Reaching the top... almost

It was supposed to be a tough game against a good team... and it was.

Players were tired after the game and they had to fight hard on the field (shoulder to shoulder - Carter and others) and use all the tricks they know to get this game going.

We had a great defense that prevented all MU players to go down the field and face the keeper. This is what I feared would happen and it didn't.

They scored their three goals when a lot of players were in the goal area and it's difficult to keep track of who is where and it's even harder for the goal keeper to see the ball coming.

We''ll work on these kinds of situation.

Our three scores came in the first half. It was great but one more score in the second half could have been enough. We had a nice shot on the post by John.

Our first goal was a nice free kick by Elijah that came after a lucky call by the ref.

John had a shot strong enough to go through the keeper's legs.

and we had a great passing game that lead to a score by Steven (??).

We had nice passes and players were having diffculties to play as they usually do because of the level of the other team. But overall it was a pleasant game to watch and we can be proud of the players.

They will not be a rematch as we won't play them again.

I don't usually like to lead at half time because then the players think it's a done deal. I was right again.

Anyway it was a great game and since we played one of the supposedly top team, we can assume that we have a team that deserves to be in this league and can hope for the best.

Tigers Far from Endangered: An Exciting, Close Game

 Daryl’s Game Report   Sept. 20   11:30 A.M.

International United   1 …  Town Tigers   0

 Although Elijah had played with them last year, the Town Tigers were a bit of an unknown, with some new players this year, and having drawn with an improving Oak St. 3-3 last week.  “Don’t take them lightly,” warned Danielle, Elijah’s mom.  And rightly so.  The Tigers earned a couple of early corner kicks, which were blocked.  The game sputtered along with a lot of incomplete plays on both sides.  Finally we started forcing the play as the first half wore on, keeping the play more in their end.  It remained pretty scrappy play, however. Perhaps because the Tigers were faster than the Oak St. Boys, and more aggressive, our players appeared a little hesitant to challenge them.  Our advances seldom led to good shots.  It seemed that our players were not looking up and around enough, and were keeping the ball too long, then losing it or sending a pass too late. We did get some shots off, and their goalkeeper was up to the task, stopping all 16 shots before half-time.  Tyler put his body on a nice corner kick from Kai, controlling it to Jonathan, who rammed it into the net.   The referee ruled that Tyler had handled the ball, and disallowed the goal, though Tyler’s reddened midsection proved that it had been a legitimate touch, not handling.  (The AR agreed it was an incorrect ruling.)  At the other end, our defence remained quite stifling.  Andreas in our goal had to handle just 3 weak ones, which he did without any problem.

 One wondered how we were going to break through if play continued like this, with no real finishing.  The second half started out with more spirit on our side.  Barely four minutes later, Graham dug out the ball and dribbled it into their zone, drawing defenders.  He passed to Erik in the middle near the penalty area.  Erik drew two more defenders, but he was looking up, and before they could get to him, he sent a beautiful pass to Ian on the weak side. Ian had maneuvered into open space on the left side and had gotten all alone, unguarded.  Ian only had to run two steps to catch Erik’s perfect leading pass, and he immediately drilled a scorching shot to the left top of the net.  This was a no-doubt–about-it goal!  Their keeper was out of position, still reacting to Erik’s move, and he had no chance on the shot.  This was a very pretty play all round, one to savor.  (Did anyone catch it on camera or video?)

 As it turned out, that was the most we had to celebrate, for that was the only scoring.  The Tiger defence closed down many opportunities when our players did not make moves fast enough.  There were lots of good passes, but few were converted to good shots.  We had another 6 corner kicks, with good opportunities on each.  The team mustered another 17 shots in the second half, against only one for the Tigers.  Whenever they threatened, our defence was equal to the task, stealing the ball, blocking it, or clearing it when necessary, and often starting our own drives with passes to the midfielders.

 

Line Score    Sept. 20, 2008   11:30   South Sunset #1

 

Town Tigers       0       0       -        0

IU                        0       1       -        1

Scoring:

28:00 Ian (1) Assists Graham, Erik

Shots:             IU 33, TTigers 4

Corner Kicks: IU  8,  TTigers 3

Next Game:  Sat. Sept. 27   11:30 A.M.

