2008 Men's First Team Teamtalks
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14 September 2008 English Cup Final: Nomads 2 Coastal Spirit 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
On a fantastic day for football and with a great crowd behind us it was a great atmosphere to bring down the curtain on an eventful season.
The result didn't go the way of Coastal Spirit, but the manner in which we attacked the Nomads team, which has proved to be the best in Christchurch, shows this group of Coastal Spirit players are one hell of a good side and not too far behind them.
It was a credit to football and a credit to the shirt the players wore in the way they performed today.
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Ryan Stewart, Paul Hughes, Marc Capstick, Ben Leith, Aaron Corkhilll, James Stewart, Michael Fifii, Gareth Turnbull, Nik Gebhardt, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Josh Dredge, Jacob Egues, Michael Berry, Ekow Quaino, Connor Chellew, Dougie Hyde.
The match report shall have little detail of the incidents throughout the game, as I am sure the many that were there will remember more than I did in a frantic day.
The build-up to the week was a bit like a doctor's waiting room as we waited on the fitness of Skippy, Jimmy, Jacob, Nik, Ribsey, Pom and Ben. With good fortune, they all declared themselves fit.
With all the lads turning up early to support the Ladies win the Reta Cup, it was a good way to start the afternoon and you could see the support for each other beforehand. When the lads chose to stay and see the girls raise the Cup instead of giving them more time in the dressing room, it was good to see and we allowed it to carry on, as it showed a unity amongst the players and what the club is starting to stand for.
As I stood back watching the players in support of the girls I was extremely proud of them and what they had achieved in this season, regardless of the outcome of the final. I also knew they were here to support one another and would give a great account of themselves on the day. They didn't disappoint.
I had watched Nomads the previous week and we understood they would play a direct game, moving the ball from back to front as quickly and as direct as possible. We also understood the hard-work ethic of their players and the experience within central midfield of DT and Andy Pitman. We set ourselves up to try and nullify their threats and exploit areas we felt we could take advantage of.
The opening few minutes were excellent in the way the players adapted to their roles.
Jimmy and Pom held the midfield well, Cappy and Hughsey set-up well, the fullbacks (Skippy and Ben) gave good wide support and cover when needed, Ribsey looked sharp off his line covering the back-four and the threats of Gareth, Stapes, Nik and Fifii was there for all to see.
The threat of Fifii's pace was evident from the start and as well as creating chances for him, opportunities opened up for Gareth and Stapes as we started to carve open a defence that had proved over the past few seasons to be the best in the area.
I doubt that Nomads have had as many chances created against them in one half of football at any stage this season!? Notes from Jordan Buchanan in the Nomads goal suggest as much and they felt they were fortunate not to be at least a couple of goals behind.
The report in The Press accurately reflected the chances and dominance Coastal Spirit had on influencing the game.
Special mention must go to Hughsey and Cappy for the way they handled the threat from the front pairing of Petrie and JC from the start. It gave us a solid base from which Skippy could raid a couple of foraging attacks forward, which often caused Nomads problems.
Skippy was playing out of his natural position and he was showing what a good player he can be when he includes thought and discipline to his game.
This can also be said of Aaron Corkhilll, a defender turned midfielder who had kept Andy Pitman quiet for much of the first half, as well as simple and effective distribution from which we could launch our attacks.
Gareth Turnbull found the spaces we thought he would do and he combined well with Fifii to set him away on his positive running.
A compliment to the way the Coastal Spirit players played was to see Nomads start to get increasingly frustrated with numerous fouls, resulting in 3 bookings in the space of 7 minutes.
The big talking point of the half was whether Luke Petrie deserved to stay on the pitch after deliberately taking-out Ribsey in an aerial challenge when he had no intention whatsoever of playing the ball.
It was obvious to see from the way Nomads set-up at corners they were going to try and intimidate Ribsey in the Coastal goal. The way I saw it was that the ball bounced up, Petrie had his chance to be "physical" and he took it. Did he deserve to be sent off? I say he did what he felt was required, but was a very lucky bloke to stay on the pitch. He walked a fine line and in my opinion 75% of the time he would have gone. Today was not one of them and he stayed on the pitch as the referee gave him leniency that he maybe didn't deserve.
The first half was a pleasure to watch and with a hatful of chances created and very little conceded we had certainly achieved our first objective - to prove that we could be competitive with the best team in Christchurch - and we were more than that.
We deserved to go in ahead and didn't following a number of missed opportunities - something of a surprise after scoring over 100 goals in the season.
We had scored an average of five goals a game and not failed to score in any competitive match we had played this season. With the firepower we had I believed we would continue to get a chance and get a couple at least.
The start of the second half saw a 20 minute period which was the only time we didn't perform to our best and we allowed Nomads to get a part of the game.
Nomads started to pick-up the 2nd-phase ball more often than we would have liked and they began to get a grip on the game, despite not really gaining clear-cut chances their play deserved.
I could understand the difficulties our players would have at this level, as they had not had the continued intensity of a match against quality opposition this season. We had faced Tech and Christchurch United, but the high-intensity of Nomads was going to stretch us more than we had been previously.
The period of pressure resulted in a goal to Nomads that came from a throw-in at our corner flag. Instead of working the line, the ball was thrown inside and play was broken-up. As the ball was delivered inside, JC neatly finished it off to give Nomads the lead.
Jacob Egues and Josh Dredge entered the fray for James Stewart and Ben Leith who had both performed excellently.
We wanted to get more thrust going forward again and immediately Josh sent a pin-point ball forward to get Jacob travelling down the left.
As the game got stretched and we went into the final 20 minutes we continued to progress forward and create openings, however, we also started to take risks and looked like we could concede a goal on the break.
A further chance fell to Stapes and he volleyed over the bar. This lad has been fantastic this season, scoring an incredible 32 goals in 16 appearances. It is not only 2 goals a game, he has been substituted in many of the games after scoring 7 hat-tricks and his goals per minute ratio is around one goal every 26mins!!
As with Rowena and one or two of her players, I find it incredible that Stapes has been overlooked for the leading striker in the Mainland awards. Although many of his goals have been scored against lower opposition than MPL teams, a record of a goal every 26 minutes is an incredible feat!
What a shame that he couldn't cap his season with the goal he deserved most in the final.
As we pushed for an equaliser and four or five of our players out on their feet it was left to Nomads to score a 2nd goal in the 94th minute and seal a victory for them.
Although JC was awarded the Player of the Day award for his two goals (to me the 2nd one was not significant) I believe that Andy Pitman was more influential for Nomads in the 2nd half and started to gain them a bit of momentum, along with DT's experience and adapting to a variety of roles.
However, I would have picked Marc Capstick, the Coastal Spirit Captain as Player of the Day. He put his heart and soul into the game. He positively won his aerial battles and his tackling was immense. A credit to his team-mates and a credit to the club, not only in the final, but throughout the season where he has been asked to carry-out various roles and just got on with it and applied himself 100%.
In addition, Paul Hughes was tremendous at the heart of the defence and not one player let the side down as they all showed their mettle and performed admirably. No player performed below par and they were a great credit to this new club.
We failed to score for the first time this season, but hey, we certainly "went for it" and gave Nomads one hell of a fright!
Without feeling sorry for these lads they deserve better from this season.
We've finished runners-up in the league by one point, with a hugely superior goal difference to the winners. The league season that came down to two games and a couple of debatable decisions by officials!
We had the fantastic excitement created in our 8-3 win over Woolston Tech in the early rounds of the English Cup (a truly memorable night for all those that were there!), only to be knocked out of the Chatham Cup by them when we again outplayed them, but contributed with a missed penalty and own goal to lose 2-1.
We finished the season with runners-up in the English Cup, when you reflect back and think what might have been had a couple of the numerous chances gone our way?
This is not to winge. It is just to say that I believe these players deserve better than they have got.
It has been a fantastic first season and we have now started something that can be massive in the coming seasons!
I trust we shall continue to develop together and move it further forward together and take the team/club to the next level.
In closing, I would like to thank Brent Wilson for his great efforts behind the scenes as Manager - Thanks Brent, you made things so much easier for me!
Thanks go out to Marianna for her dedication and contributions as physio: including the day she wore the white boots for a game! (couldn't have seen Jackie Humphreys doing that last season!?)
Thanks to Hughsey for his support and calm nature, his positive thoughts and the way he has shown leadership on the park. Class bloke.
Thanks to Cappy for his earache and opinions (I love it) - You tested and questioned things and have done exactly what was needed! I couldn't have done it without your support and influence. You have been immense this season and I thank you for everything you have contributed to making this team grow and the club become a club!
Cheers to Gareth for not only his playing contribution, but for the commitment and structure he has provided in the past 9 months. The club will only go from strength-to-strength and you have provided fantastic progress in a short time. Don't stop now - let's get it in even better shape for next season!
To all the players:
- You have been tremendous and have certainly provided some great moments this season.
- You have started this club and that is a big thing to be proud of.
- Thanks for your loyalty in the first instance and for the application you have shown throughout the season.
- You don't get many chances to win a medal in any given season. You have won one in the inaugural season of the club - congratulations, it's well deserved!
The final was a great day to cap a great first season for the club.
Congrats must go out to Mike and Rowena for the league and cup double (Ro - I said lets make it a double-double - sorry, it wasn't to be, but we had a good go at it!)
To the Coastal Spirit Board and Committee - Congratulations on taking the club as far as it has done in such a short time with the hard work and dedication you have shown. The first season is the easiest one, as everyone is fired-up and enthusiastic. Let's not drop it and keep things progressing forward towards making this club what this club can be - the best club in Christchurch!?
Some of us look forward to a rest. Myself, I'm looking forward to working with the Under-19s from this week in the build-up to the 2008 Tsunami South Island U-19 Tournament we are running over Labour Weekend.
It may then be a couple of weeks of rest and then back to it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . we have a better job to do next season!
Yours in Sport
Alan
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
30 August 2008 English Cup SF: Coastal Spirit 1 Chch Utd 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
A well-deserved win for Coastal Spirit sets-up a fantastic Finals Day for the club on Sunday 14th September at English Park and I trust the whole of the club will be out in support for the day!?
The game was hard fought and physical on a bumpy Eric Adam pitch, but ultimately gave us a reward the players thoroughly deserved after two previous encounters with United that leaves us 5-5 on aggregate …….. Harry, maybe a decider could be on the cards!????
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Ryan Stewart, Paul Hughes, Marc Capstick, Ben Leith, Jimmy Stewart, Aaron Corkhilll, Michael Fifii, Gareth Turnbull, Nik Gebhardt, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Jacob Egues, Michael Berry, Ekow Quaino, Brennan Pitts.
We had waited 4 months since despatching Cashmere in the Quarter-Final, to meet Christchurch United in the Semi-Final and the game quickly burst into life.
After 4 minutes and a couple of threatening ventures forward, we had a corner on the right-hand side which was cleared out of the area by United, only to be passed out wide right to Paul Hughes (I still don't know what he was doing there). Hughsey moved the ball onto his right foot and delivered a perfect cross (I know …. with his right foot!) for Gareth Turnbull to use his goal-poaching instincts and head the ball downward for the first and only goal of the match.
I had instructed the players to avoid giving away free-kicks, as the biggest threat United posed would be from direct play into our goal area.
This went unheeded and we gave away numerous free-kicks, with some thunderous challenges which resulted in two yellow cards for Ben Leith and Aaron Corkhilll, as well as some pressure from United.
In contrast to the previous game where we conceded three goals from direct long play by Utd, our defence stood firm and coped with what was thrown at them.
The physical approach our players took was borderline at times, but after previous matches in which we lost certain physical battles, it was good to see the complaints from the opposition and the commitment from our players, which was total.
One corner by Utd threatened to undo the good work by Coastal Spirit, but Mitch failed to get his head to the ball under good pressure from Paul Hughes.
There were no notable chances to either side in the first half except for a Nik Gebhardt opportunity just before half-time, when he wriggled free in the box to create an opening and then did what we often see in training as he tried to clear the houses behind the goal!
