Untitled Document

Under 12 report:

v Eltham Eagles
Round 9
It was a cold start to the day and being at home Berwick United with the early 9am kick-off needed to prepare the ground. Coach Chris Prins and the faithful parents were out early putting up the nets however the line-marker was not behaving itself, no amount of prodding with sticks or turning it on its side and shaking got it to work. John Kruize offered advice but also couldn't get it to work! With time running out Chris Prins the coach had no other alternative but to dig his hands deep into the lime and scatter it from his hand onto the pitch which probably took twice as long to do the job as normal. The Berwick United team were also quietly complaining about the cold and the early start and found it hard to get into pre-game routine. Tristan Leek was a non starter for the game as was a Berwick players dad's car which wouldn't start.
Team manager Michael Capon tried to rev up the boys & girl by getting them to do fast sprints which got the team warm at least. Grace Cook also provided some nice warm lubricant for Chris & Michael in hot coffees which went down a treat. Thanks Grace.

Eltham Eagles were having a hard time too with only eight of their team making the early morning trip to Hillsmeade. The referee with both coaches permission shortened the game to 22 minutes a half.
The Eltham Eagles No 9 player from the beginning looked lively and it was going to need all of Luke Nelson's skill to keep up with him as well as the other remaining back four of Luke Williams, Stephen Capon and Bernie Saenz.
Berwick United's first move forward was in the third minute of the game when Simon Volkoff passed the ball through to Adam Kruize who mishit his kick at goal. Most of the Berwick United's players looked sluggish early on. Even with this three man advantage you would have thought both sides had eight players as Berwick United took awhile to get this game going.

Berwick United did show on the 10 minute mark why they are currently top of the table. The ball had come out to Jack Cook from the Eltham defence, Jack controlled the ball did a one-two with Adam Kruize then Jack shot on goal from close range the keeper got a hand to it but could only deflect it into the goal. Three minutes later Simon Volkoff had a shot which was stifled by the goalkeeper, but these skills were few and far between in the first half.

At the other end Eltham Eagles kept trying to release their no 9 player through, but good work from Luke Williams, Stephen Capon, Bernie Saenz and Luke Nelson covered for each other to ensure he or any of the other Eltham players didn't get a clear shot on goal. The Eltham no 9 did get through on one occasion but quick thinking from Tate Broadbent to come out and gather the ball and the danger passed. Micah Prins was working well on the right wing and Alex Gligor on the left supported the forwards going forward.
Reece Higham was also providing good back-up to the forwards by supplying nice passes but still Berwick United were still finding it hard to get going. Berwick also gave away too many illegitimate throw ins which gave away possession to Eltham.
In the fourteenth minute Coach Chris Prins made a double substitution bring Gerard Tarsicius on for Alex Gligor and Ruben Gligor on for Reece Higham.
On the eighteenth minute Berwick United struck again, the ball was bogged down in the midfield when Stephen Capon took the initiative to kick a long ball forward into the opposing defensive area, Adam Kruize ran with the ball and gave a pass back to Jack Cook to put away goal number 2.

As the referee blew his whistle for half-time Coach Chris Prins knew he needed to give a firm talk to the team as they got into their huddle. Chris realising they didn't need four players at the back made a tactical change by using a 2-5-4 formation.
Adam Kruize went into goal and Luke Williams joined the midfield, Jack played up front with Simon Volkoff .
As the game restarted the coach Chris Prins was heard to say "and no more bad throw ins Berwick!"

Coach Chris Prins made an early substitution after three minutes swapping Micah Prins for Alex Gligor, but it wasn't until the 7th minute of the second half did the game spark into life again. Stephen Capon who had moved from defence into the midfield had spied a corridor to slot a forward pass into and placed it beautifully, it bisected the defence and enabled Jack Cook to run onto it. Jack ceasing the opportunity ran onto the through ball and buried the ball with a sweet shot into the net to make it 3-0 and his hat-trick. Berwick United were now into their stride and a shadow of how they played in the first half. Gerard Tarsicius came off the bench to replace Luke Williams in midfield and was working hard in midfield.
Berwick started to control the game with their 5 man midfield and Eltham Eagles lack of players showing. From a free kick from Reece Williams, Tate Broadbent slided a pass through to Simon Volkoff who shot on the run at goal but the keeper managed to clear the ball back up field.

