Football of Festival concludes for Qantas U13 Boys
The Qantas Under 13 Boys have concluded the AFC Under 13 Boys Festival of Football with some impressive performances over the last two days.
After a day of Football Skills testing and site seeing for all the players in the Festival, match day 3 saw Format 2 in play for the first time. This is a format where all 11 players are changed at half time.
Australia recorded two wins on the Saturday, before notching a win and a loss in the Saturday-s concluding matches.
In good cool early morning conditions the Australians began very brightly creating good chances in the 1st and 5th minutes, both falling to Conor O-Neill who looked lively throughout.
With a good pressing game, good possession and circulation of the ball the Philippines did well to hold out until the 14th minute when Noah Chianese produced some true class. Chianese cut inside from the right and struck an unstoppable 25 yard shot into the top corner.
Skipper Kevin Ly controlled the centre of the park and complemented the positive forward movement by Richard Blanco and Jerome Dunphy who caused many problems to the opposition.
After constant pressure the Australians doubled their lead in the 23rd minute when Chianese crossed for Athanasiou to tap in at the far post.
The second half continued in the same pattern with Australia dominating all over the park. Giannini scored a double firstly through a fortunate cross come shot in the 36th minute, followed by a well timed run and finish at the far post.
The second goal was no doubt the best team goal of the competition, it began with some great cover defence by captain Beadling, who played it out from deep in the back line and was followed by 6 decisive one touch football resulting in a first time cross met by Vincent Giannini.
To their credit the Philippine boys did come out stronger in the second half and never gave up. They caused some concerns to a complacent Australian backline and were awarded a penalty for their endeavour which was duly finished past keeper Jordan Thurtell.
Outside of the result the Australian boys enjoyed the cooler weather conditions and the relatively flat playing surface at Stadium Likas.
The second match on Saturday, on a typically hot humid afternoon in Malaysia, the Australians started slowly against an enthusiastic Cambodia. Cambodia playing some good football capitalised on a number of mistakes and misplaced passes from the young Australian boys who were starting to show signs of fatigue due to their heavy schedule in exhausting conditions.
Cambodia scored late in the 1st half after making the most of another Australian mistake and was good for their lead. Australia-s Number 1, Tuna, showed good hands and shot stopping to keep the score at 1-0 for the second half.
In what was a story of two halves the Australians came out strongly and were unlucky not to capitalise on a number of well created goal scoring opportunities. The breakthrough did finally come in the 45th minute when Lundy was manhandled in the box when he was in sight of goal.
The resulting penalty from Giannini was well converted. The Australians were now in top gear and they pressed forward in waves. Their domination and efforts were rewarded in the 52nd minute when a sublime defence splitting pass was played by the outstanding Brown, one of the players of the tournament to date.
Giannini-s run was timed to perfection and he beat the goalkeeper to the ball to slot home the decisive goal. The Australian team all played their part in what proved to be a great half, however, defender Beadling and striker Lundy shone for the green and gold and lead by example throughout.
On Sunday it was an early start and playing the host nation for the second time and up against a physical Malaysia team was going to be a good test late in the Festival.
The Australians were quick out of the blocks and never let up. The tenacity in the midfield and strength in defence were the base for this positive result. Never backing down the smaller Australians gave as good as they got and began to dominate the game in terms of possession and chances.
Blanco in the midfield led the way with his energy and Lundy toiled high up front and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. The Australians did get a well deserved lead just before half time through Chianese who has been invaluable as a goal scoring midfielder. Good lead up work by Mitkov and a great cross by Nadalin created the well taken goal.
The pattern of play was not too different in the second half and the Australians played some delightful passing football. One touch and decision making were of a high standard and had the Malaysians chasing shadow.
The Australians doubled their lead in the 38th minute with a well taken header from O-Neill from a Giannini corner. After conceding a goal late in the game the Australians defence held firm after immense pressure in the last minutes.
This was a well deserved result which showcased the teams cohesion and understanding of the game, individual skills and renowned Aussie spirit very well.
After exhausting all their energies against Malaysia in the searing heat and having a short turn around between games the Australians were always going to be battling against the odds.
Things began badly after conceding a dubious penalty after a minute of play which was duly scored by Singapore. From this moment on the Australians could not penetrate a defensive Singapore who was happy to sit behind the ball and hold the lead they had.
After some near misses the best being a strike from Nadalin, hitting the post, the boys went into half time a goal down.
The second half began unfortunately, with Walker coming off injured in the 35th minute, leaving the Australians with 10 men to battle it out in the dangerously hot conditions.
The character and determination shown by the undermanned boys was outstanding. The passing football was a delight for the small crowd, however to their credit the Singapore boys held firm and kept out a desperately unlucky Australian side.
In adverse conditions the boys showed some true grit and determination which they combined very well with some excellent passages of play and possession. Credit must go the young boys for producing such a performance in such physically challenging conditions.
The learning curve in this game and in the Festival of Football as a whole will no doubt be priceless to these boys and to Australian Footballs next generation.
MATCH DAY 3 - Friday, June 5th 2009
AUSTRALIA 4 ( Chianese 14-, Athanasiou 23-, Giannini 36-, 56-) v 1 PHILIPPINES 1ST Half - Australia Team Line Up - Tuna, Blanco, Skull, Warland, Ntoumenopoulos, Ly ©, Dunphy, Nadalin, Chianese, O-Neill, Athanasiou. 2nd Half - Australia Team Line Up - Thurtell, Beadling ©, Naughton, Ridesic, Walker, Mitkov, Brown, Hombert, De Silva, Giannini, Lundy.
AUSTRALIA 2 (Giannini 45- 52-) v 1 CAMBODIA 1st Half - Australia Team Line Up - Tuna, Blanco, Skull, Warland, Ntoumenopoulos, Ly (c), Dunphy, Nadalin, Chianese, O-Neill, Athanasiou. 2nd Half - Australia Team Line Up - Thurtell, Beadling (c), Naughton, Ridesic, Walker, Mitkov, Brown, Hombert, De Silva, Giannini, Lundy.
MATCH DAY 4 - Saturday, June 6th 2009
AUSTRALIA 2 (Chianese 29- O-Neill 38-) v 1 MALAYSIA 1ST Half - Australia Team Line Up - Thurtell, Blanco, Ntoumenopoulos, Ly (c), Hombert, Mitkov, Nadalin, Chianese, Lundy, Ridesic, Warland. 2nd Half - Australia Team Line Up - Tuna, Beadling (c), Naughton, Skull, Walker, Brown, Athanasiou, De Silva, Giannini, O-Neill, Dunphy.
AUSTRALIA 0 v 1 SINGAPORE 1st Half - Australia Team Line Up - Thurtell, Blanco, Ntoumenopoulos, Ly (c), Hombert, Mitkov, Nadalin, Chianese, Lundy, Ridesic, Warland. 2nd Half - Australia Team Line Up - Tuna, Beadling (c), Naughton, Skull, Walker, Brown, Athanasiou, De Silva, Giannini, O-Neill, Dunphy.