Knox Power play valiantly against Gideon's in dramatic Cup Match

Knox Power played hard and won many friends in a classic match against Gideon's Warriors. Our team surprised them as they expected an easy match but couldn't break the deadlock against us. The whole team put in a lot of effort to win the match. Chances for both teams were there to be taken. Daniel Watson saved a penalty after Tyson Busch decided to risk a challenge in the box. Robbie Wibberly put in a good challenge to head clear a ball off the goal line from a corner. Sabi Kooner, James Hamiliton and the hard working Shehan Silva also had chances at their end but neither could break through until the 89th minute when penalty shoot out looked likely. A blocked save fell nicely for a Gideon's player to toe poke the ball into the net. We were disappointed but Mark Watson and our supporters cheered us on and encouraged us to take this performance into the rest of the season to get Knox Power out of relegation.

4-1 Loss to Eastern

Eastern United 4-1 Loss at Milpera
We played our first game of the season at Milpera. Hosting the young players of Eastern Utd we lost 4-1. The first half was very competitive with both of us scoring a goal each. Arun Batra stunned the Eastern crowd with a curved strike from outside the box which left the goal keeper stranded. Unfortunately after the break we lost our way and were unable to create any more chances as Eastern continued to profit from their forays into our half.

Monash CRC 4-1 Loss at Milpera
Back at Milpera we played Monash CRC and went down early with 2 goals before Sabi Kooner was able to pull one back. Unfortunately we let this one get away from us and again went down 4-1. We now look to put the league defeats behind us and focus for the Cup Match this weekend against Gideons.

A solid effort but fell short

After the euphoria of the Cup round we were brought back down to earth with a thump. Berwick had the measure of us during the game and won 4-2. They had key players that we had struggled to contain and whilst we were competitive during the whole match they were able to get the edge on us. Notable events were Aaron Lewis cross (shot) that went in to level the scores before half time and Robbie Wibberly's continual efforts at goal with a deflected shot pounced upon by Ian Vincent. Overall the team is continually improving and that we are growing in confidence with each other and it is showing with our passing play.

Breakthrough! Knox Power 1-0 progress in the President's Cup.

It was special that Knox Power achieved their first win and an important one in the first round of the President's Cup. Drawing against Lilydale in the fixture meant we had a solid chance of being competitive as the past few games had shown improvements within the team.

The match winning goal came early from an excellent weighted pass from Sabi Kooner to James Hamilton. He took possession of it midfield and was under pressure from the last defender. He wasn't fouled but if so a red would certainly been issued and this allowed James to slot the ball past the keeper.

From then on it was a game that was controlled by the midfield, each battling to win possession and press the advantage. As time drew to a close Lilydale mounted more pressure with attacking plays. But our defense worked so well with the midfield that each attack was broken down and allowed goal keeper Danny Wilson his first clean sheet of the campaign.

The supporters and players were so happy at the result that had been achieved from all the hard work shown at training. We now look forward to playing the next opponent in the semi-final home and away tie.

A glimpse of future potential?

The first half was a disaster. Whitehorse FC out played us from the start and they were rewarded by scoring 5 goals. We were all over the place with losing possession too easily and allowing Whitehorse to continually attack our goal end. Everyone was looking forward to half time to have a break from the seemingly endless goal assault. 

At half time, everyone knew what they had to do to improve and went into the second half determined to show our supporters and most importantly ourselves that we were better footballers if we really concentrated on our first touch and passing.

Slowly we started to gain confidence with each other, passing, supporting and sharing the ball around the team. Creating good build up play and were eventually rewarded with a goal that Sabi Kooner was able to finish. Finally we had broken through and scored an important goal for team morale. With renewed confidence that a goal brings. Harj Sohal intelligently placed a long pass into Sabi's path and he broke the offside trap with only the keeper to beat. The inexperienced keeper brought down Sabi and was sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity. Sabi calmly took the penalty that he had won and slotted it past the replacement keeper. We showed Whitehorse FC that Knox Power won't be the same team next time we meet, we will be competitive and the second half of the season will be our resurrection.

Danny's tough day at the office

7-0 against 10 men Panthers. A below average performance from us with a battered and bruised Danny being the busiest of us all.

This loss was the tipping point for me. The team needs new players and a new outlook. Time to look at rebuilding from the back.

Master Tactician

I feel I am getting closer to cracking the Knox Power team code. I am aiming for stability and consistency from now on with my team selections, these two components have been missing from the team so far due to player availability, fitness and playing time.

I really like designing systems to assist me organise the team. They provide structure and routine that brings confidence to the players. There is nothing worse than feeling flustered and pressured in match conditions. I prefer to have everything prepared beforehand as I don't have much assistance on games days and therefore I know I can make a better decision.

The area that works the hardest each game is the midfield and I have designed a pairing system that matches two players to the formation. During the game two players will partner up in left and right configurations and will take up positions vacated by the previous players when substitutions are made.

My substitution system is based on 22.5min blocks. That way players are allotted an even amount of playing time as our league has a interchange system.

After several weeks and losses, I've decided to start using the traditional 442 formation. I've been trying to avoid using it but in the end I think the players aren't up to the other formations at this stage. So 442 is my baseline and will continue to use this for the remainder of the season.