Match Reports - Amateur Division 1 Reserves

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Balga vs North Beach

Reserves robbed in last two minutes as Balga take advantage of defensive errors

Score - 2-0 (0-0ht) loss to North Beach

Goal Scorer - zip, nada, diddly

After losing 3-2 in the previous fixture, a lot was at stake in the game against Balga. Mathmatically there was still a chance that North Beach could win the game but mathmatically there was also a chance they could stuff it up too. But saying that the team put out on the park was quality in all areas. Even the bench was top notch! Playing the same cup squad that North Beach had played on the Wednesday night, the only addition to the side would be substitute Kevin Grime.

The starting line up was Kosta Kalantzis in goals, Ross Broad at left back, Graham Corcoran and Nik Christos at centre back and Ryan MacLean at right back. In the midfield there was Mike Jeffrey and Simon Geldart in the middle of the park with Tomas Panak on the left and Brenton White on the right. Up front there was Dave 'Hollywood' Banks and Steve 'Fine Wine' MacLean. On the bench there was Jim Thomson, Geordie, Ranga Sinclair and Kevin Grime.

The Reserve game was a hard fast affair. Both teams were holding their own on the park but North Beach at times had the edge and were breaking down the Balga defence with their good movement on and off the ball. In the midfield the new partnership of Simon Geldart and Mike Jeffrey was taking some time to settle in. At times the ball was lost easily but more often than not recovered soon after. The defence was having a patchy time with a lot of the Balga balls coming through the middle. Several times Balga penetrated the North Beach defence and attacked on goals. Luckily Kosta Kalantzis, playing in his banana-yellow keepers kit stopped everything coming through.

The North Beach Reserves worked hard in all areas of the park but were failing to break down the Balga defence. Several times Dave Banks managed to weave his magic and get through but would send the ball over the crossbar. Other times he would go round 2,3 even four players and then cheaply lose it to the 5th Balga player. In other games it would bounce right for North Beach but in the first half the ball bounced nicely nearly all the time for Balga and not North Beach.

At half time coach Graham Corcoran brought his players in and tried to lift them up out of the stalemate. Everyone still had energy left over so Graham forced everyone into a half time warm up/keep warmed up exersise routine.

As the players took to the park and played yet again in the draining sun, exhaustion slowly but surely started to rear it's ugly head. Luckily for North Beach Tomas Panak's dodgy calf muscles were not cramping up on the normal 60 minute mark. This was mainly due to Tomas moving around during the break and not sitting still allowing his body to build up the lactic acid in his muscles. A good sign for North Beach was that Tomas was able to play out the 90 minutes without breaking down. A promising sign for the next two games to come. On 65 minutes Graham Corcoran substituted himself and brought on Geordie into the centre of defence. Geordie as usual was solid and reliable.

Soon after Ranga Sinclair came on for Canberra bound Ross Broad. Ross wasnt tired nor showing any sign of exhaustion but it was rather a move to bring Sinclair Jnr into the game and allow him more game time. 75 minutes after taking a bad knock and being shown a yellow card, respectively Ryan Sinclair and Mike Jeffrey were substituted and replaced with Kevin Grime and Jim Thomson. North Beach then moved into a 3-5-2 formation with Geordie, Kevin and Nik 'The Lip' Christos at the back. 85 minutes Dave Banks shot from a free kick outside the box and the ball grazed the crossbar and went out for a goal kick.
86 minutes the rot started to show it's ugly head. With North Beach pushing more for the winning goal Balga took advantage of an offside bungle on the right side of the park and Balga shot and defeated an out of position and off his line Bananaman. 1-0 to Balga. 88 minutes North Beach's defense stopped again and Balga ran through with Bananaman facing 4 Balga players. With KG and Geordie running backwards Balga shot and finalised the game with a well executed finish. 90 minutes The Peacock blew his whistle and North Beach faces their 6th loss of the year.

While the scoreline looks like a convincing win, Balga took advantage during a two minute window where North Beach attacked and failed to cover themselves adequately. Up until then the game was reasonably even with both teams counteracting each other's moves. With the Reserve 'cup final' team playing at the 3pm fixture the Reserves will be given one last challenge before their biggest game of the year in the Soccer Pools Amateur Cup Final.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta – Was rock steady for all 88 minutes of the game and then made the cardinal goalkeeper’s error of being off your line and out of position for Balga’s first goal. What didn’t help was that he was stranded for the second goal facing 4 attacking Balga players and no North Beach players in sight. Besides that he controlled his area well. 7.5

Ross – Started at left back again for the Reserves in his third last game for the club before he transfers to the Prime Minister’s 11. Yet again he kept his opponent under wraps and was only substituted to give Ranga Sinclair a run on the park. Two more glorious games to go before Ross leaves the club. 7.5

Nik – Played well at the back but has the uncanny ability of looking extremely casual on the ball when an opponent is right on top of him. Off the field Nik was more than happy to give a linguistics lesson before the game on the pronunciation of Litis. He will prove to be extremely handy in the cup game if he can keep his casualness under control. 7.5

Graham – Another good game from the player/coach. Graham lined up at centre-back to give Geordie a well deserved rest and to give himself some more game time. While on the park for the 60 minutes he did well but at times was getting caught out with the offside trap. Subbed himself for Geordie on the hour. 7

Ryan – Played yet another good game at right back and proved how good he was under pressure. He linked up well with Brenton White on right wing and was always respondent to the requests from other players. After taking a nasty knock on his ankle he was subbed on 75 minutes for Kevin Grime. 7.5

Tomas – Started and finished a game for the first time this millennium. Tomas made sure he never stopped moving and worked hard up and down the park. He linked up well with Dave Banks and Steve MacLean and was a thorn in the Balga side. 7.5

Mike – Started in the middle of the park after his 11 minutes of midweek madness on Wednesday night. Mike worked hard and never gave up. At times his touch let him down but saying that he got to most of the balls he attempted to get to and was a work horse in the middle of the park. He was subbed for Jim Thomson on 75 minutes. 7

Simon G – Worked hard in the middle of the park and never gave up. He linked up well with the two forwards and was always available to come back and defend. Simon will be a key player on the park in the weeks to come. Hack’s Player of the Day 8

Brenton – After turning up 50 minutes early for Wednesday night’s game, Brenton was back to normal again turning up 5 minutes before kick off. With his bad preparation and poor time keeping skills it was a backbone for what was a pretty average day on the park for him. Let’s hope he improves on and off the park for the next two games. 6

Dave – Along with Brenton, Dave turned up 5 minutes before kick off and was ill-prepared for the game, saying that he was the one of those two late players who had the better game. At times he could have easily passed the ball off instead of taking on the extra man and losing it. He missed out on a superb goal on 85 minutes when he took a free kick from outside and the box and watched it graze the cross bar. 6.5

Steve – Worked hard yet again and presented himself to the midfield. At times he had trapoline feet as everytime the ball touched his foot it bounced two metres away from him. Overall though he yet again put in a competant performance. 7

Subs:

Geordie – Replaced Graham on the hour and slotted into the centre of defense role. He yet again worked hard and never gave up. For his time on the park he did well. 6

Heath – Heath came on late in the second half to replace Ross Broad. He slotted into midfield and ran his little red heart out until the end of play. He will prove to be an ideal player to come off the bench in the cup final. 6

Jim – Jim came on to replace Mike late in the game when he picked up a yellow card. Jim’s influence on the park was second to none. Rumours are flying around the club that he will be transferring to Yanchep in the off-season as there he is treated like a footballing god? 5

Kevin – As part of a double substitution, he came on to replace Ryan who was struggling with an ankle injury. As a bonus he didn’t touch the ball once with his feet for his 15 minutes on the park. 5

North Beach vs Spearwood Dalmatinac,
Soccer Pools Reserves Cup Semi-Final

History is written! North Beach progress to Final of Amateur Reserve Cup for the first time ever!

Score – 3-0 (1-0ht) win for North Beach

Goal scorers – Jim Thomson 1, Brenton White 1, Steve MacLean 1

On a cold winter Wednesday night in September, North Beach revisited for the second time in a month the Alfred Skeet Oval on Armadale Road Forrestdale. The first time they came to this park it was to take on the mighty Lynwood Colts in the Quarter Finals of the Cup. After defeating them 4-1 in a tough competitive match they were drawn to meet another powerhouse in the Premier League… Spearwood Dalmatinac.

The team chosen to take on Spearwood was almost exactly the same as the team that took on Lynwood a month earlier. The only exceptions to the squad were the omission of Simon Collins, Ali Miller and Johnny Pope who were all out with Zimmerman injuries. They were also deemed to be ineligible due to not playing enough league games. The players coming into the side included Simon Geldart and team coach Graham Corcoran, who had returned from sunning himself in Cairns.

The starting 11 was exactly the same with the exception of Simon Geldart coming in for the omitted Simon Collins.

The line up would be Kosta Kalantzis in goals, Ross Broad and Ryan MacLean at left and right back respectively. In the centre of defence there was Nik Christos and spiritual team guru Geordie. In midfield there was Jim Thomson and Simon Geldart, they were flanked by Tomas Panak and Brenton White on the left and right and up front Steve MacLean and Dave ‘Hollywood’ Banks. On the bench there was Mike ‘WMD’ Jeffrey, Heath ‘Ranga’ Sinclair and Graham Corcoran. Support staff for the team included Stuart Sinclair as Team Doctor and Dentist and Kevin Grime as Team Scribe and ASSistant Coach.

Much was made of how North Beach would go against Spearwood Dalmatinac. Many critics thought Spearwood would tear North Beach apart with their sharp attacking football. Others thought that North Beach would be in with a chance and could possibly progress. When the game started many were surprised to discover that Spearwood were playing very deep in their own half, were rarely first to the ball and looked generally flat. Their midfield did not have the bite their reputation dictated and their forwards were slow and slightly round.

However at times Spearwood did manage to show spikes of interest and aggression in the game. Several times they were niggling off the ball to prove who was the more dominant of the teams. North Beach were carrying a reputation for knocking out two Premier League teams on their way to this game and it is believed that Spearwood were feeling a little intimidated by North Beach’s fast break playing style.

On 28 minutes after a good build up and shot from Dave Banks, Brenton White was able to regain the ball, cross it into the box and the housewives favourite, Jim Thomson was able to slot the ball into the back of the net with ease. Great work Jimmy! 1-0 to North Beach.

Highlights during the first half included Ryan MacLean picking up the game’s first yellow card for devastating, intimidating and crunching tackle on a hapless Spearwood midfielder, Jim Thomson’s work rate in the middle was outstanding and proved how valuable he is on the park, Brenton White and Tomas Panak working hard down the flanks to assist and support the forwards, Dave Banks’ being tackled from behind and then having the Spearwood player give him an internal rectum examination with his boot, the defence working tirelessly to soak up and pressure and turn it around and finally in what was the proof of how determined North Beach were to win the game, Nik Christos going in for a header and biting down on his lip so hard that he left a severely deep ‘V’ cut in his lip. For this injury he had to leave the park twice to stop the gushing blood from going everywhere and in particular on his shirt. If his blood had spilled onto his shirt he would have been forced to wear the dog ravaged number 16 shirt as a replacement.

When half time came North Beach left the park optimistic that they had worked the hardest out of the two teams and confident that their good work would prove vital in the end. The team talk at half time by Coach G was constructive, uplifting and informative. There was talk of how things could be improved and plans B and C were devised in case Spearwood came out the better team in the second half.

In the second half the 45 minutes was really split into two, one half was flat, terrible and seemed like North Beach had fallen into a hole and were struggling to climb out. Spearwood were coming back into the game and had several attempts on the North Beach goal come narrowly close. Kosta Kalantzis in particular was controlling the goalmouth extremely well during the period of duress. The other half and the latter of the game was outstanding. The workmanship, off the ball movement, talking and finishing was outstanding and possibly the best 20-25 minutes of the year. The boys worked hard and never gave up.

On 59 minutes Tomas Panak came grinding to a stop after both his calves started cramping up. This was one minute before the estimated time that Hack predicted he would be forced to leave the ground. For his time on the park Tiny Tex, Anthony Calea or just plain old Tommy did a wonderful job and helped lay the foundation for what would be the second half onslaught. Replacing Tomas in midfield was Heath Sinclair who slotted in at left midfield. On 65 minutes Nik Christos was given a well deserved rest after he was starting to experience headaches from the previous head clash. Nik replaced with Mike Jeffrey. Mike slotted into left midfield, which pushed Heath to left back and Ross Broad to centre back.

72 minutes Mike Jeffrey started his ‘run of pain’ when he started tackling late and generally clipping people. This was not done on purpose but rather can be attributed to his enthusiasm for getting on the park. 74 minutes Kosta Kalantzis scoops the ball up in his area and is maliciously chopped down by the Spearwood number 2. He is immediately shown a red card by ‘Mark’ the referee. 75 minutes Steve MacLean scores a corker of a goal (his second in as many games) after receiving a superb cross in from Dave Banks. 2-0 to North Beach. 78 minutes Ranga Sinclair expertly clears the ball up field in a well executed hoof. It lands at the feet of Steve MacLean who passes it off to Brenton White who dribbles and scores a brilliant goal. 3-0 to North Beach. 79-82 minutes Mike Jeffrey and an unknown Spearwood player exchange elbows, fake elbows, sweet whisperings in their ears and exchanging of phone numbers. Some would say it was love at first hack however the Spearwood players on bench didn’t take kindly to Mike’s physical presence on the park and start to abuse him from the sideline. On 82 minutes Mike Jeffrey is tackled and flipped into the air and lands hard on the ground. The Spearwood player is shown a red card for violent conduct and Mike waves goodbye to the departing player. Spearwood Dalmatinac reduced to 9 men.

83 minutes Spearwood are fuming and North Beach’s coaching staff start to get concerned as if Mike is sent off he will miss the Final. 84 minutes Coach G strips off his trackie daks and brings himself on for Mike Jeffrey. Possibly a new club record… Mike Jeffrey subbed on and subbed off after only 11.25 minutes. I rounded up to 12 minutes make it sound like he was on the park longer. In this time 2 men are sent off. By subbing Mike early he gets to play in the Reserve Cup Grand Final. 85 minutes Steve MacLean is tackled from behind and the Spearwood player is given a yellow card. 86 minutes Simon Geldart is given a yellow card for a last man tackle on the Spearwood goalkeeper. While the tackle was a 50/50 tackle the referee hands out a sunshine card in the attempt to please the fiery and vocal Spearwoodians. After this Special Guest Coach Darren Young attempts to add some sanity to the game and instructs Simon NOT to tackle only jockey the man. With the team being 3-0 up the last thing North Beach needed was to lose a player to a soft yellow or red card offence.

On 90 minutes the referee blows his whistle and North Beach’s players, coaching staff and supporters jump in the air and for the first time in North Beach history they have made the Final of a major in-season cup. After the game the boys posed for a photo which shall be made available in the upcoming days. From the side line it was heard that Darren Young will try and pull some strings at Football West to get himself included in the Reserve Team squad for the final as technically he never touched a ball nor got on the park for the First Team. He did however say that he would include only himself in this request and not Kevin Grime as they actually wanted to win the final, not lose it. Either way North Beach have reached the 2007 Soccer Pools Amateur Reserve Cup Final for the first time ever. Congratulations to all involved!

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta – Returned from injury and performed admirably on the park. He controlled his area well and made some excellent last minute knee, leg, body saves. 9

Ross – Started at left back and finished in the middle of defence. North Beach’s versatile utility player worked extremely hard and never let his man get the better of him. Did the job and that’s all that could be asked of him. 9

Geordie – Marshalled the defence expertly. He never gave up and was dominant in the air and on the ground. He linked up well with Nik and Jim in midfield and lead by example. Hack predicted he would be the first to blow up at his own players and the lucky recipient of this blow up was everyone’s favourite Ginger, Heath Sinclair. A great game by Yoda. 9

ik – Linked up well with Geordie and never gave up despite struggling with a thumping headache and split lip. Courage and determination were two elements of his game today that will not be forgotten. That and the image of him swallowing a solid block of salt to heal his lip at half time and then watching him nearly yak it up 9.5

Ryan – Picked up a yellow card early in the game for a crunching tackle on a Spearwood midfielder. From that time on he played smart football, always making sure he was first to the ball. He sprayed the passes around the park like they were going out of fashion. Another excellent game! 9

Tomas – Worked hard up and down the flank but yet again succumbed to fatigue just after the break. Is believed Tomas will be investing in an exercise bike so that he can keep his legs moving during the half time break to prevent lactic acid building up in his muscles during the half time breaks. He was subbed for Heath on 59 minutes. Another good game from Tiny Tex. 8.5

Simon – Replacing another Simon in midfield, he had big boots to fill. And did he fill them! An honest game in the middle, he linked up well with Jim and was always there to support the front two. While he did pick up a soft yellow card late in the game Simon will prove to be instrumental in the middle with Jim in the final. 9

Jim – Ran hard, never gave up and played like this was his last game ever. He worked harder than half the Spearwood team put together. His smart intuitive play was a pleasure to watch despite his wayward shots on goal from just inside the half way line. Hack’s Player of the Day. 9.5

Brenton – Like Tomas he played an excellent game down the right flank. He was instrumental in setting up one goal and he scored one of his own. It was a good return after a disappointing couple of weeks with various injuries. 9

Steve – His good fortune continues with him scoring another goal. An excellent holding forward in the mould of Emile Heskey and Stan Colleymore (J) Steve was always there to support the players around him and was instrumental in today’s win. 9

Dave – A good return to the Reserve side for Hollywood after being out for several weeks with an ankle injury. Dave surprised everyone when he rocked up with Brenton 55 minutes before kick off. This will hopefully be the new benchmark for the two guys. It was another good game yet again from the influential forward. 9

Subs:

Heath – Making more of an appearance than in his previous outing in the Quarter finals. Heath was efficient and reliable in the two positions he played on the park. He needed to talk more while on the park but besides that he did extremely well. Heath was the recipient of Geordie’s first outburst of the night. Welcome to the club Heath! 7.5

Mike – On the park for only 12 minutes after replacing Nik Christos. In this time Mike was able to clip 3 players, have two players sent off and have the whole Spearwood bench baying for his blood. In the attempt to keep him available for the Grand final Mike was subbed for Graham Corcoran. 0.25 of a point for every minute on the park. 3 J

Graham – Came on the ground late in the game to replace Weapon of Mass Destruction Mike Jeffrey. Graham slotted into the unfamiliar role of central midfield. He touched the ball a handful of times and while on the park he did the job required. That is he didn’t receive a yellow card. 4

North Beach vs International Calcio

New Reserve side chew up and spit out hapless Calcio in 16 goal thumping.

