Season 2009!!

Hi Guys! It's that time again, season 2009 is just around the corner and we are aiming to make it Scotch's most successful season yet. After a very impressive two years in charge, our charismatic coach Paps has decided that it is time for him to move on. I believe he is making a move interstate (sorry if i'm spreading lies Paps!), and so 2009 will see the return of Rev. Alec Rodgers as the senior squad coach. 2009 will also see a new structure at the club. We feel that we have grown to the point that the club needs to take on a much more professional and organised structure. To that end we have formed a commitee of myself, Chris, Paul, Josh and Dain that will be meeting once a month, and will be taking on the responsibilty of moving us forward. We in no way want to make this seem like we are running the club just within one group of mates, so anyone else out there that would like to stick their hand up and join this commitee, just get in touch with one of us and we'll snap you up. We are currently in the process of organising new uniforms, our own dedicated training area with lights, the use of the school's fitness equipment and pool, getting changerooms that we don't have to share with the footy boys, and a great deal of sponsorship. We also feel that the model for most successful clubs in the colleigiate league requires a club to have as many, stable, teams as possible. To this end we would like to encourage you all to bring out anyone you know, they don't have to be scotchies, of any ability to help us grow the club. We WILL provide a team for all these players to play in regularly, as we have lost a great many over the years, purely because they weren't getting a game. We are also thinking about having a senior 'squad' of players who will be spread between the A and B divisions, with selection based on performance and training attendance. This squad will be required to attend TWO training sessions per week. With one most likely to take place in the MacBean centre on fitness equipment and in the hall until we get our own training area. Pre-season will start on Wednesday January 7th, at the school at 6:30 pm, and will continue until the start of the season, with a second training to be introduced for those wanting to play in the senior squad soon after. There will also be a 'sign-on' day in late febuary, $50 of your subs will be due by this date, and NO-ONE who has not paid this will play until they do. As the Collegiate League is now a part of FFSA, we have player regisration forms and fees to pay by March, and we cannot afford to pay this for you! We also want to thank Paps, Johnnie and Alex Turner for all their hard work of the past few years, we wouldn't be in the position to make these changes without all the groundwork they have laid for us. Cheers Guys! Also can players from 2008 please let us know ASAP if they are planning to play or not in the coming season! Give one of us a call, or send us an e-mail to scocsc@yahoo.com Hope to see you all out soon!!! Alasdair

Season's Over That's it... the season's over. And with the A's taking out 2nd spot in both the league and the cup, it goes down as the most successful season yet for the Scotch OC Soccer Club. Thanks go the the Arkaba, who sponsored us for the season, Paps and Munch, for organised the 2 teams week in and week out, and all the family, girlfriends and spectators who came out to support us. We'll see you all (and hopefully some of your friends) next year, Dan

Round 17 Scotch vs Uni White Saturday 30th August 2008 A Grade Scotch 2-1 Uni White It was a game that we needed to win, and with the hope that Uni Black could knock off the Mercedes boys to take the title down to the final day of the season. We did our bit but unfortunately Mercedes were too good on the day for Uni Black, wrapping up the title with a game to spare. Congratulations! In our game we dominated the first half, and again could have easily added another couple to our talley to have the game out of reach by half time. This was something that we later very nearly regretted!! Dunsy snared our first goal about 15 minutes in following relentless pressure and a couple of dangerous set pieces that ultimately lead to Dunsy lashing a THUNDERBOLT aka "trickle" off of his left into the bottom corner. CRACKER!!! :o) Not too bad to get 7 goals so far between our two centre backs!! Dunsy's stunner was closely followed by some great play by Matty and Chris down the left, that had Chris cross in perfectly to let Rooney volley in from 10 yards. Great goal!! Matty and Maxie were both running havoc on the wings with great supply and link work again from Rooney, with our midfield and defence definitely controlling their direct opponents. Whatever was said at half time about continuing to show the intensity and pressure certainly went in one ear and out the other!!! The second half was a different story to the first. The possession was definitely quite even, but Uni White created more chances than us, and we almost gave away the game comically, conceding two stupid penalties within 10 minutes. The first was tucked away very nicely by their inform striker followed by a "I never miss a penalty boys". Unfortunately this came round to bite him on the ass 10 minutes later as he blazed over the top to leave the score at 2-1, and to leave us very relieved. We deserved the result with the overall run of the game for sure, but compliments to Uni White for showing the fight they did. Another tough match between the two teams. B Grade Scotch 0 -2 Uni White Another game that we got nothing out of that we maybe should have considering the strength of our starting 11. Catton and Paul were looking strong and dangerous up front when they got the supply, with Chan and Dain looking very creative from the centre of the park when they weren't being over-run physically by much bigger opponents. A couple of silly defensive errors not being able to clear our lines properly lead to both goals, but definitely something we can learn from. Overall a solid effort apart from the couple of mistakes. Next season we will strive to keep a stable squad for the most part of the season to allow much more sociality and consistency throughout the group.

