Match Reports 16 May 2021

U7 girls played well again today, so proud of them and their spirit, playing against all boys teams and hanging in there!!!  The future of the club with this girls team is looking good ️

U7 yellow went down 4-0 to a very good Bentleigh side today, after a slow start they soon stepped up to the challenge and really made them work for the win, two very special performances from Ben in goal who really keeps them at bay with some superb saves and Jack who played on even with a blood nose, our very own Terry Butcher moment, good job boys!

Another good result for the Under 7 Red's who gave a well organised Rowville team a tough game which ended 1-1. The team spirit is excellent and they're all hungry to play. Also good to see development in the boys spacial and positional awareness. Unlucky not to pinch a winner with a few chances in the second half

U8 Blues played a great Peninsula Scorpions side today. We were 1-0 down at half time after really only conceding two shots for the entire half. We were unable to make the pressure count and in the second half a long through ball was latched onto by the Scorpions who banged it in for 2-0 (btw these guys can shoot very well). The second half was much the same story, very close contest but the Blues again were able to keep the ball in the opponents half and eventually we were able to get two quick goals to bring it  level. Scorpions then went 3-2 ahead, we bought it back to 3-3, then we conceded the match winning goal eventually going down 4-3. Scorpions are a quality side and will do well, but we were able to match them for the majority of the game, just unable to convert possession into goals

U8 Reds went down 4-1 today in a hard fought match against Chelsea. During the entire match our boys showed some really great play with solid passing and structure. We truely are starting to find our feet and the times you could throw a net over the team are becoming less and less (Hoorah).Undue pressure from the goal kicks is what beat us in this match with 2 goals scored without an MESC player getting a foot on the ball just outside the box. Brodie played an outstanding first game in goals putting himself in the mix against a team that scored another goal basically kicking the ball from his hands, suffering over the top pressure throughout the match. Loads of unlucky attempts from our attackers were really the difference in this match with MESC having the better of the possession in the Chelsea half and Jude who was everywhere in this game when he needed to be there, managing the put a great goal in the back of the net to make up for the many that went to the outside of goals.A really solid but unlucky performance from a great group of boys.

U8 Green went up against Beaumaris Dolphins on there home ground. With a howling wind they had scored 4 goals in the first 10 minutes. From that time on, we were on top with many shots on goal hitting the cross bar or the just going wide. In the end, the score was 5-1. U8 yellow went down 0-4 at home today against peninsula strikers. The lads were off from the start but slowly worked into the game, we missed a host of chances throughout but we couldn’t find the back of the net. Proud of them nonetheless and some positives to take away from the game. Special mention to Spence who ran his socks off today and created some good chances.

U9 Greens (previously red) lost 2nd in a row, 6-1 to Chelsea Barca. Despite pre match goal side Defence drills we fell to the same errors again. Unlucky not to score more with some shots straight at the keeper.

U10 Green went down to Chelsea today 5 - 1 today.The game felt close but the score doesn't show that.Chelsea were a very well structured side with discipline coming out of defense, the game was tight when we showed the same attention to our formation and not centering the ball in defense. But when we slipped, they capitalised quickly.
Super proud the boys never gave up and had a number of solid opportunities late in the game, they also supported each other, particularly the goalie when it was tough

U10 Yellow succumbed to our first defeat today in a 3-2 loss away at a cold Casey Panthers ground. The boys combination passing was great today, but we just struggled with finding that killer pass thru a well organised and parked defence. We managed to open the scoring thru an own goal after some great work by Sutton but then coped an equaliser just before half time with a great counter attack by Casey. 2nd half was tight and we dominated possession and territory but struggled to get a clear opening on goal, and in another counter attack they managed to score and move ahead , that goal seemed to galvanize the boys and they reacted by peppering the opposition goal in what was now arctic conditions, our 2nd was again off a deflected shot after a beautiful slalom run by Alfie. At 2-2 it was a fair result but the soccer gods had other ideas and with 2 mins left Casey punctured our defence with some direct play and managed a 3rd, but the boys kept going and had a few chances to equalise but it wasnt to be our day today but they left with their heads held high, great performances all round but Harper stood out today with his tenacious running and tackling. Well done boys, onwards and upwards.

