May 22, 2016
Ladies Div-1
Hungry, desperately hungry, for any points that would save us from our current state of starvation. As #oneteam we stood our ground from the first whistle and made sure everyone knew that this was our game. A string of passes lead to our first few shots on goal, with Sam narrowly missing a one on one with the keeper. Next it was Nada’s turn; running straight for goal, ball in her full control and then out of nowhere, bam! A Strikers defender realised Nada’s skills were unparalleled and the only way to stop her from scoring was to take her out instead of the ball.
Penalty time for the Raiders! 1-0 up, nice shot Sam!
5 minutes later Strikers defence decided to code hop and show off their netball skills in the box. Again, penalty time for the Raiders. Although this time it was not meant to be.
With an intense half time talk the girls realised we needed to pull together again as #oneteam and work harder than ever to hold onto this game and feed the fire in our bellies. Magical saves by our one and only keeper, Michelle, combined with our never say die attitude, we did it!
WE WON! Our first 3 points on the board and this as only fuelled our hunger for more. Exciting things to come going into the second half of the season.
Couldn’t be prouder of these girls #oneteam
May 21, 2016
U10a Rats
Last week saw the U/10A Rats have their first loss of the season, so this week they were hungry for another win.
Today, although the Rats were missing two of their players they managed to enjoy a win 2:1 against Avalon down at Warriewood.
Sasha the dog was also decked out in all her BTH gear and paid attention to the game, the player of the week trophy award, congrats to Jordy, and to Andy’s half time pep talk.
Well done boys!
May 21, 2016
AL2s - First Grade
Week 9 saw the BTH Raiders take on Seaforth at home. We started the game with good intent and strung some nice passes together but didn't really create many opportunities. We made it 1-0 30 minutes in through Adam, finishing off a neatly lofted cross from Esteban on the right with his head, back across the goal. The game was contested mainly in the middle of the park as the chances for both teams were few and far between. A few harsh decisions and some rash challenges gifted them a few chances to level on the edge of the box but John was equal to them. 15 minutes from time Seaforth had two good chances which John Massey made World Class Saves too and then followed up were they were awarded a penalty. The penalty was hit at a good height for Skipper John Massey to save to his right keeping the scores level. A well battled and deserved win, although many would agree we can be a bit more clinical and put some of these games to bed a bit earlier and not make it so hard for ourselves. Good effort lads.
Players player - Paul Cornforth
Coaches player - John Massey
May 22, 2016
U12 Emeralds
Very close game going down fighting 1-0 to Curl Curl!
May 21, 2016
AL2 - Reserve Grade
Round 9 of the comp we faced off against Seaforth. For the first time this season we were up against a side with similar age of around 21/22 so we knew it was going to be a more fast active game. In the initial stages of the game we had lots of the ball but at times resembled a game of pinball lacking composure in the middle of the park. As time took its course the initial match day nerves passed and we began to carve out some good chances. We could have been a couple of goals to the good if the traveling Seaforth shot stopper wasn’t in such fine form. We knew keep the pressure up and we’d find cracks. Sure enough we did. A well delivered corner from Dan Finlay saw Andrew Gaussen fouled in the penalty area. Up Stepped Jason Finlay and calmly put the ball in the back of the net. Very rarely we were troubled in the first phase of the game taking us into the interval at one goal to the good.
Second half we knew it was key to add to our goal count after missing lots of opportunities in the first. We utilised our wide men in the second to great effect getting in behind and causing problems. A great piece of individual play from Dan Finlay doubled our lead, turning two players inside out then having the calmness to dribble around the goal keeper. Was a fine goal for anyone to watch. Seaforth had spells of play as do any team over the 90 minute course but failed to ever break us down, it was just a case of keeping it tight and remaining focused. With around 10 minutes a deflected free kick fell to the feet of Jason Finlay, a great well placed shot found the bottom left corner which looked to be the final straw much to the raiders delight. We seem to keep digging out the results this season, lets keep the momentum going. Well done lads!!