The second half saw us play the best 15 or 20 minutes of football in the match as we created a number of chances which fell to Stapes, Gebhardt and Turnbull.
Stapes hit the post following a deflection by the keeper, which was unfortunate for us, but also good to see that he's saving the goals for the final!?
We were unable to take advantage of the good play and extend the lead as we started to dominate the game through the second half.
Jimmy Stewart was replaced by Michael Berry and Jacob Egues came on for Michael Fifii.
Jacob immediately got into the game in the first minute of coming on and created a far post chance for Nik, only to see the shot go wide of the near post, when any sort of shot on target would have seen us extend our lead.
The only threat from United in the second half was from a low cross that went under the boot of captain Cappy and was flicked wide of the far post by United from a tight angle.
The game petered out without any notable pressure from United and the lads celebrated a 1-0 victory over their rivals.
Marc Capstick, Paul Hughes and Aaron Corkhilll were immense in their defensive duties, with Aaron making some great tackles throughout the game and the two centre backs dominating their aerial battle throughout the game.
Player of the Day would have to go one of these three and it would be hard to separate them, although Pom certainly carried-out 90% of his job to fantastic effect.
It was never a pretty game with flowing football, as none of the previous matches have been, but the commitment of the players was there to be seen and they deserved to be taking to the final against Nomads.
Anything can happen in a final, but with Gareth now looking threatening, Stapes always good for a chance and the defence holding firm as a unit, it bodes well for a finals day to remember.
My best wishes go out to Harry, Jackie and the United players for their play-off matches against Richmond. After seeing part of the Richmond game on Sunday, I am sure it is there for the taking. Good luck lads.
I must at this point say thanks to all the people that text and contacted me to wish us all the best before the game and again in congratulations afterwards. I would also like to thank the supporters that were there in their numbers again, including our Solomon Islands contingent that had a good time with the BBQ behind the goal (you still owe me a sizzler!).
I must also congratulate our Ladies team on all but securing the league title earlier in the day with a 1-0 win against Western (and thanks for being there to support us later in the day). Well done Ro and Mike and the girls!
For Coastal Spirit Men's 1st team, the season continues and the players are now guaranteed some reward for their season's work with a medal …… It is up to them what colour medal they want it to be!?
We have 4 training sessions and 2 weeks until the final in which to prepare.
Let's make it a club day to remember on the 14th !?
Yours in Sport
Alan Walker
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
23 August 2008 Coastal Spirit 6 Cashmere 2
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
It was a Saturday afternoon, we had the sun shining and the pitch served up by Eric Adam Park was firm under foot - It seems a long time ago since we were playing football in such conditions and it certainly brought a smile to the face.
This was also the last game in the league, which saw us finish with another goal-feast and successfully pass a couple of landmarks for the season.
We have now scored 102 goals in 21 games this season and it was appropriate that Jason Stapley took us past the 100 mark having been unselfishly set-up by Michael Fifii.
We also saw Stapes score his 32nd goal of the season in only his 14th appearance, which surpasses Neil Hinton's 1995 Rangers' record of 29 goals (and I am sure Ben will inform me of the top New Brighton 1st team scoring record). Whatever this is, it is a tremendous achievement by Stapes and a big congrats goes out to him.
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Michael Berry, Marc Capstick, Paul Hughes, Ben Leith, Jimmy Stewart, Nik Gebhardt, Jacob Egues, Michael Fifii, Ryan Stewart, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Josh Dredge, Gareth Turnbull, Jonathan Gough.
As with the previous Cashmere match, we immediately went 1-0 up in the first minute. A corner conceded by Cashmere was whipped-in by Nik Gebhardt for Michael Fifii to get a slight touch at the near post and send us into the lead, although the goal has been attributed an OG.
The following few minutes saw us comfortably control the game, without opening them up further.
We gained a free-kick on the halfway line, played it short, played it inside, played it backwards, with each pass putting us under increasing pressure. It eventually resulted in a Cashmere one;one chance that was duly despatched to make it 1-1.
Cashmere went 2-1 ahead as we failed to defend their breakaway.
The players were on top of the game in the first few minutes and then started to play as individuals and stopped working hard as a unit or as a collective team. We cannot afford to do this next week against Christchurch United in the semi-final!
After good work by Ryan Stewart down the right, he cut in and passed the ball square for Fifii to finish and get us back on level terms. 2-2.
Further goals by Skippy and Stapes (2), including the 100th competitive goal of the season saw us run out 6-2 winners.
The 2nd half saw Gareth, Josh and Goughy enter the fray for Jimmy Stewart, Skippy and Ben Leith.
The positives were again an accomplished performance by Nik Gebhardt and Josh Dredge as well as a very good display by Michael Fifii. It was also good to see Jacob get 90 minutes of football in for the first time in 6 weeks.
Player of the day went to Nik Gebhardt.
We end the league season with a creditable record:
Played 18
Won 16
Drew 1
Lost 1
Goals For 89
Goals Against 16
Points 49
With an average of 5 goals a game we have certainly entertained the division and the great supporters we have had this season.
The lads deserve congratulations for the season, albeit the season has left us marginally short of our number one target of promotion.
The league season has been decided on the smallest of margins in two specific games and bad fortune from games outside of our control - overall it is hard to be critical of the players despite the obvious disappointment.
We now move on to a massive game against Christchurch United next week in the semi-final of the English Cup (venue yet to be decided).
It gives us a chance of avenging our defeat to them, along with giving us the opportunity to make Sunday 14th September a massive day for the club in its inaugural season at English Park, where we trust both men's and ladies 1st teams will be competing in their respective cup finals.
At this point, thanks must go out to Brent Wilson and Mariana for their invaluable assistance with the team. Thanks also to Hughsey, Cappy and Gareth. The three whom I seek opinion and advice from and have leant me great support. Certainly big thanks to Hughsey, who is often the calm to my storm. The guys on the deck and to everyone else that has supported us throughout the season - Thanks!
To the players ………………………… we have two more to go!! Let's finish the season in style.
Yours in Sport
Alan Walker
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
16 August 2008 Christchurch BHS 2 Coastal Spirit 5
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
The 1st team squad have gone through a tough time in the inaugural season as Coastal Spirit and have been complimented on many occasions for their attitude and application. The first 25 minutes of this game was shocking and no compliments were due! The application and desire was missing and they allowed a very lively CBHS team a 2-goal start (which they thoroughly deserved).
Fortunately we turned the game around and won comfortably in the end when we decided to start to play and compete. In the end, it was a 5-2 victory.
Our lads have to realise there is a cup semi-final still to play for and we cannot afford to switch intensity on and off like a light-switch. It has to be 100% all of the time.
Note: We have the opportunity of making Sunday 14th September a momentous occasion for this club in its first year and they still have plenty to play for this season! How good will it be to have both men's and ladies 1st teams representing the club in their respective cup finals at English Park on the same day!!!????
I understand the disappointment of last week's result between Avon and Christchurch United and the manner in which they won, especially when you find out the officials had played over the extra time they were allocating! However, each player we have has the opportunity to get a medal from this season for their efforts, something I believe they thoroughly deserve. …………………. They now have to have the desire to take it!?
Back to the game:
Team:
Andrew Richardson, Marc Capstick, Jonathan Gough, Aaron Corkhilll, Ben Leith, Michael Berry, James Stewart, Michael Fifii, Gareth Turnbull, Ashley Welbourne, Niklas Gebhardt.
Subs: Jason Stapley, Josh Dredge, Ryan Stewart, Jacob Egues, Connor Chellew.
We started sluggishly (it was plain to see) as we missed tackles and looked like we didn't want to run (and this was only in the first two minutes).
The ball was crossed into our box from the right hand side, a header was missed by Aaron Corkhilll and a flat footed Michael Berry stooped and deflected the ball into the corner of our goal. 1-0 to Boys' High.
This was the pattern for the next 20 minutes and Boys' High continued to look threatening with their quick attack, good movement and hard-working midfield.
The second goal was well worked by Boys' High as they carved open a chance which was well finished. 2-0 to Boys' High.
It took a tremendous run by Nik Gebhardt to get us back into the game, as he jinked his way around 3 or 4 players to get off a good strike on goal which was saved, but promptly finished by Gareth Turnbull. 2-1.
Good work by Michael Fifii down the right hand side saw Ash Welbourne create space for himself and, with a neat and composed touch, he calmly finished off a good move. 2-2 and we were back in the game.
It was good to see Ash Welbourne back playing football again after a lengthy lay-off from a bad ankle injury. It was also good to see him back on the score sheet.
We carved out 3 or 4 further chances which went amiss, but at least it was starting to feel like we had woken up to the game!
Just after half time saw the introduction of Jacob Egues, back after breaking a toe, and the cavalry (Stapes) for Michael Berry and Ash.
We started to pass the ball and link-up for the first time in the game and, although Boys' High looked threatening on the break, the game didn't look in doubt once we had gone ahead 3-2.
Josh Dredge also came on to replace Ben Leith.
A neatly taken goal by Gareth Turnbull, an own goal (which Stapes is trying to claim) and a deflected Nik Gebhardt drive saw us run-out 5-2 winners on the day.
The positives were to see Jacob and Ash back playing again, as well as the stand-out efforts from Michael Fifii and Nik Gebhardt. Josh Dredge also came in and looked comfortable in an unfamiliar position to him.
Nik was chosen as player of the day and deserved his goal for the threat he possessed and his adaptation to two different positions through the match.
The half-time bollocking (Ben I hope I am allowed to report that) was a bit strange, as the lads were strangely subdued and there appeared to be a lot of coughing and spluttering. It was only after the game you realise that Ben, Aaron and two or three others had been struggling with flu. It was more like a doctor's waiting lounge than a football dressing room!?
Today saw us score our 96th goal in 20 competitive league and cup games (99 if you include the pre-season cup). It would be great if we could finish the season by scoring 100 competitive goals!!!??
News of the day saw Christchurch United secure the league after being 1-0 up at half-time, they went on to beat bottom club North Canterbury 6-0.
Congratulations must go to United for going through their league campaign undefeated and, no matter how they have done it and the narrowness and fortune of some of their victories; it is no mean feat to achieve.
Our best wishes go to them for their play-off games against Richmond, whom I am sure they will be too strong for.
It is not only the 1st team that has gone a bit flat over the past couple of weeks; it appears that the weather and lack of football lately has affected the enthusiasm throughout the club.
Let's re-inject the passion we had at the outset of this fantastic amalgamation for the coming weeks.
The men's 1st team and ladies 1st team have certainly been afforded great support from the club this season and we still have three trophies to play for, as well as the men's reserves still in with a shout in the league.
Let us see everyone (players, board, coaches, supporters, etc) make one last concerted effort at the business end of the season and finish it in style …… with some silverware!
And when that is done I will be calling for everyone to have a rest and then get off their bums in the close-season to support the Under-19s in the South Island tournament we are hosting and then set everything in motion for a better 2nd season!?
Next Saturday sees us entertain Cashmere at Bexley, 2.30pm KO for our last league game and we trust we can sign-off with a victory and our 100th competitive goal of the season to say thank you to all the support that has been given to us!
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
2 August 2008 Universities 2 Coastal Spirit 8
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
Another fine win, another scoring spree, another strange linesman/referee decision, another Stapes hat-trick, another boggy pitch and another performance that keeps us 1 point behind Utd at the top.
That just about sums up the game.
Team:
Mark Sutcliffe, Marc Capstick, Paul Hughes, Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Nik Gebhardt, Aaron Corkhilll, Michael Fifii, Gareth Turnbull, Ryan Stewart, Jason Stapley.
Subs; Michael Berry, James Stewart, Richardson, Josh Dredge.
We had the pleasure of supporting the ladies team on the same pitch at Cuthberts prior to our match and it surprisingly held-up well, although far from perfect.
It was good to get the match on and the players didn't disappoint the supporters by running-out easy winners and scoring 8 goals.
