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AKA The Baboon's playground; one of the spiritual homes of WU Salmon
Friday, May 13, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
a belated match report v. Seatoun Gulls
Seatoun Gulls 3- WU Salmon 1
(HT 1-0)
Scorer: Craig
MOM Pts
M. Ashby-3
Terry- 2pts
Simon, James Stewart, Richard Martin- 1 pt each
This was a tough game to go into on the back of a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of the Chuggers- as an aside Dave and I went and saw the Chuggers draw with the Terrace and Dave recognised only a handful of the team that beat us- confirming the theory that Chuggers stacked their team for Easter- don't worry lads we'll get 'em in the return.
We were up against a Seatoun side that had won 5 from 5 and had dispatched all other teams with aplomb. The call was to play with the same aggression, focus and determination which earnt us a draw against Varsity.
The first half was even and once the new centre back pairing of Adam and Simon got the communication sorted we looked pretty good- Seatoun snuck a messy one, but the Salmon held their resolve. Richard Martin was clearly on form in goal, pullign off a number of blinding saves. Within due course the Salmon managed to start creating chances with Craig, Squirt, Dave and Fulton all managing to fire off shots, and Ashby causing no small amount of havoc on the left wing. Wazza was dominating in the air and paring well wth Fulton and Terry in the middle
It was a strong finish to the half but ominously we failed to convert with the wind at our backs.
We came out in the second half with the same purpose with which we finished the half and got the break through we had worked for- a quick, intelligent though ball from Terry saw a botched clearance from their left back, Craig snuck in and sombrero-flicked the ball over his head, drew the keeper and rounded him and slotted into the empty net- 1-1 after 55 minutes.
we hada few more chances, not least froma good corner delivered by Squirt- but the same delivery crocked his hamstring and so the attrition rate stepped up- James Stewart was already carrying an injury but battled on, and soon Simon joined the bench after coming to grief in a goal mouth scramble. Salmon were running out of puff and with the sea breeze at their backs the Gulls were coming home strong. However their strikers gave an incredible master class in inept finishing- there were at least 4 clear cut chances that they managed to botch. Couple this with some fantastic rear guard defence from Hallam et al, and more yogic brilliance from Rich Martin and it really seemed like the Salmon were going to hold on for an heroic draw. But then the inevitable happened, with 5 minutes to play Seatoun's wizened midfield general danced throught he defence and slotted home a superb solo goal- Salmon threw caution to the wind and pushed for the equalisier again.
This pulled us out of shape and Seatoun were able to finish another one.
On a positive note we battled hard and were in the game until the 7oth minute when our inuries started to take their toll- yes, we had a lot of luck, or rather Seatoun had very little in front of goal, but in football you have to ride your luck and take your chances. It wasn't our day but if we play like this against the lesser teams then we'll clean up- Apart from Seatoun the division is very close with only 8 pts seperating 2nd place from last. We have the team to finish in the top 3.
On an even more positive note Adam's beer selection was top notch, having dispatched his live-in sommelier to Regional wines and spirits to hand pick some local craft brews- this more than made up for the fact that his cleaner folded the socks without realising they were still wet.
(HT 1-0)
Scorer: Craig
MOM Pts
M. Ashby-3
Terry- 2pts
Simon, James Stewart, Richard Martin- 1 pt each
This was a tough game to go into on the back of a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of the Chuggers- as an aside Dave and I went and saw the Chuggers draw with the Terrace and Dave recognised only a handful of the team that beat us- confirming the theory that Chuggers stacked their team for Easter- don't worry lads we'll get 'em in the return.
We were up against a Seatoun side that had won 5 from 5 and had dispatched all other teams with aplomb. The call was to play with the same aggression, focus and determination which earnt us a draw against Varsity.
The first half was even and once the new centre back pairing of Adam and Simon got the communication sorted we looked pretty good- Seatoun snuck a messy one, but the Salmon held their resolve. Richard Martin was clearly on form in goal, pullign off a number of blinding saves. Within due course the Salmon managed to start creating chances with Craig, Squirt, Dave and Fulton all managing to fire off shots, and Ashby causing no small amount of havoc on the left wing. Wazza was dominating in the air and paring well wth Fulton and Terry in the middle
It was a strong finish to the half but ominously we failed to convert with the wind at our backs.
