Football Report Term 3 Round 8

Term 3 Round 8, Cranbrook’s football teams delivered impressive performances against St Aloysius College, with 15 wins, 4 draws, and 11 losses across the day.

Year 10 Shine

The Year 10 teams were unstoppable, going undefeated with the 10A and 10B teams both securing wins. Their skill, teamwork, and determination were on full display.

Year 8A’s Unbeaten Run Continues

The Year 8A team continued their impressive unbeaten run, drawing their match against St Aloysius. Their consistency and talent are a testament to their hard work and dedication.

Year 9’s Gritty Effort

The Year 9 teams fought hard against a strong opponent, but unfortunately, were outfought all day. Despite the result, their determination and spirit were evident throughout.

Year 7/s Mixed results

Great win from the 7B’s along with a well-deserved draw for the A’s . It’s not often we hear of games where 10 goals were scored in the match, and we ended in a draw. 5-5 for the mighty 7d team.

1st XI’s Thrilling Win

In a nail-biting finale, the 1st XI secured a 2-1 win on the final whistle. The team’s focus paid off, and they celebrated a well-deserved victory.

The days highlights

– 1st XI: Win 2-1

– 2nd XI: Win

– 10A: Win

– 10B: Win

– ‎9A: Loss

– ‎9B: Loss

– 8A: Win

– 8B: Win

– 7A: Draw

– 7B: Win

Overall, it was a fantastic day of football. With plenty more matches to come, we’re excited to see our teams put themselves to the test against Knox next fixture

Cranbrook 1st XI 2 defeated St Aloysius 1

In a refreshing change from recent weeks, our 1st XI team finally broke the trend of walking away with draws or losses when they deserved more. This week, they managed to capitalize on their chances and secured a well-deserved win against St Aloysius.

While we may not have dominated the game, our team’s determination and grit paid off. It was great to see the boys blow out the cobwebs and get back in the winners’ circle.

*Benny the Chef Olschewski Steals the Show*

In a thrilling finale, Benny “The Chef” Olschewski scored the winning goal with the last kick of the game. What a moment! It’s fantastic to see our players making an impact and contributing to the team’s success.

*Looking Ahead*

With this momentum, we’re excited to take on Knox under the Friday night lights. The boys are pumped and ready to give it their all. Let’s keep the winning streak going!

Cranbrook 2^nd XI 1 defeated St Aloysius 2^nd XI 0

Tough week for children of the 80s, first Ozzy then Hulk Hogan.  To make us all feel better the 2^nd XI took us all back to a time when magazines were always three months out of date and the choice on Saturday night was between watching The Two Ronnies or being paralyzed by indecision at the video store. A time when restaurants advertised serving both Chinese and Australian food, people still ate choko, and Bubble-O-Bill proved that more is not always better.  It was a time when computer games came on cassette tape and cars had heaters but no air conditioning, perfect for a midsummer drive up the Old Pacific Highway to see Nan and Pop for some tea cake and Earl Grey tea. It was also the time of Arrigo Sacchi’s Active 4-4-2 formation which made AC Milan champions of Europe and inspired the 2^nd XI’s Round 8 performance.  Like Sacchi’s Milan we opted for a 3 line formation and a match plan predicated on ensuring our lines were no further than 25 yards apart from front to back (The 80s was also a time when people could comfortably read analogue clocks and communicate distances, size and weight in either the metric or imperial systems).  The boys started brilliantly as Harry Sewell, Luke Brady, Ayrton Palmer (the King of Monaco), and Renzo Balagna worked together to allow us dominate possession and territory on the right side.  Even better when St Aloysius’s 2^nd XI was able to set its defense, we escaped its numbers as Harry Sewell would pass to Renzo at 9, who passed back to Harry Wilcockson who switched to Lachie Read at Left Centre Back.  Lachie Read would then drive into space and allow us to attack down the left.  If you are a student of Milan in the 1980s and 1990s, you’ll know that their attacks began with centre back Franco Baresi driving into the midfield and passing directly to Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten. It was this that we copied from Sacchi, with Lachie Read driving into the midfield and passing directly to the King of Monaco (Ayrton Palmer) who demonstrated great patience before setting Renzo free with a perfectly weighted ball forward. From there Renzo won a corner.  It was the creator of such diverse works as Three Standing Figures (1947) and Another Three Standing Figures (1963) Henry Moore who whipped in the corner which Renzo slotted home.  1 – 0. It could have been two when Henry Moore played a diagonal ball to Renzo who passed back to Kai Crotty at 6, who found Jordi Singh, who passed to Harry Sewell, who then passed to the King of Monaco. In goal Josh Chidiac was at his best.  By and large the most serious threat we faced was from free kicks, but Josh was up to that challenge, like Giovanni Galli he was quick off his line and superb in the air.  And his distribution was outstanding!  In particular, he allowed us to launch counter attacks by throwing or kicking directly to Harry Golovsky and Henry Moore.  Perhaps my only disappointment was that Harry Golovsky didn’t get the goal he deserved.  After cutting the defensive line with a driving run and close control, Harry found Renzo Balagna with a beautiful pass. Renzo contested the ball with St Aloysius’s goalkeeper who made a good save.  The ball bounced back to Harry, who finished from 25 yards.  Unfortunately, the goal was ruled out.  Special note should be made of Kai Crotty and Luke Brady who dominated the midfield. For Kai it was his first game at 6 since he was a wee lad, and Luke played by far his best 2^nd XI game.  They won the ball in the air and on the ground, they shielded the back three, and they connected us back to front, and side to side. What a performance! The King of Monaco was unlucky not to score when his shot went narrowly wide of the left post.  In the second half,  Thomas Plavsic came on at right wing back and made a Ned Zelic style run through Aloys defensive line and Sun Yuan Hare was too fast and physical for both Aloys right and left sides.  And though short, Archie Neeham showed that he belongs in senior football.  Finally, a brief shout out and ice block to three players.  Firstly, Henry Moore whose intensity set the tone for the match, secondly, Harry Wilcockson who controlled the defensive lines like Franco Baresi, and finally to Kai Crotty who demonstrated that when you believe in yourself, work hard and listen to feed back you can achieve.  Henry you win a Scribbler, Harry you get a Cool Shark and Kai you win a Return of the Jedi. Me … I’ll be savoring a Razz and watching highlights of a young Tony Canning running around for Bangor in the Irish First Division.

Ben Rollison
Head of Football