Score – 16-0 (5-0ht) win to North Beach

Goal Scorers – Darren Young 5, Kyle MacLean 2, Darryl Malam 2, Neil Perkins 2, Russell Sinclair 2, Nick Farrell 1, Dennis Perrie 1, Nick Schaffer 1

After losing two games in a row the North Beach Reserves decided to bring in some new players to take on the mighty International Calcio. With the exception of Kevin Grime, Darryl Malam, Russell Sinclair, Dennis Perrie and Graham Corcoran the North Beach side was infused with some of the 'big guns' from the First Team to try and pick up and improve the Reserve team's fortunes. For the third week in a row Kevin Grime started in goals. In defense there was Simon Bailey, Nick Farrell, Besty and Graham Corcoran playing at the back. Graham Corcoran in particular was a key element to the team as this was his 6th qualifying game before the Cup Semi-final on Wednesday night. In midfield there was Nick Schaffer and Neil 'Barge-arse' Perkins in the middle and flanking them there was Dennis Perrie and Darryl Malam on the left and right respectively. Up front there was the dynamic duo of Darren Young and Russell Sinclair.

As North Beach or rather Cup-Tied United lined up against Calcio there was an element of optimism amongst the players as they knew this was going to be a fun yet competitive team. Well they were right on one of the thoughts.

Simply put Calcio were lucky that the scoreline was not double figures in the first half alone. North Beach missed several opportunities to put the ball into the back of the net. Countless times they were passing off instead of shooting, trying to run the ball into the back of the net instead of shooting and at times giving the ball away cheaply. On the flipside they did play some very attractive football. There was lots of running and talking amongst the players and it was an enjoyable atmosphere to be playing in. By half time North Beach were 5-0 up but it could have easily been more.

At half time North Beach were given two very generous offers by coach Darren Young. The first offer was that if they scored more than 15 goals in the game each and every player would be bought a beer. The second option was that each and every player would be bought a beer if no one was caught offside in the second half. Three guesses who ruined the offside beer? All will be revealled later on in this report.

At the start of the second half North Beach took to the field with a new incentive. Kyle MacLean (there's a hint) came on for Russell Sinclair after he had a very good first half slotting in two excellent goals. The other substitution happened midway through the first half when Chris Roxby came on for Graham Corcoran. Within minutes of the restart North Beach had scored another goal and then another, and then another. By 75 minutes the team was already into double figures! The movement was excellent on and off the ball and everyone was involved in the game. Midway through the second half a flying pig glided gracefully over the park. This could only mean one thing... Nick Farrell was about to score a goal. The goal, coming off a cross into the box, was an excellent header that even Blind Freddy couldnt miss. It was a clinical finish that an Everton supporter would have been proud of. Well done Nick. Other special mentions for the half are... Darren Young slotted in his 5th goal of the game, Besty had a shot and watched it bounce over the cross bar, Kevin Grime saved yet another one on one when Calcio had their only attack of the game (que the Flapping Chicken) and Kyle MacLean managed to stay on the park without picking up a yellow card. Truly a fantastic effort by all.

At the end of the game Simon Geldart made a 30 second entrance which qualifies him for Wednesday's cup game against International Calcio. The referee blew the whistle, just fractionally early, to put the Calcio players out of their misery. It was an excellent win from the North Beach boys and as of tonight is a season record for the biggest victory of the year. Well done to all. A 16-0 win to North Beach.

Special mentions go to Darren Young who slotted in 5 well executed goals. With only 2 games to go before his coaching contract finishes, the Coach played a top game. If the club brings in someone half as good as Darren for next year they will be lucky as there are not many out there like him. From all the boys in the First and Reserve squad we say thanks to Darren for four fantastic years in the 'top job.'

The reviews are as follows:

Kevin - Possibly one of the most boring games he's played in his 15 years at the club. He touched the ball about a dozen times (ten of those bad touches) but was still happy in the end to keep a clean sheet. Playing as a deep sweeper he made a one on one save midway through the second half and some good corner touches but besides that he was un-tested. 7.5

Simon B - Started at left back and performed well. When he went on his roaming runs he terrorised the hapless Calcio defense. An excellent game from Simon yet again. Could possibly be left back of the year? 9

Graham - Graham played for approximatly 20 minutes before substituting himself for Chris Roxby. This was his qualifying game for the cup and while he played he did extremely well. Lets hope he repeats this effort on Wednesday night. For his time on the park he did well. 5.5

Nick F - Started at centre back and was the most vocal on the park. Never stopped, never gave up, never shut up. Scorer of an excellent header midway through the second half. 9

Besty - Proudly boasted he would score a hat trick before the game. Besty didnt live up to his boast but he did have a good game at the back and made the Calcio forwards look unskilful and silly as he continually side-footed them. Linked up well with Darryl Malam in right midfield. Strictly on a need to know basis, for this fact he earns a quality 9.

Dennis - Starting out in the unusual position of left midfield. He scored an excellent goal and provided cover for the defense countless times. Was the first and only player to be bagged by the referee for wearing his $69 pair of boots. Another good game from the new Dad to be. 9

Neil - Started in the middle and managed to niggle and grind out two good goals for the 90 minutes. At times he was rather paranoid as he thought everyone was staring at his bum. A good game. 9

Schaffs - Partnered Neil in the middle, he played a good game in the centre of the park but at times could have shot instead of passing off. When he did was needed to be done he ended up scoring a corker of a goal. 9

Darryl - Played well out wide on the right and linked up well with Besty, Darren and Russell. He will miss the next League game against Balga but will be back the following week for the home game finale against Kwinana United. Well done Darryl. 9

Russell - Two good first half goals from the clubs top goalscorer. Russell played well for his time on the park. He was substituted at half time for everyone's favourite 21st birthday drunk... Kyle MacLean. 8

Darren - He razzled, he dazzled, he schmazzled the opposition with his twists, dives and turns. A leaders game with 5 excellent goals to his name. With only two games to go until the season finishes... can he catch up to Russell in the goalscoring tally and challenge him for top spot? Still waiting for my beer. Hack's Player of the Day. 9.5

Subs

Chris - Subbed on 20 minutes to replace the tiring Graham Corcoran. Chris played an excellent game with his first touch being a powerful header forward. One of the few players to miss out on a goal today. I'm sure Kyle will share some with him. 9

Kyle - After stumbling in a 12.25pm to play Kyle learned that he was on the bench. Thoughts went through his head that he'd never get on or score any goals. But luckily for him Russell was having a bit of a purple patch and was subbed on at half time. Kyle was soon in on the action and scored a great goal. He was the first player to be called offside in the second half which cost the team another beer on behalf of the coach. For this action he is penalised 5 points. 3.5

Simon G - Subbed on late in the game.

Kingsley vs North Beach

Score – 5-1 (2-1ht) loss to North Beach

Goal Scorers – Russell Sinclair 1

North Beach crumbles as Kingsley stamps all over them with a 5 goal drubbing

On a fine spring afternoon an already demoralized North Beach took on up and coming Kingsley. North Beach were already struggling with the news that they would be without influential defender Nik Christos again, Kosta Kalantzis, injured with a dodgy knee and Ryan MacLean who was out with an ankle injury. Stepping into the void left by these departures was Simon Collins and Adam Ridgeway. Simon would step into the central midfield position and Adam would take up a spot on the bench.

Starting in goals again for the second game in a row was Kevin Grime. At left back Ross Broad, centre backs Geordie and Graham and Mike Jeffrey at right back. In midfield there was Adam, Dennis, Simon and Darryl Malam which left Steve MacLean and Russell up front. On the bench there was Heath Sinclair and Adam.

The game started off on a high when North Beach chose to go down hill in the first half. Goalkeeper Kevin Grime was reaching nearly three quarters of the park with his goal kicks. The long goal kicks eventually came in handy with Russell latching onto a goal kick 8 minutes into the game to which he hit first time and put the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to North Beach.

Kingsley soon hit back with a well hit volley that was palmed into the back of the net by Kevin ‘I know what I’m doing’ Grime. It is believed he would have easily got to the ball but his feet were somehow nailed into the ground and the palming of the ball into the net was a late reaction save that was unfortunately… too late. 1-1.

Kingsley were soon back in the attacking action when they went two up just before half time when they launched a rocket from a set piece corner that hurtled in over the man on the post (Mike Jeffrey). During the first half it was end to end football with both teams attacking and defending at a furious pace. NB goalkeeper Kevin Grime was several times put under pressure when he was forced to tip a long distance shot over the bar. He also had to contend with no less than 3 one on one saves in the first half which he managed to save which in turn kept the score line at 2-1.

During the first half the Reserves unfortunately began resorting to the long ball into the corners which put pressure on forwards Steve MacLean and Russell Sinclair. In midfield Simon Collins and Dennis Perrie were running hard but not achieving much as Kingsley continued to push. On half time the two sides, exhausted in the warm conditions walked off and went to their own areas of the ground.

In the second half North Beach switched off early and conceded an early goal only 30 seconds into the period. This forced North Beach into pushing forward more, which unfortunately left the defence often exposed to extra men pushing on. Down the right side of the park North Beach struggled especially as the big number 31 ran wild and pushed, barged and ram raided his way through the midfield. Luckily Darryl Malam and Mike Jeffrey had him covered but at times even they were no a match for him.

Again this put NB’s goalkeeper under more pressure as he was forced to come off his line to prevent Kingsley coming through after failed offside attempts and also forced him into making another 4 one on one saves in the second half.

On 70 minutes North Beach’s answer to Yoda (Geordie) was substituted for Heath Sinclair. Heath slotted in at left back and Ross Broad pushed into the middle. Heath played well for his time on the park and deceived everyone with his throws that could almost rival Chris Roxby’s throws for distance.

On 82 minutes a flu ridden Russell Sinclair was rested and Adam Ridgeway came on and replaced him up front.
85 minutes North Beach concedes their 5th and final goal when a lightly tapped shot is slotted between the NB goalkeeper’s legs. How embarrassment.

Overall it was a bad day for North Beach. No one was switched on in defence and not only was it a poor game for the team it also gave them their biggest loss of the season. The midfield struggled to keep up with their nimble opponents and up front their opportunities were not taken when they should have been. Let’s hope next week’s game against International Calcio will be a better encounter.

The reviews are as follows:

Kevin – Started his second game in goals and was much better this week. He made more one on one saves and clearances in this game than in his last 3 games in goals. Without his saves the score line would have been a lot higher. Will be abused for giving high score… but after having to pick the ball out of the net 5 times in the game there has to be some sort of compensation. 8.5

Ross – Started at left back in the absence of KG. Ross started well and put in a solid effort. He never gave up the running but at times did give the ball away cheaply. 6

Geordie – Helming the defence again, Geordie had a quiet game by comparison. After suffering from an over eager heart beat Geordie was subbed for Heath Sinclair after it was decided no one wanted to give him mouth to mouth if he keeled over. 5.5

Graham – Making a return to the starting 11 after sunning himself in Cairns for the last 3 weeks. He lead by example and was the rock at the back. 7

Mike – Starting at right back Mike had an ok game but towards the end of the second half tiredness started to kick in. Several times he was rounded which allowed Kingsley’s attackers into the box. 5

Adam J – Started out wide on the left, Adam did well but was often, yet again, getting sucked into the middle. He made some good penetrating runs down the flank but these proved to be fruitless. He picked up a yellow card late in the game after a couple of rash challenges. 5.5

Simon C – Making his second appearance for the Reserves this year. Simon played a good game in the middle. He talked, supported and helped direct the traffic which greatly helped the players around him. Overall he did pretty well, one of the more steady performers today. 7

Dennis – Watched by his mum and dad on the sideline, Dennis put in a steady but not spectacular effort. At times he tried to turn into his opponent which sometimes resulted in the ball being given away or cleared away. He also suffered from delusions of grandeur when he tried to shoot from every part of the ground. He linked up well with Simon Collins in the middle but overall this by comparison to his other games wasn’t one of his best. 6

Darryl – Put in a lot of running down the right side of the park. He linked well with Mike but at times was not given the service he required to ‘do what he does best’. 6

Steve – Started up front and put in a good effort. At times he was stranded in no mans land as he had to go wide to get the ball. While never giving up he just didn’t get enough service to do anything with it. 5.5

Russell – After struggling with the flu all week, Russell started up front and put in a solid running game. He scored a good running goal from a goal kick but failed to add anymore to his tally during the game. Russell did win a few dubious goal kicks during the game. This may have come from him slipping a 50 to the ref before the game. 6

Subs

Heath – Came on to replace Geordie very late in the game. He fought hard and proved to everyone how good a thrower of the ball he is. Expect him to feature in several upcoming Reserve games now that the Under 19’s have finished for the year. 4

Adam – Came on for the last 5 minute of the game. Did not have a chanced to get into the game. 3

Around the grounds, Belmont Villa drew 0-0 with Kwinana, Balga surprisingly lost to Colo-Colo 5-2 as well. This was the same score line as their first team. Joondalup United won 2-0, Morley Windmills lost 2-1 at home to Gwelup and Int Calcio won 3-1 at home to BB United.

North Beach vs Joondalup United

Joondalup take 3 points at Charles Riley and North Beach drop out of title chase

Score: 1-3 loss to North Beach (0-3ht)

Goal Scorer: Steve MacLean 1

On an afternoon that started out looking fine and dandy, the clouds came tumbling in just after 12 o’clock and presented North Beach with a major hurdle to climb over. Second placed North Beach was playing third placed Joondalup United in Round 18 of the Division 1 Reserve League. The team were looking on paper to be one of the strongest put out in several weeks. However upon learning late Saturday night that Kosta Kalantzis had pulled out due to a knee injury and Nik Christos pulling out at 12.05pm on the Sunday afternoon due to illness, the team had to be drastically shuffled to make up for those two major losses. Coming off the bench to replace Kosta in goals was Kevin Grime. While goalkeeping was not and is not his specialty, the bonus was that it was day and not night and his vision would not be affected unlike the Colo-Colo night game earlier last month. The other player coming off the bench to replace Nik Christos was Ryan MacLean who was still struggling from an ankle injury that he picked up in the previous week against Morley Windmills.

So with the two new arrivals North Beach stayed with their familiar 4-4-2 formation and took to the field to take on an eager Joondalup United.

Joondalup won the toss and decided to go with the wind to their backs, go down hill and take advantage of the adverse conditions. This at the time suited North Beach as it was decided we would soak up any attacks in the first half and then come out strongly in the second half with the wind at our backs.

The first half was a terrible mixture of misunderstandings, arguing, shouting, missed opportunities and defensive bungles. Only at the briefest of moments did North Beach look like the team of old where they passed the ball around in triangles and worked hard for each other. The rest of the time it was all over the shop with no direction at all.

15 minutes into the first half Tomas Panak felt his hamstring go and was forced to leave the field. This brought Bob Dylan groupie, Mike Jeffrey onto the pitch. Mike slotted in at left midfield and performed well in a position that forced him to play with this non-preferred kicking foot.

Within 25 minutes of the first half North Beach were down 3-0 thanks to over eager defending, diving in and out of position goalkeeping. Joondalup were continually taking corners to which North Beach struggled to get the ball out of their penalty area. Several times this forced Kevin Grime into saving a shot or one of the post defenders to clear the ball away from the troublesome area.

Come half time North Beach were 3-0 down on their home territory and did not look like they had the inspiration or determination to come back from their massive 3 goal deficit. In the change rooms it was decided that we would take advantage of the wind, the wide park, players on the park and limited player options and move to a 3-5-2 formation. While this was not agreed by certain players in the squad, after some “discussion” it was decided that we would stick with the 4-4-2 formation and see how it goes.

When the team emerged in the second half they had the wind at their backs and to make it even more a bonus the sun had come out. For the next 45 minutes North Beach pushed hard, played better constructive football but could not break down the Joondalup defence. At times Joondalup had 4 or 5 players marking only 2 forwards. Essentially they had shut the game down from the back and limited North Beach’s options.

Midway through the second half Steve MacLean was given a good through ball and managed to slot the ball into the back of the net for North Beach’s first and only reply goal. The game finished soon after with North Beach’s heads low and Joondalup’s team cheering and spirits high. Unless Balga can drop full points at least twice in the remaining 4 games and North Beach win all their remaining games the title will go to Balga.

North Beach’s run to the end of the year has them facing Kingsley away, Calcio at home, Balga away and in the final game of the year Kwinana at home. Balga’s run has them facing Colo-Colo at home, BB away, North Beach away and Olympic Kingsway away. This should prove to be an interesting end to the season.

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Morley Windmills vs North Beach

North Beach puts 7 past Morley in an up and down match

Score - 7-0 win (2-0ht) for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Russell Sinclair 4, Steve MacLean 1, Dennis Perrie 1, Jim Thomson 1

After defeating a tough Lynwood Colts side midweek in the Soccer Pools Reserve Cup, North Beach returned from banjo country to take on midtable team Morley Windmills. Under the naive tuition of Kevin 'Coach Carter' Grime, North Beach went out with another experienced and competent side. Leaving the side from Wednesday night's game there was Simon Collins, Johnny Pope, Ali Miller, Brenton White and Lewis Hughes. Coming into the team there was Dennis Perrie, Kevin Grime, Russell Sinclair and Darryl Malam. The game started off rather slow with both sides making mistakes in the wet conditions. At times you could hear a pin drop as there was not much talking out on the field. Other times it was extremely loud with Geordie especially getting into the verbals with his team mates when they didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

Come half time North Beach were 2-0 up thanks to 2 fantastic goals from Steve MacLean who headed the ball in from an excellent cross from Darryl Malam and Dennis Perrie who launched a rocket with his right foot. Steve’s goal was the first he’s ever scored with his head and some believe Dennis was trying for a ‘Hot Shot Hamish’ and burst the back of the net.

At half time there were mainly little things to fix up. Steve MacLean was suffering from the flu but he managed to go back out onto the field for the second half, despite nearly coughing up a lung at one stage.

When the second half started, North Beach were already pushing Morley and soon after the restart Russell Sinclair knocked in the first of his four goals for the half. On 55 minutes Steve was given a well earned rest and replaced by Coach Carter. With CC moving into left back this prompted a rubix cube shuffle on the park. Ross Broad switched over to right back, Ryan MacLean moved from right back to right midfield, Darryl Malam moved into the middle of midfield and Dennis Perrie pushed up forward into Steve's empty spot. Still following me?

On 65 minutes Darryl Malam started to pull up sore so he was replaced by Dave 'Hollywood' Banks. Dennis Perrie dropped back into midfield and Dave slotted in up front. By this stage North Beach was 4-0.
On 75 minutes after being hacked down with a scythe, Ryan MacLean was given a break and replaced by everyone's favourite Richie Cunningham impersonator, Heath Sinclair. After missing out on the action on Wednesday night, the smile on Heath's face could be seen from the other side of the park.

