Tag: 2015season

04/09/2015: Survival Hopes Still Alive

Stirling Districts hosted the Modbury Jets in a round 17 clash of the SA Amateur Soccer League at Bradwood Park. It was one of the first home games in at least half a dozen weeks due to the fixtures and the rescheduling of home games due to the poor pitch conditions in the middle of winter. However the pitch was in good condition for the vital clash in which the Aces desperately needed to take all three points in a bid to fight off relegation.

Winning the toss, Stirling Districts attacked away from the clubroom end in the first half and took the game to Modbury within the first 20 minutes, dominating possession and putting pressure on the visitor’s defence. Josh Berger and Tim Cookes in the middle of the park were distributing balls to wide men, Richard Dawes and Sean Lang who made defending for Modbury incredibly hard at times. The pressure soon paid off when Lang took on the fullback and once again got past to the by-line and as he entered the box was fouled by the defender. Berger stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty into the bottom corner. After the restart a number of attacking plays again came down the left hand side via Ryan Gore and Lang, while Josh Lushington and Michael Henn made some great runs but were unable to get the ball past the keeper. Lang assisted the second goal from the left hand side with a cut back to Berger who drove the ball into the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

Moments after the restart a diagonal ball was played into Stirling Districts defensive area and a penalty was awarded to the away team after the attacking player had his heel clipped inside the area. The home side entered the break 2-1 up after having had a relatively quiet first half for defenders Simon Dawe, Gore, Joel Byrth and James Laughton.

The start of the second half was tightly contested between both sides with Modbury seeing more of the ball in their attacking third. Early in the second half Modbury equalised in the most unfortunate circumstances for the Aces as not one but two deflected clearances from outside the box ended up in a pin point cross to a Modbury striker who managed to poke the ball through Josh Clifford’s legs in goal. Cookes and Berger had to be replaced by substitutes Matt Hawthorn and Adam Gore with about 20 minutes to go as the Aces pushed to create a winning goal. With this came a change in formation as the back four turned to three with R.Gore being pushed into the left midfield position. With the attacking formation came chances and a number of goal mouth scrambles which didn’t fall to the home team’s advantage. The best chance fell to Lushington after link up play from the Gore brothers, but the keeper pulled out a reflex save to deny the big red head. Craig Fraser replaced Henn in the dying moments for his first game in the first team since his injury late last season.

Stirling Districts felt as though they deserved a win but a 2-2 draw was the final result. With two matches remaining in the season, it is vital that the Aces win to keep their survival hopes alive.

08/08/2015: Relegation Woes Continue

Round 14 of the SA Amateur Soccer League saw Stirling Districts take on the Wanderers in Findon, but were comfortably defeated 4 – 0.

The squad went into the game confident of capturing 3 points and early in the game things were going to plan as both teams struggled to gain ascendency. Half chances occurred at both ends in the opening 20 minutes but it was on an attacking set piece that things started to go wrong for the Aces. With players committed in the box, a free kick was left short which let the backline of Ryan Gore, Sam Papini, Simon Dawe and Louis Coulls vulnerable to the counter attack. The Wanderers took their chance and placed the ball passed a hapless Christian Burden in goal. Within minutes of the restart the home team struck again after a long throw was flicked on into the net. Just before the break Stirling Districts thought they were back in the game after a ball was whipped into the back post and headed over the keeper by Coulls’s. Controversially the goal was disallowed after the referee had a long discussion with his assistant referee on the line.

Not long after half time Stirling Districts suffered another blow with an early goal to the home team making the task of coming back much more difficult. Wide midfielders Sean Lang and Scott Mather got more involved in the second half while Tim Cookes was at his tackling best in the midfield. To make matters worse Gore and soon after Coulls were forced off with injuries sustained in challenges. Joel Byrth and Josh Berger replaced the injured duo as Matt Hawthorn was soon replaced by Andrew Wendelborn. Josh Lushington and Jonathon Gomez up front struggled to get into the game which seemed disjointed at times. Fifteen minutes before time it was 4 nil to the Wanderers with a toe poked finish. Late on Gomez had a golden chance to grab a late consolation but luck was not on his side as the ball narrowly went wide from close range. The result summed up the season so far, very little luck and always punished for any mistakes. The fight will continue this week at home to fight off relegation.

