Metro 12′s v Bankstown. Win 3 – 1.
First round of a three round finals playoff, exciting for the team, a just reward for all of the hard work the players have done this year. The venue, Ray Marshall number two at Auburn is well grassed but the field is short and narrow, with the spectators close to the action. The field size probably suits our high pressing, short passing game, when we hold onto possession and ignore the scattered instructions from the crowd?
In the first half we struggled to keep possession, particularly out of the backline, preferring to go long and safe (nervous football), giving Bankstown too much possession. To be fair Bankstown were also trying to press high with two strikers and two attacking midfielders cramming up the centre of the park. In these types of games, the team that usually comes out on top, is the team that is confident in its own ability and whose players trust the team’s strategies and each other under pressure. Towards the end of the first half we managed to score from a good individual midfield run, only to concede from an equally good strikers finish, which was the result of a loss of shape in the middle. In the second half the players nerves settled (so did the nerves of the parents) the players confidence and trust returned and we started to switch the ball through the back and around the middle of the park, catching a very narrow Bankstown on the back foot.
Dragan and I thought today’s game was good in patches but for the team to go on and secure a grand final spot, the team will need to be more relaxed and have more trust in themselves, when I talk of the team that includes the parents.
Please feel free to applaud and encourage, but comments like “get it out of there” or “get rid of it”, will not help the team play the kind of football we all enjoy watching them playing! This team is capable of holding the ball anywhere and playing out of the backline under most circumstances. At this venue the crowd is very close to the players, please remember your body and verbal language has a big impact on the players. Nothing the coaching staff says can have the same effect as a parental scream or applause. Please be excited and enjoy the atmosphere of finals football, not everyone gets the chance to experience this type of football.
The players and other team members have no need to be nervous, the hard work has been done and the players know what the coaching staff want them to do, everything from here is a bonus. Mine and Dargan’s favourite game this year was the Eastern Suburbs game, where all of our spectators were sitting in a group and applauded every pass and tackle, this really lifted the team to a new level. The second half of today’s game was a good father’s day present for all of the dad’s, with two more goals, three different goal scorers in total and a final score three to one for the win, a good start to the finals and good for the teams confidence. Bring on St George next week, this should be a great game to watch and applaud.
See you all at training on Tuesday night regards Coach Stuart Blake
