Premier Youth League Round 2 Review

It is still far too early to even think about looking at the competition tables as there are far too many changes in the structure during the earliest rounds of play.
My thanks go to the small group of people who have helped me with reports and goal scorers as it really does add something to The Youth League Report. I could always do with a bit more help so please email me a short and unbiased match report including the full names of the goal scorers before 9.30am on Monday mornings – barrydavis52@hotmail.com – or ring or SMS me on 0451 004 091 after 5.00pm on match days or anytime on Sundays.
This week I took the short trip to the beautiful Marconi Stadium to watch the local derby between Marconi Stallions and Sydney United, a fixture which is traditionally an interesting part of the football calendar. During the day I was able to spend a few moments with Stallions convener Neville Orlando who has vast experience in the administration role at Youth League level.
?We are very proud of the facilities we have here at Club Marconi and of the tremendous success we have enjoyed at all levels of the game?, he said.
?While success is terrific and we will continue to strive to achieve the best possible results, our focus has changed slightly. We are now looking at producing top quality football by helping our players to develop their individual and collective abilities. We must be trying to help our youngsters to move through the ranks to eventually play first grade football for our club. That process has begun in earnest as our current first grade team is very young and the vast majority of those youngsters have come through our ranks. There can be no doubt that we are serious about this and we have the coaching staff in place to help the process along the pathway we have plotted. The future of the game depends on clubs producing top class young players and then promoting them through to the top level. We plan to lead the way in this area and we will not be left behind.? Orlando added
Marconi Stallions have been in the top two of the best performed Youth League clubs for several years and the earliest indications for this season are that history will be repeated. However, their plans to combine that success with a very serious eye on the long term future are surely a positive step for the game.
While I was at Marconi Stadium on Saturday I ran into a long term mate in the form of Jim Fraser, the former Socceroo goalkeeper who now runs the International Goalkeeping Academy in the Olympic Precinct at Blacktown. He was busy making copious notes on the performances of some of his charges, five of whom were playing in the last three Youth League matches on the day.
Fraser is passionate about producing top quality goalkeepers and he spends large chunks of his weekends running his very experienced eye over their performances in match situations so he can maximise the effectiveness of his development work.
?Goalkeeping is such a specialised position that they need the very best of attention. Few team coaches have the time or the knowledge to provide the sort of help that the ?keepers need and even fewer clubs can afford to employ a top class goalkeeper coach. That is what my Academy is all about. We take goalkeepers of all standards, from grass-roots to A-League level, and provide the best coaching to help them to develop and refine their skills and their understanding of their role in the game?, Fraser said.
He went on to say, ?The youngsters I am here to watch are all well on their way to having a long term career between the posts and I am looking at the things they do in match play so I can praise those tasks they perform well and then concentrate on any weakness I can identify.?
?I don?t work at individual clubs any more as the facilities we have built at the Academy provide for all the needs of the goalkeepers. We have a combination of grassed and all-weather surfaces, eight full-size goals, loads of specialist equipment and a full equipped gymnasium for the practical work as well as classrooms for the theoretical part of the goalkeeping role.?
?At every level of the game we need to continue to work hard to produce the next generation of goalkeepers who are capable of filling the very large boots left by the past and present goalkeepers at the highest level of the game?, he added.
Overview
In the local derby, Marconi Stallions added twelve points to their tally when they faced Sydney United at home on Saturday and Parramatta Eagles would have been ecstatic with the thirteen points they bagged from their trip to South Coast Wolves.
Bankstown City captured ten points from their visit to Rockdale City Suns while Bonnyrigg White Eagles and APIA Leichhardt Tigers shared the spoils at five points apiece from the four matches played on the day.
The fixture between Sydney Olympic and Blacktown City was washed out on Saturday and those matches will be rescheduled shortly. However, the Grade 18 match was played on Sunday.
Sutherland Sharks followed up last week?s good start with a haul of ten points when they visited Manly United this weekend.
Grade 13
Marconi Stallions bounced back from last week?s loss to register a 1-0 victory over Sydney United who had posted a draw on the opening day. The Stallions dominated play throughout the first half but the simply could not find the back of the net and so the teams went to the break scoreless. United started the second half well as they took control of the first fifteen minutes but they faded away and Marconi regained the upper hand as they had several very near misses before L. Foote found the target with five minutes left to play. That goal proved to be decisive.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles made it two wins from as many games when they were 2-1 winners over APIA Leichhardt Tigers who were on show for the first time as last week?s game was washed out.
Bankstown City recorded their second win of the campaign when they edged out Rockdale City Suns with a 2-1 scoreline while the clash between Sydney Olympic and Blacktown City was washed out.
