http://thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog The Witches of Eastgrove: News 09/10 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:02:42 -0600 http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=73383c13af38406bfa207032c5dcd4a0_4c88a829 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:26:01 -0500 The Witches failed to capitalise on a bright opening 15 minutes and paid a heavy price. Once Gungahlin broke through and took the lead the Witches simply slumped, offering little resistance as Gungahlin carved out a match winning 3-0 lead by the break. An improved performance in the second half was blighted by injuries to Rach and Nikki but they kept Gungahlin to one second half goal. Although the Witches were terrible, responsibility for the poor performance lies with the Grand Wiz who totally misjudged his approach to this game and failed to adjust the line up to suit the conditions and players available. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=a078b48075f73d3d0bf8ec6c5c94ae89_4c7cd72b Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:19:23 -0500 Missing Danni and Meg, the Witches were boosted by the return of Mikki, Sara, Courtney and Maddi and actually had a reserve for the first time in weeks. Even so, Maddi's late arrival due to being held up by a traffic accident, caused a late reshuffle to the line up with Rach donning the gloves and Nikki moving into the unfamiliar midfield role. Monaro kicked off running downhill and settled quickly into stride. Early pressure saw the Witches on the backfoot and it was no surprise when Monaro opened the scoring after only seven minutes with a high lobbed shot that gave Rach no hope of getting near. The arrival of Maddi saw Rach come off for a break but no easing of pressure from Monaro. The Witches were scrambling frantically in defense but in the 18th minute there was little they could do when their right winger unleashed a powerful angled drive from 12m that Maddi hardly saw. Although the introduction of Rach back into midfield helped stem the tide,Monaro were still dominant and the Witches were thankful that when halftime came it was still only 2-0. The second half saw a significant improvement from the Witches and they started to cause Monaro problems but they still weren't playing as well as in recent weeks. The breakthrough for the Witches came from a free kick awarded near the middle of the park, Rach sending a floating kick over the Monaro defense. Nikki did the rest, leaving her marker in her wake she made no mistake from 6m, hitting her strike low and hard to get the Witches back into the game. Monaro, who had looked comfortable up to this point, now looked a little hesitant and the resurgent Witches applied the pressure.The equaliser came 5 minutes later with Rach again supplying the final pass for Cassie to head home from 10m out albeit with a bit of luck. Spurred on by their vocal supporters, Monaro responded well and the game now became an open affair, flowing from end to end as both sides fought for the vital opening to break the deadlock but all to no avail. The score remained at 2-2, a satisfying result for Monaro as they maintained their undefeated tag. Not quite as satisfying for the Witches who will be disappointed not to have gone on to win after their comeback but perhaps a little fortunate to have kept Monaro to only two goals. Even so they demonstrated, once again, great strength of character in the face of adversity as they fought back from two goals down against the Division's top side. They will need to show every bit of that character again next week when they take on great rivals Gungahlin in their knock out semi-final. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=ba439d8765b54c95a11aa8ff281ae18c_4c70fab0 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 05:23:44 -0500 With only ten players again, the Witches were not expected to trouble a full strength Belsouth in Canberra. After a bright but goalless start by the Witches it seemed their luck had run out and the pundits would be proved right. In the 11th minute Belsouth scored a soft tap in effort after Danni could only parry a difficult dipping shot from 20m. Facing a challenge is nothing new to the Witches and once again they rose to the occasion. Refusing to panic they played themselves back into the game and in the 30th minute they reaped their reward with a sparkling move capped off with a deadly finish from Cassie, lashing the ball home from 16m out. Shortly after the game was shrouded in controversy when a Belsouth shot cannoned off the crossbar, bounced out over Danni's head and was caught by her on the edge of the keepers area. The ref was, rightly, going to allow play to continue until the club linesman, 30m from the backline, raised his flag and indicated the ball had crossed the line. The ref awarded the goal causing a degree of heated comment from the sideline and obviously upsetting the Witches who argued strongly that it was not a legitimate goal. The Witches were stunned but managed to get to half time with no further setbacks. Still fuming, the Witches were quickly settled by the grand wiz and returned to the field fired up for a big second half effort. The second stanza was following a similar pattern to the first with Belsouth having plenty of ball but unable to prise open the Witches defence, while the Witches made numerous breaks on the counter attack but found themselves understaffed at the business end of the park. Midway through the half the Witches managed to put some sustained pressure on