On his fourth chance, Stapes finally opened the scoring to take us into the lead.
Skippy and Fifii were again causing a threat down the outside and with neat link-up play by Gareth we threatened to tear the Universities side apart.
Skippy was having his best game in a Coastal Spirit shirt as he danced past a number of players, however, his final delivery was woeful and many times Stapes and Gareth stood in open space wondering when he would ever deliver the ball to them!????
Anyway, he didn't need to, the next chance he danced past 4 or 5 Uni players and he let a fierce right footed drive crash into the back of the net from a tight angle. Well deserved for Skippy and the team, 2-0.
Ben Leith stood up went into a crunching tackle, his foot connected solidly with the ball, the player went over from the strong challenge, Leithal came away with the ball - a free-kick awarded against him!? Strange decision for what was a great tackle, something that is an art-form in itself, but seems to be starting to be deemed as not for football these days. How long until we are playing non-contact football.
Anyway, the ball was sent into the area, we failed to clear (something we must eradicate prior to the semi-final) and the ball ended up in the back of the net. 2-1.
Cappy ventured forward to do the same and crashed a sweet strike into the roof of the net from a tight angle to give the keeper no chance and put him one ahead of Gareth in the scoring stakes!? 3-1.
Fifii scored another to make it 4-1 and Stapes his second of the game to make it 5-1.
The only sour note was to see Michael Fifii go off injured after a collision with the big keeper from Universities as he came hurtling out of his goal.
The second half was dire, after we had already completed the job. We scored 3 more goals and they scored one.
Stapes added two of the goals to take his personally tally for the game to 4 and his season's tally over 30. Josh Dredge had come on as a substitute along with Michael Berry and Jimmy Stewart. Josh scored a well taken goal from the left hand side.
We conceded another poor goal from a long ball over the top of the defence, but by this time the simple game we had been playing had long before become over-complicated and we had started to do everything that we shouldn't (as I am sure the lads are fully aware).
The game finished 8-2 and we have successfully overcome another obstacle that could have been a problem.
Skippy, Ben Leith and Nik Gebhardt were the stand-out players for us today. However, player-of-the-day went to Captain, Marc Capstick.
With Utd winning against Christchurch Boys' High School team 2-0, we are still left 1 point adrift at the top.
We have a game against Cashmere to overcome next week at Bexley (weather permitting) which I believe will be a lot closer affair than the 4-0 and 7-2 victories over them previously.
We again thank all those that are behind us in the quest for promotion and we certainly appreciate the support we are receiving on the sidelines.
We cannot influence anything that happens over at Riccarton Domain next week, however, we can sign-off our home games at Bexley unbeaten as a thank-you to the guys supporting us on the deck and those people behind the scenes for everything that has been done this season, the inaugural season of Coastal Spirit FC.
There is still one hell of a lot to play for this season and I trust the players are going to carry the fight to the end!?
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
26 July 2008 Coastal Spirit 2 Mid Canterbury 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
After a week of wet weather and Bexley closed, it was good to get the game on at a very sticky Eric Adam Park. It was also good to secure 3 points with 6 of our senior squad players unavailable.
It was a game that said farewell to Symon Beedles as he embarks on his trip to Australia to try to further his football career and appropriate it should be at EAP where he has performed with distinction over the past 3 seasons.
The team:
Mark Sutcliffe, Symon Beedles, Aaron Corkhilll, Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Nik Gebhardt, Michael Berry, Ryan Stewart, Michael Fifii, Gareth Turnbull, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Chris Williams, Dougie Hyde.
Mid Canterbury travelled up to Christchurch with a scratch side that had been made-up of a number of under-19 players from their youth set-up and great credit must be paid to them for the way they applied themselves.
We started the game with a vast majority of possession and released Ryan Stewart and Michael Fifii down the flanks on a number of occasions without carving out too many clear-cut opportunities.
Jason Stapley and Gareth Turnbull went close on a number of occasions, but with such a sticky surface on which to play, along with resolute defending by Mid Canty, it was proving difficult to gain the goal to get us started.
Michael Fifii had a header cleared off the line from a Ryan Stewart early cross and was then narrowly wide with a follow-up header from an early Aaron Corkhilll return-ball into the box.
Sloppy defending allowed Mid Canterbury a breakaway chance that was thwarted and they were very unlucky to not score from the resulting corner, something their efforts and commitment may have deserved.
The half-time score: 0-0.
There are some games that are never going to be pretty and you have to play simple, percentage football and work hard to grind-out the result - this was one of them. Our first-half display, although dominant and on a poor playing surface, did not provide a determined attitude to the game. We had strolled through the first half at times, particularly out of possession. We needed to up our game to avoid this becoming a banana skin and subsequently the end of our league season.
In fairness to the players, the reaction was positive throughout in the second half.
The second half saw Aaron Corkhilll, Michael Berry and Nik Gebhardt, in particular, start to get a grip of the game in a more determined fashion. This spread throughout the team and we started to dominate all over the field as we played our football in the better half of the pitch.
After a few close shaves from Gareth, Jason and Fifii, plus a very good save from their keeper, it was left to Jason Stapley to open our account with a slightly fortunate goal. His shot was saved low down to the bottom right hand corner and pushed on to the post. It quickly rebounded onto the keeper's head and finished in the back of the net for the opening we needed. 1-0.
Michael Berry then added a second with a well-taken low drive to give us some comfort and take us into a well-deserved 2-0 lead.
The players started to apply themselves well and, although the movement of the ball was a little slow, we continued to threaten and could have increased our lead.
Michael Fifii and Gareth Turnbull made way for Chris Williams and Dougie Hyde. At this point I must credit Chris Williams on his excellent attitude to the training, the club and the team this season, which have been a credit to him and a great example to everyone.
Nik Gebhardt went on a mazy run from the left hand side, going past three or four defenders and was unfortunate not to get a reward at the end of it.
Symon Beedles was pushed further forward to see if he could get a "going away" goal. He should have! In the last moments of the game and with the ball at his feet no more than 6 yards out, Symon somehow managed to sky his shot over the bar for the miss of the day.
The game finished at 2-0 and a good job was done in the second half by the players to avoid any unnecessary slip-ups.
Nik Gebhardt, and Symon Beedles were the stand-out players today, along with a neat and tidy performance from Mark Sutcliffe in goal. Well played Mark!
We have three further league matches against Universities, Cashmere and Chch Boys' High; 9 points is a must from these games, which means the players applying themselves positively over the next three weeks.
We also have the build-up towards a cup semi-final with Christchurch Utd. There are places to be played for as we aim to gain some silverware for the club and a reward for the season's hard work.
Best wishes go with Symon Beedles, who was today's Captain, and we hope to hear of his successes in the future. He would also be welcomed back to the club at any time.
Further results from today showed Christchurch United winning 2-0 against Shirley Boys' to leave us still one point behind, and Cashmere beating Avon 4-3 (we just hope that Frank gets his Avon players on form for August 9th!?)
Good day today. We played football and we won. Can't think of a better way of spending a Saturday afternoon!
PS: Happy 21st birthday to Goughy for tomorrow!!
Cheers
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
19 July 2008 Cashmere 2 Coastal Spirit 7
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
If there is one thing that Coastal Spirit 1st team has done this season, it's to provide an open and passing style of football, creating and scoring plenty of goals. The team has scored, entertained and won their matches with flair. The players must be complimented on this.
This continued today in a thoroughly deserved, 7-2 victory over 3rd placed Cashmere on a sticky pitch at Hillmorton Hospital.
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Symon Beedles, Paul Hughes, Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Nik Gebhardt, Marc Capstick, Jacob Egues, Gareth Turnbull, Michael Fifii, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Ryan Stewart, Aaron Corkhilll, James Stewart.
After the elation/disappointment of last week we had a tricky tie to overcome against a 3rd placed Cashmere team with a number of former MPL players within their team and a strike force of Ramzi Toumi and Greg Feutz.
The game started on a sticky pitch and, with the breeze at our backs, we immediately pushed on the attack and started to press the Cashmere goal.
Gareth Turnbull was the first to score after good work by Jacob Egues and Jason Stapley forcing a save from the Cashmere keeper. Gareth coolly controlled and slotted the ball home from 6 yards. 1-0 after 3 mins.
Cashmere tried to play out of the back and a loose pass was latched on to by Jason Stapley, as he opened his account for the day with a well-taken finish. 2-0 after 7 mins.
A few minutes later Stapes was again bearing down on goal and, with two players free to the left hand side, was he going to pass? No friggin chance!! His shot was blazed wide, but you just know the next one will not go the same way.
Jonathan Gough picked up the ball from just inside the half-way line and ventured forward. As he saw a gap opening up he let fly from 30+ metres and his thunderbolt cannoned straight into the top corner of the net!? In reality, Jacob Egues curled a quality free kick over the back of the Cashmere defence beyond the far post. The ball looked like it was heading out for a dead-ball kick until Goughy got his size 18 left boot (with tape) on to the ball and squeezed it home from an impossible angle. He deserved his goal, but it was hard to see how it could ever have got there! 3-0 and big smiles for Goughy.
A good corner from Symon Beedles was cleared to the edge of the area. Nik Gebhardt waited and steadied himself and hit the sweetest of volleys to "narrowly" clear the bar.
We took our foot off the gas for a few minutes and started to allow Cashmere to win a greater percentage of the loose ball. This resulted in a breakaway, down our left hand side, where we failed to effectively compete for the ball. It came across into the area and was despatched to give Cashmere a way back into the game. 3-1.
We need to be assured in our defending and not be frustrated or edgy when under pressure. The next five minutes saw Cashmere put us under pressure and a further chance went amiss for them, with Ribsey pulling off a fine save.
The pressure was short-lived and a three goal lead was soon restored as Jacob Egues opened his account (I think).
With half-time approaching it was down to that man again, Jason Stapley, to show what a clinical finisher he is as he added another couple of goals to complete his hat-trick.
A 6-1 lead at half-time and an emphatic job done. Congrats to the attitude and application of the players.
The 2nd half saw the introduction of James Stewart, Ryan Stewart and Aaron Corkhilll for Jason Stapley, Mark Capstick and Ben Leith.
Credit to Cashmere for continuing to make a game of it and they grabbed themselves a 2nd goal against the run of play to make it 6-2.
Jimmy Stewart scored a well-struck goal to restore a five goal margin.
Paul Hughes was moved out to left back and made some pacey, foraging runs forward …….. but his return to defensive duties took a little longer!? For the record, Hughsey had a solid game all-round.
Ryan Stewart, Jacob Egues and Michael Fifii continued to work hard, with Gareth Turnbull dropping into a central midfield role alongside Nik Gebhardt pulling the strings and stroking the ball around.
Although it was a difficult pitch on which to play football, it was a credit to the players in the way they continued to try to pass the ball.
In particular, the work at the centre of midfield by Nik Gebhardt did not go unnoticed and for me he was Player of the Day, ahead of hat-trick hero Stapley.
It had taken Nik a while to adjust to his position, however, his positional sense and understanding was now showing and he deserved his acclaim today.
The officials were again very good (the fourth good performance in the last five outings from the officials - well done! It would be remiss of me to express thoughts on the negative one).
It was a well-won victory. 7-2 by Coastal Spirit, which still leaves us 1 point adrift of Christchurch United, following their win over Avon.
With only a handful of league games to go, it's imperative that we win all our remaining games. That is all we can do.
I repeat myself by stating that the season is too short (with only 2 rounds and 18 games). With the league clearly showing two teams head and shoulders above the rest it will be a shame for either team to have the whole season based on two matches with some key decisions influencing the outcome.
The schools appear to be with us in this league for one season only. However, what shape would the league take with 3 rounds between the top four sides and 9 competitive games between them, instead of 6?
We shall continue to play football our way and I trust the lads from Coastal Spirit will be rewarded in due course for their great efforts. These lads are a pleasure to be a part of and I trust the people that watch us also believe so.
