Sea Point Swifts v Orient FC 14/11/09

Still being disgruntled by the previous result, we traveled to Bonteheuwel for our game against 8th placed SP Swifts. Oh but was I very surprised to see the line-up of; Noel, Angelo, Assie, Bakka, Borrie, Taariq, Nathan, Ashley, Wayne, Gareth, Craig M.

 

The game started very slowly as Swifts played very deep and Orient trying to acclimatise to the wide field. They dominated play in the center half as ex Amajita, Graham Opperman, controlled the mid through accurate passing and bee like work rate. Half way through the half Swifts converted a chance after some poor defending. We just keep on giving away silly goals! This is how it stayed till half time.

From the restart we looked more hungry for the ball. Before the 60th mark Craig J replaced Ashley and Justin replaced Wayne, thus dropping Gareth to his more familiar center half role. With Bakker also pushing into midfield more, we applied huge pressure on their defense. We were awarded after some good work by both subs Craig J and Justin, Craig M tapped in after Craig J beat the rushing keeper, game on 1 all. Swifts applied some dirty tactics by targeting our keeper who was already nursing an injury, a knock on the knee basically took him out of contention and by this time he looked more out of like he belonged in the hospital than on the field. We gained the advantage after Bakka  converted a half chance in the small box. It looked like we would take home 3 points.

But with 5min left they received a free kick 30m from our goal, a high ball was whipped into the small box and met with an unchallenged attacker who headed to goals. The result, a very weak goal as the keeper couldn’t even keep on the ball. Game ended 2 all another 2 points dropped. Just looking at the log makes me livid! The last two games could have put us in pole position, Jarre!

 

 

 

Orient FC v CT United 8/11/09

Okay, I think I can post this post now as I am almost over the disappointment albeit 9 days later. I did not want to post the report as i was afraid I would not have an objective view. Yes, I was, am and will still be very pissed cheesed off with the result. So I’ll make it short.

 

Starting line-up included; Noel (gk), Angelo, Assie, Bakka, Borrie (defs), Ramie, Teenage, Nathan (debut) Taariq(mids), Gareth, Craig J(fwd). We started like a house on fire and converted our very first chance within 2 minutes. Taariq got the final touch but it was because of quick closing in the midfield. The dust barely settled and it was Taariq again who converted another chance on the 10min mark. By 15 min we had more chance, more possession and was in total control of the game. The game started slipping away from us as early as the 25 minute as Ramie clearly looked uncomfortable at right half. United converted one of their few chances after we failed to clear the defensive line, 2-1. This is how it stayed till half time.

Expecting to see either Ramie removed or moved to center half, I was surprised to see him continue at right half. For the majority of the second half we had slightly more chances and they had slightly more possession. “Cometh the hour, cometh the man” or so I thought. 15min left I expected us to consolidate by switching to 5-4-1. Thus substituting Ramie for Ashley or Enver and Craig J for Choca, which would have given us the best chance to avert their attacks. Seen that the experience would have allowed us to play unattractive but effective soccer, knocking the ball forward for Choca to keep up and Enver enforcing the no-nonsense approach. The coach hand other ideas sticking with the 4-4-2 and Ramie (clearly having an off day) and Craig (though being a threat but the weather not his style).

United eventually equalized via a free kick on the D! We can count this one as a lost as 2 points dropped is like gold nowadays!

Needles to say that I was fuming and went to bed at 19h00 on my birthday!

1Nov game v Cedar (replay)

So after attending the hearings we were advised that this game will be replayed. Just another chance for us to get maximum points and after a good showing yesterday. Coach Bradley had to decide to either keep a winning team or go with his own. He exercised caution and only brought in Enver for Bakka. Line-up; Noel – Angelo, Borrie, Assie, Enver – Taariq, Justin, Ramie, Gareth – Maan – Craig Jones.

We lost the all important toss and played with the strong south-easter wind. It was a very scrappy first 20 minutes partly due to the strong wind. The first half was very un-eventfull. We attacked and they punted the ball up-field. This frustrated our bench as we were not allowed to play carpet football. The few passes strung together were met with agressive tackling and no recourse by the referee. First half ended all square.

Second half started with Justin replaced by Ashley and we playing without a right half. Cedar attempted to continue they long ball tactic and they got the same response as we launched attack after another.  The deadlock was eventually broken by a goal from Gareth after a failed attempt at goal from Craig. He collected the ball outside the D, controlled perfectly and hit the sweet-spot with a low drive in the bottom right corner. A goal reminiscent of an on-form Scholes! Effectively game over with 20 minutes left to play. Choca were given 15 minutes to play a target man upfront, which he accomplished with aplomb. Our lead were nearly doubled by him, after receiving a cross from deep, controlling it whilst turning and letting rip with a thunderbolt which gave the keeper a faded haircut and removing the paint from the crossbar. The last 10 minutes Cedar attempted to put us under pressure with the help of the wind but our defense and keeper were up to the task. Time score 0-1 we won.

Ending the weekend with six points in the bag feels like payday. Lets hope the results don’t last as long as the pay!

Sat 31Oct game v Cultural Roots

Saturday saw the start of the second round fixtures and we had to face Cultural Roots at NY49 in Nyanga. We really had it in for them because they punished us at home in the first round, so it was billed as “Payback time”.  To rub salt in the wounds, both Mark Daniels and Bradley August were not available as family commitments and the Nathi Lions game prevented them from being there.

Reigns were temporarily handed to chairman Marcello (me). Now its been more than 2 years since I last coached this team but the majority of players were brought in under my reign. Starting line up included; Noel (gk), Angelo, Borrie, Assie, Bakka (defs), Taariq, Wayne, Ramie, Gareth, Maan (mids) & Craig Jones (lone striker). The formation was changed to 4-5-1 to suit the available players.

We started very gingerly and the first 15 minutes were dominated by the home team, but our rock solid defense were in the mood to play. The wide field made wing play a necessity and various approaches to both goals were made but none that really threatened. In the 20 minute our defense were breached by a lost of concentration by Angelo who turned his back on a free kick 30m from goal on our right side. A short pass was played and their striker beat two extra defenders in the box to score from close range. Ten minutes later we conceded a silly penalty after an attempted cross were struck against Borrie’s chest and it was interpreted as a hand ball. The resultant penalty hit the woodwork and an extra lifeline were handed to us. Shortly after that Taariq should have buried a loose ball in the six yard area after Craig Jones beat the keeper and two defenders, hist shot went against a defender and an open net was presented to Taariq. his shot was rushed by the keeper and a defender and he hit the woodwork. As the first half ended we clearly had the better of our opposition with Ramie and Gareth  winning everything in the middle.

The second half started with two goalscoring chances being missed by Wayne, who looked a bit rusted. This prompted a straight swap for him with Justin, the result was immediate. Justin looked dangerous and he exploited the width of the field to create scoring chances for Craig. We eventually drew level about 15min into the second half. By this time the opposition were always on the back foot and there attempts at goals were restricted to punts up-field and set pieces, non of which threatened. Ramie was recalled after receiving a yellow card and he was replaced with Ashley. After contemplating to change the formation yet again, to 4-3-3 and putting Choca upfront with Justin and Craig, we broke the deadlock. Justin received a ball on the left middle third, beat his man, broke through, forcing their central defender to commit then passed the ball ahead of Craig who finished with the stealth of a sniper.  With five minutes left Craig were sacrificed for Enver who slotted in next to Borrie as stoppers thus changing the formation to 5-4-1. Enver warranted his inclusion with a very disciplined performance. The game finished after 2 minutes of optional time and we got out own back!