By the end of the game North Beach finished as 7-0 winners. Towards the end of the game Russell had added another 2 to his name and Jim Thomson added a 7th goal 5 minutes before the end.

Overall it was another good effort by the North Beach Reserves. This continued their winning streak to 8 wins in a row knocking in 37 goals and only conceding 9 goals. It was another good win for the boys in their attempt to close down Balga and try and win the league. Next week they play Joondalup United at home. This will be one of two crunch matches in the final 5 games of the season. With the final run being Joondalup, Kingsley, Calcio, Balga and Kwinana a lot depends on next week’s game against tough, hard-hitting, no holds barred Joondalup.

Around the grounds no score recorded for Kingsley vs Colo-Colo, Belmont Villa lost 2-1 at home to Balga, Joondalup slaughtered BB United 16-1!!!!! Gwelup defeated Olympic Kingsway 5-3 and Calcio lost 6-3 at home to Kwinana.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta - Played well at the back and controlled his penalty area well. He was not troubled very much until the last 10 minutes of the game when Morley pushed extra players forward. 8

Ross - Started at left back for the second game in a row. Ross worked well with Mike and the other defenders and was tight as usual in defence. 8

Nik - Another solid game from Nik in the middle. And to top the game off, he didn’t gesture to the crowd to do services of the night on him. He will prove to be instrumental next week against Joondalup. 8

Geordie - Same as Nik, Geordie was solid in the middle and never afraid to get stuck in. He will prove to be ideal in the air against Joondalup next week. 8

Mike - Starting for the first time since the night game against Colo-Colo back on 25th July. Mike did well in left midfield and made some key passes that created several goals. A good return back to the team. 7.5

Dennis - Linked up well with Jim on the big park. Pushed forward and then dragged back with the introduction of Dave, Dennis played well and scored a corker of a goal. 8

Jim - Another good game from Jimmy. He played well and linked up efficiently with Dennis. Needs to work on his respect for 'authority' :D 8

Darryl - Started out on the right and finished in the middle. Darryl put the hard yards in and was instrumental in the first goal. He was subbed for Dave 'Hollywood' Banks on 75 minutes. Another good game. 7.5

Steve - Started with the flu and was subbed on 55 minutes for Kevin Grime. Steve's headed goal was North Beach's first of 7 and provided some breathing space for a while. Let’s hope he is all fit and flu-less for next week's encounter with Joondalup. 7.5

Russell - Scored 4 rather easy goals which resulted in his goal tally finishing at the end of the day with 24 Reserve team goals. At times skied some opportunities but by that stage he had done the damage. Needs to talk more so that his team mates around him know where he is. Besides that he did well. 8

Subs

Kevin - Came on at the 55 minute mark to replace Steve MacLean. Kevin slotted into left back and played a steady but not outstanding game. His first touch was a tackle, which pretty much sums up his game as a player. As a coach he is now 2 for 2. 6.5

Dave - Came on for Darryl on the 65th minute. He slotted in up front and did pretty well. At times he needed to pass off again instead of taking on the extra man. 6

Heath - Came on at the 75 minute mark in right midfield. He did well for his time on the park. He was moved up front in the latter stages of the game so that he could have some chances at scoring. 6

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Wednesday 15th August 2007

Lynwood Colts vs North Beach SC - Soccer Pools Reserve Cup - Qtr Final

Triumphant North Beach march on through to the semi finals of the cup for the 2nd year running

Score - 4-1 (1-1ht) win for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Ryan MacLean 1, Tomas Panak 1, Brenton White 1, Jim Thomson 1

On a clear starry night down in banjo country, Armadale; North Beach took on the Premier League up and coming team Lynwood Colts in the Quarter Finals of the Soccer Pools Reserve Cup. After losing Russell Sinclair, Darryl Malam, Adam Jones, Dennis Perrie and Kevin Grime from the previous league game due to being cup-tied, many thought the Reserves would struggle to put a team on the park let alone win the game! Luckily the old North Beach spirit came through and the squad put out on the night was second to none. And to make it truely a bonus, there was not one First team player present in the squad.
The starting line up was arguably one of the finest put out on the park this year. With regular goalkeeper Kosta Kalantzis in goals, he put in a comanding performance in between the sticks. Beaten only once thanks to a cross that resulted in a fluke goal. Kosta was back to his best again after having to be subbed on Sunday thanks to a knee injury.

In defence, Yoda aka Geordie marshalled his players into a finely tuned machine with Ryan MacLean at right back, Nik 'crowd abuser' Christos joining Geordie in the middle and Ross Broad taking over duties at left back from the cup-tied Kevin Grime. All four defensive players worked hard and played out of their skin, restricting the Lynwood boys to only one goal.

In midfield 'new' reserve boy Simon 'I was fat, but now i'm not' Collins helmed the midfield along with Jim 'plastic-head' Thomson. Out on the flanks there was Brenton 'better late than never' White on the right and Tomas 'run, Forrest, run' Panak on the left. Up front Steve 'Intimidator' MacLean as the holding forward and Dave 'Hollywood' Banks as the running forward.

On the bench there was stalwart favourites Johnny Pope, Ali Miller, Heath Sinclair, Lewis Hughes and returning from injury and the flu, Mike Jeffrey. Controlling the show in his maroon coloured tie was virgin coach Kevin Grime who was taking over coaching duties for the first time from Graham 'I'll send you a postcard' Corcoran who was on holiday.

Playing in their newly bought white shirts, maroon shorts and blue socks change kit, North Beach took to the cold Alfred Skeets Oval in Forrestdale with a belief that hasnt been seen in a while. The team taking to the park was one of the strongest put out in many months. With the exception of Geordie, Simon Collins and Jim Thomson, all the players starting on the park were under 25.

North Beach started the game almost on the back foot as Lynwood pushed straight away. 10 minutes into the game their speedy right winger 'Nipper' raced down the flank and 'crossed' the ball into the back of the net. While some debate it was a cross gone 'astray', after the game the Lywood coach confided in Hack saying that he had actually gone for a shot on purpose? Hack is still unsure of the truth in this statement!

Throughout the first half there were many highlights. One highlight that turned the game around was on the 28th minute when Ryan MacLean chipped the dwarf keeper from outside the box which resulted in a great goal. It was a turning point in the game. 1-1.

Throughout the half it was noticed that Tomas never stopped running, Jim never stopping tackling, Nik was always in the way of the attacker and Lynwood, with exception of the goal, could not penetrate the North Beach defence.

Come half time the North Beach coach was extremely happy with the effort put in by the boys on the park. In the changerooms, Coach 'Carter' took on a 'Darren Young' approach to his half time chat and encouraged everyone for their efforts on the park. He utilised the 'Graham Corcoran' method of reverse psychology and asked each area how they though they were doing on the park. The boys responded well and went onto the park for the second half with a better moral than when they started in the first half.

In the second half Lynwood Colts started to show more grit, showing their fitness, resolve and determination to never say die and lie down. North Beach were equal to the task and proved that they could dish out just as much as they took. Lynwood, proving susceptable to hard challenges never recovered after the 60 minute mark when Tomas Panak broke through the Lynwood defence and slotted home North Beach's second goal. 2-1.

At that time, the coach was thinking about subbing Tomas due to him running the equivilant of the London Marathon in this game. His tracking forward and back throughout the game was enormous. A credit to Tomas today for keeping up with his opponent. On 68 minutes Tomas Panak started to cramp up and with a smooth mixture of youth and experience on the bench, Coach KG decided to stay with the youth factor and substitute Tomas for Under 19's import player Lewis Hughes. Lewis would slot into left midfield and take over Tomas' position. At the time Under 19's manager Stuart Sinclair was warning that they had tried Lewis in midfield and was a much better in the position of left back than left midfielder. But with the coach unwilling to alter the successful backline pushed Lewis into midfield and to his credit he performed well for his time on the park.

On 77 minutes after a ferocious, but fair tackle on a Lynwood forward Nik Christos was pinged for handball while sliding the ball out for a throw in. Reacting to the Lynwood supporters Nik threw his hands up in the air and asked them to perform services of the night on him. This prompted the coach to ask Johnny Pope to stop eating his hot chips and gravy and start to warm up. Luckily Nik had learned that if he didnt shut his mouth he would have been sent off for the second time this season. And unlike the last time he was sent off, the team would probably not have come out winners this time around. Johnny Pope ended up being relieved as it then meant he could get to the bar quicker for the after game drink
83 minutes, Brenton White breaks free of his markers with a great through ball from Ryan MacLean and with that he pushed up the line and deposited the ball into the back of the net for North Beach's third. 3-1 to North Beach.

87 minutes, the clock was ticking down. North Beach had won a corner after Brenton White, yet again, had shot wide and had the ball deflected out for a corner. Coach KG decides to roll the dice and substitutes forward Steve MacLean and replaces him with pint sized ginger minger Heath Sinclair. Steve decides to do a warm up routine on his way off the pitch. This graciously wastes only 10 seconds but it was something different to look at.

From the corner little Heath wanders his way up into the penalty box and when the ball is crossed in, the housewives favourite Jim Thomson connects onto the ball and slots it into the back of the net. After hitting the post 300 times in the last three weeks Jim finally got one into the back of the net. 4-1 to North Beach.

The referee blows for full time and North Beach are victorious 4-1 winners over Premier League team Lynwood Colts. This is the second Premier League team that North Beach have knocked out of the cup on their road to Members Equity Stadium. Next stop the semi finals. And to make this game more interesting the team will be starting with a full squad!

Special mentions today go to Geordie and Simon Collins who have helped me organise the team, kit, balls and basically everything else inbetween the gaps. If they were paid $1 for each of the phone calls and emails i've sent them over the last few days they would be millionaires. Other special thanks tonight go to Johnny Pope, Ali Miller and especially Mike Jeffrey who rode down on a motorbike to Armadale, who sat on the bench and did not get on the park. And one last thank you to the players in the Reserve squad who made my first game as coach a memorable one. While I wish I could be playing on the night you made coaching the team and winning almost as good as playing in the team. Thanks guys.

While all players who played tonight were outstanding, it would be too hard to distinguish between who was excellent and who was outstanding. All players tonight in the starting 11 receive a 9.5.

Kosta - Commanded his area well and recovered from his knee injury sufficiently enough to take goal kicks. Beaten only once in the game to a goal that was disguised as a cross, Kosta did well and cleaned up any scraps that came his way.

Ross - Slotting in at left back in place of cup-tied KG, Ross performed admirably in this position and even put through a quality ball with his left down the line. You sure you're not left footed?

Geordie - Controlled the backline yet again in an efficient and effective method. Geordie did well to quell any incursions into the defensive third. At times a little he was a little too deep. This put more pressure on the midfield as they had further to run. Did what was required and thats all that matters!

Nik - the Mr Angry of the team. After sticking up for his buddy Kosta after a Lynwood player tried to kick him, Nik was in the corner of the referee's eye constantly but like the centre back in the first team, he always gave 110%. Committed and devoted. That's all that could be asked for!

Ryan - Ran all day, never stopped and responded well to advice from the sideline. Nothing more needs to be said. He never gave up and to top off his night, he scores a great goal! A good game.

Tomas - Played out of position, Tomas played an excellent game down the left flank. He chased and chased 'Nipper' and never gave up. Before conceding to cramp midway through the second half he scored a fantastic goal that put North Beach 2-1 up. He was subbed for Lewis Hughes midway through the half.

Jim - Was solid in the middle and never gave up. He linked up well with Simon Collins in the middle and scored a great goal in the dying stages of the game. Needs to work on his passing across the park. As it's a bit bobbly. :)

Simon C - Making his Reserve team debut for season 2007. Simon linked up well with Jim in the middle and proved to be a continual thorn in the Lynwood Colts side. It's a good job we had Skinny Simon in this team as Fat Simon would never have been able to keep up. A great game!

Brenton - A quiet first half due to the play going all the way down the left, Brenton came into his own in the second half when he tore Lynwood to pieces with this devastating pace and deft touch. He scored North Beach's third goal and was unlucky not to get a hat trick with him hitting the crossbar and shooting wide.

Steve - Worked well as a holding foward. Never once did he intimidate the goalkeeper nor did throw himself onto the floor and have a temper tantrum. Came to the ball and linked well with midfield. He was substituted on 87 minutes as a time wasting exercise to wind the clock down.

Dave - Mr 'Hollywood' is back! Turned up 15 minutes before kick off (he phoned to let me know) and went onto the park looking as sharp as ever. Worked well with Steve, Brenton, Tomas and the midfielders around him to be a problem for Lynwood up front.

Subs:

Lewis - Came on for Tomas midway through the first half. His chase and cross from deep just before time was outstanding . For his time on the park he did well. 6

Heath - Came on at hte 87 minutes mark for Steve MacLean, Heath did what was required form him.Question remains... did he touch the ball?

Mike - sub not used

Johnny - sub not used

Ali - sub not used

Next Sunday - North Beach goes dutch and travels to Morley Windmills

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North Beach SC vs Gwelup United

North Beach prevail in local derby and keep the pressure on league leaders

Score - 2-0 (0-0ht) win to North Beach

Goal Scorers - Tomas Panak 1, Dennis Perrie 1

After disposing of midtable Olympic Kingsway last week, North Beach returned home to take on an improving Gwelup United. In the previous round Gwelup had beaten North Beach 3-2 with a goal coming in the last 2 minutes of the game. Today the outcome was different, but the intensity of the game was still the same. North Beach took to the pitch with a team line up that was virtually the same as last week, with the exception of Graham Corcoran and Chris Roxby leaving the team and Steve MacLean coming in up front. On the bench there was the ever reliable Ross Broad, Adam Jones and Graham Corcoran.
The game started off rather spritely with North Beach meeting Gwelup's physical presence one for one on the park.

In defence, there was Kevin Grime, Geordie, Nik Christos and Ryan MacLean. Gwelup's two forwards were a mixture of youth and experience. The experience was their tricky number 10 player who was hard on the ball and never afraid to get stuck in. Their youth was their number 5 player who ran off the ball and was all over the place trying to get the ball. In midfield there was the solid dynamic duo of Dennis Perrie and Jim Thomson helming the middle of the park. Flanking them was Darryl Malam on the left and Tomas Panak on his natural right. Up front there was Russell Sinclair and returning to the starting 11 Steve MacLean.

The first half was what could be best described as all over the place. There were patches of brilliant football but nothing to write home about. At times Gwelup penetrated the defence quite easily and at other times the minute they even breathed near the backline they were clamped down and disposed of. In the backline the biggest problem was their panicking clearances. This came mainly through shear exhaustion as the ball literally kept coming back to them time and time again. This problem was sorted out at half time with the team chat.

Another problem that was occurring was the inability of Kosta Kalantzis to take goal kicks due to a knee injury. This forced Kevin Grime to take the kicks and then run half the length of the park to get back in line and next to Geordie. It also allowed Gwelup to push forward due to not being held offside.

In the midfield, Dennis Perrie and Jim Thomson were running the opposition ragged. This at times drained the batteries of both 30+ players but luckily their second wind kicked in and helped them until half time. Up front both Steve and Russell were performing reasonably well. Both forwards had countless opportunities that should have been converted but this was not a problem directly related to this game alone, but rather a problem that has been cultivating all season. Overall during this game, there was 4 shots hit directly at the goalkeeper. This not only made him look good but our forwards look at times bad.

In the second half there were some slight changes to the side. Due to a knee injury, Kosta was substituted and Kevin Grime slotted into his place. Coming into left-back there was Mr Reliable, Ross Broad. Ross was immediately in on the action making some excellent moves from the left side of the park. He linked up well with Darryl and even had a little burst forward at one stage.

The first goal resulted from a bit of goalmouth pinball that finished off with Tomas Panak latching onto a good shot and putting it into the back of the net. 1-0 to North Beach. The second goal came when what seemed a dubious offside attack that resulted in Dennis Perrie 'coolly' turning and putting the ball into the right side of goal and into the back of the net. It was a quality finish and resulted in Dennis' second goal in three games.

Dennis Perrie also made an impact not only on the scoresheet but also in the air. From goals Kevin Grime throughout the whole game pinpointed the ball onto Dennis' head from every goal kick. Gwelup did not know how to counteract this and at times they had to foul him to stop him from getting the ball.
On 85 minutes Gwelup's number 10 broke through the defence and was gliding towards goals and a one on one confrontation with Kevin Grime. Luckily Kevin didn't dive in and deflected the shot away.
When the referee blew for full time, no one was happier more than coach Graham Corcoran as it meant that his team held their destiny in their own hands. With only 6 games to go and with fixtures against Morley, Joondalup, Kingsley, Calcio, Balga and Kwinana the league can be and is within their grasp.