The league is still there to be had (we have to do our job in the remaining matches!) and there is still the reward of an English Cup semi-final to play, with the chance of competing against 2nd placed Nomads in the final.
It's still all there to play for and let's get behind them and show the "spirit" that has been there from the start of the season.
We now look forward to entertaining Mid Canterbury at Bexley next Saturday.
We also look forward to your continued support and positive vibes. Thank you.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
12 July 2008 Coastal Spirit 3 Chch Utd 3
Photo: Chris Andrews.
More photos here
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
What a game! What a finish!
In a game we needed to win, it is difficult to decide whether the result was disappointing or a fantastic point earned!? We will take it as a fantastic point that keeps our promotion hopes alive.
One point separates us from Christchurch Utd at the top of the table and with only a handful of games to go, it's almost certain to go to the last kick of the season to decide who goes into the play-offs.
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Ryan Stewart, Paul Hughes, Aaron Corkhilll, Jonathan Gough, Nik Gebhardt, Marc Capstick, Symon Beedles, Gareth Turnbull, Jacob Egues, Michael Fifii.
Subs:
Michael Berry, James Stewart, Ekow Quaino, Jason Stapley, Ben Leith, Mark Sutcliffe.
Our players were slow out of the traps, going against the wind and into the sun. We looked nervous and tentative in the first few minutes, as Christchurch United looked fired-up for the occasion and started to press on Ribsey's goal. The pressure didn't create any clear-cut openings. However, Utd were clearly dominating the early stages.
Just when it looked like the lads had weathered the storm, a long punt up the middle after 15 minutes caused problems to our central defence and Utd dispatched the chance to go 1-0 up.
Michael Fifii had a chance to even-up the score as he raced through on goal, using his pace, only to see a weak shot go straight at the keeper.
Moments later, another long punt up the middle from Utd caused concern and landed over Aaron Corkhilll. The bouncing ball was not dealt with early enough and hard chasing from the Utd forward paid off, when he lobbed the ball over the advancing Ribsey for a 2-0 lead.
Although not pretty, the pressing and work-rate of the Christchurch United team was paying dividends and it now gave us an uphill challenge.
Jacob Egues looked threatening down the left-hand side and he delivered a great ball towards the far post which was stabbed home by Skippy, only for it to be ruled offside by the linesman. Feedback assures me it was a tough call on us, but we needed to get over that and get back in the game.
Jason Stapley entered as a substitute for Skippy, as part of a tactical switch after 35 minutes.
Jacob Egues had a series of chances one after the other, as the ball was blocked and rebounded to him. Another chance came to Jacob after a Stapley set-up, only for the shot to be blazed over the bar.
Although we were going in at half-time 2-0 down, this Coastal Spirit team has lots of goals in it and had created 4 or 5 good chances in a half in which it had played poorly.
Half-time: CSFC 0 Christchurch Utd 2
Our position went from bad to worse after a few minutes of the second half, when we failed to win three tackles in the midfield and gave away a soft free-kick, with set-plays always going to be the biggest threat from Utd.
The ball was hoisted into the box and, as Ribsey came out to take it the ball, continued to sail into the net flowing a collision with the Utd centre forward. A free-kick was not awarded and Utd went ahead 3-0, leaving a huge mountain to climb.
Michael Fifii was booked for an innocuous push for the only yellow card of the game, which was surprising considering the number of hefty challenges taking place in a heavily contested match.
Christchurch Utd is a competitive team and they have a number of experienced players. They play to their strengths and have a work ethic that is tremendous. They continued to spoil the play and took as much time as possible on restarts, particularly the keeper, which, although frustrating, was fully understandable in their position. It's not pretty, but effective.
At this point, I must also pay compliment to two Utd players in Mitch and the tremendous Danny Attwell, who for me gave an immense performance and was far and away the catalyst for most that was good in their game. They all competed well, but Danny remained the stand-out player for me.
Coastal Spirit started to dominate possession and press Utd for a goal to get them back into the game, but with Utd defending resolutely and Mitch at the heart of it, the two banks of 4 put-up by Utd were proving hard to break down.
With less than 20 minutes to go, we got a lifeline with a well taken goal from Jason Stapley. Symon Beedles had worked well down the right to create an opening.
As we entered the last few minutes, it looked like the game was starting to get beyond us until, with 2 minutes to go, we won a corner on the right hand side.
Jacob Egues delivered the ball into the near post, where Jonathan Gough flicked it on to Jason Stapley, who deflected the ball in off a defender's shoulder.
3-2 to Utd and we may have a last chance!?
Two minutes later and well into injury time we got the equaliser!!! The detail was bit sketchy on how it arrived in there, other than to say it was reported to have gone in off the face of Gareth Turnbull after an inviting cross into the box of bodies.
Massive credit to the lads! They sensed in the last few minutes that Utd were out on their feet and they continued to press to try to get something from the game. Overall, I believe they deserved the reward of the equaliser, despite the nature and lateness of the goal.
Given another few minutes of play we believe we could have taken all 3 points, but that was not to be.
As said previously, we will take it as a fantastic point that keeps our promotion hopes alive!
With only a handful of games to go, we must ensure we pick-up the maximum points available - including tough games against Cashmere - but, with a one-point gap still the margin, it is sure to go to the wire.
We also have the opportunity to take on United again in the English Cup semi-final and I'm sure the contest will be as equally well contested as the first two encounters.
I must say a big thanks to Brades and Steve Ager for getting the pitch prepared ahead of today's game and also to all of the big number of supporters that came along to watch the match.
In summary, we didn't play as well as we can do, we conceded poor goals. However, the spirit of the lads was tremendous and it was pleasing to see the "never say die" attitude.
Symon Beedles and Michael Fifii's tireless work was excellent, as well as Nik Gebhardt and Marc Capstick in midfield, but our goal-scoring machine of Jason Stapley was Player of the Day.
I still maintain the league is not long enough and, with only 18 games and 2 rounds to play, it places higher emphasis on the two games we have played against Utd. Why can't we start to get into a situation with all the leagues where we play one round against each team and then the league is split into two halves, with two or three further rounds to be played against the top sides? This way you will have more competitive football and a greater opportunity for the best side to finish top.
We carry on and stay focused on our jobs and look forward to a competitive game at Cashmere next week, whilst Utd entertain Avon.
Thanks again to all that attended the game.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
28 June 2008 Coastal Spirit 6 SBHS 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
Another good result, another hat-trick for Stapes and another 3 points earned as we build ourselves towards the biggest game of the season in two weeks time.
In terrible cold and wet conditions, the application from the players was excellent and with 5 players unavailable for selection, it did not distract from the job in hand against an improving Shirley Boys' team.
The Team:
Andrew Richardson, Ryan Stewart, Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Symon Beedles, Michael Fifii, Jimmy Stewart, Nik Gebhardt, Jacob Egues, Jason Stapley, Gareth Turnbull.
Subs:
Ekow Quaino, Brennan Pitts, Drew Solakoff.
Shirley Boys' were holding 5th position in the league and with a 5-1 result the previous week they would certainly be in good spirits.
The rain and the cold meant it was wiser to warm-up inside, although the aerobics session headed by Michael Fifii may have been better placed in a Les Mills female beginner's class!
We started off the game quite brightly and, as Shirley dropped-off to defend, it was up to us to move the ball around and break them down. We had the majority of the possession and moved the ball around without opening them up too much in the first ten minutes.
After 15 mins the Shirley keeper threw out the ball to their full back on a slippery surface who failed to get it under control. Michael Fifii was alive to this and was quick to close him down and steal the ball from him. He attacked the goal and a pile-driving shot (?) found the bottom corner of net to give us a 1-0 lead. Mikey removed the divot off his toe-end!
We continued to play the ball around and link play quite well in conditions that made it difficult. However, earlier ball movement will help us in the games to come.
Jason Stapley got in on the act and scored a well-taken goal following good build-up from midfield. 2-0 to Coastal Spirit and looking good value for it.
Stapes again went through on goal from a tight angle and with Jacob, Gareth and Fifii inside of him he chose to go for goal and blazed it over from short range - but who can blame him with his recent scoring exploits!!!!!
Good passing and movement resulted in Symon Beedles being released down the right. He cut inside and delivered a ball hard and low from the byline across the 6-yard box. Gareth Turnbull was there to turn the ball into the goal for his first Coastal goal, much to the delight of the deck supporters - who were not on the deck, but inside in the warmth and the dry of the clubhouse.
We went in 3-0 ahead at half-time and good value for it, although Shirley were positive enough in their intent to break-away when the opportunity arose.
The 2nd half was more pleasing for me, as the players continued to apply themselves well and hit the targets of a clean sheet and 3 further goals.
The fourth goal came from Jason Stapley, as he latched on to a mis-hit shot by Gareth, one that he swears blind was a pin-point pass!? Anyway, Jason ran through one:one with the keeper and coolly slotted the ball away.
Brennan Pitts and Drew Solakoff came on for Michael Fifii and Jacob Egues in order to rest them after the previous few weeks recovering from injury and slowly feeling their way back into it.
Brennan and Drew had just come from a great 2nd team victory at Avon, coming back from 3-1 down to win 4-3. Brennan has played in the first team previously this season. However it was great to see Drew make his first team debut. Both acquitted themselves very well and, I hope, shall get further chances in the weeks to come.
Drew has recently received some fantastic news, as he has been selected to the NZ Under-15 three training camps being held through this year. Congrats Drew and you go with the best wishes and support of all at Coastal Spirit!
Our fifth goal came as Gareth Turnbull coolly slotted home his chance into the bottom left hand corner to make it his second goal of the game.
The race was on as to who was going to score their hat-trick between Gareth and Stapes? It was Stapes that added the last goal to complete his hat-trick and make it 6-0 to Coastal Spirit.
It was an all-round performance and each player had their own merits in the game today. Well done lads - to all 14 players!
We work by the ethic "if it's not for the team, then it's not for us!" and the players certainly epitomised this today as they set-out completing a tricky game in poor conditions and achieved a good result in a very authoritative manner.
As a note to the officials; it is the 2nd week on the trot we can come out and compliment all three officials on the handling of the game. Their decision-making, approachable manner and general communication was excellent and deserves praise. Well done lads and I hope this filters through to Mainland.
As for our lads, we have a Christchurch Boys' High game to look forward to next week in preparation for the Christchurch United game on 12th July at our home ground of Bexley.
Bexley has served us well this season and we trust it shall continue to do so in the coming weeks to maintain our 100% home record.
It now comes down to the business end of the season and with a league and the English Cup up for grabs, we have positioned ourselves so that we can turn it into a successful and rewarding season. A season we must not forget is the inaugural season of Coastal Spirit.
The application, discipline and attitude of the players over the coming weeks will determine what this inaugural season will reward us with!?
Have we got the mettle for it? I say yes, no doubt! These players have grown through this season and they will be there for each other right to the end.
We shall put every ounce of effort and commitment into making sure this a winning season and be prepared to run through a brick wall for any of our team-mates. Let us all help make this season of success for the Club. Success that is deserved for the club as well as the players ……… but yet to be earned!
We need to do this together and we need to be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen! We all have a role to play.
Me - I'm looking forward to training on Tuesday, as it gets to the tough and testing part of the season I love so much. Bring it on.
It was a good and satisfying day today, but that only counts a little towards the end of season goal.
I can't sign-off without thanking Brent Wilson for his continual support as manager, Paul Hughes for his invaluable and calm nature and Mariana and Karl for their sterling work as physio's support.
Thanks must also go the players for their work so far this season, it's been tremendous - now we don't let ourselves down and we get on with it and finish the job!
Yours in sport
Alan
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
21 June 2008 Avon 0 Coastal Spirit 3
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
With Avon's unbeaten record at home over the last two years this was a huge hurdle to overcome and the lads didn't disappoint in a tremendous result that was thoroughly deserved!
Although I have openly admitted to the lads I have been a grump lately, I can honestly say this was the most pleasing result so far this season. As I knew it could have been a big problem for us and after issues before the game the lads focused on doing the job well - Big congrats.
