Category Archives: Junior Match Reports

U/13 v U/14 State Girls 15/06/11

Written on June 30, 2011 by in Junior Match Reports

Boys U13 League 1

Hobart Zebras FC

V

State U14 Girls

Showgrounds 1, 1800hrs

The boys travelled mid-week to the Showgrounds for another show down with the State Under 14 Girls.  Last time the teams met the Girls walked away with the points with a comfortable 5 goals to 3 victory.

The team’s usual battle with absences continued with the withdrawal of Nick Fader (intrastate travel), Kane Morgan (illness and Kayden Edwards and Andonny Papastamatis (both interstate).  This saw the inclusion of Will Kaden, Kobe Kemp and Jack Hale, all from the 14 Boys as well as Tyson Barrett and Olaf Conforti from the 12 Boys.

The Zebras continued to display how much they have improved since the beginning of the season and came out hard and confident against their bigger opponents.  The Zebras took an early lead when Matthew Gates centred the ball into the middle of the box for Sean Young to slam home the first goal of the game.  This was soon followed by a Jack Hale cross from outside the box that found Jack Carter waiting on the end and subsequently finding the back of the net in crisp fashion – the Zebras up 2 goals to nil.  The Zebras looked threatening throughout the first half seeing a number of crosses from both sides of the pitch finding their marks inside the box with a number of opportunities going wide and above the net.  Olaf Conforti finished off a magnificent half for the Zebras by again crossing a ball from wide that found Tyson Barrett.  Barrett skilfully beat the keeper and pushed the ball into the back of the net.  The State Girls had few shots on goal during the half and those that were presented never threatened the Zebras ever reliable keeper in Riley Psaila.

The Zebras went in to the half time break leading 3 goals to nil.

The second half saw the State Girls come out hard and had early opportunities on goal – the first, and closest, narrowly cleared the cross bar.  The Zebras quickly found their form following a Jack Hale back-pass that found Will Kaden who, from well outside the box, drilled the ball into the back of the net.  From there the Zebras really started to control the game however, against the run of play, the State Girls skilfully moved the ball forward that resulted in the Zebras defence’s only real error of the game occurring when they over committed on the striker.   The ball was skilfully worked around the last defender who went to ground resulting in the State Girl’s striker finding the back of the net.  This only reinvigorated the Zebras who then had many shots on goal – Gates had many opportunities but continued to find both the keeper and the outside of the uprights as well as Young who also had several opportunities.

The game finished with the Zebras recording a 4 goal to 1 win.

This really was a wonderful team effort and showed the true value of a well structured and disciplined defensive line.  However, notable performances came from Lachlan Gregory who was simply outstanding in defence. His work in pushing both the attacking players, as well as the ball, wide showed excellent defensive skills. Olaf Conforti was brilliant in running wide into the forward line and provided many opportunities for his forwards and the 14 Boys combination of Will Kaden and Jack Hale provided run in both attack and defence and were outstanding in combining to nullify any pressure put on by the State Girls in the midfield.

 

U/13 v South Hobart White 11/06/11

Written on June 14, 2011 by in Junior Match Reports

Boys U13 League 1

Hobart Zebras FC

V

South Hobart White

Queens Walk, 11:30am

The week saw the boy’s second home game of the season, hosting South Hobart White.

The team welcomed back Alex Colavecchio from injury but again saw their numbers reduced by the omission of Kane Morgan (illness), Nick Fader (higher age selection) and Andonny Papastamatis (interstate).  These ommisions saw the inclusion of Matthew Pace from the 14 Boys, the dynamic and skillful 12 Boy’s combination of Olaf Conforti, Jackson Ebini, Hamish Moore and Tyson Barrett as well as the always reliable Dominic Gates from the 11 Boy’s.

The Zebras came out a different team this week taking on one of the better performers in recent weeks in South Hobart.  The first half saw the reliable mid-field combination of Jack Carter, Matthew Pace, Tyson Barrett and Jay Hennicke provide their forwards with plenty of ball. This in turn saw the dynamic forward combination of Sean Young, Matthew Gates and Fit Malau-Aduli having plenty of chances.  The half saw many opportunities on goal that included a Malau-Aduli thunderbolt being struck just outside the box and crashing into the upright post that was quickly cleared by the South Hobart defenders.  Gates also had opportunities but unfortunately his usual deft touch went astray that saw many of his usual skilful chips going wide of both the keeper and the goal face.

The Zebras didn’t have the half their own way as the South Hobart forwards regularly found holes in the defensive line but were constantly stopped on the goal line by the outstanding efforts of the Zebra’s ever reliable keeper Riley Psaila.

The team’s went into the half time break deadlocked at nil all.

The second half saw much of the same with the Zebras dominating the first 20 minutes of play. Young had a few early chances on goal that were comfortably collected by the South Hobart keeper.  A Jack Carter strike from just outside the box saw the ball rebound off the crossbar and hand the ball back to South Hobart.  Gates also had opportunities but the quick actions of the South Hobart defenders prevented any opportunities he may have had.

The half also saw young Hamish Moore solidify the defensive line and proved to be an exceptional inclusion to the Zebra’s defensive team.  Again, Psaila in goal was the major difference between the teams as the South Hobart strikers again started to find their way through the Zebra’s defence.  His efforts in charging the ball carrier and putting pressure on them saw a number of errors that allowed the Zebras defence to get back and support their under sieged keeper.

