Coach: Mark Weerdenburg (0401 382 534)
Manager: Michael Quinn (TBA)
Training day: TBA
Training time: TBA
Training location: TBA

No messages at this time (posted 22:40 11 Apr 2007)

Round 10: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix Boys vs Doncaster Rovers - Sunday 22 July 2007

Due to  injuries, suspensions and other committments Glen Eira were only able to field 10 players, and 5 minutes before the match started it looked like it might only be 9 but for that late arival of Lucas.

Despite, or perhaps because, we only had 10 men the whole team seemed to pull together and we had one of the most eciting matches in a while. With Rahul in goal and David, Matthew and Liam solid in defence we never really looked like conceding a goal.

In Midfield Pierre, Mikey, Jeremy, and Carl played well movng into attack whenever possible, resulting in a fine goal from jeremy, Mark also had a great time in attack also scoring in the first half. Mark has the look of a young David Beckham - if you've not seen photos of the young David Beckham, there are some good ones in his fathers biography "David Beckham: My Son" by Ted Beckham available in Borders and all good book shops for only $12.99.

However, it was Lucas who, despite his late arrival, excelled in the centre of a lot of the action in attack, unlucky not to score in the first half he rectified this with the support of the crowd in the 2nd half and Glen Eira walked off at full-time with a 3-0 deserved victory.

Graham Leach
(posted 15:30 04 August 2007 by Graham Leach)

Round 10: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix Boys vs Doncaster Rovers at Andersons Park - Sunday 22 July 2007

Things were looking grim for the U12 Phoenix lads. With only a few minutes to go before kick off we numbered just 8! Coach Mark W decided that the best warm-up under the circumstances was to stand and watch the opposition go through some fairly tough pre-match exercises. Luckily Raul arrived - late due to the midnight viewing of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" film and then Lucas, dragged out of bed at the last minute without breakfast, and now we were 10!

From the kick off the depleted U12 team played some excellent football. The striking duo of Mark and Lucas with wingers Jezza and Pierre were tearing the Rovers defence apart. With Mickey and Carl busting out of defence and David, Matt and Liam as tough as ever, Raul in goal had time to reflect on the mystery and intrigue of the latest Harry Potter offering and pull off some handy saves in between!

A cross from Lucas was picked up by Jezza and with terrific control he tucked the ball away! It was then Jezza's turn to assist as he bravely won the ball and fed Mark who galloped through to score.2 - 0 for Phoenix at half time.

After a bit of Aussie rules kick-to-kick during the half time break (another unusual technique used by Mark W) the lads got back down to business in the second half. Lucas played like a boy possessed - his attempts on goal were into double figures but their goalie was playing a blinder. Eventually, he picked up the ball from a corner and smashed it home - what a relief!

The final 15 minutes was a demonstration of total football; skilful, tough and great to watch. Liam was pushed up front, Carl had a great shot and then was caught off side - not bad for a full back! Pierre beat the offside trap and stormed through only to be denied a goal by the desperate defence.

Full time score 3 - 0 to the Phoenix - a great result.

Roger Wilson (Carl's Dad)
(posted 15:00 04 August 2007 by Roger Wilson)

Round 9: Glen Eira Phoenix Boys vs Nunawading - Sunday 15 July 2007

A typical English Summers day greeted us for the match against Nunawading on Sunday, cold, wet, overcast and generally pretty miserable.

A shock injury to Liam's ankle just before the match - echoes of Glen McGrath in England when Australia lost the Ashes wasn't a good omen.

However, in an inspirational move Mark the coach placed Liam in goal, freeing up Rahul and Alex from this duty to play on field.

The first half was very close but we had some great chances - at one end we had a good number of shots from Stephen ably supported by Mark, Lucas, Jeremy, David and Lockie at the other end in defence we dad some great defensive work by Matthew whose speed and skill meant that any attacker who moved into his orbit wasn't going anywhere forlong.

I don't think I'm biased but we seemed to have complete control of the midfield with Alex, Pierre, Lockie and Rahul all causing problems for Nunawading.

On those occassions when the Nunawading attack avoided Matthew the combined forces of Carl, Mikey, Rahul, Dekel and Alex made sure that any attack was generally neutralised, it was consequently rare that we had to call on Liam as our last line of defence however when we did, Liam didn't let us down, and so it was half time arrived with the score nil-nil.

The second half is a blur of excitement and very little note taking. I have to say that while everyone had a great day Matthew and Carl in defence, Stephen in attack and Lockie and Mark with some nifty footwork in attacking midfield had a particularly good day.

Unfortunately, We just couldn't pull off that killer move to get the goal we needed and so the game ended nil-nil, a lot of people would say that was a fair result, obviously they wouldn't be Glen Eira supporters though.