Belsouth, resulting in a corner on the right. Rach sent over a typically accurate ball that dropped at the far post and there was an unsuccessful scramble to clear the ball by Belsouth before Cassie popped up to steer the ball past the diving keeper for a deserved equaliser.Far from settling for a commendable draw, the Witches went for the kill, throwing Nikki up front with Cassie while Jess kept order at the back. With 10 mins remaining the move paid dividends when Meg released Nikki down the right. Nikki took the ball deep into enemy territory before cutting back inside past the Belsouth sweeper and another defender and fired an unstoppable left foot shot past the keeper to seal a memorable and so very gutsy win. Belsouth were stunned and the weary Witches had no trouble finding the extra energy to comfortably see out the remaining minutes to full time. A pulsating game, full of drama, controversy and courage by the Super Witches. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=89b981b869c4c9a98ef2d52037d9b4fd_4c6f905d Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:37:49 -0500 With team sponsors Coles looking on, the Witches took on Gungahlin. Gungahlin had been in fine goalscoring form recently with big wins over Belsouth and Woden and a 5-5 draw with Monaro. Not so hot for the Witches with no game in the previous two weeks and only the bare eleven players against Gungahlin on a heavy pitch. What folowed was an enthralling battle as Gungahlin threw everything at the resilient Witches, all to no avail. The Witches rode their luck early in the game but the longer the game went the more composed they looked at the back. Danni was in superb form in goals, especially considering the atrocious conditions, while Jess marshalled the defence brilliantly in Nikki's absence. THe Witches produced a number of attacks on the break and created their fair share of goalscoring opportunities. Most of the second half was played in torrential rain, making the pitch even more of a bog and the Witches efforts even more meritorious as Gungahlin were kept scoreless for the first time this season. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=88e2de93ec63e9306e109a09539b37b3_4c4c0acc Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:58:36 -0500 Taking on Woden for the second time in five days, things were not looking too bright for the Witches. They were only able to field ten players and a number of those were carrying injuries into the game. Conversely, Woden had a complement of fourteen players to call on. The Witches were instructed to play a defensive game, relying on quick counter attacks when possible. The first half was fairly predictably dominated by Woden both territorially and possession wise. Despite this the Witches defended brilliantly with only a minimum of errors and the score at half time was 0-0. The numerical advantage, combined with the injuries was taking it's toll on the Witches but they never baulked at the job ahead. Every player contributed to their maximum capacity and they repelled wave after wave of attack from an increasingly frustrated Woden.Although they were showing signs of severe fatigue the Witches took every opportunity to launch a counter attack, causing Woden no end of problems. It was from one of these swift raids that the Witches broke Woden's back, Rach sending through a long pass which was seized on by Cass. She took one touch then sent a low shot across the goal and into the far side netting. The Witches barely had the strength to celebrate the goal they were that exhausted. Nevertheless they did muster enough energy to snuff out Woden's last feeble attempts over the final seven minutes to signal the end of an incredible effort by the most wonderful, courageous group of Witches in Goulburn.(or anywhere else for that matter) http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=83295ab4e1be70d94f9824f96afd2ca5_4c497708 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:03:36 -0500 Following the disappointing forfeit by CGGS the Witches were pumped for their deferred game against Woden on Tuesday night. Played on the synthetic surface at the AIS in Canberra on a very cold evening, the Witches continued the attractive style of football they had displayed in the Kanga Cup. With Danni absent,Maddie, played the full game in goal and put in an impeccable performance despite a bad back and a corked thigh. The rest of the Witches were also in fine form and were the better team on the night. Although only the one goal (scored by birthday witch Laura off a Rachael corner) in the second half separated the teams, the score could easily have been 3-0, with only some brave goalkeeping from the Woden custodian stopping the score from blowing out. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=e9cacd67dd96363e96188255c3840ec6_4c393e12 Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:44:18 -0500 Well, another successful Kanga Cup. We didn't win the cup but everyone enjoyed their week of football despite some very late changes to the times and locations. The Witches played 4 excellent games starting with a magnificent 0 - 0 draw with Belsouth. This was a quality game and had everything except goals with both sides putting everything they had into the game. Excellent refereeing added to the games watchability. On Tuesday , under grey and gloomy skies the Witches took on Monaro Utd and despite playing well, found Monaro a little better on the day, losing a hard fought affair 3-1. That meant Wednesday's game was a must win game for both teams when the Witches clashed with Maroubra. The Witches were in charge from the opening whistle but didn't convert their dominance into goals until midway through the second half. The 2-0 win left the Witches looking to the other game in their group for a favourable result. It didn't quite happen with Belsouth beating Monaro 2-0. The Witches needed a three nil result to Belsouth to advance, so instead they had a consolation game against Gungahlin who ran thrid in their pool. The Witches put in yet another quality effort, running out victors 2-1. Although disappointed at not making the semi-finals the Witches were elated to be voted as the Fair Play Award winners for 2010 in their age group. All in all a great effort by a great team. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=9cbbb56111988106e8fae02eac9a8cbc_4c2952d4 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:56:36 -0500 After another 2 week enforced break the Witches were straining at the leash and the unfortunate Woden Hammers fell victim to the fired up coven. Although the lay off showed early with a few passes off target, the Witches soon settled in and it took only 5 mins before they scored. Laura reacted first to a loose ball in the Woden penalty area and fired home from 8m. Five minutes later it was 2-0 when Rach Ross gained posssession near halfway and set sail for goal, beating three attempted tackles on her way before her neat left foot finish beat the keeper. There was to be no let up for Woden as the Witches pressed home their advantage and Jess made it 3-0, showing good close control as she evaded two defenders inside the keepers' area and poked the ball home from close range. Cassie chimed in with her trademark long shot from 20m when she was given too much time and space on the right flank. The score blew out to 5- 0 before half time when Witch sisters Jess and Rach played a delightful 1-2 for Rach to score her second of the day. The second half was just as good with the Witches pushing the ball around patiently and accurately with Jess now calling the shots from the sweeper position while Nikki had a run at the front. It was soon 6-0 with a spectacular effort by none other than Sara who had ventured into midfield. She picked up a desperate clearance from Woden and from outside the penalty area she hit a ferocious drive that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and into the net. Woden didn't give in though and shortly after they gained a free kick about 20m out and to the right. The free kick was accurate although not particularly dangerous but Maddie misjudged its flight and as she went down to save, the ball squirmed under her body and trickled into the empty net. The Witches fired back within 3 minutes though when Nikki sped on to a perfect through ball and rifled the ball low into the net from 10m. That was the end of the scoring as the Witches continued to spray the ball around but although they created a host of chances, the finishing was wayward and the Woden keeper played very well. The final ten minutes became a bit scrappy as everyone tried to go forward but overall an excellent performance. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=0f6c86ad9acabffd0077b26482bb634e_4c12139b Fri, 11 Jun 2010 05:44:43 -0500 The Witches are again facing the prospect of two weeks without a game after Radford forfeited their fixture set down for 20 June. This on top of a "no play" Queen's Birthday long weekend 12 - 14 June. It makes it difficult for the Witches to maintain consistency when their season is continually being disrupted. Meanwhile negotiations are underway to secure a date and location for the Woden Utd fixture rained out from the 6 June. Woden are not being helpful in this regard and are obviously determined not to travel to Goulburn. They are also trying hard to dictate terms for when the fixture takes place, having already rebuffed several alternatives offered by the Witches. http://www.thewitchesofeastgrove.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=b76f994dd9fdd98a768130e3c718dc59_4c121185 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 05:35:50 -0500 The Witches were keen to play following the washout of the previous week. Even the cold misty weather and the ridiculously small field did little to dampen their enthusiasm. As it turned out though, the small field played a big role in the outcome as the Witches struggled to find space on the cramped pitch. The first half was a scrappy effort with a number of passes going astray or being overhit. Even so, the Witches dominated play and Nikki scored her first goal for the Witches after 8 minutes when she outpaced Tuggeranong defenders after some good build up play. Unfortunately that was one of the few bright spots in the first half until Cassie doubled the lead in the 35th minute with a cheeky lob from 20m out. The second half was much better with the Witches playing a much more intelligent game, pushing the ball wider to stretch Tuggeranong's defence. It still took a long time to add to the scoreline as the Witches missed numerous opportunities but then Meg scored from a goalmouth scramble and three minutes later Jess scored a fine solo goal. With only a minute to go young Ashlea brought the crowd to its feet with her first ever goal and it was without doubt the goal of the game. Moving up for a corner she latched on to a desperate clearance from Tuggeranong and vollyed into the far top corner of the net from a good 25m. Tuggeranong only had time to kick off before the final whistle brought an end to what was an entertaining game.