Round 16 Scotch vs Pembroke Saturday 23rd August 2008 A Grade Scotch 4 - 2 Pembroke Well again we kept to the tune of conceding a couple but at least scoring more!! After a very disappointing performance last week where we were only a shadow of our normal intensity and game play, it was pleasing to have such a dominating performance against a team that started the day equal on points. The first half was a cagey affair with both sides changing blows mostly in the midfield, with only a couple of uninspiring chances falling to both teams. We were definitely getting on top by the end of the half and Pembroke looked glad when the whistle blew. We carried this intensity and momentum into the 2nd half and started with a blaze of glory with two goals in the opening 15 minutes. Both went to Chrissa from midfield, the first a delicate cip into the top right corner from 10 yards, and the second a clinical and powerful strike across the keeper. Both were from great interchange play and from hard running from Chrissa to make position. Soon after this we fell asleep at the back post and conceded a clever header that looped over Gazza in goals from a long ball in. Welly then got our next two, both from wonderful through balls (especially the 2nd from Matty!!) on fast counter attacks that had him out pace two defenders and put it across the keeper clinically both times!! Nice to have you back in the team mate! Over all a toughly fought match for both teams, but we made the most clean cut chances and the our dominating defensive and midfield pressure finally wore through Pembroke in the 2nd half. Now all we need is to win against Uni White this week and have Uni Black to us a HUGE FAVOUR!!!! and knock off Mercedes to bring the league down to the final match of the season!! C'mon Uni Black!!!!!! :o) B Grade Scotch 0 -6 Pembroke The olde "20 minute curse" came back to haunt us again today, where for the majority of the game we were 1-0 down, until 5 goals in a 20 minute 2nd half patch obviously destroyed our chances!!!! Again very consistent performers were Baby James Catton, Quento and Paulie, but as a team we need to continue working on our communication and organisation especially. In the end though a very dominating performance by Pembroke, especially in the 2nd half, and a very good lesson for us on how to make the most of goal chances and goal pressure, as in the 1st half we had 3 definite goal chances that if we snagged on of them it may well have been a very different story!!

Round 15 Scotch vs Unley Saturday 16th August 2008 A Grade Scotch 2 - 3 Unley In what was our most important game of the season so far, we were unfortunately very flat and considerably outplayed for the majority of the game. A win would have put us 6 pts above Unley and put them out of the title race, however the loss unfortunately puts us even on points and lower down the table on goals. The first half saw Unley attack the game with incredible intensity and had us looking unorganised and flustered for atleast the first 30 minutes, especially through our midfield. Again our boggy pitch made it difficult to play continuous posessional football for both teams, but ironically aided Unley in their 1st goal as the ball skidded awkwardly past two of our defenders into the path of the Unley forward who to his credit finished very neatly. It took until the last five seconds of the half for us to have a real threat, that luckily had Rooney finishing brilliantly lobbing the keeper from 20 yards following a fortuitous long ball from Johnny. 1-1 at the break. The 2nd half had us atleast looking more competitive and threatening, controlling probably 25minutes of the half and putting some pressure on the Unley defense. With 10 minutes to go it was 2-2, following a penalty to Unley then a scrappy Scotch goal following a free kick goal mouth scramble. In the closing minutes both teams were pushing and fighting hard, and it was unfortunate (for us!!) that Unley had the knock-out blow when a tepid shot somehow found the back of the net from about 15 yards. On the whole though Unley showed much more organisation and intensity over the 90 minutes and created the majority of chances. It was disappointing that we unfortunately were very flat and played far from our normal standard as a team, with our most positive performers being Rooney and Eirik. One positive from the game was that we could play so poorly and still be close to getting a result. Chin up though!! Three wins and a result to go our way and we are still in with a big shout!! B Grade Scotch 1 -4 Unley At 1-1 at the half and following several great chances and having rode our luck quite well, we were hoping that a shock result may be on the cards if we could hold it together for the whole 90 minutes. As the score reads, obviously we couldn't!! We were over run in the final 25 minutes by a fitter and much more experienced team that proved their worth for being at the top of the table. An honorable mention to Catton for a great individual performance, and a very big welcome back to some original Scotch OCSC founders Haydos and Marcus to the team following a long absence. Welcome back boys!!!

Scotch College OCSC End Of Year Dinner Saturday September 27th 7pm The Arkaba Hotel Players and Partners $40 three course meal

Cup Quarter Finals Scotch vs Grads Red Saturday 9th August 2008 Scotch 4 - 1 Grads Red Overall a very dominating performance all over the park and a scoreline that could have been at least double if not for some amazing saves from the Red's keeper, who by far was their best player on the day. Following a frustrating year with injuries for Rooney, he rebounded very nicely with his return to the team with a hatrick, and Johnny grabbed our final goal from the penalty spot. The game was very open and played in a very physical manner, with the incredibly boggy and muddy Scotch pitch not helping either team. Matty ran riot down the wing all day and the Red's had no answer for his pace with the ball, and was rewarded with the assists for all three of Rooney's goals. Maxie was very similar on the right. Our midfield trio was dominant all day and worked tirelessly and kept our control on the game, and our defensive line was very strong and organised and conceded only via a penalty following an unfortunate slip into a Red's attacker in the mud. It was good to get in the goals again and get a more even team effort following the disappointing league loss last week, and it was important to get Chrissa and Rooney back in the team this week. Another positive was the way we kept our work ethic up (except for a 5 minute patch where we started shooting from 40 yards!!) and kept cool heads when there were some terrible tackles going in and a lot of agro being shown by the Red's. With Welly, Brent, Danny and Paps still to come back in to the squad, it will be an important boost with a very tough run in to the end of the league in front of us. Nice game boys, very dominating win!!!!! (Ref's 3 votes) 3 votes: Rooney 2 votes: Johnny 1 vote: Dunsy