In the 12th minute of the second half Jack Cook who had been lively most of the day took the ball to the dead ball line and crossed across the box and Simon Volkoff was able to follow it in, almost on his knees, over the line at the far post to make it 4-0.
After the goal Coach Chris Prins then brought back on Micah Prins for Tate Broadbent into the midfield.
Simon Volkoff was again in the action two minutes later when Simon fired a low hard shot at goal which came off a Eltham Eagles defender and Gerard Tarsicius was there to follow up the rebound and from close range put the ball into the net. This was Gerard's first goal for Berwick in his playing career and the coach and the assembled crowd were shouting for joy for him as he turned and gave a broad grin at scoring.

>From the restart Berwick United were off again trying to break down the Eltham Eagles defence, Micah Prins and brothers Alex & Ruben Gligor supporting the forwards and these three were working well together as Alex Gligor pushed forward and fired a shot from close range at goal which the keeper parried, the ball fell to Micah Prins who coolly placed the ball between the legs of the keeper (nutmegged him) and over the line to bring up goal number 6.
Coach Chris Prins brought back on Tate Broadbent & Luke Williams for Stephen Capon & Bernie Saenz to play out the last few minutes of the game.
Eltham Eagles still kept trying even though the game was lost and Berwick United's midfield and defence were kept busy. one highlight was Gerard Tarsicius, full of confidence from his goal ran after a loose ball and tackled an Eltham player and gained control of the ball which was well applauded from the sidelines.

Eltham Eagles in the dying seconds were awarded their first corner of the game and Berwick United players flooded back to protect their goal. After the corner kick the referee immediately blew his whistle to end another strong Berwick United win.
Once again the team gathered in the huddle and sang the Berwick song with much gusto.
They now have a three week break till their next game away at Croydon Ranges.

Goal scorers week 9
Jack Cook (10 mins, 18 mins) HT: 2-0
Jack Cook (30 mins), Simon Volkoff (34 mins), Gerard Tarsicius (37 mins), Micah Prins (39 mins) FT: 6-0

Report by Michael Capon

Berwick were away this week to Croydon Rangers and even though they were
placed below Berwick on the ladder we all knew that this was not going to
be an easy game as I am yet to come across any easy game this season . It
was a 10 o’clock kick-off and the day was looking like it would be a good
day to play soccer .
Croydon had the kick off and Berwick once again were running up hill which
seems to be the normal thing when we play away from home. As we discussed
before the game we knew we had to run hard for the whole game and attack
from the start to try and set up a lead and stamp our authority from the
outset.
The boys gave their all from the start and went straight on the attack and
they were passing the ball around more than they have done in the past and
they were hitting their man . But with all the ball movement and some great
play they were finding Croydon’s defence very stubborn and hard to
penetrate . As the time started to tick away and the boys continued to
pepper the Croydon goal I was starting to wonder if it was going to be one
of those days where the boys do all the hard work only to get the wrong
result , but it wasn’t long after this that the breakthrough came. The boys
continued to work hard and got themselves a corner on the right side of the
Croydon goal. Ben rushed over to take the corner and as he has been
practicing his corners over the past few months and learning to curl the
ball it finally came to fruition as he curled the ball inside the near post
without any help from another player to register the first goal of the
game. I looked down at my watch and the game was only seven minutes old.
Back to the centre and Croydon kicked off and went straight into attack and
with a changed backline for the third week running Berwick looked a little
nervous but repelled repeated attacks and continually got the ball back to
our attackers and at the 12th minute mark earned another corner . After his
previous success from the corner Ben rushed once more to try his luck again
but this time the ball made it’s way to Joel who made a valiant attempt on
goal but somehow the ball ended up back with Ben who calmly slotted home
his second goal of the day. The boys were on fire and full of running and
after the kick off regained possession and this time attacked down the left
hand side and with Ben passing off to Ryan to pick his spot and place a
slow but well weighted shot past the keeper and into the far side of the
Croydon goal .
With the score now 3-0 and Berwick looking like they were going to continue
their attacking ways Croydon started to find their passing game and were
putting Berwick’s defence under all sorts of pressure . But with players
like Carrick , Kaleb , Connor , Declan and Kane in the back line who were
supporting each other and did not want to concede a goal and with Ollie
once again in full command of his goal and putting in one of his best
halves this year the boys went in at half-time with that three goal buffer
.
Berwick had the kick off in the second half and from the start looked very
tired and flat footed and Croydon seem to sense this and started to take
more control of the game and you could tell that this second half was going
to be a lot different from the first half. Although Berwick were going down
hill this half they had the sun in their eyes and Croydon’s smaller players
started to dominate at ground level and it was only a matter of time before
they broke through for their first goal with a nice shot giving Ollie no
chance and bringing the score back to 3-1. Back at the centre and Berwick
started to move the ball around like they had in the first half but unlike
the first half they were getting to the ball second and having to chase .
This was the third week in a row that Berwick went into a game without any
interchange players and it was starting to show as Croydon started to
dominate the second half and Berwick’s defence were finding themselves
under constant attacks which they were dealing with until some great
passing from the small midfield players worked themselves into position to
slot home their second goal of the game with Ollie’s valiant attempt
pushing his left hand back but it was not enough to stop the ball going in
. The score now 3-2 to Berwick and still about five minutes remaining.
Berwick were still trying their best to seal the game and with Thommie
(Totti) , Ryan , Ben and Joel going close they just could not find the goal
they were after and Croydon were not finished and pushed forward for one
more attempt . With time running out and Berwick’s defence determined to
save the game they hung on for a well deserved and very hard fought victory
. Final score 3-2 to Berwick and after some relief Ryan led the team in the
clubs song for the second week but this time had some company as the boys
did their best to join him .
A special mention this week goes to Ben’s dad Oscar as this was his second
game in a row that he has been to, and the second win . Looks like we have
found our good luck charm.
Now three weeks off and a well earned break for the team and their loyal
supporters.