@ 1^st place Manchester United (2-0-1)

One goal was enough

A great game on Saturday with lots of shots and lots of passes.

We scored only once but it was an awesome goal. Nice play, nice passes and a great shot.

We all want to see more of those.

We had a strong defense that did not allow any goals. I saw a lot of saves even on one-on-one. Defenders also played a role in the attacks coming to help midfielders and the striker - doing the throwins, being available for back passes and shooting from far.

Great job.

One goal we scored was refused because one of our players touched the ball with the 'hand'.

We will have a tougher game supposedly next week. Saturday was a good practice game.

Check back for Daryl's game report pretty soon.

Check the photos at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jordanbow/IUSoccerVsTownTigers10?authkey=CJYcMHNkw3o

Daryl’s Game Report Sept. 6, 2008

International United Cracks an Acorn to Start Season with a Flair

 On a hot San Francisco September Saturday, we started our season in grand style, with a dominating display against the PSC Oak St. Boys.  Yes, that very team that had commandeered our joint International gym for their tryouts!  We were a little startled as we began eyeing the other team, slowly realizing that our opponents had only 6 players.  But our boys weren’t fazed at all!  They quickly took advantage, and it was 2-0 before your befuddled coaching staff hauled off 2 of our players to even it up.  With passes from Matthew, John, and Graham, Jonathan made a move and ran past the last two defenders. Then he broke open in the penalty area, and launched a quick shot high to the left side of the net for the first tally.  Barely a minute later, Elijah Kai got the ball from Ian and John, drove his way past the defence, and sent the ball high to the open right side of the net: 2-0.

It was disappointing, but we felt we should play down 2 players.  This meant that our players had 25% less playing time than in a fully-rostered game, and it necessitated juggling the lineup in ways we hadn’t planned.  In the 6 v 6 game, things became more competitive, but play remained in the Oak St. end most of the time. Time and time again, our players were quicker to the ball, thwarting Oak St. advances and enabling our own attacks.  It was gratifying to see how often our players would start an attack, heads up, look around for teammates, and make a good decision about passing or dribbling.  And what good passes!   Often holding the ball until the defender made a move or committed himself, they were able to get off effective passes that led to many shots on goal, over 30 in total.

After several drives and sizzling shots that just missed the mark, Jonathan pounced on a high bouncing punt, controlled it, and waltzed in on the hapless goalkeeper. Before the half was over, Jonathan tallied his third on a great passing setup from John, Tyler, and Ian.

All this time, the defence was rock solid and started many plays with good passes to our midfielders.  Oak St. seldom penetrated our end, and was constantly frustrated by our stalwart defenders Stirling, Matthew, Steven, Ian, William.  And a good thing, too.  On those few occasions when they did reach our area, they launched a couple very tough shots that hit the cross bar.    Midfielders played very consistently, tirelessly running up and down the field, stopping attacks, stealing the ball, and starting attacks by dribbling or passing it to teammates down field.

 

In the second half, Oak St. came out with renewed energy.  They played courageously without a substitute.  Their goalkeeper made numerous excellent saves on hard shots from John, Graham, Ian, Erik, Tyler, and others, including deflections of balls that were just under the crossbar.  We continued to press the play into their end.  Many of our shots were close to the goal, including posts and crossbars.  Oak St. found their best attack was a long high punt by their goalkeeper.  One punt bounced over our defenders, and got to their now-open forward, who tapped it up to the top of our net for their only score.

Our midfielders continued to apply pressure, running a lot, and moving and passing the ball well.  We had several exciting corner kicks.  Jonathan almost gave Patrice a late birthday gift when he got his head on a well-placed loft from Ian, but knocked it high over the net.  A throw-in to Jonathan close to the goal-line gave him a great opening, and he curled a shot into the top right corner.  The referee disallowed that score, ruling that Jonathan had, “moved offside after the corner kick.” (Or was it a throw-in?  We didn’t see the offside from the sidelines, nor did the boys on the pitch.)  A lesson learned: shake off a puzzling call, and keep playing hard.

Our final score came from a nice series of passes from Ian, Tyler and Erik that put Jonathan in the clear.  He raced past the last defender, shooting it home with a hard quick kick that paralyzed the keeper.