Round 14 Scotch vs Immanuel Saturday 2nd August 2008 A Grade Scotch 0 - 2 Immanuel For some reason Immanuel continue to be our bogey team, with two draws and two losses against them in the past two seasons. Credit to them where deserved though, they made the most of their limited chances and we were not clinical enough to find the back of the net. From the beginning of the day we knew and spoke about the fact it was going to be scrappy game due to the boggy pitch and our game history, as well as being forced into a few personnel changes due to injuries people away. On top of this two major injuries in the opening 15 minutes didn't help, but we still should have done better. Our nemesis of this year happened again where we hit the post, brought several great saves from the keeper and had a couple excellent chances in the opening 10 minutes but were unable to convert, then with Immanuel's first attack they went forward and scored. The remainder of the game had us creating most of the shooting, but not with our normal composure or conviction, and it was one of those days where it just wouldn't go in with goal line clearences, two major penalty claims denied and the woodwork getting a good workout. Credit though to Immanuels defensive effort getting numbers behind the ball, and to then catch us on the break with about 15 minutes to go as we were pushing hard. A big thankyou to Toby and Chan for playing a majority of the game when forced due to our injuries following a full game in the B's. The result definitely brings us back to reality after winning 7 in a row and will be a good wake up call leading into the cup quarter finals and the final run in for the league. Very exciting with the number of teams still in with a good chance!! 3 votes: Matty 2 votes: Geordie 1 vote: Maxie B Grade Scoch 2- 0 Immanuel Awesome result and thoroughly deserved boys!!! As we said when we get most of the first choice players on the pitch in the same day we have a very competitive team, and most pleasing of all was to see the fight we had as a team. The first half on the whole was fairly even, with Scotch having definitely the majority of the opening 20 minutes and Immanuel fighting back well to have the majority of the following 20 minutes. Our first goal came following a cracking run and shot from Catton that was well saved, with the ball falling to Marty, who coolly slotted it into the open net for his second for the year. We then gained a lot of confidence from that and continued to have the majority of chances in a game that was very open. It was pleasing to see that we didn't have our usual 20minutes lapse of concentration and concede a couple!! :o) The game was put to rest with a minute to play, when a penalty was awarded for deliberate hand ball on the line (very stiff to get sent off considering there was only a minute to go!!!) with Chan slotting the penalty to make it 2-0!!! Yeah!!!!! Well deserved guys, and its always a little easier to enjoy your saturday arvo's when you get on the winners sheet again!! 3 votes: Quento 2 votes: Catton 1 vote: Chan

Round 13 Scotch vs CBC Saturday 26th July 2008 A Grade Scotch 3 - 2 CBC Again we found a way to make it hard for ourselves, but as they say, a wins a win as long as you score more times than you opposition!! And must I say it was an ugly win at that! :o) CBC were a much tougher opponent than expected over the 90 minutes and were physical and fought hard all day and made the most of their chances. We were also lucky on a couple of occasions, when if it wasn't for the quick reflexes of Gazza in goals we could have been under even more scoring pressure. With a different lineup to last week forced upon us we took a little too long to get comfortable, but when we did (2nd half!!) we looked much more in control and could easily have put a few more goals on the board as we squandered several golden chances. We were incredibly flat and unusually unorganized as a whole group in the first half and CBC made the most of this going 1-0 up then 2-1, keeping us chasing for the 1st 45 minutes to find equalising goals. It was 2-2 at the break. When we got our normal organization and work ethic back we flowed better and the front 3 began to look very menacing again. Fergie and Chrissa worked incredibly hard all day in the middle, with Ferg creating many of our forward thrusts and offering of the ball continuously, and often unrewarded. Brent had much more impact on the game when he joined them in the middle of the park and troubled the keeper with several cracking shots. Our defence was much more on top in the 2nd half when they got themselves sorted, and let nothing get through them. Overall an important win to keep us on top, and a good hard scruffy game to get out under our belt. 3 votes: Fergie Ferg 2 votes: Brent 1 vote: Welly B Grade Scotch 1 - 3 CBC At 1-1 with 20 minutes to go it was very disappointing to end up loosing by three. I do however commend the fight that we continued to show and chances we continued to create, however we did not quite have the sharpness to finish enough of them off. Whether it is a fitness issue, a mental issue or an attitude issue, we continue to go to sleep for 15 to 20 minute periods in each game which ends up being our downfall. With a few more A's players returning to the top team in the next couple of weeks, this should strengthen up the B's considerably and if we can keep this team consistent for the remaining 5 rounds we should see some results. Keep the positiveness, support and sociality a major factor at trainings and off of the pitch, and especially on the pitch between each other. There is no room for negativeness, especially in a social club like ours, so for a couple select boys who have shown this and a lack of support for their peers there is no room for this. Results will change when we get our consistency with team selection happening. 3 votes: Toby 2 votes: Paul 1 vote: Stig

