Dayton Dutch Lions FC U-15 Boys – FC Thunder Struck
Date: 01/13/2013
Time: 5.00 PM
Final score: 0-2
Player of the game: Makay & Samuel
After the winter break the U-15 boys played their first wall2wall game against FC Thunder Struck.
The U-15 boys started their game with perfect passing on a high pace and with a lot of movement without ball. We had good possession of the ball, we made the field wide and we were looking for our wingers. Because we passed the ball around we were able to create some chances but unfortunately we didn’t make a goal. After two bad moments we had two goals against. After those two goal we kept our head high, played the ball around on a high pace and created some more chances. We had the other team the whole game under pressure but we were a little unlucky with finishing. Two shots on the post, one on the crossbar, three shots right at the goalkeeper and one header came on the wrong side of the post.
Coach W. saw a good game with good moments and points to improve. If we keep playing like this and make faster decisions we will win a lot of games and I will look forward to spring season is what coach W. said.
Dutch Lions FC G96 @ TUMFC Rockets U18 Girls
Date: Sunday 1/13/2013, 10.00 AM
Final score: 4-2 Dutch Lions
Player of the game: Rachel
The first game of the indoor season for the Dutch Lions FC G96 was against a team they played against last year in the same league. A year ago they lost, tied and won against this team. After hard work before the Christmas break, but also a month without practice the Dutch Lions showed the still are able to possess the ball, look for passes and score goals. The game ended in a 4-2 win for the Dutch Lions, but they could have scored a couple more.
The game started with both teams trying to find the rhythm and getting settled in the game. The Dutch Lions were the first team to get comfortable, possessing the ball. Every time the Dutch Lions were able to keep the ball on the ground they were able to fully control the game. After some nice passing on the right side Brittney was able to get a pass through the defense of TUMFC to Rachel, who didn’t hesitate to open the score: 1-0. Pretty fast after this game TUMFC was able to score the equalizer. A couple of Lions mistakes lead to a free kick going in, through the middle of the goal. The Lions didn’t get discouraged by the goal and quickly scored the 2-1 after Rachel was able to pass the ball to the Brittney, who split the defense with a good run through the center.
Halfway the game a free kick of TUMFC on the side of the field was not defended by the Dutch Lions. 4 Girls wearing a green jersey were ready to push in the cross, while all the Dutch Lions player were watching on the 18 yard box. An amazing big error on the Dutch Lions side and the score was tied up again. After this goal the Dutch Lions shifted to a higher gear and Rachel and Carmen were able to reward the team for this good soccer with 2 nice goals. The Dutch Lions were able to finish the game without getting into any trouble. The Lions could have scored a couple more, but shots went wide or way over the goal.
After the game coach Tommy was pretty happy: “I told my team before the game it wasn’t about the score, but of course it is nice to win the first game. I think we played pretty good in possession of the ball, but we could have taken more advantage of switching the field. We did give up 2 goals that we absolutely unnecessary, I am disappointed about that. The girls know what we did wrong and I am confident we learned from it. All together we can look back at a good start of 2013”.
Dutch Lions U17 Boys @ Beechmont Crew
Date: Day 01/13/2013, 1:00 PM
Final score: 1-0 Win
Player of the game: Max
This was the first game at Wall 2 Wall for the U17 Boys team and also the very first match for them as a team. The team came into the game with much anticipation and excitement, looking for a good result.
The game started off with a very fast pace. The U17 Boys put high pressure on their opposition right from the start. The opposing team looked to play the ball forward quickly and counter attack at fast pace, making for a back and forth match for most of the game. The Lions played solid defense and there were several big saves throughout the game from both U17 Boys goalies, Tommy and Zach. A few missed chances of our own resulted in the match staying 0-0.
The final minutes of the match finished with several attempts on goal from both teams. A long range shot from Max found the back of the net in the final seconds, securing the 1-0 win for the U17 Boys team.
“Our team deserved to win this match. We played well on defense and put some good attacks together. This being the first game together, I am pleased with how we played and I look forward to continued improvement with this group”, said Coach Eddie Hertsenberg.
The U17 Boys will look to play another solid game next Sunday when they return to Wall 2 Wall for their second match.
Celtic U18 Boys – Dutch Lions FC18 Boys
Sunday 13th January, 06:00 pm
Final score 1-3
player of the game: Matt McCurry
The U18 Boys played their first game of the indoor season, and after the game we can all look back at a good win with some great moments of soccer. Before the game the team got one very important task to show today, ‘how do we stand when the other team has the ball’. The players we’re told how to set up the organization and we’re put in their position, the coach gave them freedom and wanted to see creativity and intuition when we had ball possession. The U18 Boys started very good with a quick goal after only 80 seconds. It was JB who made the pass to the forwards where Jersusa had a lot of pressure on the Celtic defenders, but is was Joey who had the last touch and kicked the ball behind the Celtic goalkeeper. A good start that really got the players going. The following 20 minutes the game was pretty even with both teams creating good opportunities to score a goal. Thanks to our goalkeeper Matt we kept leading the game with 1-0. With players on the defense who never really played there before we we’re searching for the right flow to control the Celtic attackers. But after those 20 minutes we did a better job with setting up the organization the coach wanted to see. On ball possession the boys did a great job finding the open player(s) on the midfield. As soon as we started to see that we gained more control of the game and it took us only 3 more minutes to get a great change for scoring a second goal. JB got tackled inside the box and took his responsibility as a captain and shot the penalty in the far right corner for a 2-0 lead. The next 15 minutes we had a lot of changes for scoring a third goal, but we we’re unlucky on some opportunities. Joey, Bryan and Andres where close. In the 39th minute the Celtic team was able to clear the ball on our corner kick and with a fast break away the managed to have their fast striker one on one with Matt, he tried but the striker was able to kick the ball low in the corner for the 2-1. With 15 minutes on the clock the Celtic was team was pushing hard to score the equalizer, they had two free kicks close at our box in the middle of the goal. But the first one ended in the wall and the second one ended up over the crossbar. With the Celtic team pushing up we had more space behind the defensive Celtic line, and it was Bryan who used that space. With a long kick from Thomas over the Celtic team Bryan picked up the ball and finished it nice in the corner leaving the goalkeeper with no chance giving the Lions a well-deserved 3-1 victory.
After the game coach Dave was very pleased with what he saw: “it will take some time to get used to the way we want to play with the right organization when the other team has the ball”. “It also will take a lot of concentration and hard work to do this”. “But today we took a step into the right direction and the players showed me that they are willing to learn and work hard for the team”. “The way we played when we had ball possession was sometimes very impressive, we we’re able to find the open player on midfield”. “Now we need to work on the right choices we have to make in possession of the ball, that also will take some time and hard work”. “So I am looking forward to the next weeks at how the players react during practices and the other indoor games”.