U10 Red Kangas went down 4-1 today at Berwick. We dominated the first half but just could not find the back of the net. Berwick defended well - but the luck was not with us. We were soon hit on the counter at the 5 minute mark with some loose marking and a fine finish from Berwick's striker. We continued to dominate play but looked increasingly fragile at the back - with Austen keeping us in it with some very nice saves. After one save he launched a long throw into the Berwick half that was run on to by our striker Elliot and it was 1-1 after a typically clinical finish. A free kick outside our box and a goal mouth scramble with more loose defending and it was disappointing to be 1-2 down at the half. However, we we're confident we could win if we capitalised on our chances. The game was more even in the second half - we were still creating our chances but struggled to hold structure at the back. Eventually Berwick got on top and scored two goals from poor defensive work. It really could have been more if not for the stunning saves by our main keeper Oscar. Incredible! We never gave up though, hit the cross bar in the final minutes and fought until the end. A disappointing day but when we fix this these issues at the back we will be a competitive team. We just need the wingers to run back harder and show more discipline and structure in defence. Very pleased with the quality of keeping today. Outstanding! Oscar was clearly POTD for his fine keeping and his first half display in defensive mid-field

U11 Kangaroos brought home another 3pts following a win away to Mt Martha at Civic Reserve. 
Building upon progress made and lessons learnt from last week, MESC spent most of both halves again camped out in the opponents, giving them very little space and opportunity to bring the ball up. Mt Martha did create a few chances on the break, putting pulls wide and a couple of shots on target were stopped by our GK Ben.
But our defensive line stayed strong and resilient, and only made a few mistakes leaving them with some chances.
Our Striker Maui, converted a couple of beautiful shots in front of goal while we also popped a goal in from either wing followed by another one straight through the middle from centre mid player
We had a 6th goal disallowed as Maui found the back of net top right corner from a direct free-kick which we realised we shouldn’t have done. Still, Bend-it-like-Maui came to mind nonetheless.
Mt Martha claimed a couple of goals, one being a cheeky lob from the half line straight over the top of our keeper who i think was having a nap. It wasn’t enough though, MESC stayed alert and on the attack until the final whistle 

U11 yellows played Chelsea Raptors this morning. We started well and we raced into a 4-0 lead. Chelsea got a goal back with some determined play in our box. We then scored a further 4 goals before half time. Along with the score we were happy with the boys following instructions and maintaining their positions. This is something we have been working on for a few weeks. Getting them to trust their team mates and not rush to the ball but instead find space. For the second half, and with a comfortable lead, we decided to switch our attacking players to defence and our defence to attack. The boys got an appreciation of playing in unfamiliar positions and following new instructions. The second half had only one goal scored by us but was a very good learning experience. The new attackers really tried hard to get a goal and had some very close chances. The final score was 9-1 The whole team played well. Midfield and defence are defending well and getting the ball out quickly. Wide positions are working hard and learning to stick to the wings. The boys up front are playing well with plenty of shots.Goal scorers Tom -4, Leo - 3, Miles -1, Joe -1. Special mention this week to Archie O who had his best game today. He’s developing really quickly and worked really hard. Also to Brax for doing absolutely everything to get a goal with his opportunity up front. He did everything but just really unlucky not to find the back of the net. 

Round 5 U 12 Kangaroos v ChelseaBoys pressed early creating many scoring opportunities. Two goals to Paul O’Shea, some classy runs out wide from Louie Roberts, some precision passing through the middle from Ethan and two goal stopping saves from Riley Helmore had us two up at the break.
With 4 half time changes and some unfortunate defensive errors, we conceded three goals.
A solid CM performance from Jarvis and solid run again by Louie to pull one back.
A strong finish, however we could not find a winner and finished the day 3-3

U13 Reds had a friendly against Rosebud. We were light on for players so luckily had 2 fill ins to give us 1 sub. The boys played well, winning 5-4 with one unlucky own goal against us. We had Jai get us off to a great start with a classy goal and then goals to Alex and Sam (first time this season), our sub Tommy scored plus Jai chipped in for a second. Lachie kept well, saving quite a few and all the boys tried really hard without much of a break. We go down a division next week, which should certainly help us.