Around the grounds, Kwinana were given a footballing lesson by Kingsley as they were thrashed 9-1 at home, Balga stay on top by 3 points beaing Calcio 4-0, BB drew 1-1 with Morley Windmills, Olympic Kingsway recover from their loss last week to North Beach and bounce back to win 2-0 over Belmont Villa and Freo Colo-Colo lose at home to Joondalup United 3-1.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta - Struggled after a he injured his knee midway through the first half. He was substituted at half time and was replaced in goals by Kevin Grime. Hopefully this knee injury is not serious as it would mean he would be missing the midweek cup game against Lynwood and the upcoming important fixtures. 5

Kevin - Started at left back and marked for the 1st half the quick and agile number 5. At times he panicked and hoofed the ball away, but for most of the half he was always first to the ball. Towards the end of the half he was controlling his opponent quite well. In the 2nd half he moved into goals and managed to keep a clean sheet for the team and his first for the year. 8

Geordie - Yet again, he started at centre back and linked up well with Nik, Kevin and later Ross. Geordie made some excellent clearances and swept the area well. Never afraid to give his own players a spray he controlled the area well both in the air and on the ground. Another good game. 8.5

Nik - Started and finished at centre back. Nik was instrumental in the backline for stopping various throughballs from the Gwelup midfield. He marked throughout the whole game the tricky number 10 and was never afraid to get stuck in with some hard tackles. Another good game. 9

Ryan - Another exhausting game for the team's youngest player. He was solid on the ball out wide on the right and his never-say-die attitude proved that he is one of the first names pencilled in when choosing the team each week. 9

Darryl - A quiet game for Darryl today. At times he was instrumental in some key attacks but as the game was mainly played down the centre and right of the park he was often left out of the attack. Gwelup continually switched their right and central midfielders which made it harder to attack for him. While never giving up and always giving 100% today wasn't one of his best games. 7

Dennis - Starting in the centre of the park with Jim, Dennis linked up well with not only Jim but also Steve MacLean. He scored an excellent goal where he deposited the ball into the back of the net calmly and collectively. He was yet again instrumental in many attacks. Hack's Joint Player of the Day. 9

Jim - Linked up well with Dennis and ran himself ragged in both halves. Not only was Jim back defending he was also holding his own up front as well. He narrowly missed scoring an excellent goal when he latched onto Steve MacLean's cross and sent it over to hit the cross bar before bouncing out and being cleared away. Hack's Joint Player of the Day along with Dennis. 9

Tomas - Playing on right side of the park, Tomas was given more room to roam and cross the ball in. Normally forced to cut in to hit the ball from the left has hampered his attacks in the past but today he was on form and linked up well with Russell. Not only did he score an excellent goal from a pinball goal mouth scramble he also ran back from midfield to man a post when it wasn't even a corner! Another good game from a player who is getting better and better. 8.5

Russell - For the first time in six games, Russell failed to score a goal. What makes this even more amazing was the fact that he hit the ball at the keeper twice in the game when the ball should have been ruthlessly put away. While Russell didn't play badly, it just wasn't his day in front of the big sticks. 7

Steve - A game of ups and downs for Steve today. On one hand he linked up extremely well with Dennis and Jim to create some particularly excellent football. However on the flipside, what let Steve down today was his second half discipline. After the referee finally tired of Steve arguing back, thrusting the ball into the ground in frustration and having a tantrum on his back on the ground, Steve was finally given a yellow card. What topped everything off was his blatantly obvious and uncalled for intimidation on the scrawny 16yo Gwelup keeper. A reasonably good game let down by his lack of discipline. 6

Subs:

Ross - Ross came on at half time to replace Kevin Grime at left back who went into goals to replace the injured Kosta. Ross played an excellent half of football and proved that he was still fit after touring the tourist attractions of Kalgoorlie all week. A good half of football. 6.5

Adam - Making a cameo appearance late in the game. Adam replaced Tomas in midfield. When on the park he slotted into the left midfield spot which pushed Darryl over to the right. His first proper touch was a good run forward that caused all sorts of problems for Gwelup. For his time on the park, which wasn't much, he did well. 4

Graham - not used

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Olympic Kingsway vs North Beach

Tough day at the office leaves North Beach winners against plucky Olympic Kingsway

Score - 2-0 (1-0ht) win for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Darryl Malam 1, Russell Sinclair 1

On a warm afternoon, North Beach Reserves travelled to play Olympic Kingway. Olympic had of late a slight resurgence with them winning several games and climbing their way up the ladder. They did, before this game, sit in 6th position and 13 points behind North Beach. The squad that travelled was rather light on the ground with only 13 fit players available. Mike Jeffrey pulled out of the squad late on Saturday afternoon with the flu This pushed Nik Christos into the central midfield position, Darryl Malam out of position out wide on the left and coming into the squad after originally being ommitted Geordie. And finally coming into the side after being out for since Round 4 against Morley Windmills came coach Graham Corcoran who picked himself to helm the centre of defence. How he would overcome his social groin injury, only time would tell?

The game started off rather spritely with Olympic Kingsway attacking down the flanks. Darryl Malam was kept busy with his opponent who failed to go back and defend and virtually stayed up front as a wide right forward. This forced Graham to drag Kevin into the middle to help him and Geordie out. By pulling Kevin into the middle, this limited our attacks down the left but Darryl still managed to score a good early goal to take North Beach into the half time break 1-0 up. This took Darryl's goal scoring tally to 6 in total and experiencing a purple patch at the moment it meant that he had scored 4 goals in only 2 games.

In the second half North Beach regrouped and came out from the break more focused. This resulted in a good goal scored by Russell Sinclair when he capitalised on an Olympic Kingsway defensive error. This took Russell's Reserve team tally to 20 goals. Midway through the second half coach Graham Corcoran decided that he didn’t want to risk his groin anymore and replaced himself with Ross Broad. Geordie, after taking a bad knock on the ankle was also subbed early on and replaced with recently returned Hobbit lover Steve MacLean. This resulted in Dennis Perrie and Nik Christos shuffling back and moving into midfield and central defence respectively to allow Steve to slot in up front. In hot conditions Olympic Kingsway played some excellent football but with Christos, Broad, Roxby and Grime at the back most attempts were quashed almost straight away. On 80 minutes after running the length of the park tracking his player from right back, Kevin Grime lost his opponent. This allowed his opponent (number 17) a chance to shoot. He hit his shot low and hard to the right side of goals. Kosta Kalantzis was forced into making an excellent save to his left and palmed the ball out for a corner. Other attempts included Kosta punching the ball out of goal mouth packs and Ross and Nick clearing the ball away from danger areas. While Olympic did push they never got the better of the North Beach defence. At times even strikers Russell Sinclair and Steve MacLean tracked back to help out and prevent any shots. The midfield were also working their maroon socks off with some excellent defensive and offensive play that physically and mentally exhausted them at the end of the game. Overall it was a well deserved win and a good preparation for next week's game against 5th placed Gwelup United.

The game finished at 2-0 which added another three points onto North Beach's tally. The win still keeps them in second place and only 3 points behind league leaders Balga. North Beach play Balga in the second last game of the season on Sunday 16th September. Lets hope North Beach have gone past Balga by then and it doesnt come down to the last game of the season.

Around the grounds, Kingsley were defeated 3-2 at home to Balga, Joondalup beat Kwinana 1-0 at home, Morley Windmills beat Fremantle Colo-Colo 2-1, and Gwelup United drew 4-4 against BB United in a packed Croatian Sporting Complex. The score for Belmont Villa vs International Calico is still to be confirmed.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta - With the exception of two excellent saves late in the second half, this was not one of Kosta's best games of the year. His spectacular goal kicks returned to his repatoire but he was not on par to how he normally plays. 6.5

Kevin - Started at left back and was mainly used as a third central defender in the first half by Graham. In the second half he moved out wide to mark the drifting right midfielder that Darryl had been marking. He sprinted at full pace the length of the park to mark a player obviously quicker than him late in the second half which surprised him as he didnt think he could run that fast anymore! Made some key defensive clearances in both halves and overall was pretty good. 7.5

Graham - Starting in his first game for the Reserves since the round 1 cup game against North Lake back on the 9th April, Graham controlled the backline efficiently and made sure that he positioned himself well for any incursions into the North Beach defensive half by Olympic Kingsway. He was subbed for Ross midway thru the second half. 7.5

Geordie - Linked up well with Graham in the middle and was a formidable presence in the air at the back. After taking a knock on his ankle after a bad tackle early in the second half, Geordie was subbed for Steve MacLean. A good game. 7

Chris - Started at right back and proved how good he is in an attacking role. His throws were second to none and penetrated the Olympic defence several times. Never one to pull out of a tackle, Chris ended up marking a winger who never wanted to pass, this made Chris' job a little easier to tackle him. On this form, he will probably return to the First team squad next week? 8

Darryl - Started out wide on the left. Darryl made some superb runs into the Olympic half with him scoring an excellent goal on the 25 minute mark. He caught the eye of the referee who didnt like the way Darryl marked, ran, jumped or breathed. A good game. 8.5

Jim - Played a strong game in the middle and linked up well with both Nik and Dennis later on in the game. At times he ran so hard we thought he was going to spontaniously combust! Another consistantly good game from North Beach's favourite 'bald man.' 8

Nik - Started off in the middle next to Jim. At times he pushed up so far we thought he'd become a third striker. However he tackled hard and put in a strong defensive effort late in the game when he was moved back to defence. For some reason the referee didnt like Nik either? 8

Ryan - Pushed forward into right midfield to accommodate for the arrival of Chris Roxby at right back. Ryan played an excellent game out wide and ran, crossed, tackled and when needed tracked back to help out defend when needed. Ryan was everywhere! Showing signs of being knackered late in the first half, no one seemed happier than Ryan when the referee blew the whistle for half time. Hack's Player of the Day. 9

Dennis - Pushed up front to play the holding forward. Dennis did everything asked of him and a whole lot more. His effort and commitment was second to none. Midway through the second half he dropped back into the centre of midfield and linked up very well with Jim. One of Dennis' more all round games since he's returned from injury. 8.5

Russell - Despite scoring an excellent goal today which took his tally to 20 Reserve team goals, Russell by his own admission did not have a good game. He could have scored at least 2 other goals and at times he was muscled off the ball by the bigger more physical Olympic defenders. A word of advice Russell... eat more pasta! 6.5

Subs

Ross - Coming off the bench for the second week in a row, Ross slotted into the centre of defence and played 20 minutes of solid football. After having a rare shot on goals, the ball bounced off the post. What happened from there is unknown as I too busy chewing my nails. Hopefully next week Ross will get some more game time under his belt? 6

Steve - Came on to replace Geordie. Steve slotted in up front and the spine of the team shuffled one position back. He did ok while up front but after missing a couple of weeks, his lack of fitness showed. A few good training sessions and another game under his belt will bring him back to his pre-holiday best. 5

Next week - North Beach host Gwelup United in the second local derby of the year

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North Beach SC vs Belmont Villa.

Malam hat trick keeps North Beach on track and in touch with Balga.

Score - 6-2 win (2-1ht) for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Darryl Malam 3 (2 pen), Russell Sinclair 2, Dennis Perrie 1

After demolishing BB United 8-0 in the high scoring, yet disappointing game last week and another high scoring 5-4 midweek win in the replayed game against Colo-Colo, a lot was expected from the North Beach Reserve side that was going to play Belmont Villa today at Charles Riley Reserve. Coming into the side after many weeks of First team duties was the prodigal son, Jim Thomson, Chilean Hugger Nik Christos and non-practicing bench player Chris Roxby who was dropped from the Firsts for more game time. The players leaving the Reserve squad and promoted to the First team included speedy winger Brenton 'Mullet' White and Mr Everywhere Dan Mason.

The game itself was a mixture of defensive errors, quality goals and well executed penalties. In the first half North Beach defended with their backs to the club house going uphill and into the wind. Belmont Villa broke through the North Beach defence quite early when they sliced straight down the middle of the ground with a perfectly timed through ball. This allowed the Belmont player to calmed deposit the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to Belmont Villa.

North Beach bounced back soon after this with some excellent goals scored. These included one from Russell Sinclair who was currently experiencing a purple patch in his goal scoring abilities. Due to an injury to his ankle early in the first half Kosta Kalantzis found that he was unable to take his goal kicks. This resulted in Kevin Grime taking the kicks into the wind and then running up to the backline. After 5 or 6 goal kicks this quickly knackered the aging left back.

Midway through the first half the rain started and with the wind blowing around in its usual swirling motion this made it very difficult to defend against. North Beach were extremely lucky that Belmont Villa could not finish as in the first half they hit the post 3 times. On the last miss-hit shot the ball bounced back against Ryan MacLean and shocked him slightly as he was not expecting it to come back. Luckily Kosta was on hand to get rid of the ball out of the danger area.

Come half time North Beach returned to the dry and slightly warm changerooms and discussed where they were going wrong and how they could fix the problem. During this time Nik Christos was substituted and he was replaced by Dennis Perrie who slotted straight into the central midfield position.

In the second half there was lots to talk about. One of the many highlights of the half included the multiple penalties that were taken successfully by Darryl Malam, the amazing flick trick by Jim Thomson and the Dennis Perrie free kick from just inside the half way line.

Overall it was a pretty good second half by comparison to the first half. At half time North Beach's defending was described by coach Graham Corcoran as 'the worst this year.' In the second half it was more composed and much more disciplined. It was proof that North Beach were capable of improving and overcoming tough obstacles. In regard to scoring goals the North Beach Reserves have knocked in 22 goals in 4 games. That's an incredible scoring record which everyone hopes they will take into next week's game against Olympic Kingsway.

Around the grounds, Kwinana drew 1-1 with Morley Windmills, Balga lost at home 2-1 to Joondalup, BB United were thrashed 6-0 at home to North Beach's next opponents Olympic Kingsway 6-0, Colo-Colo lose at home 5-1 after all their first team players return to the first team and International Calico lost 2-0 at home to Kingsley. This leaves North Beach only three points behind 1st placed Balga. With Balga playing third placed Kingsley next week and North Beach playing 6th placed Olympic Kingsway anything can happen in the next few weeks.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta - After experiencing a dodgy start with 2 suspect goalkicks, Kosta recovered well to control his area efficiently. Unable to take goal kicks did result in having the Belmont players continually onside from goal kicks but overall he did well. 7

Kevin - After a dismal effort during the week in goals, KG returned to left back and after a shaky start stabilised out. Responsible for the second Belmont goal due to being unable to reach the ball, after this incident his game improved and showed more signs of reliability. 7

Geordie - Playing as a centre-back sweeper Geordie performed, as usual, well at the back and was never afraid to give his players a spray if they were under-performing. Dominant in the air Geordie linked up well with Chris and Ross Broad at centreback and proved that age is never an obstacle. 8.5

Chris - Returning to the Reserve side after three weeks in the first team squad Chris lined up at centre back in the first half and quoting his own words 'could not get into the game.' In the second half when Ross Broad came on Chris was moved out wide to right back where he was seen to be more comfortable on the ball and in attack. Overall an ok game for Chris. 7.5

Ryan - Started at right back but for periods of the game went missing. Ryan did well when he tracked back with the Belmont player late in the first half when he surprised himself when he received a wall pass from the post after a missed Belmont shot. He was substituted on 60 minutes for Ross Broad 7

Adam - Playing outwide on the left, Adam performed well when he was given the ball. At times the game was often played exclusively on the left which starved Adam of the ball. When he received it he made the most of this time with some good assists. 8

Nik - Everyone's favourite Chilean Hugger returned to the side as a holding central midfielder. Originally destined to play off the bench, Nik was a late change to the starting 11 due to the late appearance of Dennis Perrie. He played a solid 45 minutes and linked up well with Jim. For his time on the park he did well. 7

Jim - Returning to his spiritual home, Jim started in the middle of the park and played an efficient and at times dazzling game. His flicky trick midway through the second half was greeted with approval by the crowd. His execution of the ball after the trick resulted in some other sideline comments. Overall he did well. 8

Darryl - Starting outwide on the right in the absence of Brenton White, Darryl did well not only with his defensive duties but also his offensive duties. Knocking in a finely executed header and two well hit penalties Darryl was in the action many a time during the game. One of this best games this year. 8.5

Russ - Knocking in another 2 goals today, one with his left and the other thanks to a one on one encounter, this resulted in Russell continuing his purple patch scoring form with him now scoring 8 goals in 4 games. Besides the goals he made a mockery of the Belmont defence but in actual fact played a supporting role up front to his striking partner Dave Banks. Overall he did well. 8

Dave - Continuing his excellent return to the club with another good performance. Dave created one penalty and Darryl's headered goal with some good moves around the park. Despite him having his one trick, the turn inside, he still made sure that the Belmont Villa players were trailing in his wake. At times he needed to release the ball as he was often losing it to the opposition, but this has been discussed many times in the past. An influential game. 8.5

Subs

Dennis - Coming on at half time, Dennis slotted into the midfield in place of Nik Christos. His movement around the midfield was well done and he made sure that the other team always knew where he was. Apparently he scored a goal too? A good half of football. 7

Ross - Coming onto the park on the 60th minute in place of Ryan MacLean, Ross did well in the 30 minutes on the park, defending extremely well and limiting his opponents to nothing! With the team's quota of centre backs now full, who will play in the central two positions next week? Only time will tell. 7

Scotty - Coming on late in the game for Russell. Scott played for approximately 10 minutes but failed to bother the score. His movement off the ball was as usual excellent but by the time he came on the game was already over. For his time on the park he did well. 5

Mike - A late substitution after Dave Banks decided he could take on Goliath, Mike stayed up front in Dave's place for approximately 5 minutes. He would have made an earlier appearance but after pulling a thigh in the warm up it was decided he would only go on if needed in an emergency. Dave getting his head smacked in was deemed an emergency. 5

Next week - North Beach travel to Olympic Kingsway

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North Beach SC vs BB United

Flattering scoreline disguises average performance from an under-performing Reserve team in a card heavy game.

Score - 8-0 win (2-0ht)

Goal Scorers - Steve MacLean 4, Russell Sinclair 2, Darryl Malam 1, Dave Banks 1

After defeating Fremantle Colo-Colo last week with only 10 men, the North Beach Reserve side were looking to continue their good performances with a home win against BB United. Coming into the side after a long ankle injury there was Dennis Perrie who slotted into the right back spot vacated by promoted Ryan MacLean. Other players promoted to the side included Heath Sinclair, Ross Broad, Dave Banks, Alex, Kosta Kalantzis who was returning from the First Team and included as an emergency sub Graham Corcoran.

The game started off in a spritely manner with BB playing a running game that consisted of them coming down the flanks and crossing into their big forwards. With North Beach's 4-4-2 formation the Reserves easily took care of any players who were screaming into the penalty box with devious intentions. At the back in the absence of Nik Christos, utility player Ross Broad slotted into the backline along side Geordie, Kevin and Dennis Perrie. The backline throughout the game were meticulous in soaking up any pressure and making sure that if under pressure the safe ball was utilised first.

After starting at the 'bottom of the hill' with their backs to the goals North Beach defended against the wind. This prevented Kosta from launching any of his goalkicks in the first half. This meant that he would have to utilise his full backs (Kevin and Dennis) to take the ball up the line. This move worked extremely well and was very efficient. In one move 4 players touched the ball and a goal came of the move. That was until the red mist came over the ground and swallowed up half of BB's team.

After earning a corner Steve MacLean was the unlikely applicant of a stern elbow to the chest which prompted the referee into showing his first of four red cards for the game. When the corner was taken Dennis Perrie leaping where no white man has ever leapt before angled his melon head and headed the ball to the bottom right corner of goals. While the ball looked like it was going out, a BB player dived like a mad keeper and palmed the ball out wide for a corner. Perhaps in a former life he was a goalkeeper? Red card number two. Due to the amazement and annoyance from the BB players for losing two players to stupidity a third player is shown a red card for discent. 3 players off in as many minutes surely has to be a record?

After leaving BB with only 8 players, Darryl Malam lines up to take the penalty and coolly and calmly deposits the ball down the guts and into the back of the net.

Come half time the scoreline is 2-0 to North Beach against only 8 men. 10 minutes into the game BB break loose of their markers and go forward. The centre forward goes through the packed box and shoots, misses and watches the ball go over the bar. In a sign of frustration he screams out loud the F-word and with referee before the game warning players about language reaches for his pocket and takes out his favourite card again and shows it to the BB forward. After that BB revert to a 3-1-1 formation and try to take on the 11 players of North Beach.