We came out in the second half with the same purpose with which we finished the half and got the break through we had worked for- a quick, intelligent though ball from Terry saw a botched clearance from their left back, Craig snuck in and sombrero-flicked the ball over his head, drew the keeper and rounded him and slotted into the empty net- 1-1 after 55 minutes.
we hada few more chances, not least froma good corner delivered by Squirt- but the same delivery crocked his hamstring and so the attrition rate stepped up- James Stewart was already carrying an injury but battled on, and soon Simon joined the bench after coming to grief in a goal mouth scramble. Salmon were running out of puff and with the sea breeze at their backs the Gulls were coming home strong. However their strikers gave an incredible master class in inept finishing- there were at least 4 clear cut chances that they managed to botch. Couple this with some fantastic rear guard defence from Hallam et al, and more yogic brilliance from Rich Martin and it really seemed like the Salmon were going to hold on for an heroic draw. But then the inevitable happened, with 5 minutes to play Seatoun's wizened midfield general danced throught he defence and slotted home a superb solo goal- Salmon threw caution to the wind and pushed for the equalisier again.
This pulled us out of shape and Seatoun were able to finish another one.
On a positive note we battled hard and were in the game until the 7oth minute when our inuries started to take their toll- yes, we had a lot of luck, or rather Seatoun had very little in front of goal, but in football you have to ride your luck and take your chances. It wasn't our day but if we play like this against the lesser teams then we'll clean up- Apart from Seatoun the division is very close with only 8 pts seperating 2nd place from last. We have the team to finish in the top 3.
On an even more positive note Adam's beer selection was top notch, having dispatched his live-in sommelier to Regional wines and spirits to hand pick some local craft brews- this more than made up for the fact that his cleaner folded the socks without realising they were still wet.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Game is cancelled!
Breaking news- The Discovery Channel Derby Vs. The BEars is off tomorrow, so rack up some brownie points with the missus, go for a jog and we'll see you next weekend
Will tray and jack up some kind of midweek training to make up for it.
Will tray and jack up some kind of midweek training to make up for it.
Friday, April 29, 2011
WU Salmon 0 - Petone 5-Match Report
Wellington United Salmon 0 - 5 Petone Chuggers
Man of the match points:
(first mention and a 'virtual 3' goes to Ants, who had played both Saturday and Sunday and was hoping to spend some time on the bench, but ended up playing the full 90 and giving 110% for every minute of it)
3 - Jeremy Norman
2 - Richie Hallam
1 - Richard Martin
Hard to sum this match up, the scoreline certainly doesn't reflect the work and effort put in by the team, but on the other hand we can't feel too hard done by either.
An unexpected no show from the star international ring-in unfortunately put the Salmon on the back foot from the start, with a team very heavily weighted towards defence and only one sub. However we started well, the first forty minutes unfolded with some really solid play from the Salmon, and although Petone had the run of the attacking play, tight marking and constant pressure meant that their shots were miles off the mark.
All was looking good for a clean score sheet heading into half time, but then a glancing header - perfectly weighted to drop into the top right corner - left Richard M with no chance. This was the turning point in the game, and triggered the Petone onslaught. The Salmon didn't seem to lose their hunger, but did start leaving their opponents just a fraction more space to play the ball, and before the whistle had blown the Chuggers had taken another chance well, and again slotted the ball into the top right corner (this time with a cracking left foot drive).
Not long after half time came a third (this time slotted across the goal into the left), then a fourth from a goal-mouth scramble. With all credit to the Salmon, we dug in and managed to shut them out for the next half an hour, but they were running hard down the flanks, getting all their first touches spot on, and piling the pressure on in our side of the pitch. We just couldn't seem to get any of the play up in their half, and couldn't keep it there for more than a few seconds when we did, so almost inevitably they scored the final goal with just minutes on the clock.