Jason Stapley - what can you say? - As good a 20 minute hat-trick you will ever see!? He was awesome throughout a 20 minute period in the 1st half and put the result out of Avon's reach with some clinical finishing.
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Ryan Stewart, Paul Hughes, Aaron Corkhilll, Jonathan Gough, Niklaus Gebhardt, Marc Capstick, Michael Fifii, Jacob Egues, Gareth Turnbull, Jason Stapley.
Subs:
Jimmy Stewart, Symon Beedles, Ekow Quaino, Ben Leith.
The bumpy pitch was not in the best condition for football and with a blinding sun in our eyes, making it very difficult to defend, Avon put under tremendous pressure in the first 15 minutes.
Avon had the first two goal-scoring opportunities and could have taken the lead. As it was, we kept the scores level and started to build some momentum around the game.
Once we had got used to the bumpy conditions we started to look dangerous down the right with Michael Fifii looking threatening.
Nik Gebhardt and Marc Capstick worked tirelessly to give us a foundation from which to go forward and Gareth Turnbull effectively started to work his way into the game.
Then came Stapley time; the first was more down to his individual effort after he received a threaded pass through midfield. He teased the defence as he jinked one way and the next and made his way at pace into the box. Once he made the space to get away his shot it was clinically dispatched into the bottom corner. Great goal, 1-0!
The second came a few minutes later after Jacob Egues worked hard to close down the Avon goalkeeper following a back pass on a very bumpy surface. Jacob knew this would be a problem to the keeper who only managed to spoon the ball into the air as it bobbled along before his attempted clearance. Jacob latched onto the ball and, with a great touch, squared it across the box. Stapes was alive to this and, as it bounced across, many players would have snatched at it. Not Stapes and not today as lashed it into the goal to give us a 2-0 lead.
A great (please note lads: simple!) passing move between Cappy, Stapes and Gareth release Michael Fifii one-on-one with the keeper who denied us a third goal as he saved well.
This was only temporary as Stapes completed his hat-trick with a few minutes remaining to half-time. Details of the goal remain sketchy, but I'm sure someone will remind me of their great pass or excellent movement to create it!? However, it gave us a comfortable 3-0 lead and one we wouldn't look like surrendering.
The second half saw the introduction of Symon Beedles (for Fifii) and Ben Leith (for Jacob) on 60mins.
Jimmy Stewart also joined the fray on 75mins (for Jason Stapley).
The second half became ugly and disjointed and there was very little from either team as the result had already been sorted out. This is something we have to address - get back to playing 90 minutes of football and get back to a ruthless streak we have previously showed.
The highlight of the half came in the dying seconds as Ben Leith crashed a thunderous shot into the face of the Avon keeper to deny him a goal and our 4th.
The defence started to look commanding with Aaron Corkhilll using his pace to good effect and Paul Hughes looking commanding at the back.
The defence gave us a comfort in the context of the game as it petered out into a dull second half as we constantly tried to make the more difficult pass or individual play to open Avon up.
We can only apologise to the great many people that came to support us for the second half display, but we must understand that we look a thousand times better (as a team/unit/individual) when we play simple football instead of wanting to do that "little bit extra" and "hit winners" or "take on all the opposition".
Many picks for top player today, as on the whole it was an efficient all-round good team display.
In summary, great result, fantastic display of finishing and a solid win that keeps us within one point of Christchurch United.
The results of the past two weeks are going to make it very difficult for Avon and Cashmere getting in on the promotion race and it does now look like a two-team affair, all gearing-up to a critical match at Bexley on 12th July.
Before then we have the two Boys' High teams to play and we must ensure we have maximum points from these games by remaining focused on the job we are doing.
Well done lads!
On another good note, it was good to see Ash Welbourn at the game and recovering from his badly torn ankle ligaments. We are hopeful to have him available again for selection in the coming weeks.
Lastly, thanks again to the many well-wishers and supporters that were at the match and have been getting behind us this season. Your support is well thought of by all within the team. Cheers!!
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
14 June 2008 Coastal Spirit 4 Parklands 1
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
This was the third of three home games on the bounce and it was good to have taken 9pts from these games in front of the loyal deck support.
With Christchurch United having a great result at Cashmere, it places even greater emphasis on concentration in the games against teams outside the top 4 to ensure there are no banana skins. We did the job and ran-out 4-1 winners against a vastly improved Parklands.
The team:
Ribsey, Skippy, Hughsey, Pom, Goughy, Nik, Cappy, Fifii, Beedles, Jacob, Stapes.
Subs: Chris, Michael, Felix, Gareth.
The game started as a scrappy affair, but after a few minutes we started to get our passing game going, on what was proving to be a very bumpy pitch with extra long grass - something we will have to address, as it doesn't help our style of play.
Chances came and went, until Jacob finished off a move through the middle to see us 1-0 up.
A second goal from Stapes came after some excellent interchanging of passes between 4 or 5 players. 2-0 to us and we started to look a better outfit.
Michael Fifii scored a great individual goal, as he danced past 3 Parklands players to lash the ball high into the net.
Skippy went down injured and we were going to make an immediate change, however, with only a minute left to half-time we decided to leave it and wait.
Another 9 or 10 mins later, the referee decided to blow his whistle for half-time after a little prompting and an apology for an error with his watches. No drama, as it happens!?
We went in at half-time 3-0 up.
The second half saw the introduction of Michael Hughes for Skippy and Felix Grant for Paul Hughes.
The second half proved to be a non-event, but Symon Beedles started to play as I know he can and got involved across the field.
Gareth Turnbull came on (for his Coastal Spirit debut) for Stapes and Chris Williams replaced Michael Fifii.
Parklands broke away and pumped a high ball into the box and, after a dropped ball and a scramble, they hooked the ball into the net for a deserved goal for their efforts.
In games like these it is difficult to be concentrate 100% of the time throughout the 90 minutes. However, it is something that we must ensure we achieve to ensure that we do not have any major surprises!
Our three-goal lead was restored following a great cross-field ball from Symon, which was eventually finished by Jacob for his second goal.
A sad note was the injury to Jacob, which saw us play the last few minutes with ten men. We trust he will be back soon, after just getting over a bad injury.
We shall comment little about the No. 9's chances, other than to say that we shall have a sacrificial burning of the shirt in the coming week after the return we have had from it in goals this season!
Job done and now on to Avon next week. It's a game that will certainly be a big test following their win over Nomads in the Chatham Cup on Saturday. Congrats must go to Frank and Avon.
Thanks for your continued support and let's get behind the lads down at Riccarton Domain next week.
Cheers
Alan
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
7 June 2008 Coastal Spirit 3 Nth Canterbury 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
With a southerly blast turning the morning temperature of 12 degrees to 2 degrees by the start of the game and feeling more like minus 12 with the wind-chill, it was never going to be a great game of football.
However, the job was completed well and we ran-out comfortable 3-0 winners.
The Team:
Ribsey, Skippy, Pom, Goughy, Lethal, Beedles, Cappy, Nik, Fifii, Jacob, Jimmy.
Subs: Josh, Stapes, Felix (used) Ekow, Connor.
It was good to welcome Jacob back into the team and, with a change in formation, we set-about the task in hand with the second round of matches.
We settled into the game very quickly and looked comfortable in the roles and tasks we had been given.
Jimmy Stewart was unlucky not to open our account in the first few minutes as we spurned some great approach play against a defensive-minded North Canty side.
It was left to Jacob to welcome his return with a well-taken goal following a fumble by the North Canty keeper after 15 minutes, but it was only what we deserved for our pressure. 1-0.
With Aaron and Goughy looking comfortable at the back and Skippy and Ben having opportunities to venture forward, we continued to dominate with some excellent movement and passing.
The positive nature of our play was rewarded with a second goal from Jacob, following a quick-passing move between four players through the middle of the pitch. 2-0.
Just before half-time, our concentration and discipline was lacking as we gave away a poor corner following bad choices in our last 3rd. Then, from the resulting corner, we gave a free header 6 yards out which we were fortunate to see go wide. Not good enough and something to be learnt.
Half-time came as a welcome warmer and Josh Dredge replaced Marc Capstick, who was feeling ill with pneumonia.
The second half started sloppy but we managed to extend our lead as Jimmy Stewart finished of a move with a powerful near-post shot that sneaked over the line. We are not sure if it was credited to Jimmy or an own-goal!?
Stapes and Felix came on to replace Fifii and Jimmy.
The rest of the second half can be passed-off with little positive to be added, other than to say we were sloppy and ill-disciplined in our play. This is in contrast to the application and efforts I feel the lads have been showing consistently for a number of weeks. That said, we allowed our standards to drop, regardless of the conditions.
I must pay compliment to North Canterbury who did not at any stage give up and continued to work hard to get something from the game.
Ribsey tipped a rising shot onto the bar and a second one:one chance went begging to our visitors. They deserved a goal for their efforts.
The game petered-out to a 3-0 victory and everyone was welcome to get back into the changing rooms to get a warm showers (but there were no warm showers!??? - something we must get sorted).
With all three of our rivals dropping points in previous weeks to teams outside of the top four we must ensure this does not happen to us and we remain focused on every minute of every game.
This also applies to next week's game, as we entertain Parklands at Bexley, 2.30pm Kick Off. We defeated them 9-0 last time round and we shall find each team wanting to step-up their game against us and gain their own scalps along the way. Parklands will be no different and will provide a sterner test than our previous encounter.
The next few weeks will go a long way to shaping our season, as we play Parklands, Avon, SBHS, CBHS and Christchurch United.
Let's keep moving forward and take them one at a time.
Player of the day today, without doubt, Jacob Egues for his first half contribution which sealed the game.
Half-term report:
- We have now played half the league games and see ourselves with 8 wins out of 9.
- I see the season so far as an excellent one.
- We have good players throughout the squad and there is competition in every position.
- We have had one really bad week this season, which resulted in a loss to Utd. However, I feel totally confident in the players we have available to deliver a stronger 2nd half of the season and win the key games we have to come.
- With the sexy bit of a cup semi-final to come we need to ensure we achieve our major objectives and at the same time enjoy the cup.
Thanks for your support today.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
31 May 2008 Coastal Spirit 7 Universities 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
Football takes a back seat when you see a young player like Ashley Welbourn taken away in an ambulance following a painful challenge; however, there is good news that he has no broken bones. He has suffered severe ankle ligament damage and our best wishes go out to him for a speedy recovery.
The game itself was another well-worked win, with the players again showing good application, something that will be asked for every week from now until the end of the season!
Marc Capstick is now starting to grow into his role as captain and his responsibilities on the pitch. He was excellent today and is also now setting standards he must not allow himself or the team to fall below.
Symon Beedles was again excellent and deserved the 4 goals that would have given him player of the day in most matches.
The team:
Connor Chellew, Ryan Stewart, Paul Hughes, Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Symon Beedles, Nik Gebhardt, Marc Capstick, Ekow Quaino, Jason Stapley, Ash Welbourn.
Subs: Michael Fifii, Andrew Richardson, Jimmy Stewart, Josh Dredge, Michael Berry.
With Aaron Corkhilll away and Michael Fifii rested, in came Skippy and Ash to replace them from last week's 7-0 win at Mid Canterbury.
The game started well with Ekow Quaino making a forceful and direct run down the left for a quality whipped-in cross that Stapes and the University keeper challenged for. As it skidded between them, Beedles finished with a great first time drive as it skipped-up off the turf. 1-0.
We started to get to grips with the game and, despite Stapes uncharacteristically missing a couple of chances (note: prior to today he had a scoring record of a goal every 16 to 17 minutes!), we scored a further goal from Symon Beedles as he again finished well. 2-0.
The best goal of the game was the 3rd goal by Ash Welbourn. Paul Hughes won a ball at centre back and passed early to Nik Gebhardt. Ash moved to receive the ball and dropped it off back to Nik for a return pass. Quick and decisive, it opened up the defence for Ash to run through and send a bullet of a shot into the top left hand corner of the goal from 20 yards, leaving the keeper no chance. Great move, great goal - 3-0.