Round 12 Scotch vs Rostrevor Saturday 19th July 2008 A Grade Scotch 2 - 1 Rostrevor With the top 6 teams all playing each other in this round, I'm sure every team realised the importance of taking maximum points from their respective clashes, and deservedly we did. It was a game that was probably played out as many would expect, with ROCSC trying to play pretty possessional soccer, and Scotch playing their very direct, quick paced and offensive style to their forward strengths. Overall, ROCSC would have lead the possession stats, but we definitely had the majority and most frequent scoring chances, and if it wasn't for their keeper who pulled off several riper quick-reaction saves, would have seen a couple more go into their net. The game started very evenly, with most of the play for the opening 15 minutes going end to end through the midfield, with no definitive chances. We then went 1-0 up when Welly broke free with his pace and cracked a low shot to the keepers right, who saved very well, but fortunately for us the ball fell to our new recruit Brenton Ilicic who had an easy tap in with his right. We then went 2-0 up 15 minutes later when Welly, following a previous one-on-one and close shot with the keeper, had another one-on-one following some excellent midfield work that split the ROCSC defence and finished low into the corner from just inside the box. We had several more excellent chances, expecially with a couple of tough shots from Brent and Fergie Ferg, with Matty getting more into the game causing havoc down the left. We were also lucky probably not to concede with ROCSC elusive forward Dom putting a close chance narrowly over the bar. 2-0 at the break. The 2nd half was played very similar to the 1st, with Scotch playing direct and ROCSC trying more to hold posession, but not looking overly dangerous. Welly had a couple more good chances, along with a smashing long drive from Ferg, that all had the keeper saving very well. Paps was bizarrely shown two yellows for the same passage of play and sent-off with 15 minutes remaining that meant we were down to ten with ROCSC pushing for the game. Immediately following this the ref blew for a dubious penalty against us, and Dom made the most of it to bring ROCSC back to within a goal. We adjusted well following this with a couple of personnel changes, and saw out the game very comfortably. Geordie, Johnny, Dunsy and Danny were very organised and controlled the back with plenty of conviction again. Fergie and Chrissa ran their hearts out and dominated our play in the middle of the park. Brent was exceptional as our central striker playing a little deeper as a link man, with both Matty and Welly looking dangerous and too much for the ROCSC full-backs to handle all day with damaging runs into the box and plenty of shots between them. Well done boys, an excellent team effort again with consistency shown all over the ground. And with Unley knocking off Merc's, it means we go top!! (Ref's votes:) 3 votes: Brent 2 votes: Welly 1 vote: Fergie B Grade Scotch 0 - 7 Rostrevor Well I guess the score says it all!! :o) A very disappointing day for the B's against a very strong team that we were hoping to show some improvements against. At this stage of the season, we are paying the price for so many changes week in week out, and hence are lacking some midfield and forward leaders that are consistently going to contribute and make an impact. 3 votes: Paul 2 votes: Quento 1 vote: Willy

Collegiate Cup Round 2 Scotch A's vs Westminster Saturday 12th July 2008 Scotch 2 - 1 Westminster In a game that we were obviously expected to win, it was a little closer by the end than we had anticipated and that it really should have been. For a second week in a row we dominated possession, especially in the 1st half, but were unable to make the most of our many excellent chances. The day we do make the most of them we will really trouble the scorers. With Westminster's 1st attack about 20 minutes in, following constant goal pressure from us, they went forward and scored a cracker from the far right into the rear corner. Great goal and it gave our keeper absolutely no chance. We then scored within a minute after the restart with a neat little finish from Welly and another just before halftime following a nice strike by Fergie Ferg. 2-1 at the break, and the second half saw no inspiring soccer by either team and no more goals. Westminster played their game plan quite well with 5 to six in the midfield getting plenty of numbers behind the ball for the entire 90 minutes. This frustrated our 3 midfielders especially and meant most of the game was played over the midfield to our wide players. Both Welly and Matty again had great games and worked tirelessly without a lot of reward. Rooney was his dangerous self and again provided great link work. I felt our defensive line, that was very different today with plenty of forced changes, performed very well and consistently considering the wind and playing the 2nd half into the sun. Gazza was very strong both on and off of his line in goals again, and when called upon two separate occasions with great Westminster chances, was very strong. Overall a frustrating day game-play wise as we struggled to ever get into our normal quick-passing rhythm especially through the midfield, but of course you will take winning ugly any day. Thanks to Westminster for a hard fought day, and best of luck to the remainder of their Div 3 season. (Ref's 3 votes:) 3 votes: Welly 2 votes: Johnny 1 vote: Gazza