SENIORS vs Knox. There does not get any bigger fixture on the calendar than Berwick against Knox and even for a new comer like me into the competition, I could sense the build up all week. As Saturday came we welcomed Chris in goal for his first, first team game this year, Louie was back after some very good performances in Ashes team and Cherry was also back in the team. Knox dominated the first 15 minutes and went one nil up after some poor marking let a Knox player to slot home. The Berwick boys settled down after that and got on top and started to play some good football, with Amsterdam coming close on two occasions. However it took a Cherry free kick that was hit from about 25 yards out on the angle and still rising as it hit the back of the net. When the whistle sounded for the end of the first half, it was fair to say that Knox were more thankful than Berwick. Within minutes of the second half starting Knox got what would be the winning goal when they whipped in a free kick from the left side of the park and a Knox player headed towards Berwick’s goal and even as I write this report two days later I’m not sure how the ball went in……….it was a very soft goal and changed the game. The boys battled for the next 40 minutes and should have been rewarded with a least a point. But at the end of the day we could not put the ball in the back of the net. Next week we face Dandy at home, every game now becomes a cup final that we HAVE to win. Finally thanks to all those who turned up to support us - it was great to see so many supporters, I am personally sorry that we could not give you something to sing about at the end of the game. Final score: 2 - 1 (loss) Goals: Cherrie Report by : Lawrie (coach) RESERVES vs Knox. No report provided. Final score: 2 - 2 (draw) Goals: TBA Report by : None CHARGERS vs Western United. Match postponed. Final score: P-P (postponed) Goals: None Report by : None DEVELOPMENT SQUAD vs Mitcham. We were geared up for a hard game against Mitcham and with three new upper division faces (Serge, Nev and Junior), we were hoping for a good win in the lead-up to next week's must-win match against Western United. We weren't switched on from the start and let in an easy goal. It got worse from there. We were not marking, not talking and panicking on the ball. Conroy and Lee were both at a loss. Our only highlights were the goals (tremendous ones) and the effort from our new sweeper, James Harrison (well done, dude). We were 3-2 up with only 90 seconds to go, when some bad marking (from myself, I will put my hand up) resulted in an equaliser for Mitcham. They went off the field celebrating the point, we were dejected and deserved the spray that we got from Lee and Conroy. Hopefully, with some hard training and a reawakening, we can get back on the winning track against Western next week. Final score: 3 - 3 Goals: Nev, Serge, Chubba. Report by : Jaymz (manager)

DIVISION 1 & 2 No report given. Report by : Wendy (manager)
DIVISION 1 Final score: 10 - 0 Goals: TBA	DIVISION 2 Final score: 0 - 0 Goals:

Results in the new juniors section of the website. Under 12 report: v Eltham Eagles Round 9 It was a cold start to the day and being at home Berwick United with the early 9am kick-off needed to prepare the ground. Coach Chris Prins and the faithful parents were out early putting up the nets however the line-marker was not behaving itself, no amount of prodding with sticks or turning it on its side and shaking got it to work. John Kruize offered advice but also couldn't get it to work! With time running out Chris Prins the coach had no other alternative but to dig his hands deep into the lime and scatter it from his hand onto the pitch which probably took twice as long to do the job as normal. The Berwick United team were also quietly complaining about the cold and the early start and found it hard to get into pre-game routine. Tristan Leek was a non starter for the game as was a Berwick players dad's car which wouldn't start. Team manager Michael Capon tried to rev up the boys & girl by getting them to do fast sprints which got the team warm at least. Grace Cook also provided some nice warm lubricant for Chris & Michael in hot coffees which went down a treat. Thanks Grace. Eltham Eagles were having a hard time too with only eight of their team making the early morning trip to Hillsmeade. The referee with both coaches permission shortened the game to 22 minutes a half. The Eltham Eagles No 9 player from the beginning looked lively and it was going to need all of Luke Nelson's skill to keep up with him as well as the other remaining back four of Luke Williams, Stephen Capon and Bernie Saenz. Berwick United's first move forward was in the third minute of the game when Simon Volkoff passed the ball through to Adam Kruize who mishit his kick at goal. Most of the Berwick United's players looked sluggish early on. Even with this three man advantage you would have thought both sides had eight players as Berwick United took awhile to get this game going. Berwick United did show on the 10 minute mark why they are currently top of the table. The ball had come out to Jack Cook from the Eltham defence, Jack controlled the ball did a one-two with Adam Kruize then Jack shot on goal from close range the keeper got a hand to it but could only deflect it into the goal. Three minutes later Simon Volkoff had a shot which was stifled by the goalkeeper, but these skills were few and far between in the first half. At the other end Eltham Eagles kept trying to release their no 9 player through, but good work from Luke Williams, Stephen Capon, Bernie Saenz and Luke Nelson covered for each other to ensure he or any of the other Eltham players didn't get a clear shot on goal. The Eltham no 9 did get through on one occasion but quick thinking from Tate Broadbent to come out and gather the ball and the danger passed. Micah Prins was working well on the right wing and Alex Gligor on the left supported the forwards going forward. Reece Higham was also providing good back-up to the forwards by supplying nice passes but still Berwick United were still finding it hard to get going. Berwick also gave away too many illegitimate throw ins which gave away possession to Eltham. In the fourteenth minute Coach Chris Prins made a double substitution bring Gerard Tarsicius on for Alex Gligor and Ruben Gligor on for Reece Higham. On the eighteenth minute Berwick United struck again, the ball was bogged down in the midfield when Stephen Capon took the initiative to kick a long ball forward into the opposing defensive area, Adam Kruize ran with the ball and gave a pass back to Jack Cook to put away goal number 2. As the referee blew his whistle for half-time Coach Chris Prins knew he needed to give a firm talk to the team as they got into their huddle. Chris realising they didn't need four players at the back made a tactical change by using a 2-5-4 formation. Adam Kruize went into goal and Luke Williams joined the midfield, Jack played up front with Simon Volkoff . As the game restarted the coach Chris Prins was heard to say "and no more bad throw ins Berwick!" Coach Chris Prins made an early substitution after three minutes swapping Micah Prins for Alex Gligor, but it wasn't until the 7th minute of the second half did the game spark into life again. Stephen Capon who had moved from defence into the midfield had spied a corridor to slot a forward pass into and placed it beautifully, it bisected the defence and enabled Jack Cook to run onto it. Jack ceasing the opportunity ran onto the through ball and buried the ball with a sweet shot into the net to make it 3-0 and his hat-trick. Berwick United were now into their stride and a shadow of how they played in the first half. Gerard Tarsicius came off the bench to replace Luke Williams in midfield and was working hard in midfield. Berwick started to control the game with their 5 man midfield and Eltham Eagles lack of players showing. From a free kick from Reece Williams, Tate Broadbent slided a pass through to Simon Volkoff who shot on the run at goal but the keeper managed to clear the ball back up field. In the 12th minute of the second half Jack Cook who had been lively most of the day took the ball to the dead ball line and crossed across the box and Simon Volkoff was able to follow it in, almost on his knees, over the line at the far post to make it 4-0. After the goal Coach Chris Prins then brought back on Micah Prins for Tate Broadbent into the midfield. Simon Volkoff was again in the action two minutes later when Simon fired a low hard shot at goal which came off a Eltham Eagles defender and Gerard Tarsicius was there to follow up the rebound and from close range put the ball into the net. This was Gerard's first goal for Berwick in his playing career and the coach and the assembled crowd were shouting for joy for him as he turned and gave a broad grin at scoring. >From the restart Berwick United were off again trying to break down the Eltham Eagles defence, Micah Prins and brothers Alex & Ruben Gligor supporting the forwards and these three were working well together as Alex Gligor pushed forward and fired a shot from close range at goal which the keeper parried, the ball fell to Micah Prins who coolly placed the ball between the legs of the keeper (nutmegged him) and over the line to