The game was then delayed for 30 mins whilst the ambulance came to sort-out Ashley after a challenge with the Universities keeper, who cannot be held to blame.
Jimmy Stewart replaced Ashley and gave some entertaining moments throughout his time on the pitch.
With 7 ½ minutes remaining to half-time, we had the option to take half-time early and forgo the remaining minutes. We chose to decline this and it was to our benefit, as we scored two goals in this time.
A customary Stapes finish and yep, a Beedles hat-trick goal, saw us go in for a 5-minute break with a 5-0 lead.
Congrats to Symon, as he deserved his rewards for the tireless effort he puts in... as long as he doesn't get lazy in his defensive duties!
The 2nd half saw Stapes score a second goal and Beedles go on to record a 4th goal. 7-0.
Josh Dredge, Michael Berry and Michael Fifii replaced Cappy, Ekow and Skippy in the 2nd half, along with Ribsey coming on for the last few minutes as a replacement for Stapes!
Jimmy Stewart came off after his goal-less exploits and numerous opportunities, which were certainly entertaining the faithful on the deck. Deflected shots, balls cleared off the lines and one woeful miss contributed to a blank sheet for Jimmy, which, on another day could have been 4! All entertaining and value for money.
The only sour note was the dismissal of Michael Berry. I sympathize for Michael in the first instance, as he was initially booked for a covering tackle that I considered one of the best and cleanest tackles of the game, when he denied a goal-scoring opportunity. He was later kicked off the ball after winning a good challenge, which went unnoticed by the referee. What cannot be condoned is back-chat to the referee that followed.
The team, me included, must understand that no matter what personal opinion is surrounding a refereeing decision, right or wrong, it must be taken in good faith and accepted without question!
I would also ask that the officials improve their communication with players and staff and understand it is a two-way relationship. If there is more dialogue and an open understanding of each other in an open relationship, then the game will become less fractious and more enjoyable for all. I shall stop at that, but the last two-weeks have been a great learning curve to all the first team in the disciplines required to succeed.
Again, a great job done in winning the game well and with Christchurch United dropping an unexpected two points against Shirley Boys we find ourselves 1 point behind them after 8 games (out of 18) played.
We now start out on the 2nd round of games, with the Cashmere game held over to the end of the season and entertain North Canterbury and Parklands at Bexley in the coming two weeks.
Well-played to-date lads and respect to your drive and focus - do not let that drop as we have numerous obstacle to overcome to make the season a success!
Look forward to seeing you down at Bexley next week and thanks again for the well-wishes and support.
Cheers
Alan Walker
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
24 May 2008 Mid-Canterbury 0 Coastal Spirit 7
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
It was back to winning ways on our road-trip to Ashburton, as we safely dispatched Mid Canterbury 7-0 in a game that saw Jason Stapley score another hat-trick and Captain Cappy score what must be described as the "goal of the season".
The team:
Andrew Richardson, Aaron Corkhilll, Paul Hughes, Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Symon Beedles, Marc Capstick, Nik Gebhardt, Michael Fifii, Jimmy Stewart, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Michael Berry, Connor Chellew, Ryan Stewart, Ekow Quaino, Ash Welbourn.
The attitude and application of the players was superb, for a match that could have been a banana skin, after Mid Canterbury had held Christchurch United to a 1 goal loss and only conceded 9 goals in their 6 league games to date.
The weather was miserable and the short-length pitch was very bumpy, which could have affected the attitude of the lads. Thankfully it didn't and credit to them for a job well done.
Jacob Egues was out injured; however, it was good to welcome Jason Stapley back following his recent injury.
It took Jay all of 1 minute to see he was back to his old self as we immediately went onto the attack down the right with good work between Aaron and Symon, who delivered the ball into the box for Stapes to coolly dispatch for the first goal with his first touch. 1-0.
Four minutes later it was a repeat story. The ball was crossed in for Jimmy Stewart to win a header down to Jay, who again coolly dispatched for his second goal (with only his 2nd touch!). 2-0 and a good job our travelling support had arrived on time.
We had asked for us to start being a little more ruthless and disciplined in our play and it was pleasing to see the lads were applying themselves well, with Cappy and Nik pulling the strings in the middle and Aaron and Symon terrorizing them down the right side.
As we continued to press, Symon turned inside from the right wing to cross the ball in on his left foot. The ball looped up in the air 5 to 10 metres outside the area. Cappy saw an opportunity to venture forward and attacked the ball. He hit the volley as sweet as a nut and it was no surprise to see it bullet into the top left hand corner. A great strike and a great goal! 3-0.
Cappy did try to claim he had scored one similar a number of years ago, but we think it was more likely to have been at under-11s in a 5-a-side game!!!
Although we had taken a comfortable 3-0 lead, we allowed our team-play to become sloppy and ill-disciplined for a 15 minute period, which is not acceptable.
Last week we stopped doing the things that make us look good, with simple passing and movement and it was a lesson we needed to have learnt. For a sloppy 15 minutes our choices became questionable, as we lost our way. The message is loud and clear to the players: focus and discipline at all times will get you into good habits for when you are put under pressure in the bigger games we are yet to encounter.
The 2nd half started with Ekow Quaino replacing Michael Fifii. The players also had a target of equalling their first-half score and ensuring we kept a clean sheet.
We got straight back into it and in the 52nd minute, Stapes picked-up the ball on the left wing at the halfway line. As he went past one and tricked his way past another, he started to bear down on goal and, as the keeper advanced, Stapes brilliantly slotted the ball inside the near post for a well-deserved hat-trick. 4-0.
A job well done by Stapes and he was promptly replaced by Ashley Welbourn, as well as Skippy (Ryan Stewart) replacing Symon Beedles to make his 1st team debut.
Nik Gebhardt continued the scoring, as he dispatched a free-kick from 22 metres via a deflection. 5-0.
Cappy again found himself in an advanced position and, after his first effort on goal was charged down, he reacted quickly and a well-struck right foot shot found its way into the back of the net. 6-0.
Skippy showed his pace and ability as he, yes, skipped past his man down the right side and delivered a quality ball into the area, where Ash had timed his run perfectly and then calmly stroked the ball into the corner of the net, with a cool finish and deserved goal. 7-0.
The lads had to be congratulated on meeting their 2nd half targets and the much-improved defence now needs to build on this and ensure a clean-sheet becomes the norm in the coming weeks.
Marc Capstick was our Player-of-the-Day, as he showed a greater discipline in his play (except for the left-footed cross-field pass!? 9) and scored two goals, the first one which was a pleasure to see.
Jimmy Stewart, Aaron Corkhilll and Nik Gebhardt showed improved form and were a credit to the team and themselves.
All 16 players were excellent today and we must continue to drive ourselves forward and take out the element of chance in any game by continuing to stay focused and disciplined.
With Cashmere beating Avon, and Christchurch United winning again 5-2 against Shirley Boys, the league could start to become a 3-horse race.
We now look forward to a 3 week stint at home and build on the results in the first half of the season.
It will be good to get back to Fortress Bexley and see the Deck support behind us. Let's trust the players will deliver the performances and results our support deserves.
Thanks to the lads that travelled down to Ashburton for the game. Much appreciated and worth the trip!?
Job done, let's move on and improve further.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum | Ashburton Guardian match report
17 May 2008 Chatham Cup: Wool Tech 2 Coastal Spirit 1
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
A disappointing result and end to the game, but as we joked afterwards, that gave us a 9-5 victory over the two legs in the cups!
I always felt as though we would fare better today, than against Christchurch United, as Tech want to get the ball down and play football. That was the way it turned out in what was an entertaining encounter, despite the disappointment.
The team:
Ribsey,
Berry, Pom, Hughsey, Lethal
Beedles, Jacobo, Cappy, Nik,
Fifinator, Jimmy
Subs:
Josh, Ash, Stapes, Brennan, Ekow
The pitch was perfect, a credit to Tech and one made to play good football on. The coach in the stand had his say in the Linfield war-rooms and Stroudy took to the dressing room to assist Hughesy in looking after the team for the day. Cheers Stroudy!
The Chatham Cup is the sexy part of the season and it could provide a few enjoyable games and trips, as well as benchmarking us against better opposition so we can understand where we are at as a team. It was never high on our priority list, however, we had a focus to win the game against a Tech team looking for revenge after their 8-3 hammering in the English Cup.
The game started with Tech getting the better of the play with some good one- and two-touch football, with Ryan Fachnie looking dangerous down the left. Although Tech threatened on a number of occasions, the attacks frittered out to nothing, as they lacked the final killer ball and Ribsey was generally not troubled.
At the breakdown of the Tech possession, we looked very positive in our intent and released Jimmy and Fifii early into space as we played a little on the counter-attack. This provided Fifii with two good chances which came to nothing.
From an in-swinging corner from Nik Gebhardt, there was a scramble in the box and as Jimmy Stewart turned on the six yard box, a fantastic chance went begging as he slashed it wide.
0-0 at half-time and fair reflection of play and possession.
We started the 2nd half like a steam train.
With Beedles down the right, Gebhardt down the left and Jacob running through the middle, all supported by Cappy as he directed the play, we started to dominate the midfield and pressured the Tech defence.
A free kick awarded to us, 22 metres out on the left of the box, was worked between Cappy and Jacob for Symon Beedles to strike a perfect free-kick into the bottom right-hand corner.
1-0 to Coastal and well deserved.
A few minutes later, the Tech centre back was sent-off for a petty and stupid tackle from behind on Michael Fifii, as well kicking the ball at him whilst he lay on the floor (after a previous yellow card for kicking the ball away).
Nik Gebhardt then broke into the box on the left hand side and was up-ended for a penalty no-one could deny.
Jacob Egues stepped-up with confidence and placed it at a comfortable height to the keeper's right for Michael O'Keefe to make a very good save.
This was the spur and the incentive Tech needed, as Coastal were dominating everything at this point and looked comfortable to extend their lead.
Brennan Pitts came on for the injured Paul Hughes and Jimmy Stewart was replaced by Ashley Welbourn.
Aaron Corkhilll, having a very good game, won a good ball at centre back, but lost the ball in midfield, which allowed Tech to counter attack. They leveled the scores with a well-taken Tommy Lancaster goal to make it 1-1 with Tech's first threat on our goal in the 2nd half.
Coastal Spirit had dominated the game and with the extra man we should have expected to go on and win the game comfortably. At this point in the game the options, choices and discipline started to go astray, something we must learn quickly. We are a good team, as a team. What was disappointing was that, instead of a good passing and moving game that we are capable of, individual players started to run with the ball or hit "winners" each time they were in possession. With one extra man, it has to be the time to move the ball around, not try and play through the middle with extra touches and threaded winners!? (end of coach's gripe, as pointed out to the players afterwards!)
Michael Fifii had an excellent chance which hit the bar and we again still threatened the Tech goal as we pushed forward.
With a few minutes left to play Tech delivered a ball from the left hand corner into the near post. The unfortunate Jacob swung a right leg at it and it skidded off his shin past Ribsey into the net and give Tech a fortunate 2-1 lead they were not going to surrender.
The game finished at 2-1 and best of luck to Tech in the next round. We hope you have a good run in it! You showed good character and it obviously meant a lot to you by the sounds of your celebrations afterwards!?
It was a game of a missed penalty, own goal and one that I believe we should have won comfortably.
To Jacob - it happens!! (I know someone that drew in an FA Vase cup match 3-3, after giving away a pen, scoring an own and giving a short back-pass to our keeper in the last minute for it to be taken to a replay. The good news is Jacob, we won the replay 1-0 and I scored the goal, so I expect you'll be bouncing back too, as you'd played well in the game!)
As previous, it was good to benchmark ourselves against opposition from the MPL and again, we showed that we are competitive enough.
I am pleased with the team, the players and their attitude and commitment. All we need is a little fine-tuning and discipline in our play to be a real force.