Round 11 Scotch vs Sacred Heart Saturday July 5th 2008 A Grade Scotch 2 - 1 Sacred Heart For a long time this fixture has always been a bit of a 'Derby' match for both teams, ever since the tight tussles back in A2's. And again, as with every contest, the score was close and the game was very willing. To be honest we had the majority of the game, especially in the first half, and were desperately unlucky not to have several goals to compliment the early possession that we had. However we found ourselves 1-0 down after a cross that was deflected from a defensive header, with the ball falling to the strikers foot several yards from the line, who slotted it home. 5 minutes later Johnny stepped up to put away his 2nd penalty for the year to make it 1-1 following a handball in the box. Sacred Heart were physical and hard working as ever, and played over their midfield with long balls from the defence for the majority of the game. We got our second with a nice flowing move from Gazza's throwout that ended up finding Matty who is in a rich vein of scoring form, and he cooly slotted home across the keeper. Overall it was a solid performance considering we had several forced changes to the lineup this week and due to injuries during the game also. The defense was solid as normal, our midfield was dominating, and we created ample chances up front to score plenty more. With Uni White doing some great work and holding on to beat Merc's 1-0, we are now 2pts from top. (Ref's votes) 3 votes: Matty 2 votes: Johnny 1 vote: Geordie B Grade Scotch 1 -2 Sacred Heart As with the A's, it was a very close match on the whole, and a match that if we took even a third of our chances we had in the 1st half the game would have been over by half time. However it was 1-1 at the break, and to Sacred Hearts credit the fought well in the second half and played the better soccer leading up to the final whistle. A very disappointing result again for us, especially considering we had so many definite chances. 3 votes: Quinny 2 votes: Toby 1 vote: Chan

Scotch College O.C.S.C. PLAYERS DINNER July 19th 2008 7pm (after the Rostrevor game) ** Please bring partners also ** The Arkaba 150 Glen Osmond Rd Fullarton Set Menu Price TBA

Round 10 Scotch vs Uni Black Saturday 28th June 2008 A Grade Scotch 4 - 2 Uni Black It was a game that we were expecting to win and all in all we did our job very convincingly. We had all of the ball and several brilliant chances that we wasted in the opening 20 minutes that could have put the game out of reach already, but we only snagged one of those chances when Fergie cleverly rounded both their left full back and keeper to easily slot the ball into the net. Uni black quite quickly then caught us on the break with one of their first attacks to make it 1-1 with 25 minutes gone. Dunsy repayed the favour Chrissa gave him last week by putting in a wonderful ball from the left following a corner that Chris slotted in with his head. 2-1 at the break. The second half saw us go 3-1 up with 15 minutes gone when Matty scored a cracker volley from 20 yards, that makes two this year!!!!! He then got his second 10 minutes later when some excellent work down the right from Fergie and a square ball across the 6yard box left an easy tap in for Matty. With 10 minutes to go we had an unfortunate own-goal deflected header (thanks Geordie!!!) to give Uni Black their second. Considering Rooney missed 3 or 4 chances he would normally bury, and Welly miscalculating a couple close chances he has been slotting regularly, the game could have been a much bigger blow-out. But to Uni Blacks credit they hung in there and used their well-known pace and individual skill to good effect at times. Overall Matty was unstoppable down the left all day, Eirik was dominant as holding midfielder, Fergie and Chrissa were always involved and looking dangerous, and Gazza pulled out some great punches from dangerous crosses that otherwise could have been more threatening. Disappointingly, and probably more due to the fact the ref failed to blow his whistle on many obvious and quite rough fouls that would normally see yellow cards, the game came to a forced end through abandonment with two minutes to play. Following another unnecessary and cynical foul on Chrissa, there were a some words said and a few pushes given by both teams as we were frustrated at the regularity of the unpunished poor fouls against us. We are not shirting any of the blame for the situation to this point, but this then sadly escalated when the Uni Black captain got very physical and grabbed one of our players in a headlock and Uni Black fans from the sideline ran on getting involved for no reason. A disappointing was to end the game considering most of it was played in good spirit, and a scene that Uni Black, and especially their captain, should certainly not be proud of. 3 votes: Matty 2 votes: Fergie 1 vote: Eirik B Grade Scotch 0 - 2 Uni Black Aaargh!! Another disappointing result for us!!! And another game that we started very slowly in again being very flustered and rushed to go forward with the ball. Understandably it didn't help having several players become doubtful for a start throughout the morning due to illness and injury, and meaning several early changes were forced upon us through the 1st half due to guys not being able to continue. To Uni Blacks credit they played the much better soccer for the most part, and it wasn't until the last 20 minutes when we were 2-0 down that we had control of possession and started to create several dangerous chances. 3 votes: Chan 2 votes: Paul 1 vote: Willy