I really liked the way the boys, especially the defenders, were thoughtful in kicking the ball, not just getting rid of it, but usually passing to, or near, a teammate.  Yes, well done!   You can’t win them all, but our players showed great confidence attacking or defending.  Whether dribbling or challenging, they seemed to think they would prevail.  We won by far more than our share of the 1v1 confrontations.  Many plays were started right from a defensive interception. 

The hustle our boys showed was a key to their effective play.  In particular, Jonathan dashed after al loose balls and openings fearlessly and successfully.  Even near the end of the game, when the outcome was not in doubt, Tyler raced across the width of the field on several occasions to keep a ball in play and gain his team another shot.  Effort like this, displayed by all, makes a coach’s heart glad.

Frankly, the passing, the talking and communication, the thoughtful play selection, were all very good.  We didn’t teach this to them in 2 weeks --  we have to thank their former coaches,  (bravi Keith, Laurent, Joel, Nicolas!) their parents , and the work of the boys themselves --  they obviously learned a lot before they came our way.  Wasn’t it surprising how much they actually looked like a team out there?   Pretty good for a new group of kids in their first league game.

Yes, we have few things to work on:  fast pursuit of the ball at all times, instead of waiting for the ball to reach the player; more accurate and faster shooting; even better passing; running down high bouncers; marking the attackers from behind.   But all in all, it was a great beginning!

The fact that all the players wanted to be out there playing every rotation, even in the heat, is what we had wanted to see from this group: desire, commitment, and effort.   What I think they may be starting to realize about International United, and Upper House, is that every player on their team is strong, and they can rely on every team member.  That is why we chose these players, and it means a new way of playing  --  all strong individuals playing together as a real team.  We hope this is fun and exciting for the boys.  (Maybe for the parents, too.)  I think it will be fun to watch their development over the next year, and beyond.

After our next game we are likely to find much stiffer opposition.  Most of the other teams are established teams which have played together and performed at the top of the Vikings leagues in past seasons, and which may have added some strong players, too.

 

Fitness expert and personal trainer Marieke Blazeski is conducting our Monday practices and has started to work our boys into shape.   Monday sessions will also include ball handling skills.  Marieke is a player herself, with the semi-pro SF Nighthawks, and a U12 girls' team head soccer coach.  We’ll try to start warming up around 4:15, and take the field from 4:30 P.M – 5:30 P.M.  We’ll plan to stop then, so the boys can get a good start on their homework for the week.  Friday practices will last until 6:30 P.M. while we have Daylight Savings Time.

Our next game is Sat. Sept. 20^th 11:30 A.M. at South Sunset, with the Town Tigers.  Thanks for getting out early for the first game.  Please keep it up.

 

Linescore:

International United                   4         -           1         --         5

PSC Oak St. Boys                           0         -           1         --         1

 

Scoring (as best as we can reconstruct:)

2^nd minute:  Jonathan (1) (Matthew, John, Graham)

3^rd minute: Elijah Kai (1) (John, Ian)

16^th: Jonathan (2) (unassisted)

22^nd: Jonathan (3) (Ian, Tyler, Erik)

35^th: Oak St. (goal punt to open forward)

42^nd: Jonathan (4) (Ian, John, Kai)

 

 

That’s all for now, folks.

Daryl

Please check out the International United team website for all information and updates:

http://www.patricetaffin.com/soccer

First game

It was a great game today and I really liked what I saw on the field and on the sideline.
On the field:
lots of passes, players finding each other and moving the ball down the field to take shots (and score).
I saw a lot of nice stops by defenders and great passes to the midfielders and forwards.
Great run by mid fielders and good passing.
Nice shots on the cross bar, just outside the goal and of course in the net.

Goal keepers were not busy but did what they had to do.

This is really a good first game and I think the foundations are in place to build a great team.

Reminder: on a free kick we have to do a wall and cover other players. Goal keepers have to place the wall, defenders/midfielders have to cover players or be part of the wall.

On the sideline:
a lot of players hungry to go back and play more and more. It was heart breaking to pull two players off the field but that's part of the game. Play fairplay.

We'll try to do longer scrimmages next week to compensate the lack of play today and the lack of a game on Saturday next week.

Please comment on the game on this blog and send any concerns, complains and/or feedback by email.