01/08/2015: Disappointment for the Aces

Stirling Districts faced a top of the table BOSA side in Round 13 of the SA Amateur Soccer League played at Charles Cane Reserve.

The away side faced a number of forced changes in the starting eleven due to a number of suspensions and injuries. The back four was the hardest hit with the sole survivor from the previous week Lewis Coulls pairing up with the returning Captain Ryan Gore in central defence and promoted reserves players Paul Teteris and James Laughton taking up positions in right and left back respectively. The midfield was made up of Tim Cookes, Joel Byrth, wide players Scott Mather and Daniel Wilby and defensive midfielder Matt Hawthorn. Vice-Captain Jonathon Gomez was the lone striker up front while Christian Burden took charge in goals behind the back four.

The order of the day from manager Peter Cottle was not to play pretty football, but to play a disciplined defensive game on a heavy pitch against a well drilled outfit. The home team kicked off and immediately controlled possession as the Aces kept a compact formation which was designed to frustrate the opposition and force them to play the long ball. Early in the first half BOSA tried to play the ball down the wings and managed to break through on occasions on the left hand side. However Stirling Districts defence mopped up any loose balls that threatened the goal and at times Burden was called into action, pulling off some great saves. Playing on the counter attack the Aces only clear chance of the half fell to Hawthorn after the team pressured BOSA’s ball carriers, causing a turnover. With a two on one situation Hawthorns pass to Gomez didn’t hit its mark and with it the most clear cut chance of the half. At the half time break the teams went in level with surprisingly only one yellow card shown in the first half.

The second half started in the same way as the first with BOSA controlling most of the possession as Stirling Districts remained compact. The Aces style of play often meant that the only outlet was Gomez up front, who worked hard all game but was constantly hounded by the opposition defence. The deadlock was broken by BOSA on the 50 minute mark with a top volley from just inside 18 yards. All of the hard defensive work from the Aces had come undone by a moment of class and this meant a goal was needed to get anything out of the game. Unfortunately fifteen minutes later the second BOSA goal went in after a deflected shot looped over Burden. Moments after BOSA were reduced to ten men due to the strikers numerous coming’s together with Gore. This allowed Stirling Districts to attack more and bring on fresh legs in Josh Berger and Martin Moran. In the closing stages of the game the Aces looked more threatening but the final ball was always lacking which meant the keeper had little to do. The Aces look forward to taking points next weekend away to the Wanderers.

 

19/07/2015: Reserves Back to Winning Ways

Stirling Districts reserves side got back to winning ways with a well-deserved 2 – 0 victory against Old Ignations in Round 12 of the SA Amateur Soccer League.

Poor pitch conditions at Bradwood Park forced Stirling to play all three grades at the league headquarters in Grange. The with a strong squad on hand, including the return of Richard Dawes and Craig Fraser from injury, along with Ryan Gore from prolonged work commitments, meant Coach Steve Spencer expected a win. Stirling begun the game positively with a number of attacking moves down the left hand side from Philippe Bastouil and attacking players Fraser and Gore, but the final ball was often lacking. The back four of Nic Schultz, Josh Goldsworthy, Paul Teteris and James Laughton were relatively untroubled in the first half, cleaning up everything that came their way.

Veteran Gary Thwaites was vocally dominant in the midfield and found plenty of time and space on the ball to distribute to wide areas. The breakthrough came straight after Schultz and Gore swapped positions 30 minutes into the game. Some good hold up play from Martin Moran, saw him beat two players before passing to Schutlz who slotted the ball home from an acute angle. Stirling’s biggest threat in the half was set pieces, with Old Ignations having a number of tall players getting heads on the ball first.