Round 9 Scotch vs Mercedes Saturday 21st June 2008 A Grade Scotch 4 - 3 Mercedes Brilliant effort boys!! Nothing less than we deserved with the overall control we had on the game and the number of chances that we created. Overall a very balanced and intense performance by all 14 players. Our main aim now is definitely to maintain this form and ensure we can get some consistency with our performances as we know we can account for anyone on our day. Mercedes had a younger and slightly different lineup to their dominating team of last year, but still one we obviously didn't think we would be able to score four goals past. In the 1st 20 minutes we had all of the play and came out firing and this gave us lots of confidence, but two solitary quick breaks coupled with some open defending and clinical finishing we were suddenly 2-0 down. We continued to attack well with our 4-3-3 and had a couple of very good chances cleared from the line, before some lovely work and ball in from the left from Chrissa found Dunsy unmarked to bullet a header in at the near post. What happened a few minutes after this kept us in the game and made us continue our push, when Gazza pulled out a great penalty save against Forster just before half time to keep it at 2-1. Things could have been even better in the last 5 minutes of the half when Dunsy hit the post from another header and Chrissa has a clever shot cleared off of the line. The second half was played with as much if not more intensity than the 1st from both teams, and again saw us miss several golden chances to tie the game. We did get the equaliser when a long shot from Fergie, that Dunsy (who is meant to be a centre back remember!! :o) ) cleverly deflected past the wrong-footed keeper to make it 2-2. Mercedes then made us pay for some sloppy defending on the left that left us out numbered in the middle and scored to make it 2-3 with 20 minutes to play. To our credit no one dropped their head and continued to push, spurred on by our number of previous missed chances and control of the midfield especially. We then drew level with 15minutes to play following some nice build up play through Welly on the right who found Chrissa at the top of the box, who turned well and slotted the ball low past the keeper to his right. 3-3 and the game was there for the taking! In a fast paced last 10 minutes from both teams, it was Chrissa that was the difference for us again, who perfectly smacked a 22yard free kick on his left into the top left corner leaving the keeper no chance. What an awesome way to claim the lead!! Nice work mate!! The last 5 minutes was tense as we dropped five back into the midfield to hold on, with Mercedes bombing the ball forward at any stage to put us under pressure in the dying seconds. To our credit we kept our concentration and held on for a very important win for us. It was a very even performance all over the pitch for us and everyone played their part in getting their result. Apart from a couple of early lapses in the beginning and a clumsy penalty give-away our defence was strong, especially in the air. Gazza was strong in goals all day with several important saves, none more so than the penalty to keep us in the game. Our midfield had the better out of the two teams that was highlighted by Chrissa's two goals and an assist. We looked very dangerous all day up front with Matty and Welly running at the defense all day, and with Rooney doing some incredible link work and being an option and a massive impact for us all day. (Ref's votes add chrissa) 3 votes: Rooney 2 votes: Gazza 1 vote: Dunsy 1 vote: Chrissa B Grade Scotch 0 - 4 Mercedes Unfortunately the start of the day wasn't as happy and inspiring as the end of it!! At 1-0 down at half time we definitely still looked in the match, especially considering we had 3 clear-cut chances in the opening 15 minutes that could have made things very different! It was unfortunately a 15minute patch lack of concentration halfway through the 2nd half again that was our undoing, where 3 quick goals were conceded and put the game clearly out of our reach. Again it was very hard with another 6 changes from last week but for the majority of the game I thought we did quite well and were unlucky not to get on the board in the first half especially like I said. 3 votes: Paul 2 votes: Joshie 1 vote: Quent

Round 8 Scotch vs Uni White Saturday June 14th 2008 A Grade Scotch 1 - 0 Uni White It was good to get back on the winners list in the league after dropping vital points in the last two matches. The game was set up early with impressive full pitch pressure being employed, especially by Matty, Rooney and Welly up front, that created the opening goal. Great effort boys. Welly cooly slotted the ball past the keeper to add another to his growing tally. Nice work mate! Everyone continued to follow the brilliant work effort and we had the ball flowing very quickly and effectively, and were unlucky not to get another couple, especially with Mattys that somehow flashed past the post and Welly pulling an awesome save out of the keeper low to his right to keep the White's in the game. Our midfield and defensive dominance meant we did not looked very troubled all day, with Gazza not having to complete a single save. It was good to see Gabe get through his normal array of testing tackles!! :o) and I think this week Geordie can do some work on his set pieces!! Congrats to Risky for having his 1st A's game and doing impressively well. Here's to a run starting in the league for us no boys, continuing with Mercedes next week. 3 votes: Welly 2 votes: Matty L 1 vote: Chrissa B Grade Scotch 0 - 1 Uni White Well I'm a little baffled today how again we didn't get some points out of the game! Admittedly we had a slow first 20 minutes that lead to the goal, but other than that we had an even share of possession and definitely the better of the 2nd half chances that we unfortunately could not take advantage from, both due to poor finishing and some 'interesting' decisions made by the ref, that to be fair had both teams wondering if we were playing netball or soccer. All I can say is that we will keep working towards getting some wins, but other than that continue supporting each other and staying positive. 3 votes: Quinny 2 votes: Ricardo 1 vote: Paul

Round 7 Scotch vs Pembroke May 31st 2008 A Grade Scotch 1 - 2 Pembroke 3 votes: Dunsy 2 votes: Eirik 1 vote: Chris B Grade Scotch 1 - 5 Pembroke 3 votes: Chan 2 votes: Ricky 1 vote: Paul