After this event what can really be said was that North Beach were totally and utterly useless. The goals they scored were spectacular but the game should have been put into double figures. The amount of times players were caught offside was unbelievable. At times players were 2-3 metres offside as BB learnt that if they only step a few metres they would be getting a free kick. North Beach did not adapt to this and it made the game an extremely difficult and frustrating game to watch. Coach Graham Corcoran was quoted as saying 'this is very ordinary.'

In an attempt to change the dynamics of the team, Heath Sinclair was brought on in place of his brother Russell, Alex was brought on for Ross Broad and Dave Banks was brought on at the start of the second half in place of Adam Jones who had a dodgy ankle.

Overall there were 8 goals scored but in the end the scoreline should have been 12,13 or even 14. Against only 7 men the game should have been well and truely put to rest. And while there was a lot of space out on the park it should have been utilised better and not squandered. With the midweek replay game against Colo-Colo and the home game next Sunday against Belmont Villa an improvement in front of goals will be required if we are to catch up with Balga.

A special mention must also go to a player leaving the club after four years in the Reserve team. Casual Matt will be leaving the country on Friday to return home to Hong Kong with his fiance Rose. There he is expected to take up a multi-million dollar playing contract with Hong Kong Galaxy. Matt came to North Beach in Season 2004 when the majority of the Wanneroo City players transferred to North Beach. Matt immediately slotted into the Reserve team as a holding midfielder. His vision and ball skills improved the already excellent Reserve team midfield and helped the Reserves that season to a third placed position.
In Season 2005 he was part of the squad that won the Division 2 Championship. Season 2006 saw Casual Matt move into a midfield/forward linking role. There he played 18 games for the Reserves and 1 game for the First team. Season 2007 saw Matt's season hampered due to an ankle injury. This limited him to only 9 appearances and scoring only 1 goal. We would like to thank Matt for four years of eventful football and we wish him and Rose all the best in Hong Kong. Thanks Matt!

The reviews are as follows:

Kosta - Returning to the Reserves after a month in the Firsts, Kosta was probably the only person in the team who did what he had to do all day. He kept a clean sheet. Despite this he didnt really have to make a save and only really defended one decent corner. Overall though a good, solid performance. Hack's Player of the Day as he virtually the only one not caught offside. 8

Kevin - Starting at left back for the third week in a row, KG was instrumental in the first goal when he took the ball from Kosta and passed it forward down the line, to Adam and then onto Steve MacLean who scored. Overall a good performance and unlike 'other' players was only caught offside once. 8

Ross - Returning to the side after 2 weeks away, Ross slotted into Nik's spot after he was dismissed last week. He put in a lot of running, was always first to the ball and in the great tradition of Nick Farrell, gave 110%. Business as usual! Welcome back Ross. 8

Geordie - Controlled the backline in an almost German efficiency. In the second half he ran the length of the park to keep up with a BB striker. Only caught offside once. Has performed yet again brilliantly. 8

Dennis - Returning to the side after nearly 2 months away, Dennis slotted into right back. He played well, never gave up and despite complaining about people stealing his shots he did well. In the second half he was suckered in like many players to being caught offside. Dennis was caught offside 3 times. Did well for his first game back. 8

Adam - Starting outwide on the left, Adam played a good game going forward but at times was getting sucked into the middle in the first half. At times he could have passed instead of shooting. After being whacked continously on his dodgy ankle he was subbed by Graham at half time for Dave Banks so that the damage didnt set in too much. As a whole he did ok. 7.5

Mike - Yet again played his normal solid game. In the second half he pushed further forward and linked up well with fellow left sided player KG to make some good moves. 8

Darryl - Yet again Darryl started in midfield but found himself moved back into the backline when Ross was substituted. That did not deter him from going forward. On several occasions he made some good moves down the middle of the park and lets not forget his well executed penalty in the first half. 8

Brenton - Starting out wide on the right, Brenton made some good moves down the right side of the park and in the second half he linked up well with Dave and Russell. Continuously in the second half he was caught offside and did not time his runs. Times caught offside - 8 - Besides the offsides his efforts were again solid. 7.5

Russell - After scoring another two excellent goals, Russell stepped up and showed what he could do when given a little bit more time on the ball. Both his goals were quality but like the players surrounding him he was continously caught offside (6 to be exact). 7

Steve - Scored 4 great goals, but against 7 men he should have scored more. On two occasions he fluffed the ball in front of goals. Caught offside more times than any other player. Could this be a new league record? 7

Subs

Dave - Returning to the side since the away game against Belmont Villa seven weeks ago, Dave played his usual game of ducking and weaving and getting into great scoring positions. He did however hold onto the ball for too long and sometimes shoot frantically when he should have passed off. Caught offside about 4 times. 6

Heath - Came on late in the game and played up front. He had some good runs and had a goal (for some unknown reason) disallowed. Overall he did well for his time on the park. 5

Alex - Came on late in the game for Ross Broad and moved into the right midfield position. Alex played well while on the park, he was not on long enough to make much of an impact. 5

Graham - unused - no score

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Fremantle Colo-Colo vs North Beach SC

10 man North Beach dig out a solid win

Score - 3-1 win (3-0ht) for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Brenton White 1, Russell Sinclair 1, Russell Sinclair (really Marcus) 1

After going down 2-1 to league leaders Balga last week North Beach regained their composure for the game against lowly Colo-Colo. With slight changes to the team the line up ended up being Marcus in goals, Kevin and Ryan MacLean at left and right back and Geordie and Nik in the middle. In midfield there was Adam, Dan, Darryl and Brenton and up front Russell Sinclair and Steve MacLean. On the bench you had the wonder talents of Mike Jeffrey, Jim Thomson, Simon Geldart and Tomas Panak.

Feelings and tensions were high as the last time North Beach and Colo-Colo met, a player's leg was broken clean through thanks to an illegal tackle from behind. This prompted several players to don the front and rear shin pads just in case. New information from Football West states that the previous game, which was played at home and abandoned on 60 minutes, will now be replayed in a couple of weeks time. Good luck to all involved in that affair.

The first half was an up and down affair with the backline struggling to mark their own players and two others coming through from midfield. At times the back four were having to deal with 5 or 6 players coming through. This not only put them under a lot of stress but also forced them to sometimes making unnecessary mistakes or rash decisions. North Beach took the lead early in the game when Adam Jones weaved and mazed his way down the left flank and despatched the ball in with a probing cross. On the end of the cross there was Brenton White who powered the ball into the back of the net with decisive and accurate header. 1-0 to North Beach.

During the first half North Beach struggled to deal with the Colo-Colo playmaker, the pony-tailed number 8 made several good runs into North Beach's defensive third and he narrowly missed the undersized goals a few times.

On 30 minutes after tangling with a Colo-Colo player Nik Christos decided that he didn't like his opponents cologne anymore and 'hugged' him to the ground with a bear-like squeeze. The referee, who incidentally was the pedantic Peacock immediately flipped out a red and swung it in the air dismissing Nik for retaliation. North Beach, down to ten men, 30 minutes into the game. With the loss of Nik in the middle, Darryl Malam dropped back into the central defensive position. With Nik being dismissed he could miss up to 3 games. These would include him sitting on the sidelines for the home games against BB United and Belmont Villa along with the away game to Olympic Kingsway. Lets hope he only receives a one match suspension.

Soon after Nik's dismissal North Beach sprang into action with Marcus Allen taking a goal kick and kicking the entire length of the park. The ball bounced and 'officially Russell Sinclair placed the ball into the back of the net', unofficially it was a superb long distance goal from Marcus' boot. Straight after the goal, the ball was pumped forward again to Russell and Steve MacLean. Russell tussles his way through and shoots. The ball darts into the back left corner of goals. 3-0 to North Beach.

Two minutes later, the Peacock blows his whistle and both teams go in for half time drinks and a chat.

The half time talk was constructive but was interrupted when the Peacock barged his way into the changerooms and warned that there were several other players on a yellow card or possible red card. With Nik despatching a few choice words with him asking him to leave the Peacock pigeon-necked his way out of the changerooms and left the team to it's team talk. The moral was high, but with ten men for a full 45 minutes, everyone knew it was going to be a long hard slog.

Come the second half, Colo-Colo had replaced one of their forwards with a spritely non-Chilean player. He was young, skilful and hard on the ball. His marker would be Kevin who at times struggled to keep up with his pace but managed to control his movements.

Due to NB losing a player the formation altered slightly with Russell moving out to right midfield and Steve MacLean standing up front on his lonesome.

Midway through the second half, Geordie and the Colo-Colo forward tangled on their way back towards goal.The Peacock, still running down the pitch and behind play, could not see that Geordie's shirt was being pulled and him being tussled all over the place. Geordie gave a little shove back and the forward screamed like he had just been hacked down maliciously. The Peacock, reacting to the girly screams blows his whistle and points to the penalty spot. Coach Graham Corcoran sees this as an ideal way to put the team off, so calls for a substitution. Going off, Adam Jones, who was struggling with a rolled ankle, coming on Mike Jeffrey.

The young forward puts the ball on the spot and hits it to the right. Marcus Allen predicting this dives the correct way and palms it out wide. A relieved Geordie screams out 'these boys have got nuthin! Our keepers better than them all put together.' Subtle Geordie. Soon after the penalty North Beach have a throw in and Kevin Grime decides to throw forward instead of backwards to Dan Mason. The ball is intercepted and through a simple set of passes and crosses, the ball is pumped into the back of the net. 3-1 to North Beach.

Late in the second half Graham decides to use more players off his bench. Tomas Panak on for Russell Sinclair, Jim Thomson for Steve MacLean and Simon Geldart for Ryan MacLean. Jim Thomson, 41 seconds into his game receives a yellow card for putting his foot in front of the goal kick. The Peacock flips the card out and shines Jim a yellow. Jim argues, Peacock argues back....it's all handbags and gladrags!

At full time a relieved, tired, no exhausted North Beach team leave the pitch knowing that they have pulled
off a mission impossible win. The win propels them back into second place, pending the Joondalup/Kinglsey scoreline. Overall it was possibly one of the toughest games of the season. The boys came through magnificently and they should be proud of the win and also the psychological advantage they now hold over Colo-Colo for the next game. Well done to everyone involved.

Around the grounds...Kwinana narrowly lost at home 1-0 to Olympic Kingsway, Balga demolished Gwelup 5-0, BB United proved to be too strong for Belmont Villa winning 5-2 at the Cage, International Calcio lost 2-1 at home to Morley Windmills and the game against Kingsley and Joondalup is yet to be confirmed.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Marcus - An all round excellent performance. Rumoured to have lost his voice after the game due to excessive shouting. After saving a penalty and being solid as a rock in between the sticks we hope Marcus will be all ok for next week's game. 9

Kevin - A game of two halves again. In the first half, the performance was patchy and bit all over the place. In the second half more focused and disciplined. Two weeks in a row playing in the outfield, a new season record. 8.5

Nik - Started out ok, but was sent off on 30 minutes which put undue pressure on the team. 4

Geordie - The rock in the middle that never gave up supporting and encouraging the team. Was penalised with a yellow for giving away a penalty but luckily Marcus saved his bacon. Narrowly missed an excellent header in the second half. 9

Ryan - Another good game from MacLean Jnr. Attacked and defended well. He was lucky not to receive a yellow card when he experienced a bit of Ryan-rage and clipped a player. Overall another good performance. Subbed for Simon Geldart on 85 minutes. 8.5

Adam - Started at left midfield and created the first goal with an excellent cross. At times pushed too far forward in the 1st half which left defenders to deal with his winger. In the end he played another excellent, influential game. Subbed for Mike Jeffrey on 65 minutes. Hack's Joint Player of the Day 9.5

Dan - Ran everywhere! In the first half he played more of a roaming role, in the second a holding role. Each half was excellent and saved the Reserves several times with his tackles. Described as a kung-fu tackler by the Peacock. Excellent game! 9

Darryl - Started in the middle, ended up at the back. Darryl had several good moves forward and made some excellent defensive headers away from goal. Proof that this year the team has some excellent utility players who can slot in anywhere. 9

Brenton - Started out wide on the right, but was pulled into the middle of the park in the second half. This was arguably his best game of the year with him playing out of his skin. He created countless problems for the Colo-Colo midfield and defence. Hack's Joint Player of the Day. 9.5

Russell - Russell is back and with a bang. Scoring one good goal and technically another due to it not standing unless he claimed he touched the ball, Russell played well up front and later in the second half down the right flank. Two good games in a row, is Russell Sinclair back?!?!?! 9

Steve Mac - Worked well with Russell in the first half. Always presented himself to the players and while not getting a goal his workrate was just outstanding. At one stage after losing the ball he backtracked with his player the length of the park, and WON the ball! Kevin seeing this hoofed the ball as far as he could to give Steve a breather. Brilliant! Subbed for Jim 'yellow is my colour' Thomson on 88 minutes. Hack's Joint Player of the Day. 9.5

Subs

Mike J - Subbed on for Adam Jones on 65 minutes. Mike's substitution was indirectly responsible for the Colo-Colo player missing the penalty. Great work Mike! Played hard, tackled harder! Did what was asked of him, nothing more to be said. 7.5

Tomas - Came on to replace Russell on 88 minutes and slotted into right midfield. Yet again did well for his time on the park. 4

Jim - Came on up front to replace Steve who had experienced a body meltdown. Jim's crowning glory in this game was breaking the Chris Roxby record of quickest yellow card. New record 41 seconds. 4

Simon G - Came on to replace Ryan on 88 minutes and slotted into the unusual position of right back. He did well for his time on the park, but the question must be asked...did Simon touch the ball? 4

Volker - Sub not used - no score :)

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North Beach SC vs Balga SC

African striker sinks two into North Beach and sends Balga 7 points clear

Score - 1-2 (loss to North Beach)

Goal Scorer - Adam Jones 1

In a match that was proving to be a top of the table clash, North Beach took to the field with yet again another different line up. Coming into the side from the cup game against Heathridge last week, there was Kevin Grime who was playing in the outfield for the first time in 8 weeks after injurying himself at Gwelup, Brenton White who was returning from a (sensored) injury, Marcus Allen returning after a (sensored) injury and returning from being cup-tied or not picked, Adam Jones, Chris Roxby, Darryl Malam and Russell Sinclair.

The team lined up in the usual (sensored) formation with Kevin, Nik, Geordie and Ryan in the backline with Marcus sitting behind them in goals. The other players, Tomas, Dan, Mike, Brenton, Steve and Russell all lined up in their usual positions. On the bench there was Chris 'The Judge' Roxby, Darryl Malam, Adam Jones and Volker Framaneu who was playing his second last game of the year before he goes backpacking in Peru.

The game was a tight affair with both sides refusing to give away any ground in the game. Both teams attacked constantly but the battle was to be found in the midfield where Dan and Mike both had their hands full with Balga's more than competent midfielders. At times Tomas Panak found himself having to defend almost as a 5th backman after his marker continually pushed forward. This was soon solved with Nik and Geordie marking the two markers and Kevin marking Tomas' man. This free'd up Tomas to attack more.

When both teams went into the clubrooms at half time, it was thought that the game was up for anyone. Both teams had played extremely well and hard but unfortunately had nothing to show for all their hard work.

When the second half started North Beach continued to attack with them pushing more than they had done in the first half. Both full backs took on the wingers which placed the back two players (Geordie and Nik) under more pressure. This was easily soaked up. On 55 minutes Coach Graham Corcoran made the first of his three substitutions when Adam Jones came on to replace Tomas Panak who was to continuing his good form on the first team bench. Adam almost immediately made an impact when he shot from outside the box (naturally with his left) and with the help of a 'slight' deflection the ball screamed into the back of the net. North Beach's celebrations were like they had won the World Cup as they all knew the game was going to be tight. The Balga players seeing the ball deflect off one of their players into the back of the net thought that Adam was (sensored) lucky. We all just know that it was quality.

Ten minutes later Balga's tall African decent forward glided into the North Beach attacking third and struck with a fierce shot that went thundering past Marcus Allen. Up until that time everytime he had he had shot it had been shut down almost instantaniously. This time he made no mistake and punished North Beach. He continued the punishment another 10 minutes later when he netted another goal on the 70th minute. Coach G, sitting on the sideline could not believe it. His team had gone from being 1 nil up to being 2-1 down within a short period of time.

After this North Beach reverted to a (sensored) formation and pushed Nik Christos up the park to utilise his skills. For the last 10-15 minutes the game was intense and extremely full on. North Beach came close a couple of times but they were nothing to write home about. The game ended on 90 minutes when the ref finally got sick of being rained on. It was North Beach's 3rd loss of the year and one that dropped them down two places on the ladder to 4th. Balga go 7 clear from second and third placed Joondalup United and Kingsley SC, whom North Beach thrashed earlier on in the season.

Around the league the scores were as follows. Belmont were beaten at home 4-1 by Colo-Colo. BB United drew 3-3 with Kwinana United, Olympic Kingsway continued to drag themselves off the bottom of the ladder with a 3-1 win of Calcio, Morley Windmills lost 2-0 at home to Joondalup United and Gwelup go down to Kingsley 4-2.

With the Reserves away to Colo-Colo next week a result is needed to stay in touch with the league leaders. Not only that but North Beach will be required to replay their abandoned home game against Colo-Colo at some stage. Plans are in the making to replay the game at a venue with appropriate lighting.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Marcus: Starting in his first game in goals for the year, Marcus performed well and did everything that was required of him. Neither of the goals were his fault. Despite having a (sensored) injury he performed well. 7.5

Kevin: Starting at left back, Kevin played well, got first to the ball most of the time and was dominent in the air when the ball came to him. Tended to get a little lost in the second half, he came back into the outfield and performed competently. 7

Nik: Starting at centreback but finishing the game in midfield, Nik played well and was never afraid of getting stuck in. At times he lost his man when playing at the back but was directed swiftly to him by Geordie of Kevin. Another good game. 7.5

Geordie: Another reliable game from the big man. He was dominent in the air and never afraid to get stuck in verbally to his own players when they failed to perform. Defensively he was excellent and when attacking he proved he was nothing unless he was attacking his own goal! 7.5

Ryan: Played a blinder out on the right. Pushed and supported Brenton countless times. Hack's Joint Player of the Day. He was subbed for the Judge midway through the second half. 8

Tomas: Forced to defend at the start, when Tomas was released from defensive duties he proved to be a thorn in the Balga side. Subbed for Adam Jones on 55 minutes. 8.5

Dan: The (sensored) of the team. Dan was everywhere! At times he was where he shouldnt have been but who cares, he was on fire! A great game. Hack's Player of the Day along with Ryan. 8.5

Mike: Ran his legs to the ground for 80 minutes. His workrate was second to none and proved how much he has improved since the start of the season. Subbed on 80 minutes for the Peruvian Backpacker, Volker. 8

Brenton: Starting his first game in 3 weeks, Brenton had a quiet game, not due to his own fault but because the game was played down the left side of the park. When he did get a chance to shin he did well. 7

Steve: Worked off the ball well and linked up with Russell to make some good moves. A dismal bicycle kick attempt was tried in the second half that looked like he was trying to give birth to a deer. Overall he did well. 7

Russell: At times he struggled to get into a scoring position due to being muscled out of position by Balga's beefy backmen. Confidence is low at the moment but Russell is a good enough player to bounce back and be bigger and better than ever before. 6.5

Subs

Chris: Stepped into right back in place of Ryan MacLean. Chris played well but his skills, in particular his throws, were not utilised correctly and quickly enough when he came on. 6.5

Adam: Came on at the 55 minute mark. Adam immediately threw himself into the game and was never afraid to get stuck in. Scored an excellent deflected shot on 60 minutes. 6.5

Volker: Entered the ground to replace Mike on 80 minutes. It was hard for him to get into the game at this time as it was rather frenetic and all over the place. He will play his second last game next week before he goes on holiday against Colo-Colo. 4

Darryl: Not used

Next week - North Beach travel away to cellar dwellers Colo-Colo.

