U17’s Shine under the Bright Lights

In their last home game of the season the U17’s were a blaze under the lights at Stead Park with a comprehensive 4-1 win over a stylish Surfcoast. But none shone brighter than Alberto Lopez, who snared his 4^th hat-trick of the year with a masterful second half display. On a chilly Wednesday night the boys were switched on from the outset stringing passes together and creating a number of early chances from Stefan Psimaris and Alberto Lopez. The best chance of the half fell to the “Big Bomber” Jordan Rendevski when he was played in by Stefan Luong, though his well placed effort was tidely cleaned up by the keeper. Surfcoast also enjoyed the chance to play under lights manufacturing a chance which was well saved by keeper Rhett Joy. In an entertaining first half, the high standard of play was marred by an off the ball incident that saw Surfcoast reduced to ten men after their striker collided into Danny “The Immovable Object” Gray. With neither team able to break parity, they went to the break scoreless.

The second half saw Geelong raise the bar even higher with the knowledge that a win puts them into outright top spot and it didn’t take long for the boys to open their account. The next ten minutes would see a dazzling Lopez tear shreds through the Surfcoast defence with a blistering run down the right wing into the box firing past the sprawling keeper. It was déjà vu with his second goal almost identical to the first only more clinical just three minutes later. In what should’ve been his third Lopez smashed the ball at the floundering Surfcoast keeper who gifted Jimmy Hollywood Vo the simplest of tap ins. The Surfcoast defence could only look on as Lopez secured his hat-trick with a cool finish after finding yet another hole on the right hand side.

With the points in the  safely bag, Coach Dean Brown made a number of changes taking off hat-trick hero Lopez and introducing the classy 14 year old Josh Talev to the midfield. His impact on the game was instantaneous as he unleashed a shot from distance that curled just wide of the upright. Jordan also slammed a shot from range that was well saved by Surfcoast’s keeper. The ever improving Harley Fountain and Tuan also saw out the last 20 minutes in midfield. Surfcoast were rewarded on a fantastic effort with a consolation goal late in the game after Geelong’s defence was caught square allowing the Surfcoast striker to run on to a over the top ball and neatly finish inside the box.

The result sees Geelong return to outright first on the ladder with 3 games to go. The boys will look forward to this weekend’s bye and will come back refreshed for the away game against Barwon Blue in two weeks time.

An un-cohesive U/17’s staged a valuable come from behind draw against a determined Corio. With an Antarctic wind blowing across the ground, Corio took advantage of the conditions in the quagmire at Hume Reserve, despite Geelong dominating possession.

After 20minute of play, Corio went 1-0 up when Geelong conceded a sloppy foul on the edge of the box. The resulting free kick went over the wall only to deflect off keeper Rhett Joy’s arm and into the back of the net. Geelong created a countless number of chances but the boys were extremely wasteful in front of goal with some ordinary finishes that kept Corio’s keeper busy. The best chance of the half went to Danny Gray who ran onto a Jimmy Vo through ball only to have his shot was well saved by the diving keeper.

Soon after the restart Corio went 2-0 up as Geelong struggled in the difficult conditions. Some messy defending and lack of midfield coverage saw a miscued pass fall to a Corio striker who finished with a freak chip over the outstretched arm of keeper Shaun Finn. Now, with frustration set in across the park and tempers flared, it was unlikely hero Tuan Nguyen who beat his defender with ease to peg one back with a classy finish. Inspired by Tuan, Geelong stepped up a gear and finally, after an hour of play, had settled into the game. Alberto Lopez put his blinkers on and with singled minded determination met a ball from Shiva to pass two defenders and beat the keeper at his near post with a powerful shot.

Virtually the whole second half was played in Corio’s half with what looked like an 8-1-1 formation sitting on the edge of their box. With Geelong’s defence line pushed well forward, Corio’s 3^rd goal came on the counterattack after a Geelong defender got bogged and allowed the forward to score with a curling finish.

It seemed Corio would cause the upset of the season despite being under enormous and constant pressure only to clumsily concede a corner with only seconds left to go.  In what was to be the last play of day the “Big Bomber”, Jordan Rendevski pulled out the old “get out of jail" free-card to nod home a fantastic header from an Alberto Lopez corner kick salvaging one valuable point.

The boys will have to put this disappointing result behind them, and switch focus to Wednesday’s catch up game against Surfcoast under the bright lights of Stead Park. So get down to Stead Park on Wednesday night for a 7pm kick-off and support the boys.