Head Coach Atila Kerestes. 

Last week’s encounter with South East Cougars produce some pleasing results.  

The U13Boys got a well deserved 2-1 victory over a formidable opponent. Credit must be given to Rocky Papalia for the development of this young squad; to come up against one of the most highly recognised coaches in the competition (Michael McBride, 2010 U15G FFA National All Stars coach) and not only match them on the field with style of play but also walk away with their first win of the season. Well done!!! 

The U13Girls had a challenge against another one of the most highly recognised coaches (Darren Tan, 2011 U13G FFA National All Stars Assistant Coach). The match ended in a 3-0 win to Rivers but more importantly gained recognition from Sean Douglas, FFV Technical Director, as “the best U13G game of football he had seen all season.” 

The U15Girls also gained great accolades from Sean Douglas for their style of play, even though they lost 4-0. Great to see them consistently linking more than three to five passes all over the pitch and create goal scoring opportunities. 

The U17Girls came out fighting in the second half to score three goals to nil to grab their first win of the season winning 4-1. Once again, the highlight is the way they played, dominating possession and creating goal scoring opportunities. 

Even though I did not see the U14 Boys and U15 Boys play, the feedback that I received was that positional awareness is crucial to them moving forward. Remember, every time your team mate has the ball, can you create an option to the left, right, middle or far? This is something that scouts are noting, not only noting for technical bonus points but also for talent ID. Players are being tracked all over the pitch, regardless of whether they have the ball or not. Their movement may not produce a reward but it does get noted. 

This weekend’s encounter will be a test of how we are developing as a club. We came across NE Diamonds in Round 1 where the U13G’s where unlucky to loose, the U15G & U17G “copt a hiding” on the score board and the U13B, U14B & U15B lost 2-0 or 3-0. Can these teams improve? 

The U17B’s will find it hard to repeat their 4-3 victory, with the lack of available players due to injury and the fact that NE Diamonds will be keen to redeem themselves against the “boys from the country.” 

I look forward to another entertaining round of football action. My eyes will be on the U13B’s, U14B’s, U17G’s & U17B’s. Don’t worry, I will have reputable feedback about the rest.

 

U15G: Tony Cigana 

Rivers U15 Girls put up a mighty performance finally going down 4 nil to top team South East Cougars. It was the way that the girls played that was very impressive as they stuck to the game plan and played possession football. Our backs deserves a lot of credit today as they continually played the ball out and played everything to feet which was a delight to see. Our width was good as we opened up a bit more in the second half and created half dozen chances to worry the top team. We are now understanding how we want to play and we were extremely pleased with our performance.

FFV Sean Douglas and our head coach commented on how well we did and played to the instructions of FFV. We are moving in the right direction and getting more confident as the season goes on. The score line did not reflect how close the game actually was. Really proud off the effort and commitment of all the girls as it was hard to single any outstanding player today as the whole team had a real hot go. Well done all. 

U17G: Uwe Paffrath 

Focus and confidence has improved significantly over the past three weeks resulting in good off the ball movement, quick sharp passing and tracking of the opposition. 

Once we minimise some errors (e.g. inaccurate passing) and maintain better ball control, we will be able to dominate the opposition for longer period of the game resulting in greater pressure on their goals. 

The training this week will be focusing on counter attacking game (with the U15 girls) on Tuesday night and midfield defence. 

U17Boys: Jean-Claude Giuca 

The U17 Boys had to play a very scraggy match on the weekend because , lack of players , injuries, heat , and a fast pitch. The game was more of a shut down game and close a lot of spaces, to try and starve S/East of the ball, we had our chances but just not successful on the day. 

Preview / This week still working on passing, positioning and tactical awareness and also inviting some of the U15 boys to step up and assist the U17 Boys to fill in gaps because lack of players. Cheers JC