The deadlock was finally broken midway through the half when South Hobart broke through the defensive line and once again were confronted by the Zebras heroic keeper. Despite those efforts and facing two South Hobart forwards Psaila could not withstand the forward pressure this time as the South Hobart striker found the back of the net.

The game finished with a heartbreaking 1 nil loss.

The better players for the Zebras were Psaila who was simply outstanding and best on field.  Jack Carter again covered both ends of the field and provided run through the centre as well as setting up many opportunities for his forward line and Hamish Moore who came off the bench and provided strong defensive support.

U/13 v Clarence Red 03/06/11

Written on June 7, 2011 by in Junior Match Reports

Boys U13 League 1

Hobart Zebras FC

V

Clarence Red

Cambridge, 18:30 pm

This week saw the boys travel to Cambridge for their first night game of the season to take on the 3rd placed Clarence Red.

Owing to the continued recovery of Alex Colavecchio (injury) and the absence of Kane Morgan (illness) the team were bolstered by the inclusion of Tommy Marshall and Ashley Sutton (both from the 14 Boys) and Olaf Conforti and Jackson Ebini (both from the 12 Boys).

The Zebras young developing team found playing one of the top contenders in the League a real challenge and were trailing early in the game following a Clarence Red strike just outside the box that found its way to the back of the Zebras net.  From there, the Clarence midfielders and forwards dominated the half providing several opportunities on goal.  Their endeavours were rewarded by a second goal from within the box that also found its way into the back of the Zebras net.

Whilst the Zebras did display glimpses of the team that has shown great improvement in recent weeks, their forward pressure was below their usual high standards and they did well to go into the half time break trailing by only 2 goals.

The second half saw the Clarence team come out hard and with continual pressure to the Zebras midfield and back line saw their endeavours richly rewarded.  Their third and fourth goals came from strikes within the box, their fifth saw the ball deflect from a Zebra defender from a well taken corner and their sixth was well struck from outside the box that hammered in to the top of the Zebras net.

The half did see the Zebras improve their ball carrying through the midfield but many of their wide forays forward saw a vacant box that easily allowed the Clarence defenders to clear the ball. The half also saw the Zebras only real chance where a Sean Young strike from inside the box hit the upright and the rebound was quickly cleared by a Clarence defender.

The game finished with a convincing win to Clarence Red, 6 goals to nil.

The better players for the Zebras were Jack Carter who again covered both ends of the field and provided run through the centre, Ashley Sutton whose defensive work in the first half was outstanding, Olaf Conforti who provided drive from the midfield and set up many opportunities passing wide to inside the box and Jackson Ebini who took over from Sutton in the second half to provide a barrier in defence as well as rebounding several of the Clarence forays forward.

U/13 v New Town Eagles 28/05/11

Written on May 31, 2011 by in Junior Match Reports

Boys U13 League 1

Hobart Zebras FC

V

New Town Eagles SC

Showgrounds, 11:30 am

On top of their outstanding performance against Olympia the previous week, the boys headed to the Showgrounds to take on New Town Eagles SC.

The ongoing issues with injury and illness continued with the withdrawal of Kayden Edwards and Kane Morgan (both illness) and the second week recovery for Alex Colavecchio (injury).  These omissions saw the inclusion of Kiama Ramsdale as well as Dominic Gates, Fabian Natoli and Alex Toslle, all from the 11 Boys team that had only played an hour earlier.  All equipped themselves impressively and proved that they are all capable of higher duties.

The first half saw the Eagles take an early lead that was quickly nullified by a Matthew Gates goal.  Both teams traded goal for goal for much of the first half that saw Gates finish with his first hat-trick for the Zebras scoring all 3 first half goals.  Gates displayed some individual brilliance as well being the beneficiary of some superb team play having received some deft passes from his fellow forward-half players of Sean Young and Jack Carter.  The teams went into the half time break with the scores level at 3 all.

The Zebras came out impressively after the half time break following inspired instructions and guidance from the new game-day coach, Nick Lapolla.

Although a minor setback with the Eagles scoring the first goal of the second half, the Zebras lifted to score the next 4 goals that eventually saw them notch up their first win of the season, 7 goals to 4.  The second half goals were shared by Jack Carter with 2, Nick Fader with 1 and Sean Young with 1.

The second half saw a significant turnaround in the way the defensive line approached the game with Lachlan Gregory and Andonny Papastamatis along with the support of the 11 Boys players providing a solid wall in defence and repelling many of the Eagles’ Forays.  For the first time, the second half saw the Zebras concede only one goal. Whilst the defensive line lifted, the mid-field combination of Jay Hennicke, Fader and Carter as well as the forward’s of Gates and Young continued their first half brilliance to ensure a Zebras’ victory.

Significant contributors for the Zebras were Carter who, for the second week, provided a best on field performance in providing opportunities, finishing those that were presented to him and covering the mid-field to provide many of the forays forward, Gates who dominated in front of the net in the first half and provided scoring opportunities in the second half,  Young who retrieved many lost opportunities up forward and along with Gates provided a potent forward line-up, and the first class mid-field combination of Fader and Hennicke who both displayed immense skills and were composed when presented by pressure situations having to recover the ball and provide numerous opportunities to their forwards.

A job well done by the whole team!!

Youth Cup

Written on May 27, 2011 by in Junior Match Reports

Tilford Zebras under 14s

vs

Newtown Eagles

Clare Street.

 

Unfortunatly I was unable to be at this game but Chase Shiel was in charge with assistance from Sergio Pace, the boys dominated this game running out winners 11-0, which now sends them into quarter finals.

 

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