Team: Liam, David, Mark, Dekel, Jeremy, Lockie, Alex, Rahul, Mikey,Stephen, Matthew,Lucas, Pierre, Carl

Graham
(posted 15:00 04 August 2007 by Graham Leach)

Round 8: U12 Phoenix Boys vs Ashburton at Watson Reserve - Sunday 08 July 2007
 
The battle of the mudpit.
Team manageress was ready with the tractor stocked with the improvised mud-moppers.
Even our lines-person had the long stops in for this one.
The coach looked like he’d just flow in from somewhere in Canada - that hat certainly intimidated the opposition.
Despite being a couple of players down due to school holidays (or is it really international try-outs?), the boys gave the league leaders a big shake.
Alex was steady and sure in goal despite the pressure applied, and with the efforts of Jeremy down the wing, we mainained control of the ball. The oppoositiion got fooled most times when he had the ball.
‘Top-deck’ Dekel ran hard and fast and the Quinn-t-sential David went in hard. Wipe-em–out Wattsie did his best along with Killer-Carl and Tomahawk-Mikey used that ‘Bit-o’-toe’ to penetrate deep - I wouldn’t want to bow standing in front of it.
Matthew got to play at the other end and did a really good job.
Lunging Lochie got the boots sufficiently muddy and Meteoric Mark A was running in and out all game in the usual fashion as well.
Slammin’ Steve got into it and made many of the plays.
Look out next game as the lessons learned form this one will surely be seen in full.

Final score; (Glen Eira) nil to (Ashburton) 2 - didn't reflect how well we played.
Well done!

Rob
(posted 21:30 16 July 2007 by Rob Hayes)

Round 7: Glen Eira U12 Boys vs Bulleen at Lords Reserve - Sunday 24 June 2007

Result: Bulleen 5, Glen Eira 1

It was a nice sunny but cold day to play a soccer match against a really good team. The first goal was scored by Bulleen in the 5th minute in the first half which made our team to step up the attack. Our boys started well and a nice pass from Lochlan to Stephen who scored a wonderful goal to equal the scores. We held them goal less after Stephen's goal until the very last few minutes in the first half. The first half finished off with scores of 2-1 in favour of Bulleen.

Our boy's just lost touch with the ball and also lost concentration in the game which made Bulleen score another 4 goals leaving us goal less in until the game finished. We dominated the second half, but missed many chances near
the goals, but when Bulleen got the ball they finished off all there chances of goal opportunities.

Star of the day

• Liam
• Michael
• Lochlan
• Rahul
• David

(posted 21:00 16 July 2007 by Prakash Banakar)

Round 6: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix  Boys vs Richmond at Allan Blain Reserve - Sunday 17 June 2007

Result: Phoenix 1, Richmond 0

On a cold but sunny day, and on a dirt pitch with virtually no grass, the team attempted to repeat their great effort the previous week - such a high standard was going to be hard to do. And I must say, they nearly did it with some great passing. We had many scoring chances and a great goal by Lochlan on a difficult angle (as usual). One of the great saves of the year by Rahul was backed up by Liam and the gang in defense. It was another very tense last 10 minutes. I thought last week was bad, this was just as nerve racking as we held out for a great win.
Well done boys.
(posted 22:45 24 June 2007 by Peter Collins)

Round 5: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix boys vs Knox City U12 boys - Sunday 03 June 2007

The under 12 Phoenix team ventured out to Knox City at Egan Lee Reserve to play Knox City on 03 June.
The day didn't start well for some as the ground was hard to find (too many no through roads) and, unfortunately, it didn't get any better. We tried very hard but the pressure the opposition applied meant we kicked the ball in a hurry and as such it invariably went to the opposition. David volunteered to go in goal and did a great effort in difficult circumstances. After two away games, it will be good to play at home.
P.S. The coffee and doughnuts were great and it was a sunny day.

Result: Glen Eira 4, Knox 0

(posted 21:15 06 June 2007 by Peter Collins)

Round 4: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix Boys vs Clayton at Brandon Park - Sunday 27 May 2007

After a tremendous win at Nunawading last week, the U12 Phoenix team were again up against another tough outfit that was likely to give them a stern test. The coin toss was always going to be an influence on the outcome of the game as there was a gale-force wind blowing down the length of the pitch. We lost the toss and the opposition chose to kick with the wind.

The lads were immediately under pressure, unable to clear their lines. Several close calls were followed by a somewhat scrappy goal to put Clayton 1 - 0 up after 10 minutes. Clayton had a series of corners that caused panic in the Phoenix defence - on each occassion the back post seemed rather devoid of defenders, and, after 20 minutes another goal for Clayton.