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North Beach Soccer Club vs Heathridge SC

Soccer Pools Reserve Cup - Round 3

Sideways rain and Heathridge fail to put a dampener on North Beach's 3rd round win

Score - 1-0 (ht 1-0) win for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Steve MacLean 1

On a day similar to the one Noah experienced when he floated his big ark, the North Beach Reserves lined up against the giant killing Heathridge Soccer Club. The Reserves were coming into the game on the back of a 3-2 loss against lowly Kwinana United. Down in banjo country the Reserves lost in conditions that would have been more preferable to the ones they experienced today. To say the weather was bad was the understatement of all understatements. At times the ball was that laden with water, a player would almost receive a minor concussion when he headed the ball. With the wind cutting diagonally across the park and towards the club house, the extreme weather turned the game into two different types of playing conditions. One, attacking with Cyclone Tracy behind your back and the other defending against the wind and trying your hardest to dig out of your defensive half.

The team that North Beach put out onto the park was a fine mix of youth, experience, grit and style. Coming into the side there was a bevy of quality players. These included Kosta Kalantzis, the man so good he only needs one name, Besty, Jim Thomson, Heath Sinclair, Brett-O and playing in his final competitive game for North Beach, Rob Pfeiffer. Omitted from the team were Tomas Panak due to a groin injury and Russell Sinclair, Adam Jones, Darryl Malam and Kevin Grime all due to being cup-tied. In a standard 4-4-2 formation North Beach took to the field with Kosta in goals, Besty and Ryan at left and right back respectively and Ross and Geordie in the centre-back positions with Geordie sweeping and Ross marking. In midfield Mike Jeffrey and Simon Geldart played at left and right midfield respectively and in-between them Dan Mason and Volker Framenau took up the central midfield positions. Up front there was Steve MacLean and Rob Pfeiffer. On the bench there was Jim Thomson, Brett-O, Heath Sinclair and Nik Christos who was given a bench position so that he would not pick up an injury for the next league game against Balga.

The game kicked off at an earlier time of 12.30pm. Almost straight away the weather came bucketing down with both teams absolutely soaked with only a couple of minutes on the clock. As discussed earlier, the ball was extremely heavy and the pitch was very water logged. At times the ball skidded off the park like a flat pebble through a mill pond and at other times it hit the ground hard and sank!

Very early into the first half Steve MacLean was given a good opportunity and put the ball into the back of the net adding a tenth goal to his tally for this year. 11 minutes into the game, North Beach are 1-0 up.
After this early goal Heathridge balanced out and attacked well into the wind. They pushed and tackled hard and at times when they did a slide tackle, with studs up at times, it was thought that if they had a proper run up their players could have slid right off the park due to the ground being that wet and slippery. Often when the decisions did not go their way they argued, swore and basically lost their heads. This would only work to the advantage of North Beach as everyone knows that referees hate teams that give them grief.

On the 45 minute mark the referee blew his whistle and North Beach walked back to their change room while the Heathridge players jogged back to their changerooms knowing that they had only conceded one goal in treacherous conditions and were now in the driving seat with the wind at their backs.
At half time coach Graham Corcoran assembled his tired and soaked team together and they discussed their options. It was commonly known and decided that despite their numerous opportunities and the goal difference only 1-0 up to North Beach, they should have been further in front. They were now in for the long hard slog. Kosta Kalantzis in particular was mentally preparing himself to be busy in the second half.

Come the second half the sun made a special guest appearance for a short period of time and added some relief to the rainy day. With the wind at their backs, Heathridge attacked with pace and power as they marched on towards goals. Several times Kosta was tested with some long flat shots that skidded off the ground in an almost yorker movement. Despite the treacherous conditions North Beach managed to create some productive 1-2 moves that looked quite good. At times several players tried to play their way out of trouble when all that was needed was a big hoof! While the thought behind the idea was sound the pitch and the conditions were not ideal. This resulted in some turn overs that allowed Heathridge to counterattack. With 15 minutes to go a goal mouth scramble resulted in about 3 shots being stopped by Kosta and various other defensive players. It was Heathridge's best attempt of the day and were unlucky to remain goalless. During the second half coach G used his experienced bench and brought Nik Christos on for Volker, Jim on for Mike and in the last two minutes of the game Brett-O for goalscorer Steve MacLean. This slowed the game down and allowed the guys already playing on the park a breather.

On 90 minutes, the referee blew his whistle and the North Beach players, coaches and supporters jumped up and celebrated another hard fought win. With this win under their belt it now meant that North Beach would be playing in the Quarter finals of the cup. Night football!

Special mentions today go to Ross and Geordie in the middle of the park who soaked up a lot of pressure in the second half and helped the team keep a clean sheet. Other special mentions go to Steve MacLean who made up for his penalty miss last week with a well executed goal early on in the game, Kosta Kalantzis also played an excellent game with him touching the ball more in the second half due to the wind behind Heathridge and finally a special thank you to Marcus Allen who was North Beach's linesman for the whole of the game. Thanks Marcus. There is no Hack's Player of the Day today as the win was a team effort and no one player could be singled out as being the best on ground.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta: A game of two halves for Kosta. In the first half he hardly touched the ball, in the second he was in on the action nearly all the time. Stopped some great shots that would have gone into the back of the net in the weeks before. He played well and commanded his area. 8

Besty: Slotted again into the leftback postion. He attacked and marked well. At times lost the ball due to him trying to play the ball out. If the ground was dry he would have cut Heathridge to pieces. Did well. 7

Geordie: Along with Ross and Kosta, Geordie was one of the busiest men on the park in the second half. An unasuming leader who rallied the players together and kept their spirits high. Another good game from Yoda's older brother. 8

Ross: Week in, week out, Ross puts in a quality effort and very rarely lets the side down with a bad performance. Soaked up a lot of pressure in the second half and worked well with Geordie. 8

Ryan: Played well out on the right. Attacked down the line effectively and proved to be a thorn in the Heathridge midfielder's side. 7.5

Mike: Returning to the starting lineup after first team duties. Mike dug out a performance that was tough and gritty. Not the prettiest game to watch but in these conditions effective. 7

Volker: After being reconstructed during the week, Volker was back and helmed the midfield with Dan. He played and marked well and made sure he was always a pressence in the middle. With only two games left before his sebatical he will be a tough player to replace in the middle. 8

Dan: Starting in the middle of the park, Dan was the attacking midfielder designed to run his opponent into the ground. He had several good shots that were low and hard. These may not have come through with the goods but still served their purpose. 7.5

Simon G: Stepping back into the position he left vacant a few weeks ago, Simon played well down the right but the wet conditions hampered his normally effective stylish play. At times his moved worked and at other times they resulted in turnovers. Overall Simon played a good game despite the conditions being against him. 7.5

Steve: He made up for his penalty error last week by scoring the winner in the cup. Couldnt ask for anymore kharma than that? Ran hard and worked well with Rob up front to cause problems for the Heathridge backline. Subbed late in the game for Brett-O. 8

Rob: Playing his first and last game for the Reserves this season. Rob put in the hard yards and at times came back into the midfield to collect the ball. Taken out by the Heathridge big boys during the game, Rob always got up and had the last laugh with another stylish move. Can't ask for anymore than that. Thanks and good luck back in the UK Rob! 8

Subs

Nik: Came on to replace Volker when his achilles started to play up. Was an effective attacking weapon in midfield that caused all sorts of problems for the Heathridge defenders. Adaptable in several positions, including goalkeeper, he will prove to be a great utility player going into next week's game against Balga. 7

Jim: Returning to the Reserves for the first times since the Gwelup game 6 weeks ago. Jim came into the team to replace Mike and played like he had never left. He had a lot of 'ball time' early in the game when he was continually heading the ball away. Did well while he was on the park. 7

Brett-O: The last time Brett played for the Reseves was at the end of the championship league winning season in 2005. The game was against International Calcio and in that game he played a blinder. Strangely enough Steve MacLean was a goalscorer that day too. Today Brett came on and his role was mainly to wind the clock down. He replaced Steve on 88 minutes. For his time on the park he did well. 5

Heath: Not used due to being ginger.

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North Beach Soccer Club vs Fremantle Colo Colo

Frustrating game ends with violent tackle and a seasons end for young player

Score - 1-1* Abandoned on 60 minutes due to injury to player

* final score unknown, game could be replayed

Goal Scorer - Craig Bartlett 1

The North Beach Reserves came out for their 9th league game of the season in conditions that were very un-winter like. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and there was a crisp feeling about the day. North Beach were taking on their old rivals Colo-Colo again after only meeting them once last year in the first round of the Soccer Pools Reserve Cup.

In the absence of coach Graham Corcoran who was away on business in the eastern states the team was selected by Darren Young and Kevin Grime. It was decided an attacking formation would take place with a 3-4-3 formation taking place to exploit the weakness' in Colo-Colo's defence.

Coming into the side after 5 weeks and 4 games away was goalkeeper/leftback Kevin Grime. He would replace Kosta Kalantzis who was on family duties. The other players reappearing in the Reserve side would be Darryl Malam, Chris Roxby and Russell Sinclair after their stints in the first team and returning after injury Craig Bartlett. Leaving the side were Kosta, Casual Matt, who was injured during the week at training, Simon Geldart, promoted to the first team and Mike Jeffrey, who was away on holiday.

Settling into the 3-4-3 formation this meant that Nik, Ross and Chris would be at the back with Adam, Volker Darryl and Brenton across the middle with Tomas and Russell up front with Dan sitting just behind them. The formation was very attacking and only time would tell if it would work.

The game started very badly for North Beach with Brenton White being substituted only 2 minutes into the game with a hamstring injury. Coming into his place was Craig Bartlett who switched places with Adam Jones and moved to left midfield. The game was mainly fought in the midfield with at times Colo-Colo outplaying North Beach. The game itself was a bit all over the place with several players being caught out of position and being exposed to the Colo-Colo wingers' speed. With their Samuel E'to clone up front Colo-Colo were very potentially very dangerous on the counter attack. They moved well but often argued with each other when their 'plan' didnt go right.

On the 6th minute a cross came into the North Beach box. A call for 'keeper' came from an outfielder which prompted keeper Kevin Grime to move off his line to intercept. After realising that the keeper was never going to get to the ball the defender tried to challenge Samuel E'to but failed dismally which allowed Samuel to head the ball, no float the ball, over the North Beach keeper, who was by that stage out of position and off his line, and into the back of the net. 1-0 to Colo-Colo.

After some good moves down the left wing Craig Bartlett started a move that ended up with him cleaning up the scraps from a shot which resulted in him slotting the ball into the back of the net. Could this be another North Beach comeback? 1-1.

After a constructive half time chat, North Beach returned to the field and started to make an impact in the game. Daniel struck the cross bar with a thundering shot, Tomas and Russell shot wide and Volker headed the ball over the cross bar. North Beach were in control of everything on the park, except the scoreline!

On 55 minutes Colo-Colo moved down the right flank and their beefy African forward angled his way through North Beach's defence and had a one on one with the keeper. Luckily KG managed to distract the striker with his flapping chicken technique which forced him to shoot badly, this allowed KG to deflect the shot out with his right arm for a corner.

On 60 minutes Craig Bartlett went on a great run through the midfield leaving his marker for dust. When turning for the ball Colo-Colo's beach-ball shaped central midfielder tackled Craig from behind. The tackle while not only illegal but also dangerous illegedly snapped Craig's ankle clean through. The crack could be heard from the other side of the park due to the intensity of the tackle. This tackle not only resulted in the game being abandoned due to the club waiting for medical personal to arrive, but also put Craig out of action for the rest of the season and perhaps up to a year. The tackle which was crude, uncalled for and just plain vicious resulted in the referee showing the Colo-Colo barrel boy a red card for violent conduct. From incidents in the past red cards for violent conduct normally result in at least 3 weeks suspension. In this case it is believed he could be up for as much as 6-8 weeks suspension.

The game was back-timed and then later abandoned on 60 minutes. At this stage it is not known what will happen in regards to the result but in other cases the games were replayed at a later date. We all wish Craig a speedy and safe recovery and we hope to see him down at the club, leg and ankle intact, very soon.

The individual reviews are as follows:

KG - Returning to the Reserve team after 4 games away KG did well between the sticks but was caught once in no-mans land when for some reason the ball just slowed down on the park and KG was surprisingly no where near the ball? Luckily Nik was there to clear the ball off the line. Pulled off a good save early in the second half. 7.5

Nik - Started at centreback and worked well with Ross and Chris. At times was a little too quiet. Needs to stand up and talk and take charge. Besides that he cleaned up the scraps very well and kept Colo-Colo restricted during the game. 8

Ross - Another great game from the big man. As part of a 3-man defence Ross yet again showed why his name is one of the first pencilled in on the team sheet. Marked his man closely which included a new tactic of rugby tackling the striker and hugging him into submission. Entertaining! 8

Chris - Returning to the Reserve team since the pre-season matches Chris played a solid game at the back and was involved in some key attacking moves with his super-throws. Will more than likely be promoted back to the first team next week. Hi and goodbye Chris! 8

Adam - Starting out wide on the left, he was soon switched over to the right and created some good moves down the right side. While being a left-footer he adapted well to put Tomas and Russell into some good scoring postions. 7.5

Volker - After suffering a dodgy hamstring in the last two games and a suspect achilles during the week, not much was expected from Volker's dodgy body. Despite the physical ailments he still put in a solid performance and did the job at both ends of the park. 7.5

Darryl - Anchoring the midfield with Volker, Darryl had a quiet but reliable game and made a menace of himself in the midfield. At times the opportunites were there for some seriously good plays but they never eventuated. 7

Brenton - Started out wide on the right but was substituted on 3 minutes when his hamstring tweaked the wrong way. For the amount of minutes on the park. 3

Dan - Playing just behind the front two, Dan attacked well but often found himself closed down too quickly to make any good of the ball. In the second half he launched a rocket of a shot at goals which thundered off the crossbar. A hot and cold game for him, perhaps next week at Skinripper Park Dan will be able to show more of his talents. 7

Tomas - Partnering Russell up front, Tomas was part of an extremely fast and attacking line up. He was unable to break down the Colo-Colo defence which was holding up extremely well. Several times shots were hit just at or within diving range of the keeper. 6.5

Russell - As with Tomas, Russell had several opportunities with the ball to put the game beyond any doubt. Too many times the ball was struck wide or at the keeper. Despite his goal tally being in double figuress, Russell needs to bring to his game not only a ruthless quality but a predator instint to his game as defenders will cotton on very quickly to his run fast and shoot technique. 6.5

Subs

Craig - Entered the field of dreams on 3 minutes after being injured for two weeks. He replaced Brenton White and switched with Adam Jones to the left wing. He moved and presented himself well and made a menace of himself down the wing. When the Reserves changed to a 4-4-2 formation in the second half Craig switched to a left back position. He was unfortunately the victim of some crude tackling on the 60th minute which resulted in his ankle/leg being broken. Despite being hacked down he also scored a fantastic poachers goal in the first half which equalised the score and brought North Beach back into the game. For his time on the park he's Hack's Player of the Day. We wish Craig all the best in his recovery. 8.5

Geordie - Not used

Steve Mac - Not used

Ryan Mac - Not used

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North Beach Soccer Club vs Olympic Kingsway

Score – 7-1 win to North Beach

Goal Scorers – Russell Sinclair 3, Brenton White 1, Dave Banks 1, Casual Matt 1, Darryl Malam 1

North Beach fire 7 into Olympic but fail in 2nd half to make an impact and double figures

After surprisingly losing last week to Gwelup United at the Paddock, North Beach was keen to make amends and regain their winning record. Playing at home against an opposition that has not won in five games and has only managed to accrue 2 points from draws against Belmont Villa and Morley Windmills, North Beach was keen to get in on the action right from the start. However in games like this anything could happen!

During the week coach Graham Corcoran discovered that he had lost several key players from the Reserves. These included himself for the majority of the season due to a groin injury, Gareth Elliott who informed him he would be out for another two weeks with a tendon injury, regular left back Kevin Grime, due to a tackle related knee injury that was picked up at Gwelup and also in the Volker Framenau due to a recurring hamstring injury. And to make matters worse Graham discovered that he lost Mike ‘Western Whopper’ Jeffrey in the warm up to yet again his troublesome hamstring. North Beach were scraping for players and thankfully the bench players from the first team stepped up and helped out along with two players from the Under 19’s youth team.

The kick off for this game was at the unusual time of 1pm which was decided on by Football West due to congestion of fixtures from the junior grades.

While North Beach were warming up and getting ready for the game, the hapless Olympic Kingsway (OK) players were still turning up and not even ready. It was not surprising they had not won a game yet as they unorganised and seemed totally unready to play.

The game started off on a high note when Dave in the first minute was hacked down and Casual Matt slotted the ball into the back of the net from the free kick with a fantastic free kick. 1 nil to North Beach after only 48 seconds.

Olympic Kingsway often found them being beaten to the ball or to the clearance by a more youthful, smarter and determined North Beach team. In the starting 11 there was only Geordie and Darryl who were over 35 years of age. Everyone else was under 27. Despite the North Beach players being hack, chopped, diced and sliced by the OK players they still managed to lift and perform.