Saturday May 24th 2008 - Round 6: Scotch vs Rostrevor

Round 6 Report Scotch vs Rostrevor May 24th 2008 A Grade Scotch 2 - 4 Rostrevor After a very convincing start and leading 2-1 with 20 minutes gone on the 2nd half, it was very disappointing to be over-run and beaten. Compliments to ROC's defensive strength and their speed up font. Again we showed periods throughout the game where we dominated but couldn't increase our score on the board with several shots flashing inches wide. Good belief shown by the bulk of the group to continue fighting the entire 2nd half, and it now gives three games in the next three weeks against the other top 4 teams where we can get back to our selfless work ethic and cement our spot in the top two. 3 votes: Geordie 2 votes: Johnny 1 vote: Chrissa (ref's votes) B Grade Scotch 2 - 4 Rostrevor It was always going t be a very tough assignment against the B1 leaders and a team that are putting in copius amounts of goals against their opponents every week. The Scotchie boys should be very proud and get confidence from their performance that showed wonderful team effort and team morale. At 2-2 with 15 minutes to go we were unfortunately beaten by a couple of commendable finishes by ROC's. 3 votes: Martiin 2 votes: Ricky 1 vote: Dain

Cup Round 1 Report May 17th 2008 A Grade Scotch vs Uni Black A's B Grade Scotch vs Immanuel B's A Grade Scotch 2 - 1 Uni Black A's A convincing performance overall and a game that we controlled and were definitely the dominant team in. It was always going to be a little difficult game against a team that is growing in confidence with some improved results of late, and the fact that we also had four players unavailable and another couple playing that were very unwell, so thanks for the effort! Two very nice strikes from Chrissa and Welly from good team build up cemented the result. B Grade Scotch 0 - 3 Immanuel A game that had everything from missed penalties, send-off's, scuffles, major injuries and goals, and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of most of them!! Good character shown in the end to continue fighting undermanned for the whole 90 minutes boys, and unfortunately didn't get anything out of it. Great game had especially by Pandy, Dain and Ricky

Saturday May 10th 2008 - Round 5: Scotch vs Immanuel

Round 5 Report Scotch vs Immanuel May 10th 2008 A Grade Scotch 2 - 2 Immanuel Overall a very disappointing result for the boys, more so for the way we played and not so much for the result. Credit to Immanuel for continuing to pressure us all over the pitch for the whole 90 minutes. We seemed to be flat for the majority of the game and did not utilize our normal game plan with our wide players. Positive notes were our defensive shape, and we were unlucky to suffer an own goal from a deflected defensive header with 10 minutes to play. Goals went to a cooly slotted penalty from captain Johnny, and a cracker from Welly, nice work boys!!! Hopefully Dunsy has a speedy recovery from a knee injury. Ref's votes: 3 votes: Paps 2 votes: Gabe 1 vote: Johnny B Grade Scotch 1 - 5 Immanuel Well, I think there were couple reasons for the result. Again a half dozen changes to the line-up didn't help, along with another sloppy 20 minute patch in the middle of the game. However, a good debut was had to Martin and Mugel. Thanks for staying patient for your 1st game guys, you both played very well!! At this stage we still feel that we need to choose the team on merit of who attends training week to week and who has paid subs, but we will discuss this very soon if we continue to suffer big results like this. Credit to Immanuel for definitely showing a very strong performance over the entire game, and for some last gasp defending in the 1st 15 minutes when we had several good chances. A massive thankyou to Deano who won't be playing any more matches for us now as he plans to move back over to the USA again. Thanks for all your efforts mate, everyone appreciates it and respects you on-field attitude!! (and swearing on the weekend!! :o) 3 votes: Ricky 2 votes: Toby 1 vote: Quento

Saturday May 3rd 2008 - Round 4: Scotch vs CBC

Round 4 Report Scotch vs CBC May 3rd 2008 A Grade Scotch 5 - 1 CBC A very dominant performance overall, so well done again boys. 3-0 after the 1st 20 minutes put the game beyond doubt early. Over the course of the game it was very pleasing that we again were always in control at the back, dominated the midfield and looked dangerous going forward every time. To be fair we could easily have had a few more (no mention of Chris' misses!! haha), but to CBC's credit they continued to push the entire game and snagged a scrappy goal late in the game. Goal of the day went to a 25 yard SSCCRREEAAMMEERRRR!!! volley from young Matty from out on the left, sweet effort mate! Max, Chris and Matty were instrumental up front all day and either scored or set up each of the goals brilliantly. Top day's work. Defense was intense as always and initiated plays all day, with the midfield staying very organised again. Game plan working well, so nice work. 3 votes: Gabemeister 2 votes: Fergie 1 vote: Geordie B Grade Scotch 2 - 1 CBC First win for the year...and about time!! :o) A very good effort considering the changes that were made from last week. Thank you to everyone for staying motivated and positive with the rotation of players and weekly changes that I realise can become very unsettling and frustrating. It was really a game of contrasting halves, with Scotch having the better of the 1st leading 2-0 at half time, and CBC definitely having the majority of possession and chances in the 2nd half and all in all were a little unlucky not to score again, but credit due to our defenders infighting for every last inch. Our two goals were of great quality and team play that the boys should be happy about. Great goal and debut from Mr Marty, and finally Catton got on the score sheet with a lovely finish for the 1st. 3 votes: Catton 2 votes: Deano 1 vote: Marty

Giving Back to the School

Hi Guys, just got an e-mail from the school if anyone is interested. Makes us look a little more involved in the school! There are two coaching positions going: 1. Year 5/6 soccer team. Training is Wednesday 2:30- 3:30 (Scotch College Senior School). Games are Saturday morning, times vary from 8:30- 10:30. 1. Year 3/4 Soccer team. Training is Wednesday 2:30- 3:30 (Scotch College Senior School). Games are Friday 3:30- 4:30 (At Montrose Oval Junior School). Coach payment is $25 per hour. If anyone is intersted they can call Adam Rosser on 0400 134 755 or e-mail arosser@scotch.sa.edu.au.