After the break Stirling gained control again and continued to play possession football. Pressure began to mount on Old Ignations defence as attacking players such as Moran ran at the defence and forced them to concede numerous set pieces. On the third set piece Stirling were reward as a well weighed ball found Moran’s head which was directed into the corner. Fraser ran himself ragged up front and was substituted for a well deserve rest. Late on in the game Simon Lovell, Alex Lang and Hugh Hopton were introduced to provide fresh legs. However Stirling lost composure late on, which meant its passing game disappeared and put a lot of pressure on the defence as Old Ignations pilled on the pressure making keeper Josh Clifford make some crucial saves. The defence and namely Goldsworthy were brick walls and nullified all attacking moves to help give the side a much needed victory.

18/04/2015: Aces Win on Premier League Return

Round 1 of the 2015 Amateur Soccer League Premier Division kicked off on Saturday afternoon at a sodden Bradwood Park. Following a long and gruelling preseason and two seasons in Division 2 provided plenty of ammunition for Stirling Districts to begin their 2015 Division 1 campaign with a victory against the travelling Adelaide Comets.

With Coach ‘Peter Cottle’ in charge for his second successive year, it was clear to players of what was expected and what style of football he was after. A number of talented players joined the club in the offseason and this was evident when the players took to the pitch against the Comets, as six of the starting eleven were making their Stirling Districts debuts. Of these six were Scott Mather and vice-captain Jonathon Gomez up front, Lewis Coulls, Josh Hill and Joel Byrth in the midfield and Sam Papini in central defence. The remaining 5 consisted of Josh Clifford in goals, Andrew Wendelborn and Matt Hawthorn in defence, Adam Gore in the midfield and captain Ryan Gore in defensive midfield.

After winning the toss and kicking away from the clubroom end, the Comets kicked off and soon after the Aces gained possession of the ball and began to play the ball around in testing conditions. The first clear chance at goal came just ten minutes into the match as Hawthorn sent a free kick down the wing to A.Gore and with an outstretched leg, flicked the ball into the middle of the box and an oncoming Gomez was able to pass the ball into an empty net. The early goal appeared to ease any nerves that the Aces were feeling and begun to dominate possession whilst looking dangerous in front of goal.  Coulls fired over the crossbar after some good build up play from Mather and A.Gore down the right hand side. Soon after Gomez made a great defensive challenge to set up a counter attack which ended in Mather hitting a low driven shot which was poked around the post by the keeper’s outstretched leg. Stirling Districts went into the break with a deserved 1-0 lead.

A.Gore was substituted at half time with a strained hamstring which meant Daniel Wilby would start out on the left sided in the second half. With Coulls and Byrth dominating the midfield it provided numerous chances on goal but the Comets keeper was first class and kept out everything. Wibly was quickly into the action and soon saw his shot blocked after getting onto the end of a low cross, while Byrth too had an attempt blocked as the ball then ricocheted out, for yet another Aces corner. Moments later R.Gore got his head onto a set piece and flicked it toward the far bottom corner of the goal and amazingly the keeper stuck out a mitt to again deny the home team.

After looking solid most of the game, the Aces defence conceded after poor communication at the back allowed the Comets striker in on goal to level the scores. It was a bitter blow as Stirling Districts knew they deserved to be in front but reacted well to conceding by going on the attack again. The game became scrappier with tackles flying in from both teams and chances at either end as the Comets confidence grew after levelling the scores. However with five minutes remaining a great ball from Hill found Gomez who controlled the ball, then sweetly hit his left foot shot low and hard across the keeper and into the net. In the closing stages Martin Moran replaced Byrth to provide some fresh legs toward the end of the game. At the final whistle a 2-1 win was a deserved result and Stirling Districts will look forward to an away clash against St Peters this Saturday at Lloyd Oval.

Lewis Coulls slides in to block an attacking move while Adam Gore watches on.

 

Defenders Andrew Wendelborn on the right and Sam Papini (Number 7) on the left.