On the 10th minute the North Beach defence stopped when a ball had penetrated their backline and in his haste to stop the OK player from scoring Ryan MacLean inadvertently gave away a penalty. The penalty was lucky to go in as it hit the left post on the way in. 1-1

In the 13th minute Dave puts Russell through onto goal and Russell runs it forward and goes round the terrible orange shirted goalkeeper. Russell deposits the ball into the back of the net. 2-1

In the 15th minute Russell is given the ball this time by speedy winger Brenton White and finishes off yet again with the ball in the back of the net. 3-1

17 minutes, Brenton White thumps the ball into the back of the net. A quality finish! 4-1

During this time OK still managed to counter attack and prove to a major pain in the bum. At the back, Ross Broad and Geordie kept the defence clicking along efficiently with them constantly stopping the ball from going any further from them. In goals, Kosta was getting slightly bored and at times came off his line early just so he could have a touch of the ball.

40 minutes – Russell receives the ball from midfield, turns against his man and runs at goals. He casually slots the ball away into the back of the net and celebrates with a dodgy prance. He may have possibly picked that up from his suspect younger brother.

In the second half things went a little pear shaped. A massive hole in the middle of the park developed and play wasn’t as fluid or as constructive as it was in the excellent first half. The OK players started to find their way through holes in the defence and generally players weren’t playing to their full potential or skill like they had previously. On 55 minutes Darryl Malam slotted the ball away on the second attempt when he chipped the poor OK goalkeeper. On 60 minutes, everyone’s favourite gay and ginger step-child Heath Sinclair was substituted for fellow under 19’s player Matthew De Klerk. 65 minutes Simon Bailey came on to replace Ryan MacLean.

74 minutes Dave rounds three OK players and slots in his goal. An excellent goal from the talented forward. After failing to hit the target on several occasions Russell Sinclair is subbed on 75 minutes for Tomas Panak.

The old cliché goes; it was a game of two halves. Luckily for North Beach they had done all the hard work in the first half as in the second half they made extremely hard work of it.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta: Played another solid game. In the first half had hardly anything to do except pick the ball out of the back of the net from the penalty, in the second the outfield lapses gave him more to cope with. Twinged his knee late in the game but should be good for next week. 8.5

Heath: Making his Reserve team starting debut. Heath played well, attacked strongly and supported her fellow ginger friend Craig in midfield. Down the left the ‘red streak duo’ did really well. Here’s hoping next week his mum and dad have paid for him to have a decent hair cut as he looks like a real muppet. 7.5

Ross: Another solid game from Ross in the middle. Worked well with Geordie and was always on hand to clean up any mistakes from his team mates around him. There was much mirth on how Ross runs. If you video him, then slow it down to one tenth the speed you can see the strings! Besides that another great game. 8

Geordie: Like Ross he played another solid game at the back. At times in the first half Geordie didn’t have much to do! In the second half the main highlight was when he was rounded by one of the OK players and then he fell over. That’s it really. And as a bonus Geordie didn’t concede an own goal. 8

Ryan: A welcome return to the Reserves for the younger MacLean brother. To make things even better for Ryan, he drove to the game instead of getting a lift with his brothers or his mummy and daddy. It took 5 attempts but he finally got his license. Well done Ryan 7.5

Craig: The second player in what was the ‘red streak duo’ that worked hard down the left. Craig worked well and supported Heath in his first game. At times again he stopped and looked for a supporting player when he should have carried on running at the OK defence. The club are thinking of getting signs behind goals saying ‘Run Craig Run!’ 8

Casual Matt: Starting the game in the centre of midfield this was by far one of Matt’s best games this year. He scored a goal after only 48 seconds from a free kick and proved to be the spot kick specialist of the day. While I didn’t see it myself there was apparently a tackle thrown into his repertoire as well on Sunday. With only about a month to go until he leaves Matt will want to make sure every game remaining is like this one as the bar has been raised with his performance today. 8

Darryl: Starting in the centre of midfield with Matt, Darryl supported the front two well and even chipped in with a great goal in the second half. In the second half he was troubled by the big hole in the middle of the park that limited his support of the front two. Overall he did well. 8

Brenton: Starting out wide in right midfield, Brenton attack, turned and twisted with pace and was a major pain for the OK players. Scoring one goal and assisting with several others many a time he whipped in some excellent crosses. It was just a shame that we sometimes had no one in there to finish off his good work. Hacks Player of the Day. 9

Russell: It was a game of two halves for Russell. In the first half he knocked in an excellent first half hat trick and we were all hoping that he’d get at least another two in the second half. Unfortunately he didn’t score but came close several times. He was subbed late in the game when his effectiveness up front started to fade. Overall an excellent first half, but average second half. 8

Dave: Another good game for Dave up front. Partnering Russell he ran at the OK defence with pace and caused them a few headaches. Bothering the scorer once with a fantastic goal that required him to go round 3 defenders before slotting it in, it proved to be technically the best goal of the game. With a few more performances like this under his belt he could be back in the First team very soon. 8.5

Subs:

Tomas: Came on 15 minutes before the end to replace Russell. As expected he ran at the defence and caused them problems. No goals however. 6.5

Simon B: Replaced Ryan MacLean midway through the second half and played in defence before moving up front later on. He attacked with pace and proved how dangerous he is when he comes on. He didn’t play as good as he did when he came on for the First team but it was still a good effort from him. 6.5

Matt DK: Replacing the ginger muppet earlier on in the second half Matt came on and put his heart and sole into the game. Having a running style similar in comedy value to Ross’ the sideline believe that there may too be strings attached to his arms and legs. Overall a good league debut for young Matt. 6.5

Mike J: Sub not used due to injury in the warm up. He was spotted near Snowy River late that afternoon warming down.

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Gwelup United vs North Beach Soccer Club

Winning ways come to an end as North Beach go down at the Paddock

Score - 3-2 (1-0 down @ HT)loss to North Beach

Goal Scorers - Dave Banks 2 (1 pen), Geordie OG

After solidly putting 4 away against Morley Windmills last week, confidence was high for the game against local rivals Gwelup United.

Coming into the starting 11 there was KG, Ross, Geordie and Casual Matt. Going out of the side there was Nick Farrell, Adam Jones, Gareth and Volker. While the basic layout of the team was the same, the backline was yet again different with KG, Geordie, Ross and Mike Jeffrey defending. The midfield, which consisted of Craig, Casual Matt and new player Dave and up front, in a three pronged attack, there was Tomas and Russell on either side of Darryl Malam.

To be perfectly honest, North Beach didnt deserve to win. We argued a lot during both halves, a penalty was missed and opportunities were not put away when they should have been. At times there were signs that we were going to snap out of our purple haze but no sooner had it reared it's head, it disappeared again. While the team was 1-0 down at half time the shot that had put Gwelup ahead could not be helped and at best could be described as a quality once in a lifetime shot. The second and third goals were really defensive errors that should have been cleaned up quicker than they already were and the third goal in particular came 2 minutes before the end of the game. It was just a bad day at the office. There were some highlights and these will be discussed in the reviews below.

Kosta - Making his first appearance in a local derby, Kosta played well, came off his line quickly and pulled off some seriously quality saves. He must surely be pushing Marcus Allen for that Number 1 shirt in the first team. None of the goals were his fault and if it wasnt for him North Beach could have conceded a lot more than they did. 8.5

KG - Slotting back into his left back role, North Beach's newst Dad to be played an up and down game that consisted of him going forward well but struggling due to age and lack of speed to get back quick enough. Several times in the first half KG didnt think and just hoofed it forward. It was like the old days all over again. Subbed on the hour for everyone's favourite ginger minger Heath. 6.5

Geordie - Speaking of the old days... Angry Geordie is back! For several months we've been wondering where his anger had gone. And little did we know, it was there, he was just saving it up for a game like this. Constantly he cleaned up the mistakes of his full backs (KG in particular) and midfielders and let them know about it! Scoreline could have been higher if it wasnt for his defending. 7

Ross - Marking one of Gwelup's most dangerous players, Ross played solidly against the old boy which included some good positioning and key clearances. During his trying 90 minutes he rarely put a foot wrong and had a solid 'Tex' like game. Excellent work from Mr Utility. 7

Mike J - Coming into the right back position in the absence or Ryan MacLean, Mike played his usual game of terrier, several times stopping his man from progressing further up the park with the Darryl Malam trademarked 'late foot in'. Overall he did well at the back but at times could be caught behind play while everyone else had pushed up. 7

Craig - Starting on the left side of a three man midfield, Craig played extremely well and pushed hard continuously throughout the game. At times he needed to just let go and take a swing at goals but as far as his work rate went he was excellent. Hack's Player of the Day. 9

Dave - Making his Reserve team debut, Dave did well in the middle helming the centre of the park. Operating in a 'playmaker' role Dave showed no signs of his first team jitters and ran the midfield with flare and speed. He was mistakenly given a yellow card after he and KG sandwiched a player in the first half as it was KG who did the majority of the crunching. He scored once from the penalty spot and a second mid-way thru the second half with a lovely finish. 8.5

Casual Matt - Starting out on the right side of midfield, Matt had a competent game in the middle but at times needed to just go in and take the guy out if was to stake his claim in the midfield. At times he made some excellent moves that cut the Gwelup defence to pieces and defended well towards the end of the game. He was subbed on the 58th minute for Jim Thomson. 6.5

Tomas - Starting on the left side of the three-pronged attack. Tomas worked well with Darryl while he was up front and later with Dave when he and Darryl switched over. He moved off the ball well but several times in the game he had opportunities to put the ball away and failed to do so. This along with his other striking partners was what the difference was in the game. Gwelup could finish, we couldnt today. 7

Darryl - Started up front in the centre of the attack and as captain of the team in the absence of Jim Thomson. He moved around well but often, due to a huge hole in the middle, found that the ball wasnt getting to him. In the second half he was moved back into his preferred midfield role and made good use of the ball. Of particular note he offered some excellent points of information at half time and assisted Coach G in the half time talk. Not many guys knew Darryl had a voice! A good game! 7.5

Russell - Like Tomas, Russell attacked well but he failed to finish well enough to make any difference on the game. Early in the second half he squandered a penalty when he hit it down the middle which allowed the keeper to save the shot and at the same time thank his lucky stars. Rumour has it his finishing boots were left on the shelf back at home? Have you thought of taking up linesmen on a full time basis Russ? .5

Subs

Jim - Jim came on early in the second half for Casual Matt and pushed hard for the ball. While not much came of his time on the park his presence was a welcome return to the side. For his time on the park 6.

Alex - North Beach's answer to Shaggy from Scooby Doo! Alex came on in the position of right midfield but was soon pushed up front to the right wingers role. What he lacks in ball skills he makes up for it in sheer guts, determination and enthusiasm. He will probably have limited Reserve team appearances this season but next year there is no doubt he will become a regular starter. 6.5

Steve Mac - Coming on late in the game, he offered himself to the midfield and created opportunities that the team had been missing previous to his time on the park. Hopefully next week he will be back in the starting line up. 6.5

Heath - Slotting into left back, everyone's favourite ginger minger played well in that position and proved that he was a future talent in waiting. While he was only on the park for a short period of time he did what was required from him. 6

Graham - Did not play but gets a 3 for at least kitting up.

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North Beach Soccer Club vs Morley Windmills

Solid performance as North Beach continue on their 4 goals per game run

Score - 4-0 (2-0ht) win for North Beach

Goal Scorers - Steve MacLean 1 (pen), Tomas Panak 1 (pen), Jim Thomson 1, Volker Framaneu 1

Despite winning the last 4 games in a row there were wholesale changes to the North Beach Reserves side for the home game against Morley Windmills. This was mainly due to players being promoted to the first team or being dropped back to the Reserves to get more fitness and have a bit more time on the ball. Overall there was 6 changes to the starting 11 which not only strengthened the side but proved how deep the North Beach Amateur/Reserve squad was. Coming into the starting 11 was Craig Bartlett, Volker Framenau, Mike Jeffrey, Nick Farrell, Adam Jones and returning reserve player Gareth Elliott. The players coming into play made the team extremely hard to beat and would not lose the ball or the game without a fight.

Right from the start the new look Reserve side pushed hard and made sure that Morley always knew where they were. Yet again there lapses where Morley crept into the backline but Kosta the goalkeeper snapped these challenges up. On the whole he was never really bothered. This was something he commented on after the game.

Up front Steve MacLean and Tomas Panak made themselves known with their mazing runs in and out of space. These resulted in two penalties which were despatched into the back of the net with ease by Steve and Tomas respectively. When Steve went down in the box for the second penalty there was a mystery call from the sideline shouting 'let Tomas take it!' This is rumoured to be Russell Sinclair who is a little nervous about Steve equalling his goalscoring tally.

In the second half the game started to get a little scrappy and Coach G decided it was time for him to utilise his experienced bench. On the bench this week there was Casual Matt, Geordie, KG and Ryan. The team found out before the game that they had lost influencial central defender Nik to a fractured ankle. This will keep him out of action between 4 and 6 weeks. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

First to be substituted was Mike Jeffrey who while on a yellow card for wearing his wedding ring, put in the hard yards. He was replaced by Geordie. Casual Matt came in soon after to replace Tomas. This made Jim extremely happy as he got to go up front while Matt took over the central midfielders role that Jim held. Then soon after came KG who took up the unusal position of left wing. (Thanks G, cheques in the mail). Then late in the game Ryan came on for Adam who had run out of legs after having them lumberjacked from beneath him by the no-talent hack defender marking him.

As soon as Jim had moved up front he made an impact straight away. He scored a corker of a goal as he chipped the replacement goalkeeper with a perfect knock at goals. Then KG got in on the action as he too had a shot on goal and narrowly missed out on it going in as the jammy keeper did the only good save of the day. Finally on the 82nd minute KG running down the wing received a wall pass off Steve MacLean and crossed a high swooping cross into the box. Volker got on the end of this and headed the ball in the back of the net. It was an excellent finish by Volker and proved how dangerous he was in the air.
Overall it was a good, solid performance from the North Beach Reserves. It wasnt fantastic but really solid. If they can repeat this performance next week against Gwelup United they will hopefully go top of the table.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta - Came off his line quickly and efficiently. Was not troubled for much of the match. The most effort he probably had to do was change his yellow shirt to the green change goalies top before the game. 7.5

Nick F - Came into the side and much was expected from him. On the park he discovered that he could push more in this game than normally in the First Team. Struggled to adapt to the 4-3-3 formation at times but overall he played well. 8

Adam - Started the game as a central defender/sweeper but in the second half was pushed forward into a midfielders role so that he could be more creative. Put his heart and sole into the game and made some crucial tackles in the first half. Needs to learn how to kick with his right foot. Besides that Hack's Player of the Day. 9

Darryl - Dropped back into a central defenders role to combat the tall Morley forwards. While having a quiet game he was solid in the middle and proved to be a thorn in the Morley forwards side. Solid. 8

Gareth - Sarcastically bagged from the sideline for his lack of running, Gareth put in a tremendous amount of running in from right back. His aggression and determined tackling got the better of him late in the second half when he tweaked a tendon in his knee. Will hopefully be back next week. 8.5

Craig - Came in at left midfield and made some probing runs into the box. Earned the first penalty which Steve MacLean put away nicely. Overall he did the job that was required from him. Subbed on 80 minutes for KG. 7.5

Volker - Another good game from the big man and an excellent headed goal in the second half topped off his day. Temporarily dropping back into defence and allowing Adam to roam forward Volker made sure he was always first to the ball. Good stuff V. 8.5

Jim - The Oliver Reed of North Beach rocked up to the game late and feeling a little worse for ware. Questions were asked if he could perform at a high level like he normally does but Jiim being Jim, did not let us down and put in a fantastic captain's performance. He sweated pints today but delivered the goods when it counted. Another great goal when pushed forward proves his versatility. 9

Mike J - Starting his first game for the season in right midfield, Mike was yellow carded early on in the game for not taking off his wedding ring. It's a new rule Mike but i'm sure you'll get used to it. After coming back on the park he put the hard yards in and never gave up until he was subbed. More of a terrier role for Mike today, but none the less a vital role. Subbed for Geordie late in the game. 7.5

Tomas - After dazzling the football world at left midfield last week against Joondalup, Tomas was pushed up front and performed well. He linked up with Steve efficiently and moved in and out of space when needed. He slotted the second penalty away nicely late in the first half after Steve MacLean unselfishly let him have it. Overall a good game. 8.5

Steve Mac - Another game, another well executed goal. His goal may have been a penalty but he blasted it into the net and pushed North Beach into the lead. If he had surely missed it his brothers on the sideline Kyle and Ryan would have been bagging him for a month. He now has Russell shaking in his shorts as he now equals him on 7 goals for the season. 8.5

Subs

Geordie - He came on to replace Mike. Volker replaced Mike in midfield and Geordie took his usual spot in the backline. He didnt have much to do while on the park, except for a hoof forward to Steve MacLean, but none the less while on the park he did what was required of him. 6.5

Casual Matt - Matt came on to replace Tomas on the park. This allowed Jim to push up and attack and leave Matt to his usual midfield holding role. He performed this as usual efficiently and competantly. Like Geordie there wasnt much to do in the latter stages of the game but he performed well. 6.5

KG - Came on to replace Craig up front in the left wing position. Everyone was surprised when he turned and had a shot on goals. The replacement keeper (the original keeper belted into the post by Steve Mac) pulled off his only save for his term in goals and tipped it over the bar. Late in the game KG worked well with Steve and crossed a long ball into Volker and set up his goal. I was going to give myself a 7 but in fair play to the rest of the team i'll go with the standard 6.5.

Ryan - Came on in the dying minutes to replace Adam who was hacked up by the Morley defenders. He didnt have much to do and only touched the ball a handful of times. To equal the amount of touches and minutes on the park Ryan earns a 5.

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Joondalup vs North Beach Soccer Club

Score – 4-1 (3-0ht) win for North Beach

Goal Scorers – Russell Sinclair 2, Steve MacLean 2

Another Sunday... save weather pattern. Sundays are starting to become a little too predictable. Sunny and fine all week and then buckets down with rain on the Sunday. Jeff Newman... do something! Right from the start North Beach were involved in the action. The game was a carbon copy of last years fixture at this ground. Hard, physical, testing conditions but this time around something was different. The attitude of the players. This year North Beach have a new confidence in themselves and around the team there is a belief that on the day, this team can beat anyone!

Returning to the team this week was regular goalkeeper Kosta Kalantzis, midfield terrier Volker Framanau and playing in his first game of the season Tomas Panak. For the third week in a row the defence had to experience changes. Returning to his regular left back spot was KG who rumour has it only got into the team as he slipped Darren Young a $50 note to pick Gareth Elliott for the First team bench. This would allow him to return to his spot with no obstacles. Ross Broad dropped back into the centre of defence to partner big Nik and Ryan MacLean returned to the side at right back after a stint with the First Team.