April 18th 2008 - Round 3: Unley vs Scotch

Round 3 Report Unley vs Scotch April 19th 2008 A Grade Unley 1 - 3 Scotch All in all a very convincing win all over the park. Big positives were our midfield dominance and structure, our physical presence, and our defensive effectiveness both on the ground and in the air, especially during the final 25 minutes when we gave away an unfortunate penalty and were down to 10 men and needed to shuffle the line-up. Our use of our wide two players and the work effort and dominance of Max and Chrissa was 1st class, as was the impact of Welly upfront. Ravo was strong between the sticks and our defensive line were very disciplined and effective on the ball. Impressive and seamless effort by the boys off of the bench also. Goals went to a deflected cracker from Fergie, from the head of Dunsy following a dazzling run from the back, and a blistering run from Welly with a great finish. Fantastic effort overall and a convincing win. 3 votes: Danny 2 votes: Ravo 1 vote: Johnny B Grade Unley 5 -0 Scotch Overall a wonderful effort by our young team and was a flattering result to Unley, but it was defenitely a game we did not deserve to get any points from. A very close first half was then blown out of the water when Unley scored 3 goals in 10 minutes at the start of the 2nd half and the game was then very much up hill. It was very pleasing that for the final 30 minutes we did re-group and began to pass the ball around more effectively. 3 votes: Jassa 2 votes: Willy 1 vote: Quento

April 12th 2008 - Round 2: Sacred Heart vs Scotch

Round 2 Report Sacred Heart vs Scotch April 12th 2008 A Grade Sacred Heart 2 - 0 Scotch A disappointing result considering the game was very even for the 90 minutes. A stand-out performance again from Matty Duns, with Maxie and Dan Adams also doing very well down the left. We were unfortunately over-run too often in the midfield that in the end was the difference. A great positive was the 1st team debut of Matty and Chan who did very well off of the bench. Thanks also to Al for keeping unexpectedly! With a few more boys back next week hopefully we can re-capture our new offensive style. 3 votes: Dunsy 2 votes: Max Adams 1 vote: Johnny B Grade Sacred Heart 2 - 0 Scotch Same story as last week.... had plenty of excellent chances but couldn't put one away! Very evenly matched game overall but SH took their chances much better. Is a little hard to find some consistency already with so many players changing throughout the team, but we will have to deal with this. Good to have Rooney get some km's through his leg and to see Patty get through a couple of full games without injury. 3 votes: Quento 2 votes: Stig 1 vote: Rooney

April 5th 2008 - Round 1: Uni Black vs Scotch

Round 1 Report: University Black vs Scotch April 5th 2008 A Grade: Uni Black 4 - 7 Scotch Generally very convincing performance with excellent attacking flair. A little disappointing to concede 4 goals considering we were 4-0 up within 25 minutes. Plenty to work on but a great way to kick off the year!! Notable mentions to Welly for smashing in 4 goals before being subbed in the 1st half, to Chris for grabbing a double and running havoc down the left, and to Matty Duns for being so dominant at the back. 3 votes: Matty Duns 2 votes: Chris Rodgers 1 vote: Welly B Grade: Uni Black 3 - 1 Scotch Oh what could have been hey boys!! Overall a wonderful performance and strides above where we were at the end of last year. We just need to learn how to finish!! With 4 one-on-ones missed and at least 4 crossbar/posts hit we deserved more, especially considering the majority of these were in the first 30 minutes. Great fitness. Great games especially had by Pana, Ricky and Patty. 3 votes: Patty 2 votes: Ricky 1 vote: Nath Pana

Webmaster Needed!!!

Hi Boys!!! Looking forward to preseason, and seeing everyone's bright and smiling faces getting ready for a new season of ass-kicking! Just wondering if anyone out there is in the slightest bit web-savvy? We have an offshoot on the Scotch OC website that we need to make a little more snazzy and inviting, and I am really NOT the man for the job, as I can barely operate Word! I've made a bit of an effort to make it look ok, but it frustrates me as it looks all pretty in the workstation, but comes out looking really bad. So anyone who reckons that they could donate a little bit of time to get this running, get in contact with me ASAP! alasdairrodgers@yahoo.com or 0432961653 Thanks Guys! Also for those of you that I haven't got in contact with previously, i'm getting married! We're having an engagement party on the 13th of January from midday till 6pm at the Pines Area 1 at BelairNational Park, you are all welcome! Get in contact with me at the above if you want to come! Or just rock up, it's all good! Al