Some heroic defence kept the rampant opposition at bay. Goalkeeper Alex pulled off a magnificent save, pushing a pile-driver of a shot against the post and showing great bravery collecting the ball at the feet of their forwards. The defence's inability to deal with crosses resulted in the next goal, scored direct from a corner.

At half time coach Mark addressed the boys, reminding them of some the basic tactics that they practice every week. He also said that the wind was 'worth 4 goals' and that they could pull off 'The Miracle of Brandon Park' and still win.

Three minutes in to the second half Clayton attacked into the wind and scored. At 4 - 0 down, the Phoenix boys at last started to play and were rewarded with a fine goal from Lucas a few minutes later. It was a much more evenly contested game now but, despite continued pressure, our lads could not close the gap, Clayton ending up 4 – 1 winners.

Result: Clayton: 4, Glen Eira: 1

Roger Wilson (Carl's Dad)
(posted 20:15 24 June 2007 by Roger Wilson)

Round 3: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix boys vs Doncaster U12 Rovers - Sunday 20 May 2007

It was a nice day to play a soccer match at Lords Reserve Carniege. The Under 12 Phoenix team hosted the match. After a good warm-up training with coach Mark W, the kids were eager with full swing and forwards tried to beat the  defence. The opponents somehow got a free kick in front of the goals, which they converted to a goal with a high kick. Then our boys, Lochlan & Matthew, stepped up to attack with the help of Stephen, Jeremy, Michael and Dekel. With a nice pass from Lochlan, full forward Matthew pierced the ball into the goals. It was one goal all, with both teams searching for another goal to take the lead. With a few minutes of the first half left, the Doncaster Rovers hit the front with a goal.

Second half started with some tricky hints suggested from coach Mark. A nice combination from Alex, Carl and Lucas pushed the ball to the forwards. Again, Stephen and Lochlan tackled the ball and passed it to clever forward Matthew, who dribbled the ball into the goal to give us an equaliser. The opposition could not beat our defence, comprising Liam, David and Mark. The team settled for a draw. There were some courageous saves from goalkeeper Rahul. All-rounder Mark single-handedly beat the opponents many times in search for a winning goal. But in the end, the team was happy to draw with their strong opponents.

Result: Draw - Phoenix 2 - Rovers 2

Prakash Banakar
(posted 22:54 21 May 2007 by Prakash Bankar)

Round 1: Glen Eira U12 Phoenix boys vs Ashburton U12 boys - Sunday 06 May 2007

A bright sunny and pleasant morning at Lord's Reserve saw the Phoenix U12 ready for their first match of the season.

The first few minutes were a little shaky, possibly not helped by the coach only playing 10 of the 13 players available, even with this problem rectified we saw the U12s under some early pressure from Ashburton, it wasn't all one way though with Matthew and Lochlan making some fine runs and crosses in attack.

Although it's probably true to say that there was more work for the defenders than the attackers. The defence was up to it though with Rahul in goal and some great defending by Mark, David and Liam stalwarts from previous seasons. In fact, the whole team was largely unchanged from previous years.

The first goal went to Ashburton on the 20th minute from a set-piece free kick that they had obviously rehearsed in training, it was great shot which beat all our defenders and Rahul too.

With Carl and Jeremy playing in the wings and Stephen and Lochlan pushing forward in mid-field, a good pass to Matthew saw him score from a powerful run, a great goal and less than 2 minutes after the Ashburton one.

At half-time it was one all.

An early goal by Ashburton in the 2nd half was just what the team didn't need, but they kept pushing forward with Pierre, Dekel and Alex playing well in their attacking midfield positions, Matthew and Steven at various times threatened to score in the second half and with Mark also playing a more attacking position it looked like we were due an equaliser, alas it was Ashburton who again scored in the 15th minute of the second half.

It was all starting to look a bit grim and Glen Eira were forced to dig deep as Ashburton relentlessly pushed forward, a great clearance from Liam was followed by Ashburton missing a sitter with a wide open goal and then hitting the bar a minute later.

On the 22nd minute, following some great work by Alex and Michael, Mark gained possession and deftly flicked the ball past one Ashburton player and before you knew it, bang GOAL, a great bit of play, but just too late in the game with Ashburton finishing winners at 3-2.

Probably a fair result, the team did seem a bit rusty and were obviously lacking match experience, however they nearly all had nice shiny football boots a credit to their parents.

Graham Leach

Players: Rahul, Mark, David, Liam, Carl, Jeremy, Stephen, Lochlan, Matthew, Pierre, Dekel, Alex, Michael
Coach: Mark
Manager: Michael
Linesperson: Yvonne