Trying to break through: Glen Eira 4 - Knox 1

Glen Eira had beaten Lilydale 9-2 in Round 1 and I was determined that we would not collapse that easily.

The lessons learnt from Rounds 1 & 2 were applied to changing the formation, from 4-3-2-1 to a 3-5-2 which offered a strong defensive protection and creative attacking options.

The match started well, we had contained them and had not conceded for the first 25mins and were pressing and coming close to getting a goal but it broke down in the final 3rd and unfortunately Glen Eira were able to turn the neutral situation to their advantage and take a 2-0 lead by half time.

After the break with time to reflect on our situation and make player changes, the focus was starting strong and making a positive attacking impact. With that mindset and great passing play, James Backhouse netted a goal and we showed our opposition that we are more than a capable football team.

We continued to attack but Glen Eira was able to absorb all the pressure the team placed on them and countered on the breaks with another 2 goals effectively sealing the match for them.

Michael Dunlop deserves credit for his performance in goals as our reserve keeper. He has responded well to all that I have asked of him this season.

Each week brings new challenges and I feel that we are close to claiming our first win which will improve our confidence and set us up for the rest of the season.

Hard lessons learnt from the 4-0 loss.

Knox Power faced Monash Fiedels at home and were unable to answer their 4 goal haul.

We had trained and prepared well during the week working on our defence using pressure, cover and depth to support each other but when it came to match day we had to learn some hard lessons. 

I had watched our opponents the week before and taken notes on areas that we might be able to focus our attacks and taken my usual formation of 4-2-3-1. Unfortunately, this didn't happen as they had a completely revamped their entire midfield with experienced Scottish players.

Our defence tried holding a high line with Andrew Merrall as a holding midfielder but they used long ball tactics and bypassed him and midfield completely.

At half time I changed formation (4-3-3) to deal with our opponents key players with James Backhouse becoming a defensive midfielder tracking, frustrating and lessening the impact of their attacks. The defence worked together to defend deeper and not leave Danny Watson exposed.

The team instantly became a stronger unit but we were still constantly under pressure. Danny Watson produced great saves in the second half, my preference is that each game he has a quiet one, but when called to action he was there blocking most of their shots.  We did have to camp in our half with the chance of a counter attack the only option to break out.

They were only able to get only one goal from the second half, so we are always learning to adapt to our opponents, but the damage is done by half time so for future games I am changing the formation in an effort to reduce conceding so many goals.

My expectation every week is to have clean sheets and this is not the responsibility of just the defence but from the attack and midfield as well.

I can't fault the effort of the team, the longer we train and play together the results will surely come.

Positives to build from a poor start

A 5-2 loss to Monash CRC on the opening day of the season may look like we were beaten in all areas of the park. But this was far from the case.

Yes, we conceded a few silly goals that should have been stopped from further up the pitch but as the game progressed we started to improve. For a team that has been together 3 weeks and under new management, we were far from disgraced.

The team was under pressure from the start with incorrect details on the venue. As much as we tried to ignore it, we didn't have enough time for a proper warm up or for me to give better team instructions. The referee who also travelled to the wrong location shortened the game to 40 minute halves. I feel that this affected our game mindset.

To score any goals whilst on the back foot is a great achievement. Ryan Dukes' lofted strike from outside the box caught the Monash defence out, with the keeper was rooted to the spot as the ball slotted above his head just under crossbar.

The service given to James Hamilton improved as the game went on and just after half time, his hard work against the Monash defence was rewarded with a low strike as it beat several defenders with his determination and great footwork.

Of special mention, Alistair Hutton has been improving each week in the right wing-back role and through the second half was the creator of some great play. His positioning and awareness from receiving the ball from goalkeeper Daniel Watson is helping our team play out of defence.

On the other side of the pitch Tyson Busch, Arun Batra, Adam Deveson and Tim Lai all combined well with triangle passing play that got the ball into the opponents final third many times.

Areas that need improvement are our first touch, making good passing decisions and defending. So whilst I am disappointed that we were beaten, the foundations of a great team have been set.