We move on to the more important task of the league next week, with a bus trip out to Mid Canterbury. It will be a game we don't want to be a banana skin and we will have to be on top of our game to ensure we come away with three points.
In summary: I was disappointed in the result and the manner of it, but it's not the end of the world and we have two greater targets to concentrate on. The League and the English Cup. Let's move on.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
10 May 2008: Chch Utd 2 Coastal Spirit 1
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
The 1st team lost this season's 100% record today in a 2-1 defeat to Christchurch Utd.
In my opinion, it was a poor game, we played poorly, the refereeing was poor and overall it can only be described as an ugly game of football.
The team:
Ribsey, Leithal, Granta, Hughsey, Aaron, Beedles, Cappy, Gebhardt, Jacob, Ash, Fifii.
Subs:
Berry, Jimmy, Stapes, Josh, Ekow, Connor.
It was great to see the return of Nik Gebhardt, following his 6-month contract in Germany. Welcome back Nik. Last minute fitness tests for Andrew Richardson and Michael Fifii saw them included in the side. Ekow Quaino has been struggling with injury and was left in a supporting role after excellent performances lately.
In a vital game today, we came up short against a Christchurch team full of experience, strength and willingness.
From the first minute, it was easy to see this would not be the prettiest game of football you would ever watch. Coastal Spirit 1st team have played excellent, flowing and exciting football to-date. However, they were matched by a side that was willing to scrap and fight for every ball, which did not allow a passing game to develop.
One of the areas we felt we could take advantage was at the breakdown of possession by Utd. However, when this did happen and we looked threatening, Utd would commit cynical fouls to ensure the game did not flow and we found difficulty gaining a stranglehold on the game. It was up to the officials to stamp their authority on the game and ensure the game didn't descend into a physical kicking match, but unfortunately for us this didn't happen. On too many occasions the referee allowed Jacob, Fifii, Ash and Nik to be up-ended without punishment. This stopped any flow to the game and made into an ugly encounter, which played right into the hands of Chch United.
The threat from Utd came via set-plays and direct play. They presented us with a series of threats and we managed to keep them out until we conceded around 30mins into the game, following some poor and scrappy play. A ball was sent into our area, to be cleared to the edge of the box. We didn't have the edge of the box defended as required and a Utd shot hit the post. As it rebounded, it was put away by an onrushing player. 1-0.
We pressured their goal a few minutes later and a Utd defender handballed the ball inside the 6-yard area for a penalty. Jacob dispatched the penalty into the right hand corner. 1-1.
Jacob soon after limped out of the game to be replaced by Ekow Quaino, celebrating his 21st birthday in mid-week.
Half-time 1-1.
It was a poor 1st half and we believed we could only improve as long as we won our battles and started to get the ball down and play football, without getting drawn into the ugly side of the game.
The 2nd half started as the first half, with their No. 13 lucky to stay on the pitch, having been booked in the 1st half he committed 4 further blatant fouls, including one on Ekow, as he was released into the attacking last third towards goal. Ashley was unlucky to be adjudged offside as was bearing down on goal.
Utd put us under pressure through a 10 minute period, where they out-competed us and the ball continued to come back towards us. Each time the ball was released, it was a Utd player that competed and won the 50/50s. This placed us under pressure, as we didn't command the ball. That 10 minute spell of pressure was rewarded by a scrappy goal by their excellent skipper Mitch who slotted the ball in as it bounced around in the area. 2-1 to Utd.
Michael Berry came into the fray for Hughsey and Jimmy and Stapes replaced Ashley and Fifii.
Jason Stapley came close with a header and was another unfortunate victim of an offside decision and Symon Beedles had another chance to get a strike on goal, which was blocked.
The last few minutes saw us place the Utd goal under pressure. However, we didn't convert this into goals and the game petered out to a 2-1 loss, as Christchurch used their experience to slow-down proceedings.
Aaron Corkhilll was the stand-out player for Coastal Spirit.
It was a difficult result to take, as we had not performed anywhere near our ability. We had been out-competed and lost to a team that had showed 100% commitment in the battle, with very little else.
Respect to Chch for the result and we must understand that not everything will be easy and go your way through the season. There will be times when we will need to adapt and show a little bit more discipline and thought in our options.
We have to accept we didn't play well, no excuses, but we also have to understand that we are a good side and have the opportunity of bouncing back and meeting them again in this very short season. With 18 games in the league, we still have 2/3rds of the season to go and plenty of opportunities ahead.
We can relax and switch off the league for a week as we enter the "sexy bit", with a Chatham Cup tie against Woolston Tech next Saturday, who we know will be smarting from the 8-3 defeat in the English Cup.
There is a belief in these lads and we will certainly bounce back quickly!
Although the officials cannot be blamed for our poor performance, I believe they could have stamped-down on the tackles early and allowed a football game to develop. It may have been appropriate for Mainland to allocate such a vital game to their premier referees!?
This becomes irrelevant after the event and credit must go to Chch Utd for taking advantage and winning in a physical contest.
It will be interesting to see how each player reacts after this set-back, our first of the season, but we shall not accept anything less than 100% effort and promotion back to the premier division!!!!!
That is our target and that will happen.
I still say the top 4 in Div 1 is more interesting and better than the bottom 4 in the premier div!? We need to ensure we finish top in our league and that will mean defeating Christchurch United next time around, which will prove to be the pivotal game in the season.
It was more than disappointing today. The game, the officials, the options we took, was all ugly and we came out on the wrong side of it. We will move on and learn as a collective!
Ugly game, bad result!
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
3 May 2008: Coastal Spirit 5 CBHS 0
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
Atrocious weather on the day didn't prevent the game from going ahead and it ensured CSFC stayed top of the league with a maximum 15 points from 5 games with a comfortable 5-0 victory over a feisty CBHS team.
The team:
Connor Chellew, Michael Berry, Andy Grant, Ben Leith, Felix Grant, Symon Beedles, Marc Capstick, Jacob Egues, Ekow Quaino, Jimmy Stewart, Michael Fifii.
Subs: Jason Stapley, Aaron Corkhill, Kieron Roach, Craig Kitson, Josh Dredge.
Injuries to Ash Welbourn, Aaron Corkhill, Andrew Richardson and absentees Brennan Pitts and Paul Hughes, meant Connor, Felix, Michael and Jimmy came into the starting line-up and showed there is competition for places in every position.
The weather did not help in providing a spectacular game. Credit must go to the referee for his handling of the situation and the attitude to the conditions.
As CBHS backed-off, we opened them up with some neat passing after 5 minutes to create a one-on-one with the keeper for Jacob. He duly obliged in finishing it off, with a crisp left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. 1-0 and we were on our way.
Further goals from Fifii (2), enjoying the tropical weather, along with another Jacob Egues goal, saw us go in at the break 4-0 up.
CBHS came out in the 2nd half and made the game more physical, pressuring the ball earlier. To their credit, they competed well. On another day they could have grabbed a goal and certainly deserved one today.
We didn't get passing the ball as we should in the 2nd half and, as the conditions deteriorated, so did the match. We started to lose shape and discipline, and continued to run the ball instead of moving it around and working as a unit.
Josh, Craig and Kieron replaced Felix (following a 1st min injury he couldn't shake-off), Ekow and Michael Fifii.
It was left to Jacob to round off the scoring and secure his hat-trick with a superb left foot strike from 22m into the top left-hand corner.
The game finished at 5-0 and time for a warm shower!
It's now on to the biggest game of the season for us next Saturday, as we take on Christchurch United at QE2 main pitch. With Chch Utd also boasting a 100% record and level-pegging on 15 points it will make for an interesting and competitive game. With ex-Rangers contingent of Harry McCosh, Innocent Rugobu and Byron Goodwin involved in the game, there is added spice to the match.
Before that we have to prepare well and shall begin with an interesting team-bonding session with the Ladies team on Tuesday!
Thanks for the great support again, now let's move forward to the next game.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
26 April 2008: Shirley BHS 0 Coastal Spirit 3
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
The 1st team maintained their 100% record against a committed, young Shirley Boys' side that put up a 10 man defence for much of the game. It was never going to be pretty on a pitch with the rutted drainage grooves running across the ground and grass that was a little on the long side, but the lads kept their composure and gained their just rewards.
The line-up:
Andrew Richardson, Aaron Corkhilll, Andy Grant, Paul Hughes, Johnny Ralph, Symon Beedles, Marc Capstick, Josh Dredge, Ekow Quaino, Jimmy Stewart, Ashley Welbourn.
Subs: Michael Fifii, Ben Leith, Jacob Egues, Connor Chellew, Jason Stapley.
After the highs of Wednesday's 8-3 defeat of Tech, it was always going to be a comedown for the players and something they would have to accept by grinding out a positive result. Josh Dredge came in to central midfield and the Fifinator made way for Jimmy Stewart up front.
The lads applied themselves well and got off to a positive start, mounting a number of attacks on the Shirley Boys' defence.
It was quick to see Shirley back off, drop deep, allow us freedom of the ball and leave us with the task of breaking them down. This became the pattern for most of the 90 minutes.
With physical size being on our side from set-plays, Andy Grant had three excellent opportunities in the first half, which were headed directly at the goalkeeper, who was proving to be a capable keeper.
The 0-0 scoreline at half-time gave us a bit of a wake-up call, but composure and concentration were requested to ensure we achieved our aim of 3 points.
Symon Beedles had an excellent game and threatened down the right side all the time and following a sustained attack, Ashley Welbourn opened the scoring on 55 minutes.
Ben Leith, Michael Fifii and Jacob Egues came into the fray on 60 minutes for Josh, Jimmy and Ekow.
As Sunny Ralph caused Shirley defence problems down the left, a cross was deflected towards goal and was about to go in until Ash decided to help it on its way from about 6 inches out (hey, but who would deny a striker that chance and I know Stapes from the scoring union was proud of him!!)
Michael Fifii should have finished off a flowing 8-pass move, as he rounded the keeper, but failed to take the chance from a tight angle.
It was left to Sunny to complete the scoring with a coolly taken right foot shot, curled into the bottom right corner to make it 3-0 and a further win to Coastal.
Again, its "job done, lets move on to the next game" and the team must maintain a "job-like" attitude to many of the fixtures to ensure there are no slip-ups against teams they are expected to beat. If they maintain this attitude, which they have to date, then it will set-up some excellent matches in the coming weeks, with Christchurch United and Cashmere to follow soon after. These are huge matches and must be treated as such.
We now move on to the fun of the cup against Cashmere on Wednesday, 7pm at English Park.
After knocking out the holders, Woolston Tech, it now gives us the exciting prospect of Cashmere in the QF this week, with the winners to face Christchurch Utd or Universities in the semi. An all Div 1 draw, which will see one of them finalists against a Prem team on Sept 13th. Let's trust it is us!!!
We look forward to the support (and banners and songs) of last week and believe that we will provide a positive performance to deliver a good result the merry band of supporters deserve.
At this point, congratulations must go to PK and the Reserve team lads for maintaining their 100% record after a 3-2 win at Nomads. It's great for the young lads and great for the club! It was also good to see Jimmy Harris continuing his rehabilitation, along with Michael Berry and new introductions Craig and Kieron via our St Bede's connection set-up by Gareth.
Next league game is at Bexley on Saturday against Christchurch Boys High, 2.30pm KO.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
19 April 2008: Coastal Spirit 4 Avon 2
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
A great day of football at Bexley was completed with a 1st team victory over Avon 4-2.
The PDL and Ladies had set the tone for the day, following two excellent results and it was left to the men's 1st team to complete the picture.
With a capacity crowd on the decking to support the lads it made for a good atmosphere, despite the blustery conditions making it difficult to play an attractive brand of football to satisfy the great support.
The team:
Connor Chellew, Ben Leith, Symon Beedles, Aaron Corkhilll, Paul Hughes, Michael Fifii, Marc Capstick, Jacob Egues, Ekow Quaino, Ashley Welbourn, Jimmy Stewart.