Midfield saw Tomas Panak slotting into left midfield in the absence of Craig Bartlett, Casual Matt partnering Jim in the centre of midfield and Darryl moving out wide to the right. Up front Coach G kept his two multiple goalscoring strikers in Steve MacLean and Russell Sinclair.

The game started out rather spritely with the Joondalup and North Beach players not being afraid of getting stuck in. Once the wet weather kicked in the conditions became slippery and sometimes pretty messy. Chances were had where both teams could have gone ahead but each team's goalkeepers were keeping them in the game with some fine saves. Kosta pulling of several good saves with not only his feet.. but his hands too! KG knocked one off the line which in hindsight he could have done a 'Geordie' and sent it to the back of the net but luckily it went over the bar and Nik defendered solidly to yet again allowed North Beach to keep a clean sheet up until half time. On the 35th minute the purple patch started when Russell scored twice on the counter-attack and Steve MacLean proving yet again how much of an accomplished striker he has become, scoring a great goal.

In the middle of the narrow park Jim Thomson ran around doggishly closing down any stray players and putting in the extra running to cover for players who were tired or otherwise out of position. Darryl and Tomas Panak pushed down the flanks and provided excellent support for the front two and at times proved to be quite a handful. Tomas playing in this first game and out of position in left midfield did a lot of running and covered for the older KG several times when speed was needed.

And while the team left to the sideline at half time 3-0 it could be best to say that we had not played good football. The team was flat and sometimes too one dimensional in it's approach (Russell's two goals coming from hoofs upfield and he running onto them) and lacked imagination to sometimes get the ball forward to the front two. This was something that was discussed at half time by Coach G.

The second half started off with a bang, or rather a slap of boot on boot when Ryan MacLean picked up his second yellow card in three games with a solid yet, illegal tackle on the Joondalup winger. It earned him a ticking off from the ref but we knew it's what the Joondalup player required as he needed to know that Ryan was right behind him and that if he got the ball, he would be close by...waiting.

Joondalup returned to the field with a new vigour about themselves. They pushed an extra player forward into a striking role just behind the front two. This required the backline to mark man on man at the back and it allowed for zero error. The game was hard fought in the opening minutes there was several shots whizzing past and over the goals. If there is one thing Joondalup has is the ability to do is hit the ball hard. Several times shots were taken from outside the box and they were straight on target. Luckily for the Reserves, Kosta was having a great game and picked up anything stray in his area.

Half way through the second half Coach G started his substitutions with the groinally sore Jim making way for the returning Volker, Mike replacing KG and Craig replacing Tomas out wide on the left. While the basic layout of the team did not change the new legs were surrounded by tired, rain beaten legs that were struggling to run the length of the park and back. Joondalup scored late in the second half but that was pretty much all they did of any note. At full time North Beach left the park with their heads held high. They had improved on last year's performance at the ground. And while no player on the park stood out today as being outstanding it was deemed that the win yet again was a team effort and not one of an individual.

The individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta - Played well, came off his line decisively and pulled off some quality saves. Kept North Beach in the game early in the first half thanks to some quality keeping. 8.5

KG - Returned to left back and played an ok game. At times he needed to be reminded where he should be and in the first half was getting sucked into the middle. But overall he did alright. 7.5

Nik - Another good game for the big man. Was playing as the last defender but at times needed to be reminded to come up the park. Besides that he had another solid game. 8.5

Ross - In the action for most of the game. He won a lot in the air and proved to be a thorn in the Joondalup attackers sides. Combined well with Nick, could be a match made in heaven. 8.5

Ryan - After partying all night in the hotspot that is Yanchep, he returned to the Reserve team and played a good game, despite having a sore right knee. Did well. 8

Tomas - Played well in the foreign position of left midfield. He defended well, ran hard and attacked with pace. Narrowly missed out on Hack's Player of the Day. 8.5

Casual Matt - Controlled the middle of the park pretty well. Got stuck into some good tackles but at times was dropping too deep and was almost a 5th defender. 7.5

Jim - Brutally receiving only a 7 last week, Jim's efforts on the park this week yet again proved that appearances are deceptive. Groin injuries and all he did well. 8.5

Darryl - Moved to the right and pumped in a few good runs and crosses. Question still remains.. is he a better winger, central midfielder or central defender? 8

Russell - Scored two excellent goals on the run in the first half. A little quiet in the second half but still solid. The race is now on between him and Steve Mac. First one to ten goals. 8

Steve - Partnering Russell again up front, the two of them had a pretty good understanding together and were never afraid to run at the Joondalup defenders. Steve's ability to hold the ball up and pass off is proving to be invaluable upfront. 8.5

Subs

Volker - Came on to replace Jim on the 65th minute, he had a good game and like Jim put pressure on the Joondalup midfield. Shaping up as a bit of a battle as who to start in the middle. 8

Mike - Came on at the 70 minute mark to replace KG. Slotted into left back and created problems for the Joondalup right midfielder. Another player knocking on the door to get a regular starting place. 7

Craig - Entered the game on the 74th minute and replaced Tomas out wide on the left. Did quite a bit of running foward but could not get into the game with only 16 minutes to go. 7

Geordie - Sub not used, but on a positive note, he did not score an own goal today and ran the line in the pouring rain and in just a t-shirt! Hack's Player of the Day. 6.5

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North Beach Soccer Club vs Kingsley

Score – 4-2 (2-2ht) win for North Beach

Goal Scorers – Russell Sinclair 4, (Geordie 1 OG)

On a Sunday that was almost a carbon copy of the week before, the North Beach Reserves took on a challenging Kingsley at home for the first time this year. The day started off bright and sunny with several players applying suncream and zinc to their faces to prevent any burning. Thirty minutes into the game the cream would become useless and the zinc would run as the heavens opened up and drowned the Charles Riley surface.

Coming into the side there were Russell Sinclair and Simon Bailey who had come back to the Reserves to rediscover their scoring touch. And did Russell discover it! Knocking in four fantastic goals, Russell brought the Reserves back from being 2-0 down to a fine 4-2 win.

The team went down early in the first half thanks to a second Geordie own goal in as many games. As Geordie attacked the ball, it only took a slight turn of his head for the ball to deflect off and scream past replacement goalkeeper KG. The second goal came in a goalmouth scramble which resulted in the Kingsley forward punting the ball into the back of the goal just before half time. Despite the team going 2 down early they still kept a positive outlook on the game. This perhaps is the difference between this year’s Reserve side and last year’s side.

In the second half the team came out firing with a new formation that capitalised on our speedy wing players centring around last week’s 4 goal hero Steve MacLean. Despite Russell scoring four goals throughout the game, it was not just a one man show. The rest of the team put in the hard yards too and their individual reviews are as follows:

KG – Coming into goals to replace Kosta who was playing Social Premier due to him only being able to play 45 minutes, KG was immediately in the action in the first minute when he was faced with a one and one and saved it with his thigh. Coming off his line countless times he was only beaten only by Geordie and a toe punt. He pulled off a one handed save in the last minute of the game to keep the score at 4-2. With him in goals we don’t know who was more nervous, KG or the team itself? Needless to say…a good performance. 9

Gareth – Slotting into left back in the absence of KG, Gareth performed admirably by putting in some solid, but fair tackles on the Kingsley forwards. Never afraid to get stuck in he was often in the thick of the action. One of the most consistent players in the Reserve team at the moment. 8.5

Geordie – After slotting in another own goal in the first five minutes of the game Geordie was probably the most relieved North Beach player on the park when Russell started his goal scoring run. Strong in the air and determined to correct his bad start to the game, Geordie linked up well with Nick and proved to be as usual solid. A dodgy start equalled out to a good game. 8

Nick C – After producing a solid display last week, Nick continued to perform with another productive performance on the park. Strong in the air and on the deck Nick will surely be pushing for a first team position soon. With the First Team losing centre back Dennis Perrie it could even be next week? Comparisons to the great Johnny Pope have already been made. Substituted for Simon Bailey on the 70th minute. 8.5

Ryan – Playing only for 45 minutes on Sunday due to him being prepared for his First Team debut, Ryan started at right back and linked up well with Ross in right midfield and also Jim and Darryl in the centre of midfield. After copping a knock in a 50/50 tackle Ryan’s output slowed a little but he bounced back strongly in the latter stages of the first half. For his time on the park he did well. Subbed for Mike at half time. 7

Craig – Dropping back from up front to left midfield, Craig yet again proved to a thorn in the Kingsley’s side. He ran, passed and tackled hard and was linking up well with Russell and Steve Mac. In the second half he was pushed up front as part of a three pronged attack. A little shaky in front of goals, his time will come. 7.5

Jim – It wasn’t quite Jim’s day on the park. He did the basics, tackled hard, supported the front two and ran his bum off for the full 90 minutes. But on Sunday Jim was missing his magic spark. After a sparkling start to the season perhaps what Jim needs is a Red Bull before the game to recharge his batteries. Overall a competent performance. 7

Darryl – As with Jim our two central midfielders did the basics but as far as the game went, often they were bypassed for the punt over the top for our speedy forward Russell to run onto. Darryl did what was required in the middle and only once did we see a bit of spark when he tackled a player from behind and gave him a bit of ‘howzat’ on his calves and ankles. Subbed for Casual Matt late in second half. 7

Ross – Starting again at right midfield, Ross played well while in that position. When Ryan was substituted at half time, Ross was moved back into the backline where he performed competently and efficiently. With the team possessing several utility players like Ross we can only go from strength to strength. 7.5

Steve MacLean – Like Craig was last week, Steve’s role this week was to support Russell who was experiencing a bit of a purple patch. Linking up with the midfield well, Steve presented himself and offered a holding-the-ball-up option. In the second half he was the centre of a 3-prong attack that consisted of himself, Russell and Craig. Another good game. 8

Russell – Coming into the Reserve side in the middle of a bit of a baron run, Russell bounced back with four of the best. Two goals on either side of the break, what worked for Russell on the day was the midfield, defence and even the goalkeeper punting the ball over the top and Russell running onto the ball and having a shot at goals. It was a tactic we’ve tried to avoid this season, but on this occasion it worked well. Narrowly beating the goalkeeper as Hack’s Player of Day. 9

Subs

Mike – Coming off the bench at half time, Mike played his terrier game of closing the midfielders down by any means possible. At times the Kingsley players didn’t know what hit them. Mike’s deceptive pace and last minute foot (borrowed from Darryl) thwarted the Kingsley midfield from creating anything positive. For his time on the park he did well. 7

Casual Matt – Coming on to replace Darryl in the middle, the team line up changed yet again to a 4-3-3 formation with Matt in the middle as the holding role. Matt played well and created one of Russell’s goals with a mazing ‘Kyle’ like run through the middle. At times he had quiet patches but overall he had a good game for the 15-20 minutes on the park. 7

Simon B – ‘Bjorn Again’ came off the bench for North Beach to replace Nick and his first touch was off, of all places, his knee. His touch on the park has improved by leaps and bounds this year due to a 5-a-side tournament in the off season. Countless times he made the Kingsley players look foolish with his deft touches to the side and runs forward. Made an impact to the game almost straight away. 7.5

Graham – Not used, didn’t intend to go on, but kitted up anyway. Because he made an effort. 3

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International Calcio vs North Beach Soccer Club

4-2 Win

Scorers: Steve MacLean (4), Geordie (OG)

MacLean shines and brushes Calcio aside with 4 of the best

Returning to the ground that capped off the Reserves winning the Division 2 Championship in 2005, there were elements of de je vu in the team. Returning players from that successful team included Geordie, Steve Mac, KG, Mike, Ross and Casual Matt. So as you can imagine there were a lot of good memories to be had at Wordsworth Reserve.

The Reserves on this day came to the ground with a stronger side from the week before that beat North Lake 1-0 in the cup. Coming into the team was Nick C, Ross, Darryl, Mike, Craig and Casual Matt. This would only add to the already bulging talent in the team. Graham dropped himself to the bench and brought in new player Nick C to play in the centre of defence with Geordie. He proved to be a rock in the middle and ever reliable.

Upfront Craig was brought in to replace Brenton who was promoted to the Amateurs and Darryl brought in to boost our midfield after his stint in the first team. Overall the team played well but at times lost their shape and often didn’t listen to key calls from controlling positional players. A special mention and congratulations goes to Steve MacLean who knocked in four goals over the game and proved to himself and everyone else that he is a quality player upfront. For his efforts and his forth goal in the second half Steve was substituted as we don’t want players thinking they are any good… especially when they score so many! But in all seriousness Steve played a blinder!

But it was not just Steve who played well… there were another 14 players who put their heart and soul into the team. There individual reviews are as follows:

Kosta – Starting for the third time for the Reserves, Kosta pulled another strong performance in goals. His goal kicks were consistent and only once did he have one that went off target. At times a little slow coming off his line but this comes with the more games you play. Overall he was solid and reliable and you can’t ask more than that! A good game. 9

KG – Starting at left-back, KG played well in the wet conditions but was often beaten for pace by the younger Calcio forwards. He was prone, for some reason, to handball the ball several times. Once he was pinged by the ref, the other he managed to get away with it. He tried hard to play the ball out along the ground in his new approach to non-hoofing but because of this, late in the second half he ran out of steam and was substituted on the 80th minute for Graham Corcoran. 8

Geordie – Coming into the team after being subbed last week due to being smashed on the knee, Geordie played a full 90 minutes of reliable, character based football. In the first half he was the player responsible for putting the ball in the back of the net and beating Kosta. Geordie is not Geordie unless he’s scored at least an own goal per year, however in the last 3 seasons in the Reserves, he has averaged at least 3 per year. Kosta, you’ve been warned. Never a dull game when Geordie is playing at the back. 8.5

Nick C – After missing out on last weeks game due to a fishing trip, Nick was back and anchored the defence at centre-back with Geordie. He was solid in both defending and also attack. Never afraid to spoil it for the other team, he was pinged for handballing and still made the time to abuse the opposition. It’s good to have another solid central defender in the team. Well done Nick. 9

Ryan – This was the game where Ryan broke his cherry. He maliciously hacked down a player to earn himself his first yellow card for the North Beach Reserves. Could he be the new Mike Jeffrey? It has been brought to his attention that if he continues to play like his brother Kyle, he too will be running the line in the rain. Seriously, he was committed and played very well. You can’t ask for anymore than that. Well done Ryan. 8.5

Gareth – Carrying a knock from last week’s game against North Lake, Gareth lined up in left midfield and played a solid game out wide. At times he and KG switched positions which only they discussed and did not divulge to the rest of the team. Overall again, he played a solid game. He was substituted for Mike Jeffrey on the 65th minute. 8

Jim – Never has one played come to a club and left an imprint on it like Jim. Well besides Steve Jolly. Jim never gave up and worked well with Darryl in the middle of the park. Not only did he build up a good rapport with the referee (whom he divulged that he had testicle cuffs) he also made the time to abuse the ref everytime he opened his mouth or blew the whistle. For a player who can multi-skill as much as Jim a match rating would be just plain pointless. But I’ll give him one anyway. 8.5

Darryl – Coming back to the Reserves after his one game stint in the Amateurs, Darryl lined up with Jim in the centre of midfield. He and Jim worked well together in both attack and defence. Several times, Darryl had some great opportunities going forward and linked up with the forwards efficiently. Let’s hope that he’s here to stay now instead of doing his yoyo tricks like last year. Well done Darryl. 8.5

Ross – Mr Versatile is back after travelling all over the countryside like a Leyland Brother. If it’s not Melbourne, it’s Tasmania. Let’s hope he’s spreading the good word about North Beach? Ross lined up on the right side of midfield and made some fantastic runs down the right flank. He especially worked well with Steve MacLean and narrowly missed out on a goal when he shot and sent it wide. A good return for Rosco. 8.5

Craig – Overshadowed slightly by his multiple goal-scoring partner. Craig pushed the Calcio defenders to their limit and while he was a potent threat to them overall, he never shot directly at the goals. With time he’ll adapt from his left-wing running player into a quality goal-scoring forward. Overall he played a good supporting role. 8

Steve MacLean – It’s not often that a player will score so many in a league game. Steve scored four quality goals that would not have looked out of place in the First Team. His predatory and ruthless finishing made the Calcio players look foolish. Scoring two goals in as many minutes, his second goal in that purple patch started when he intercepted the Calcio kick off and he did a solo run into the box and slotted it past the hapless goalkeeper. Quality finishes x 4. He was substituted for Russell late in the second half and has earned Hack’s Player of the Day. Well done Steve. 9.5

Subs

Casual Matt – Returning from a scouting trip in Hong Kong, Matt came into the side late in the second half to replace Ross. The midfield reverted to a 4-3-3 formation which suited Matt’s holding role. For his time on the park he did well. 7

Mike – Playing his first game of the season, Mike replaced Gareth at left-midfield and ran wide down the left flank several times and caused some havoc. One of these runs resulted in a Steve MacLean goal. He received the ball from KG and ran down the line and he hooked it in at the last moment and Steve slotted it away for his forth. Late in the game he moved into the middle more. A good start. 7.5

Russell – Playing in the Reserves for the first time in the season proper, Russell came off the bench to replace Steve who was starting to stress the Calcio defenders out with his constant goal scoring. He ran hard while up front and narrowly missed scoring a goal when it cut across the face of goal. While no goals he ran the hard yards while on the park. 7.5

Graham – Coming off the bench late in the game to replace the tiring KG, Graham slotted into KG’s left back spot a little too easily. While sure he didn’t have a left foot, which I think is essential for left back, he still played well for the final 10 minutes of the game. Try not to get too comfortable Graham as I’m only unavailable for the cup games due to being cup-tied last week. For his time on the park.

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Match Reports - Amateur Division 1 Reserves

Balga vs North Beach

North Beach vs Spearwood Dalmatinac, Soccer Pools Reserves Cup Semi-Final

North Beach vs International Calcio

Kingsley vs North Beach

North Beach vs Joondalup United

Morley Windmills vs North Beach

Lynwood Colts vs North Beach SC - Soccer Pools Reserve Cup - Qtr Final

North Beach SC vs Gwelup United

Olympic Kingsway vs North Beach

North Beach SC vs Belmont Villa.

North Beach SC vs BB United

Fremantle Colo-Colo vs North Beach SC

North Beach SC vs Balga SC

North Beach Soccer Club vs Heathridge SC

North Beach Soccer Club vs Fremantle Colo Colo

North Beach Soccer Club vs Olympic Kingsway

Gwelup United vs North Beach Soccer Club

North Beach Soccer Club vs Morley Windmills

Joondalup vs North Beach Soccer Club

North Beach Soccer Club vs Kingsley

International Calcio vs North Beach Soccer Club

North Beach vs Spearwood Dalmatinac,
Soccer Pools Reserves Cup Semi-Final