bring up goal number 6. Coach Chris Prins brought back on Tate Broadbent & Luke Williams for Stephen Capon & Bernie Saenz to play out the last few minutes of the game. Eltham Eagles still kept trying even though the game was lost and Berwick United's midfield and defence were kept busy. one highlight was Gerard Tarsicius, full of confidence from his goal ran after a loose ball and tackled an Eltham player and gained control of the ball which was well applauded from the sidelines. Eltham Eagles in the dying seconds were awarded their first corner of the game and Berwick United players flooded back to protect their goal. After the corner kick the referee immediately blew his whistle to end another strong Berwick United win. Once again the team gathered in the huddle and sang the Berwick song with much gusto. They now have a three week break till their next game away at Croydon Ranges. Goal scorers week 9 Jack Cook (10 mins, 18 mins) HT: 2-0 Jack Cook (30 mins), Simon Volkoff (34 mins), Gerard Tarsicius (37 mins), Micah Prins (39 mins) FT: 6-0 Report by Michael Capon Under 10 report: Berwick were away this week to Croydon Rangers and even though they were placed below Berwick on the ladder we all knew that this was not going to be an easy game as I am yet to come across any easy game this season . It was a 10 o’clock kick-off and the day was looking like it would be a good day to play soccer . Croydon had the kick off and Berwick once again were running up hill which seems to be the normal thing when we play away from home. As we discussed before the game we knew we had to run hard for the whole game and attack from the start to try and set up a lead and stamp our authority from the outset. The boys gave their all from the start and went straight on the attack and they were passing the ball around more than they have done in the past and they were hitting their man . But with all the ball movement and some great play they were finding Croydon’s defence very stubborn and hard to penetrate . As the time started to tick away and the boys continued to pepper the Croydon goal I was starting to wonder if it was going to be one of those days where the boys do all the hard work only to get the wrong result , but it wasn’t long after this that the breakthrough came. The boys continued to work hard and got themselves a corner on the right side of the Croydon goal. Ben rushed over to take the corner and as he has been practicing his corners over the past few months and learning to curl the ball it finally came to fruition as he curled the ball inside the near post without any help from another player to register the first goal of the game. I looked down at my watch and the game was only seven minutes old. Back to the centre and Croydon kicked off and went straight into attack and with a changed backline for the third week running Berwick looked a little nervous but repelled repeated attacks and continually got the ball back to our attackers and at the 12th minute mark earned another corner . After his previous success from the corner Ben rushed once more to try his luck again but this time the ball made it’s way to Joel who made a valiant attempt on goal but somehow the ball ended up back with Ben who calmly slotted home his second goal of the day. The boys were on fire and full of running and after the kick off regained possession and this time attacked down the left hand side and with Ben passing off to Ryan to pick his spot and place a slow but well weighted shot past the keeper and into the far side of the Croydon goal . With the score now 3-0 and Berwick looking like they were going to continue their attacking ways Croydon started to find their passing game and were putting Berwick’s defence under all sorts of pressure . But with players like Carrick , Kaleb , Connor , Declan and Kane in the back line who were supporting each other and did not want to concede a goal and with Ollie once again in full command of his goal and putting in one of his best halves this year the boys went in at half-time with that three goal buffer . Berwick had the kick off in the second half and from the start looked very tired and flat footed and Croydon seem to sense this and started to take more control of the game and you could tell that this second half was going to be a lot different from the first half. Although Berwick were going down hill this half they had the sun in their eyes and Croydon’s smaller players started to dominate at ground level and it was only a matter of time before they broke through for their first goal with a nice shot giving Ollie no chance and bringing the score back to 3-1. Back at the centre and Berwick started to move the ball around like they had in the first half but unlike the first half they were getting to the ball second and having to chase . This was the third week in a row that Berwick went into a game without any interchange players and it was starting to show as Croydon started to dominate the second half and Berwick’s defence were finding themselves under constant attacks which they were dealing with until some great passing from the small midfield players worked themselves into position to slot home their second goal of the game with Ollie’s valiant attempt pushing his left hand back but it was not enough to stop the ball going in . The score now 3-2 to Berwick and still about five minutes remaining. Berwick were still trying their best to seal the game and with Thommie (Totti) , Ryan , Ben and Joel going close they just could not find the goal they were after and Croydon were not finished and pushed forward for one more attempt . With time running out and Berwick’s defence determined to save the game they hung on for a well deserved and very hard fought victory . Final score 3-2 to Berwick and after some relief Ryan led the team in the clubs song for the second week but this time had some company as the boys did their best to join him . A special mention this week goes to Ben’s dad Oscar as this was his second game in a row that he has been to, and the second win . Looks like we have found our good luck charm. Now three weeks off and a well earned break for the team and their loyal supporters. Report by : Wayne Rheinberger (coach)
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