In summary, our passing was dreadful, theirs was pinpoint, and that was the main difference between the teams. We just couldn't string anything together or hold any kind of possession in their side of the park (on the rare occasions we got there), which is what eventually killed us. But it wasn't a cricket score, was played in good spirits, and could have been a very different game if we'd had a few more attacking minded players available.
Man of the match points:
(first mention and a 'virtual 3' goes to Ants, who had played both Saturday and Sunday and was hoping to spend some time on the bench, but ended up playing the full 90 and giving 110% for every minute of it)
3 - Jeremy Norman
2 - Richie Hallam
1 - Richard Martin
Hard to sum this match up, the scoreline certainly doesn't reflect the work and effort put in by the team, but on the other hand we can't feel too hard done by either.
An unexpected no show from the star international ring-in unfortunately put the Salmon on the back foot from the start, with a team very heavily weighted towards defence and only one sub. However we started well, the first forty minutes unfolded with some really solid play from the Salmon, and although Petone had the run of the attacking play, tight marking and constant pressure meant that their shots were miles off the mark.
All was looking good for a clean score sheet heading into half time, but then a glancing header - perfectly weighted to drop into the top right corner - left Richard M with no chance. This was the turning point in the game, and triggered the Petone onslaught. The Salmon didn't seem to lose their hunger, but did start leaving their opponents just a fraction more space to play the ball, and before the whistle had blown the Chuggers had taken another chance well, and again slotted the ball into the top right corner (this time with a cracking left foot drive).
Not long after half time came a third (this time slotted across the goal into the left), then a fourth from a goal-mouth scramble. With all credit to the Salmon, we dug in and managed to shut them out for the next half an hour, but they were running hard down the flanks, getting all their first touches spot on, and piling the pressure on in our side of the pitch. We just couldn't seem to get any of the play up in their half, and couldn't keep it there for more than a few seconds when we did, so almost inevitably they scored the final goal with just minutes on the clock.
In summary, our passing was dreadful, theirs was pinpoint, and that was the main difference between the teams. We just couldn't string anything together or hold any kind of possession in their side of the park (on the rare occasions we got there), which is what eventually killed us. But it wasn't a cricket score, was played in good spirits, and could have been a very different game if we'd had a few more attacking minded players available.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Salmon 1- Beavers 1
The wet track specialists bounce back with a 1-1 draw against the Uni Beavers-Choice!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Round Three 2011
CAPITAL 9:
Upper Hutt Saints 6 Wgtn Utd Salmon 1
Uni Beavers 0 Petone Chuggers 0
Wgtn Utd Legends 1 Tawa Bears 4
Wgtn Utd Terrace 0 Seatoun Gulls 5
P W D L GF GA Pts
Seatoun Gulls 3 3 0 0 10 3 9
Uni Beavers 3 2 1 0 12 1 7
Upper Hutt Saints 3 2 0 1 11 4 6
Wgtn Utd Salmon 3 1 1 1 8 10 4
Petone Chuggers 3 1 1 1 1 4 4
Tawa Bears 3 1 0 2 5 4 3
Wgtn Utd Legends 3 0 1 2 6 10 1
Wgtn Utd Terrace 3 0 0 3 1 18 0
Upper Hutt Saints 6 Wgtn Utd Salmon 1
Uni Beavers 0 Petone Chuggers 0
Wgtn Utd Legends 1 Tawa Bears 4
Wgtn Utd Terrace 0 Seatoun Gulls 5
P W D L GF GA Pts
Seatoun Gulls 3 3 0 0 10 3 9
Uni Beavers 3 2 1 0 12 1 7
Upper Hutt Saints 3 2 0 1 11 4 6
Wgtn Utd Salmon 3 1 1 1 8 10 4
Petone Chuggers 3 1 1 1 1 4 4
Tawa Bears 3 1 0 2 5 4 3
Wgtn Utd Legends 3 0 1 2 6 10 1
Wgtn Utd Terrace 3 0 0 3 1 18 0
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thump!
thats the sound of the Salmon falling back to Earth- A 6-1 lesson at the hands on Upper Hutt after a competitive first half which ended 2-1.
Back to the drawing board lads
Back to the drawing board lads
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