WSL2 Report by Torben Fink-Jensen

With both teams having lost a few players over the break, it would be interesting to see how we matched up against our traditional rivals. NYP had the better of the first quarter with some strong shooting and a couple of goals from 7m out...indicating a need to press up on the shooters. We couldn't get our attacks going as their defence was too tight : 0-3. The second quarter was a replica of the first as NYP continued pressing and getting into good positions to score. Unfortunately new recruit Andrea fell foul of the penalty rule changes since she last played and was fouled out half way through the quarter leaving Essendon in a bit of a hole at the halftime break, down 0-8. In the third our game intensity increased and we put more pressure on the competition but also on their goalscorers. This slowed down their game but didn't completely stop their forward momentum as they went to a 0-10 lead. Finally the umpiring decisions started going in our favour and we struck back at the end of the quarter with 2 quick goals from Maria and Alex to make it 2-10. The 4th quarter was a big improvement as we forced a player to be rolled and we put some pressure on the team numbers as they went down to 7 players. Essendon scored the first goal through Gen and then a penalty from Alex to bring it up to 4-10. We then rolled a 2nd player and they were down to 6. They managed a final goal and we matched it for 5-11. Not a great outcome but we did win the 2nd half 5-3 and scored 5 of the last 6 goals. Things to work on again for next week.

Essendon were defeated by the NYP Dragons Blue : 5 – 11 Goals : Alex 2, Maria 1, Lara 1, Gen 1

WSL2 Game Night Photos (courtesy of Torben Fink-Jensen) - see more on our FB page

WSL3 Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

Looking to improve on last weeks 3-12 defeat by StCaths, we went into this game with plenty of enthusiasm despite the cold night and late game time bouyed by a 4 player bench. Old Ivanhoe had taken out the Winter Comp and continued with their strong form in the pool. They put away 3 unanswered goals in the first quarter as we failed to cover breaks and defended poorly, reminiscent of our mediocre start last week. Things looked better in the second quarter, with a swimup win and more action on our forward line. Several shots missed the net and we were chasing down breaks again. Our defence held better this quarter, and we only conceded one goal going into the halftime beak at 0-4. Our defence got sloppy again in the third, and we allowed Old Ivanhoe to shoot without pressue, albeit from 5-6m. Sandra made some great saves but they still put 4 goals away before we landed our first for the game through Clara. The scoreboard at three quarter time was not pretty at 1-8. We tried to muster some good passages of play in the final quarter, but just couldn't string passes together effectively, or shoot wide of their goal keepers easy reach. Old Ivanhoe remained on the express train ending the game much the way they started it, with 4 unanswered goals. We'll need to have a better game plan for next week... and we might even have to get ourselves off to a training session to work on our passing and positioning! 😲

Essendon were defeated by Old Ivanhoe : 1 - 12 Goals : Clara 1

WSL3 Game Night Photo (courtesy of Torben Fink-Jensen)

JnrW (18s) Ess/Mon/NYP Dragons

Our junior women had the bye this week, freeing up some study time for those end of year exams! They will be back in action at the pool next Sunday playing against another combined team, in Geelong/MelbColl/DVE Aquatic.

YthG (16s) Ess/Mon/NYP Dragons

Like our Junior Women, the Youth Girls had a bye this week too, but are back into it on Sunday up against the Richmond Tigers Yellow team.

MSL4 Report by Bryan Wee

Another night with quite a bench. Pretty soon they’ll remove the AED for the old guys. Also quite the tall team. Without Rucus and I the average height must be 6 foot+ . Of course with us it drops down to 5 ft 8”. We were pumped to take on NYP who also had quite a bench. The first quarter was hard fought. Shots peppered the timber and blocked by defensive arms on both sides. Lucas managed to open the account well into the 5th minute but they equalized soon after. Unfortunately we ended up letting a Hail Mary in on the siren from the other side of the pool. As usual Bryan was manning up!!! The second quarter saw us hit a bit of ascendency. Lucas converted a 5m that Millsy Senior earnt but most were too scared to take! Paul rounded up the quarter with a solid shot and Rucus hit the back of the net with a fine blast from 5m out through traffic. They equalized with a solid shot and a free and it was 4-2 going into the halftime break. A real arm wrestle. The third quarter opened up for us. Some crazy backhand brilliance out of no where from Millsy Senior and a great pick around a screen to get free saw the better Mills put away a brilliant goal. Bryan took advantage of a distracted goal keeper to shoot one outside five off a free and cherry picked a second that should’ve been Haydos goal. A handy 6 goal lead going into the last quarter, where only they managed to score in another tight one. We are starting to really gel as a team with the might of Vince and the foxy craftiness of Lee to return. Special mention to coach Ben and onward we go!

Essendon defeated the NYP Dragons : 8 – 4

Goals : Lucas 2, Ryan 2, Bryan 2, Marcus 1, Ambrose 1

14&U Boys Report by Tim Elmore

Another early start at Melbourne High. Up against the Northcote Krankens who jumped in with a full side compared with our boys starting with just enough to play. The game went back and forth with an opening backhander goal by Northcote that any player would have been proud of. Jack had an opportunity early thanks to some good ball movements from Timo and Toby, but hit the cross bar and we finished with Northcote adding another two goals going into the first break 0-3 down. Structure is something the team have been working very hard on in the last few weeks and this together with a better understanding of the game is that it was clear the team are starting to find the positions they can play well in. This was demonstrated with our back three in Timo, Magnus and Bullet who were able to offer some defensive structure to assist Lazar in goals to produce a number of good saves. Ball movement was a great improvement from last week and the team were able to put together a number of drives forward, but without success. As the quarter went on the fast ball movement of their fresher opponents produced three easy goals to head into halftime at 0-6. The start of the third quarter saw the team get a good result with Nate winning the swimup to allow the boys first use of the ball to produce a really structured attack with Toby narrowly missing an early goal. We had a change in the goalie at halftime and Magnus had some good results stopping a number of good shots. Northcote changed their structure trying to stretch an already tiring team by leaving a number of players behind the play resulting in three easy goals. Heading into the final quarter the boys, despite fatigue, did not give up. A fresher opponent and the game started to spread out from the pressure that we had been applying earlier in the game. As the quarter went on the boys found ways to slow the game down but a few simple errors resulted in a goal. The team should be super proud (coach and parents were!) of their play and the commitment to improving.

Essendon were defeated by the Northcote Krakens : 0 – 13