game we found a very friendly bunch of parents, whistle happy referee and wider than usual goals (which should have resulted in more scores on the board except we found a very capable goalkeeper defending his goalmouth). In summary, the North Williamstown primary school braging rights go to Altona City in the local derby.

We now look forward to our next friendly against Yarraville (away game under lights on Wednesday night) which will be a new experience for players and coach alike.

Altona City bounce back

Altona CIty has bounced back with a 5-1 win over Williamstown in the friendly played on Sunday, 14 April at JT Gray Reserve.  The match was played in the right spirit by both the Williamstown and Altona teams.  Congratulations to all the Altona and Williamstown players and supporters for a fun day out.

Coach’s report Altona City vs Green Gully

Here is Mathew’s match report for the 6 April friendly match against Green Gully.

Very enjoyable first game (notwithstanding eventual loss to a very determined opposition 5 -2) to help all the kids get back into the habit of playing games on Sunday.

Given that this was our first ‘friendly’ game of the year (although didn’t seem like that with the way the opposing coach and team manager behaved) it was good for all the kids to get a run and play in various positions on the ground. Special mention goes to our goalkeeper (Cam) for a super effort and he was well supported by his defence (and mostly by the posts of the goal) during this game. Also Conor nearly had a early season contender for the goal of the season with effort from the right wing but was unlucky not to score.

We played much better in the second half and showed great character to fight back with 2 goals. We now look forward to our next game this Sunday against Williamstown (our first ‘local derby’ game). Bragging rights are at stake within the school grounds of the Williamstown North Primary school.

Key focus should always be to continue to improve our skills on tha ball, linkage between defence/mid/attack and ensure the kids enjoy game!!!

Altona City go down 5-2 to Green Gully

Altona City went down 5-2 to Green Gully in a friendly played at Kim Reserve on Sunday, 6th April. Even though the opposition got in front early, Altona City were dogged and determined. Altona City refused to concede the match and the boys in gold managed to score a couple of goals against a very skillful and tactically astute opponent.

This is the first match for 2008, so there is still plenty of football left to be played this year. Well done to the Altona City players and supporters for their continuing sportsmanship and good behaviour.  It is nice to see this carried over from the the 2007 season.

Georgies take out Altona City U8s cup

Congratulations to all of the teams that competed in the 2007 Altona City SC Cup Tournament. All of the teams were very competitive, with the Georgies winning the final, 1-0, against the Altona City Gold U8s, late in the second half.

Coach’s report Brimbank vs ACSC Gold U8

Altona City 3 – Brimbank 1

A very good result in the end but the team certainly worked hard to earn it. We were fortunate to have available for the game Mark Swcharzer (sorry Cameron Peters) in goals who made a number of brilliant saves that was the stand out performance for the day.

Whilst we took the lead early and led for most of the game (even going ahead 3 – 0) we made a number of changes throughout the game that allowed the opposition to gain some momentum and claw a goal back and looked like scoring more.

Key things that were worthy of note:

• Did I mention the goalkeeping was fantastic? – one save in particular was “unbelievable” as Cameron dived with one hand to tip out the ball from the top corner and some other courageous efforts “one-on-one” to save the game for the Gold team
• We allowed the players to experience different positions on the field with a number of them moving around during the course of the game (but this added to the confusion of the team structure)
• The team’s fantastic sportsmanship was the winner as the kids displayed a good character and positive attitude, notwithstanding the opposition’s sometimes “abusive language and rough style of play”.  All parents and players were stunned with the lack of control displayed by these players who are barely 8 years old!
• We had a number of good passing interchanges even though we played with a smaller ball than usual and a horrible pitch we still managed to play well

Even though the team won the game and the kids enjoyed the result, the attitude and good behavior of the team was worth mentioning again. This is much more important than the result.

Until next time, I hope the kids keep enjoying the games and the sportsmanship.

Regards

Mathew (the coach) 

Gold trump Brimbank, 3-1

Our Gold boys showed impeccable sportsmanship and excellent footballing skills, beating Brimbank in their Round 15 game at the Italo-Australian Social Club, 3 – 1. Winning the game was secondary, especially when compared to the way the Gold team behaved during a very difficult match. Well done to the Altona City players, the way you conducted yourselves with your even temper, fairness and excellent sportsmanship is a credit to you and it makes us all very proud of you! Bravo!

Round 14 Sunshine no show against the Gold

Unfortunately, the Sunshine Georgies got their wires crossed and turned up at Kim Reserve at 9am. They subsequently left, so the Gold were without an opponent. Thank goodness for the dads & granddads who were more than willing to step in.

Even though the adults were beaten 3 – 1 by a superior Under 8s side, their enthusiasm was unwavering. Everone was keen to play- Mat’s dad played in dress shoes, some dads appeared to be wearing work boots and John Sdregas was going to play in thongs until Mat found a pair of runners for him.

The Gold kids gave the adults a footballing lesson and a couple of the adults (who will remain nameless) saw the writing on the wall and defected to the kids team!

Regardless of this treachery, the Under 8s Gold team is a classy unit and would have easily accounted for the adults. Congratulations to the kids, we’ll see how the photos turned out.

Coach’s report – Gold vs Royals friendly

ACSC 0 – Essendon Royals 5 - Coach’s Report

I can confirm the final scoreline was not a misprint although also not a true reflection of the game overall. With a few players missing and a number playing with that “flu” bug going around, we were a depleted team and had to call on reinforcements from other clubs to make up the numbers. Many thanks to Damon who joined the Gold team for a “guest appearance” and played exceptionally well with his dangerous swerving runs down the right flank.

In what was a fantastic afternoon and well catered for by the parents with the after game snacks, the game was played in great spirit with good skills on display from both teams. Although we had lost the game the players were very positive throughout and never dropped their heads.

Some notable mentions go to the following:

• Guest appearance player (Damon) who thought the Gold team always put on a feast after each game and is now considering transferring from Moreland City (after his performance on Sunday there may well be a transfer fee involved that needs to be negotiated with his manager – his dad)
• Some of the players that played whilst sick (either flu or what ever else is going around juniors schools at the moment), namely Ari and James Panop
• The chocolate box offered up by Cameron’s parents was a special treat and a real surprise to all (this created competition for the oranges normally on offer)
• The endeavor by the midfielders that ran tirelessly all day (up and down the pitch) to cover the defence and provide options for attack (James Paleo and Cameron). I think they were really looking for substitutions but had no options off the bench this time
• The defensive unit that was finally challenged with attackers creeping behind play, opening in good positions and creating quick counter attacks that had them busy all day
• The call we received from Conor after the game to check the games scores (direct from his departing airport in Queensland) was a nice gesture.

We were certainly taught a football lesson today by a team that was well organized, skilful and led by a very vocal coach. Not sure if I should change my ways (ie adopt a “mean streak” to my coaching) and maybe the team will play with more aggression. Not sure this is the answer. I think this was just one of those games (all teams have them) and now we have learnt from this. At this age enjoyment of the game is the key!

A special thank you should go out to Kate Bettiol (and the other mothers and siblings that assisted) who organized a fantastic afternoon spread of food and various treats. We have again outdone ourselves in the preparation.

Until next week best regards to all

Mathew (“the coach”)