Parramatta Eagles produced their first win of the season when they won 2-0 over South Coast Wolves who were coming off a first-up win and the encounter between Manly United and Sutherland Sharks ended in a 2-2 draw.
Grade 14
In the meeting of Marconi Stallions and Sydney United the first half was a fairly even affair with the chances to score falling in equal measure at both ends of the ground. The deadlock was broken by a goal from Marconi?s R. Darko in the eighteenth minute and that scoreline remained in place until the break. The Stallions took control of the second half, locking United out of the game. Another goal from Darko in the thirty-seventh minute was followed by strikes from L. Roberts five minutes later and A. Keita in the fifty-third minute to give the home team a 4-0 result when the final whistle sounded.
In a high scoring thriller Parramatta Eagles claimed the maximum points for the second week in row when they shaded South Coast Wolves by the odd goal in five and Sutherland Sharks grabbed the points when they were 2-1 winners over Manly United after both teams had won last week.
Rockdale City Suns opened their account with a 2-1 victory over Bankstown City who were coming off a huge win while the encounter between Bonnyrigg White Eagles and APIA Leichhardt Tigers ended in a 1-1 draw.
The clash between Sydney Olympic and Blacktown City was washed out.
Grade 15
In the best match I saw on the day Marconi Stallions were in sparkling form and Sydney United showed that they could match it with the best of them. The difference between the teams really was that the Stallions were lethal in front of goal. It took until the twenty-sixth minute for Marconi to score the first goal and it came from M. Duarte, followed by a strike from J. Cleur a minute later to give the home team a two goal lead at the interval. United continued to play well in the second half but they were once again brought undone by Marconi?s effectiveness in the penalty area. After A. Guzman made it 3-0 in the forty-second minute, J. Gozdanovski found the net nine minutes later to take the score to 4-0 and that is they way it could have ended. However, United never gave up hope and they were rewarded with a goal from De Marigny on the hour to take the final score to 4-1.
Sutherland Sharks posted their second win for the season when they were a bit too good for Manly United with a 3-1 victory while Parramatta Eagles also registered a second win when they edged out South Coast Wolves with a 2-1 scoreline.
Bankstown City had their first win of the campaign when they scored the only goal in their match against Rockdale City Suns.
The encounter between Bonnyrigg White Eagles and APIA Leichhardt Tigers was postponed while the clash between Sydney Olympic and Blacktown City was washed out.
Grade 16
In the clash between Marconi Stallions and Sydney United the Stallions looked a bit sharper from the opening moments and that was reflected by the scoreline when the final whistle sounded. The home team opened the scoring when J. Demetriou found the net in the twentieth minute and then T. Whiteside made it 2-0 just six minutes later and that score remained in place until the break. The margin blew out to 3-0 when L. Marongiu scored in the forty-sixth minute and then United gave themselves some hope when J. Joya netted in the fifty-second minute. However, Marconi restored their three-goal buffer through Demetriou in the fifty-sixth minute to take the final scoreline to 4-1.
Sutherland Sharks made it two wins from as many outings when they downed Manly United with a very respectable 3-0 result while South Coast Wolves drew 2-2 with Parramatta Eagles.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles and APIA Leichhardt Tigers battled out a 1-1 draw and Rockdale City Suns held Bankstown City to a 1-1 draw.
The clash between Sydney Olympic and Blacktown City was washed out.
Grade 18
Believe it or not, the match between Marconi Stallions and Sydney United was a fairly even affair, though it was evident that the Stallions had slightly the better of the scoring opportunities. However, they were brought undone by some very wasteful shooting and some devastating defensive blunders. Although it could not be said that they were playing well, United made the most of the situation and they raced out to a 3-0 lead within half-an-hour thanks to a third minute strike from A. Peterson, a fourteenth minute goal from the same player and a penalty kick conversion from M. Osmond. That scoreline held firm for another thirty minutes when Marconi gained a glimmer of hope through a goal from D. Vujovic but the home team could not add to the score. They were punished when United?s J. Kajacic took the score to 4-1 and that is where it remained at the final whistle.
Bankstown City were far too good on the day for Rockdale City Suns with the Lions taking maximum points thanks to a 5-1 scoreline while APIA Leichhardt Tigers bagged the points with a 2-1 success over Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
Parramatta Eagles shaded South Coast Wolves in a match that ended with the scoreboard reading 2-1 while the clash between Sydney Olympic and Blacktown City was washed out.
Manly United followed up last week?s win with a 1-0 success over Sutherland Sharks on Sunday.
-By Barry Davis