Subs: Felix Grant, Jason Stapley, Josh Dredge, Brennan Pitts, Kieron Roach
Coastal (or is it Spirit? have to get that sorted) settled into the game well in the first 20 minutes and dominated possession, with threatening runs down both sides by Fifii, Beedles and Ekow. Despite this, there few clear cut chances, with Ashley Welbourn having the best of them block by a last ditch tackle.
On 15 mins, a free-kick on the edge of the box was well struck by Symon Beedles, but well saved by the Avon keeper.
Avon threatened to put us under pressure with some direct long balls down the channels and it was easy to see they were a well organised side and capable of doing damage to us if we were not careful.
After 25mins, the threat was real, as they sent a long free kick into our box, which was not dealt with effectively with by our defence and a chance was well taken for their 1st shot on goal for Avon to go 1-0 up.
The next 20 minutes saw us lose our shape and ability to do the basics and retain possession, as we became disjointed and ill-disciplined (a note to the lads). In this time, Avon started to get into the game and could have extended their lead as they pressed the game and opened up our defence on two or three occasions.
A tactical switch saw Brennan Pitts come into the fray at centre back, as Jimmy Stewart was taken off. Jimmy had been ill for 48 hours and had got off his sick bed to lead the line. Aaron went to right back, Symon pushed further up and Fifii partnered Ashley up front.
Half time: CSFC 0 Avon 1
The second half saw us blitz the opposition in a quality 20 minute spell of football that the lads should be capable of sustaining for 80 or 90 minutes, as the talent is there.
Within 5 minutes of the restart, Ashley Welbourn swept the ball into the net from 6 yards after a flowing move down the right hand side to get us back on level terms.
A few minutes later and we went ahead, this time with a flowing move of two-touch football down the left hand side, which opened up the Avon defence for Michael Fifii to finish off with a tap-in at the far post for his debut goal for Coastal Spirit.
Josh Dredge came into the fray, along with Jason Stapley and Felix Grant, as Jacob, Ash and Ekow made way.
A third goal by captain Cappy saw us in complete control as he finished a blocked shot with a follow-up pile-driver that left the keeper with no chance.
It was fantastic to see the character of the lads to turn-around a poor 1st half display and go on to play such good football from the start of the 2nd half.
A long ball by CAPTAIN CAPPY which was an absolute gem and most probably the outstanding ball of the game (it was awesome!) saw Jason Stapley rise like a salmon (or soar like an eagle) to head a looping ball into the top corner for his customary goal and 7th in 3 games.
4-1, job done!
Apologies to the supporters on the decking that all goals were scored at the far end of the pitch!! We'll try to put that right in future.
A late concession by us in a goal mouth scramble saw Avon peg a goal back as it finished 4-2.
A superb ovation by the supporters at the end was deserved by the players for their comeback from a goal down and it now gives us a maximum 9 points from 3 games. With Christchurch Utd picking up 3 pts in a 1-0 win at Mid Canterbury and Shirley Boys also winning, it leaves 3 teams at the top of the table with 9pts.
We now move on to English Park on Wednesday evening, KO 7.00pm as we take on Woolston Tech in the English Cup. Your support is welcome and it will be good to see the lads pit themselves against premier opposition, as well as meeting two ex-players in Jonny Gough and Alex Williams. With 5 Canterbury United lads returning to Tech, it will make for a very testing and tough game. The "revised" English cup draw will see the winners take on Cashmere in the next round.
The next league game on Saturday sees us take on Shirley Boys, who also boast a 100% record to date.
Great day, great result and a great evening too, eh Gareth!?
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
12 April 2008: Parklands 0 Coastal Spirit 9
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
Job done, now let's move on to the next game.
It was good to see the application of the players in a victory that was well-deserved and with a score line that didn't flatter them.
Personal accolades must go to Stapes and Jacob for two excellent hat-tricks (Stapes was denied a 4th goal, which should have stood) and Cappy for his Captaincy of the team. Symon Beedles also chipped-in with another couple of goals, one which would certainly be up there for goal of the season, as he curled it into the top right corner from 30m.
Parklands did there best to unnerve our players with some physical and mistimed tackles, however, the lads, in the main, kept their cool, although 3 bookings were picked up by Jacob, Aaron and Ben.
On that note (and for those that were there), Ben's booking must be the first in football history, when he was awarded a free-kick for the foul on him and the player booked for the foul. Ben was then booked for diving????? A double-booking ...... one for the foul and one for diving!???????? Very strange :-)
It was pleasing to be able to have youngsters such as Brennan Pitts and Josh Dredge along with the 1st team and great to hear the youngsters (and Dougie) from the reserves had earlier beaten Burnside 3-1.
That's two games gone in an 18 game season, with 6 points in the bag and 15 goals scored. It is now important that the players show the same attitude, concentration and application to keep the momentum going.
I find it amazing that in a qualifying league for the premier division there are not provisions for two changing rooms and shower facilities as a prerequisite. It is not to be snobbish about this, but surely Mainland have to look at the criteria and have these two basic requirements of football available at all grounds!!!!!??? What if it had been raining, as the lads changed outside?
Anyway, again, this showed the concentration of the lads and the application to succeed. Note: This has to continue for every match!
We move on to Avon this week at Bexley, KO 2.30pm. Be there early to get a seat in the Executive Boxes!
It will be good to welcome back Michael Berry, Ashley Welbourne and Michael Fifii into the squad for this week's game against Avon. However, we must soon say a fond farewell to Andy Grant (last years Rangers Captain) as he soon heads overseas to a new life and job in the UK. Thanks Andy for all your help and support!
This week will be a good game and the first real test for the side, as Avon have also picked up 6 points from their first two games and will be there right till the end. A good result for Christchurch United also sees the league starting to take shape and the coming weeks will see how we react when under pressure. I now have complete belief in this set of players and trust they will do us proud in these coming fixtures.
We look forward to your continued support.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
5 April 2008: North Canterbury 0 Coastal Spirit 6
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
The match away saw the senior men's 1st team kitted out in their new club tracksuits and polo shirts and looking very smart indeed, however ugly they look!
The Team:
Andrew Robertson, Ben Leith, Andy Grant, Paul Hughes, Aaron Corkhilll, Symon Beedles, Marc Capstick, Jacob Egues, Ekow Quaino, Jimmy Stewart, Jason Stapley.
Subs: Connor Chellew, Felix Grant, Ashley Welbourne, Tom Chadwick.
This game marked the 1st league game for the Men's First Team of Coastal Spirit Football Club and the lads didn't disappoint.
A chance within the first couple of minutes to Paul Hughes demonstrated that Spirit would have the physical superiority over their younger opponents, as he rose at the far post to be denied a header as the goal-bound chance deflected off the back of a North Canty player.
The play settled into a game of possession dominated by Spirit, as we tried to break down a 5 man midfield and feisty defence.
A long ball into the box by Paul Hughes' trusty left foot saw Jason Stapley challenge for the ball for it to end up in the back of the net. The players congratulated Hughsey, I thought Jay had got a touch, the referee gave an own goal! Anyway, 1-0 and we were on our way.
Further goals from Stapes and Symon Beedles saw us go in 3-0 to the good and looking comfortable.
The second half proved an onslaught, as we created chance after chance to extend our lead. Jacob Egues deserved a goal for his endeavours; however, it was left to Stapes to continue the scoring.
Stapes was denied a perfectly good goal as to complete his hat-trick, but that was to be only a temporary blip, as he went on to complete his personal tally around the 75th minute.
The introduction of Felix Grant and Ashley Welbourne after a few minutes of the 2nd half, followed by Tom Chadwick did not alter our impetus and they continued the good work and slotted-in perfectly.
It was a game we were expected to win and we did so in a comfortable 6-0 victory.
This is only the start of a short season of 18 games and concentration has to be the key to success. With Avon, Christchurch United and Cashmere all winning, the league will prove to be as exciting as anything in the Premier Division and more highly fought after.
A good start to the season is a must and the lads must continue to focus on each match as it comes and ensure we show complete commitment.
Good start, good result, let's take it further now.
Next week, Parklands away.
Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum
28 March 2008
by Alan Walker, Men's First Team Coach
Can't wait for it to start!
After a close-season of traumas and a lot of off-field discussions, it will be good to get back onto a green grass pitch and play some football. As has been said many times, the football pitch is where football matters should be sorted, not via e-mails half-way round the world or via the drama of the courts!
We have been let-down by the authorities and wrongly punished in our eyes, but I also trust this will bring the lads together and provide an incentive to focus on achieving Premier Division status for next season.
Nothing but promotion can be acceptable in this inaugural season for Coastal Spirit FC!
It will take a huge effort from the coaching staff and players, but it is a task everyone is focused on and has to stay focused on until the final minute of the last game.
Cashmere and Christchurch United have strengthened their squads considerably and Avon United shall again be competitive and fighting to be promoted, which will make the task an extremely tough one.
Player retention and recruits
The close season (well, there wasn't one!) was spent retaining a number of the players from last season, as well as recruiting new players to the club.
It was fantastic to be able to recruit Marc Capstick from Nelson, Aaron Corkhilll from Marlborough, Jacob Egues after his return from Spain and entice Jason Stapley back into the club. In addition, the quality young players from last season, Symon Beedles (double Rangers AFC player of the season), Jonathan Gough, Ben Leith, Adam Baxter, Michael Berry, Ekow Quaino, Yusaku Yukobu and Alex Williams have committed themselves to this seasons fight to get promotion.
Two further great recruits to the First Team are Paul Hughes as Assistant Coach and Brent Wilson as Team Manager.
It is also great to see Paul Kirner take over the Reserves in the Player Development Division and Keith Howard come into the club coaching the Youth Development team.
Pre-season
The Coastal Spirit 1st team have played in five pre-season matches so far and creditably won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1.
Wins against Woolston Tech and Christchurch United, draws against Western and Avon and a defeat against Christchurch United in the Coastal Spirit Tournament (formerly the Rangers Tournament) have shown that we have a good and competitive team.
We have threatened to score throughout all the games and it has only been individual errors that have stopped us from having a 100% record.
Once these errors are eradicated, we shall be a strong outfit to contend with.
The players are getting to know each other and the system we are playing and once we have all settled in, we must ensure we are fully prepared for all matches, no matter who the opposition is.
Players to watch
I shall be relying on the experience of Jason Stapley, Jimmy Stewart and the grit of Jacob, Cappy and Goughy to make sure we do not allow ourselves to drop points against the less-fancied teams, as we need to maintain a focus at all times and not just against the "big-three" within our league.
Three players to watch out for are Ekow Quaino and Alex Williams, who have both matured this season and shall be exciting to watch, as well as Yusaku Yukobu who performed admirably for Canterbury United this season.
Marc Capstick shall be made Captain and with it becomes a responsibility to ensure the players maintain high standards and discipline at all times, as well as being an extension of the coaching staff on the pitch.
Symon Beedles and Michael Berry will be kept clear of match-day music (Gangsta Rap or Frank Sinatra!), Saki will not be doing pre-match team talks and Jimmy Stewart has already booked the treatment table for the season!
The season ahead
With only 7 points dropped in 21 games for last season's winners, this shows what type of concentration will be required each week to give ourselves the best chance of finishing at the top of the division.
This season there will see 10 teams playing 2 rounds. Therefore, with only 18 games to play in a short season we have to maintain a focus, as three dropped points at any time could prove costly.
The Chatham Cup and English Cup will give us a challenge away from the league and we look forward to chance of surprising one or two people and you never know, we may have the opportunity to meet Burnside along the way!? That would be sure to draw an interested crowd.
Myself and the players would appreciate match-day support from as many people in the club as possible and the more people we can have there to support the lads, the greater the drive will be from them.
I can assure you that everyone connected with the first team will do whatever it takes to achieve our goals and we look forward to a positive and successful season.
We also look forward to football being rewarded on a field of grass.
Can't wait for it to start!
Yours in Sport
Alan Walker
Tel. 021 240 0039