13 Boys: Hakoah Sydney East 0-2 South Coast Flame

It was a clash between the two best defensive teams in the league with the boys coming out on top with a comfortable 2-0 victory.

All the boys should be proud of their efforts as we continue to climb the ladder and now sit third with still games in hand.

Dylan Rodrigues scored a great header mid-way through the first half after some excellent work from Cohen Pegler down the right hand side, before a cross to the far post.

Hakaoh were the much more physical of the two sides, so a little pep talk at halftime was just the tonic for the boys to start matching it with them as this was the only department they seemed better than us.

The second half was much like the first, with Hakoah finding it hard to break us down and once again we were rewarded with another Dylan Rodrigues goal.

It was very hard to pick a player of the week this week, as all of the boys were excellent.

Well done boys, on to next week as we start the second round.

Player of the week: Kingston Obednikovski

Kingston showed constant effort and excellent decision making throughout the game.

14 Boys: Hakoah Sydney East 2-3 South Coast Flame 

This was a game that the team desperately required the three points to remain close to the top six.

It was a poor start to the match, as we were inviting pressure from the home team which resulted in an early lead for Hakoah with a well placed shot.

Oscar Loveday led the Flame, working tirelessly up front and was able to capitalise, pinching the ball of Hakoah’s defence and neatly slotting the ball inside the keeper’s near post.

The Flame went into the sheds bouyed by the equaliser and returned to the field in the second half a team ready to apply the Flame principles.

Harry Burton played an excellent game returning from injury, applying relentless pressure to Hakoah’s midfiled and was instrumental to Flame’s resurgence in the game.

Dylan Rodrigues came off the bench after playing for the U13’s to show superior physicality and determination, winning the ball on the left touchline before beating a number of Hakoah defenders to fire a shot past the Hakoah’s keeper, to take a 2-1 lead.

Hakoah took advantage of a lack of concentration from the Flame to find an equaliser with around 10 minutes to go in the match.

With 5 minutes remaining, Ben Parry sealed the win for the Flame by using his body well to shield the ball from a throw inside the Hakoah 18-yard-box, before dribbling past a defender to calmly place the ball inside the keepers front post.

It was great to see the 14’s dig deep and show character for this win. We are hoping they take this confidence and character into the second half of the season.

Player of the week: Oscar Loveday and Harry Burton

The first 15 minutes was a poor display by the Flame and required team members to lead by example. These two players stepped up and demonstrated character and determination which rubbed off on other team members

15 Boys: Hakoah Sydney East 0-3 South Coast Flame

It was great to the see 15’s bounce back from last week’s loss with 3-0 win.

A goal just before half-time to Willem Robaard and a brace from Matt Page in the second half secured the victory.

With three players out, Hadar, Daniel, Gabriel and Brodie from the U14s all stepped up and performed excellently.

Player of the week: Matthew Page

Matt showed great enthusiasm at training and during the game, being rewarded with two goals.

16 Boys: Hakoah Sydney East 2-0 South Coast Flame

The team start off slow and were finding it difficult to break down the Hakoah attack.

We went down a goal with a defensive mistake, before conceding a second with a free kick that went through the wall.

In the second half, we charged our shape and formation which worked well. We created a lot a chances and could have easily levelled the score. A very good second half from the boys, and we need to take this into next weekend’s game.

Player of the week: Noah Crapis

Noah was able to get on the ball in between the lines and creating attacking opportunities.

18 Boys: Hakoah Sydney East 2-1 South Coast Flame

Saturday’s game against an evenly placed team on the ladder looked like a great opportunity for Flame 18’s to earn three points and come home with a win.

Our Flame boys went into the ‘must win’ game with determination, but found Hakoah on the attack from the very beginning. Our boys defended multiple attacks as Hakoah displayed fast feet, skill and intensity on the ball. However, it was Jay De Gouveia who brought the pizazz in the 39th minute, breaking through the midfielders, manoeuvring past the centre back and beating the goalkeeper to score.

This rattled Hakoah as they looked to quickly equalise and unfortunately for our boys, they found the net just three minutes later, bringing the score to 1-1 just before half time.

The second half focus was to fire up and the Flame 18’s worked on clearing Hakoah’s attacks, along with putting pressure on the ball.

It became very physical and competitive, with several free kicks awarded to both teams due to foul tackles. However, it was in the last five minutes of the game that Hakoah pushed hard and swiftly scored again, bringing it to 1-2.

The opposition continued to press, wanting another goal to seal the deal in the dying minutes of the match, however we retained our composure and the full time whistle blew, with the final score a 1-2 loss this week.

It was a scrappy game at times and Flame unfortunately couldn’t hold the opposition back.

Next week we play Mounties Wanderers FC at our home ground, the furnace. Mounties are one step above us on the ladder, so our boys will need to regroup in order to ensure we win this time.

Player of the week: Jay De Gouveia

Jay scored a well-taken individual goal and worked tirelessly throughout the game.