From the Convenor of Football, Stephen Wilmot
Trial Game v Riverview
Last weekend saw our first game against Riverview and for most the first game of the season. With teams ready to see what they were capable of against a strong Riverview side. We had some great results over the weekend and coaches were able to make changes to the structural side of their team. Some of the great results include the 2nd XI 2-2 draw, 10D/Es 4-0 win, 9As 2-1 win, 9Bs 4-3 win, 9E/Fs with a massive 12-1 win, 8Bs 3-3 draw, 8Cs 4-1 win, 8D/Es 3-0 win, 7As 5-2 win, 7Bs, 3-1 win, 7Cs 1-1 draw, 7D/Es 4-0 win. These are some great results, with many teams setting the benchmark high before the CAS Season
Waverley College vs Shellharbour
Independent Cup
Waverley College embarked on a lengthy trip out to the Shire to take on the mighty Shellharbour in the Independent Cup. The boys arrived promptly to carry out their warm up really preparing well for the game. After the intense chat from Coach Darvill the 1st boys were ready to lead out on the pitch. Waverley dominated possession the first half not letting Shellharbour on the ball or get near the goal. Waverley converted three goals in the first half, those of youngster Dominic Abruzzeze, Tyler Von der Heyden and none other than Zac Smith. The second half was underway and a goal was scored by Shellharbour to make the score 3-1. After this goal, Waverley went on to score another three goals before the final whistle. Zac Smith again sealed a hat trick for the game and none other than Julian Imvriotis converted a sensational goal with an excellent through ball by Jasper Marsh-Cashman. The final whistle blew and Waverley walked off with a 6-1 and are into the next round.
CAS Round 1 v St Aloysius
On return of Term 2 players will have one training session on either the Wednesday or Thursday afternoon before our first round of CAS on 29 April. This is an away game, meaning Years 7, 10 and Opens are at St Aloysius and Years 8 and 9 are at Queens Park. A reminder that players are required to wear the correct playing gear for the games. This includes Waverley jersey, blue shorts, Waverley socks, shin pads and boots. There is also a new law change to football which requires anything over the sock to be the same colour as the sock this means tape and shin pad straps need to be a blue or the referee can ask for them to be taken off. Please also ensure that only Waverley gear is worn to the game. If any player is wearing non-Waverley gear it will be recorded and they will be asked to remove it.
2nd XI Report
It was a crisp Autumn morning on Saturday 1 April at Queens Park, and despite most people being in the joking mood for April Fools Day, the 2nd XI lined up on the touchline, and were ready for an intense trial match against GPS giants Riverview 2nd XI.
The introduction of the game was not a very good start for the Waverley boys, the speed and movement of the Riverview midfield provided a great challenge for the boys in blue and gold. What then seemed to be inevitable, Riverview were awarded a penalty after the referee made a very trivial decision. The Riverview front man lined up for the penalty, and the Waverley goalkeeper Jeremy Vanos pulled off two amazing consecutive saves to keep out the Riverview men. Despite the high spirits of the Waverley boys after saving that penalty, the momentum of the game continued to favour the opposition. Just before the half time whistle, a great counter-attacking move saw Riverview’s striker find the back of the net. The Waverley boys entered half time trailing 1-0.
Despite being down in luck, the boys in blue and gold went out into the second half full of optimism. About 10 minutes into the second half, the home side were very unlucky to concede another goal after some defensive errors. Waverley now trailed 2-0. However, in true Waverley fashion, the 11 men on the field picked up their heads, and made a huge improvement in the following minutes to play. This camaraderie and effort displayed by the Waverley boys ended up being rewarded about 20 minutes into the second half. A beautiful ball into Waverley’s left winger Jerome Mendes allowed him to open up on the edge of the 18-yard box, and fire the ball past the keeper to allow Waverley back into the game, with them only trailing 2-1. The last 15 minutes was intense for not only the players, but the crowd also. In a last ditch attempt, Waverley’s defender Ben Scarf ran into the box attempting a header and in the process was pushed down by the Riverview goalkeeper, so Waverley were awarded a penalty. The captain of the 2nd XI Alfie Killigrew stepped up to take the penalty. As cool as you like, the captain sent the keeper the wrong way, and equalized the game. The score was now 2-2. The last 10 minutes provided some beautiful play by both sides, although there was nothing to differentiate the two. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, and ultimately built some really good foundations for the 2nd XI heading into the school holidays.