Players Player: Jason Finlay
Managers Player: John Vergos
May 22, 2016
WO35's Div-1 - Divas
First game of round two and it was time for the "Revenge of the Diva".
On Sunday we played Manly Vale and were nil all at half time. With a classy goal from Rosie in the second half the end result was a win 1 - nil. There was not a red card in sight, we had a good passing game, awesome defence and some good through balls which kept Manly Vale on their toes throughout the game. Looks like round two will be a different story to round one. This year the Divas have some great new players and the team continues to improve and is now playing together like it has been for years thanks to the Scots coaching team of Iain and Mark.
It was great to have a good bunch of supporters at Wyatt Oval and of particular note to have all of our previous coaches over the past 10 Diva years attending to cheer us on.
Winning is sweet … Go Divas!
May 21, 2016
U18/2
U18/2 v Wakehurst A
We have all been at matches where the final score in no way reflects the game itself. This was the case when the 18/2s took on a high flying and very strong Wakehurst A team. The boys knew from the outset that it would be a tough game against relentless opposition who have been winning every game comfortably this season. Apart from the first 15 seconds, where we almost conceded from the kick off with a sloppy turnover, the game was a cracker. Not only did the boys compete, they more than held their own, winning much of the 50/50 ball and creating a number of promising counter attacks. As the game went on, Wakehurst were becoming increasingly rattled and they knew they were being challenged by a gutsy team. Their frustration was shown by the increasing yellow card count- they received six by the end of the match, and the Wakehurst coach was also cautioned. It took an impressive finish from a back post cross, where their goal scorer almost knocked himself out as his momentum sent him rattling into the upright to send Wakehurst ahead. Most impressively though, the boys did not drop their intensity and we replied soon after from a free kick just outside the box. Charlie Armstrong sent it low and hard, and we watched as the Wakehurst wall- in perfect dodgeball technique- jumped up and let the ball fly underneath for the equaliser.
1-1 at half time, and everyone was pumped by the effort. This continued well into the second half. We have not seen the boys work so hard for one another with covering tackles and second efforts resisting wave after wave of attack. Unfortunately, with around twenty minutes left, we were finally broken by two penalty spot kicks in quick succession. The first was fair enough, with our keeper Jack taking both ball and player on a one-on-one opportunity. The second was a very harsh handball call from a point blank smash into poor Rhys Matina’s arm. Suddenly 3-1 down, the boys pushed on to try and get back into the game. But two more late goals from Wakehurst against a tiring and hurting BTH gave the result an unfairly one-sided flavour. While they were clearly disappointed, we can take plenty from a match where we competed with the best for most of the contest.
ps: once again, we called for support from the 18/3s and 18/4s to give us players on the bench. Bryn Young, Alistair Nolan, Sam Rose and Tom Berry were all willing to back up after their own games. Given the closeness of the contest for most of the match, there was really little opportunity to sub them on- but their presence and support was very much appreciated.
May 21, 2016
U9 Meteors
It was a great game & a fight to win. Score was 5-2. Our man of the match was Toby - who was awesome keeper first half and then 2nd half was on fire! We also welcomed our new team mascot to the team - Keith the blue staffy!
May 21, 2016
U10 Ravens
While it wasn't May the 4th, the Ravens sent the Killarney Meteors back "to a galaxy far far away" delivering a solid 3-2 win. The game opened with a midfield tussle, and both sides of the force were not able to breakthrough but it's not how you start, its how you finish. Two quality goals showed that the force was back in play and the Ravens were fired up for another win. A galactic effort in defence kept the Meteors scoreless until late in the second half where a slight weapons malfunction resulted in two goals in quick succession giving the Meteors opportunity to capitalise. But as Obi-Wan said to Darth Vadar: "Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." The Ravens refocused and a new hope arose as we started to dominate in attack. The game looked like it would end in a draw but continued attack, pressure and nice footwork resulted in the outcome we needed. The Ravens strike back with a sweet timely goal. Man of the match went to Jono who delivered a stellar effort in goals. Well done Ravens!!
May 21, 2016
U8 Funnel Webs
First win of the season, 3-1!