Round 2 Football Report
Cranbrook vs. Trinity Grammar School
A busy day of football saw our teams take on Trinity, with mixed results across the board.
Here are the highlights:
- 1st XI: A hard-fought 2-1 win, with Tom Melhuish and Lachie Zhang scoring crucial goals
- 2nd XI: Also secured a win, 2-0
- Year 7A: Remained undefeated with a 2-2 draw
- Year 8A: Stayed unbeaten with a win
- Year 10B: Impressive 4-goal win, a great performance from the team. And are also
undefeated over two fixtures
Match Report: Cranbrook 1st XI 2 defeated vs. Trinity 1
Cranbrook’s top team bounced back with a thrilling 2-1 win against a strong Trinity team. Tom
Melhuish and Lachie Zhang scored crucial goals, each finding the net once to seal the victory.
Trinity pushed hard, scoring a late goal to make the game tense, but our boys held firm for a
great result. A well-deserved win for the team!
Mr Ben Rollinson
Head of Football
Match Report: Cranbrook 2nd XI 2 defeated Trinity 0
I’m picking up what Trinity Grammar School is putting down, a bit of Palm Springs Mid-Mod
vibe. Blazing hot, a gigantic expanse of astroturf, they just need to add some pastels to break
up the white, some white for the pastels to break up, a swimming pool with a diving board, Old
Blue Eyes, some succulents, and a place for guests to warm up before matches.
Midweek Coach Conor Quilligan and I revealed that we have a hive mind. One half of the hive
mind was not having a bar of it when some of our charges arrived late. Disappointed with
themselves, the boys pulled their corridor warm up together and began the game
brightly. Meanwhile, the Ernie side of the hive mind tried to cheer up the Bert side. Speaking of
sides, the left side of the Cranbrook 2nd XI was on from the get go, with beautiful passing
exchanges involving Harry Sewell, Harry Golovsky, Kai Crotty and Zac Yaffa. To me this was
Harry Wilkcockson’s best ever performance in the 2nd XI, which is saying
something. Throughout the game, he ran the back line, read the ball beautifully, made fierce
tackles, intercepted, recovered, and played the most beautiful diagonal ball to Ayrton
Plamer. Defensively we were superb all day. Andrew Skamvougeras is tenacious, both in
terms of his aggressive press, but also in his recovery runs. Counterattacking and sitting in a
low block was Trinity’s game plan, and so it was fortunate that Jordi Singh, Harry Wilcockson,
Kai Crotty, Andrew Skamvougeras and Harry Sewell were so adept at dealing with the long
ball. I should note that Jordi Singh, is dominant in the air. While the opposition’s defensive
shape was difficult to breakdown, we almost scored when Zac Yaffa’s little chip over the keeper
was cleared off the line. Don Dyer nearly scored on a number of occasions. But the ball does
favour the striker on TGS 2 because the surface is so hard and slick, that a bouncing ball always
runs through to the goalkeeper. On a grass pitch, Don would have scored three, but even so,
his physical play occupied all three of the Trinity centre backs.
Making his 2025 debut was Eric Chen. Eric, of course, made a cameo last year, and shapes to
be one of those players who manages the School’s highest sporting accomplishment in three
separate years, playing for the 2nd XI. He was confident with his hands and distributed the ball
very well.
It’s safe to say that we dominated the midfield through the fierce tackling of Harry Golovsky and
Lachie Read, and good thing it was too. The ice rink that is TGS 2 makes transitions pretty scary,
so holding the midfield and counterpressing is very important, so that our players don’t have to
try to turn around. Lachie coped a knock, consequently Luke Brady moved into the
midfield. While everyone else was slipping and sliding, Luke looked so comfortable on the ball,
playing o jogo bonito, one touch, triangle, diamonds, you name it. Our first goal came from a
brilliant run and cut inside by Zayah Askaro, who shifted the ball to Ayrton Palmer. Slippery
surfaces are no problem for the Rain King, Ayrton Palmer who cut to the inside and his shot was
blocked, but Zayah had continued his run and was able to slot the deflection home. It was a
very good goal, which showed the dynamism of both players. In fairness, Trinity had moments,
but Luca D’Alisa, who is in Year 9, YEAR 9 PEOPLE! and making his third 2nd XI appearance was
positioned to deal with forward balls. In one key moment, Luca’s headed clearance in the
centre of the pitch saved us from real trouble. He claimed bouncing balls and made a couple
of routine saves, but his command of the pitch is absolutely unreal.
Speaking of young players, in Year 10 George Poulos has achieved something his brother never
could. He played a CAS game for the 2nd XI! George’s intensity, competitiveness, and quality on the ball added the cutting edge we needed to break down Trinity’s defensive shape. Sure
enough, the second goal came from a defensive header by Luke Brady who nodded it to Zayah
Askaro, who knocked it wide to George Poulos, who played a beautiful through ball to Zayah.
Zayah cut inside the final defender and with his left foot placed it in the top right corner. What
a goal! What a performance! Dominant from the beginning, the balls were well worth their 2
goal win. And by the end of the game, all was well in the hive mind.
Mr Anthony Bray
2nd XI Coach
