Under 9 Division 2

Grand Final: Sat 22-08-2009 v Chipping Norton at Hammondville Park (1-0):

For the avid match report readers who were able to force themselves out of bed to attend the 8:30am kick off, you would already know that this wasn’t one of the prettiest matches in terms of ball control, passing and team work – but it was a gutsy performance by both teams. For me the game was a real pearler, and after having just watched a DVD replay, I have concluded, without bias, that the stronger team did in fact prevail. As in the previous encounters, a good deal of the game was played in the Chippo half and the unflinching will, drive and determination displayed by our boys was just too dominating for the opposition to take any lasting advantage.

We tried a new move with our corners at training last week and, while not exactly played to plan, the only goal of the game actually resulted from the set play. Chippo gave us three corners in a row midway through the 1st half. As practised, Blake the Lionheart, Matt the Mauler, James the Avenger and Lachlan the Braveheart bunched tight together on the penalty spot and then scattered perfectly to confuse their markers as soon as Daniel the Deadly executed his Dipper. The third attempt of the Dipper saw the ball slip straight past the Chippo keeper and through a number of defenders who just couldn’t seem to get it clear of the six yard box. Finally, from an attempted shot by James the Avenger, the ball made its way through to Lachlan the Braveheart, who had strategically positioned himself near the far side of the goal to neatly slot the ball past 2 outstretched Chippo defenders and inside the far post for the goal of the match.

The Moorebank crowd roared, horns were blasted and the Hawk’s Cove went into a deafening scoreboard bashing frenzy. One goal up - but we knew there was a lot of work still to do.

In contrast to our previous battles, this early goal seemed to inspire the Chippo boys to really come back hard. They were relentless for the rest of the first half and seemed to get to every ball well before we did. Despite this, the boys held on strongly and headed into the change room at half time for some regrouping and nerve calming instruction. For inspiration, I reminded the boys of our Club logo which aptly depicts the Mighty Hawk swooping down and snatching the ball away from his opponent. Fired up, our boys came back for battle with renewed energy and vigour knowing what they had to do to ensure Chippo couldn’t take control.

Again, much of the next 15 minutes was spent in the Chippo half although there didn’t seem to be any passage through their tight defence. Full credit to the Chippo coaches who fairly well shut down our attacking strength and basically forced the game into an eye-for-an-eye midfield battle. Then, in the last minutes the Chippo forwards seemed to step up a gear in a desperate last ditched attempt to bag an equaliser. Our defenders really had their work cut out for them in a period of play which seemed to be ever so typical of the dying minutes of a Grand Final football match.

With just over 2 minutes to go, Chippo’s right wing speedster, JT, had the whole Moorebank crowd holding their hearts in their hands. A cleared Moorebank corner kick from well within the Chippo half saw him latch onto a perfect through ball and make a bee-line for the Moorebank goal where Jester Josh the Gatekeeper stood quivering in his boots at the sight of what was “charging” towards him. Hot on JT’s heels was our own speedster, Thomas the Terminator who had swiftly switched his settings onto “pursue and destroy”. Knowing that JT had the run on the Terminator, Jester Josh rushed out towards him in an all or nothing attempt to foil the oncoming shot. With the Terminator blocking JT’s rocket right foot side, he could only manage a lesser paced chip with the outside of his right. The shot was executed. While Jester Josh had done enough to slow the pace, the ball sailed past his left and towards the goal mouth. Then, with a last second spurt of speed, the Terminator swiftly swept the ball off the line with his right and smashed it out to the sideline for a Chippo throw. What an amazing moment and what an amazing defensive save!

Then, with 40 seconds to go, a miss kicked clearance at the half way line saw JT break through again and bolt straight towards our goal. The Moorebank crowd once again held their breath but this time the Terminator had JT’s measure and quickly dispensed of any further danger from this gallant little charger by once again smashing the ball over to the sideline. The throw was taken and, after what seemed like an eternity, the full-time whistle blew.

Game over!!! …. Relief, Excitement, Happiness, Pride.

Congratulations boys, you Mighty Moorebank Hawks are the Southern Districts Soccer Football Association 2009 Season U9 Division 2 Premiers!

Special congratulations also to Lachlan on his extra-special Grand Final goal - I know that’s one he’ll never forget. Also to Thomas for scoring the SDSFA President’s Most Valuable Player Award at the presentation. That is something I’m sure he will treasure as I, and all those who witnessed the game will treasure the memory of his outstanding display of determined defending. Well done.

As this is my last match report for the year, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Sharon, our team manager for all her hard work throughout the season with all the admin duties (rosters, money collection, team sheets etc) and in keeping the team players and parents organised. This has really allowed Aran and I to focus on coaching and developing the boys as a team.

I’d also like to thank Aran, our assistant coach. It’s been a great journey together this season and his help and dedication is one of the major reasons these boys achieved what they did. I look forward to next year and many more seasons of coaching with Aran.

And thanks to Geoff Carroll of Mack Trucks Sydney, for all the support given to the team this season. It’s also been fantastic to have the Mack Truck brand associated with our Club. Of course, we will all be extremely pleased to see the famous bulldog back next season.

And finally to the Champions - Josh, Jordan, Jared, Tom, Isaac, Michael, Lachlan, Aaron, James, Jack, Blake, Matt and Daniel, who have all been an absolute pleasure to coach this year. Their collective determination, drive and enthusiasm are qualities that many coaches can only dream for in a team and are the main reasons for their success this season.

While they couldn’t take the Minor Premiership off Chipping Norton, they worked hard for their 2nd place in the competition, a likely spot in next year’s Division 1 competition and most importantly, the 2009 Season U9 Division 2 Premiership.

Well done and congratulations again to all the boys. They thoroughly deserve all the accolades.

See you all in 2010.

Glenn (Coach)