Plympton Bulldogs 2 Vista 3

Another strong team performance today with sublime finishing saw Vista come away from Plympton with 3 points we richly deserved.

I made only one change from the previous starting line up and Vista very quickly got into their stride and took control of the game.
It was only a matter of time before our creative play resulted in a goal and what a goal it was.

A long goal kick by Mick James was flicked on just outside the Bulldogs penalty box and as the ball fell it was struck sweetly into the goal by Pete Carman.

The strike was so good everyone was cheering as soon as it left his foot, the goal keeper had no chance.
Shortly afterwards a corner was swung in perfectly by Luke Allen for Matty Altman to meet with his head to crash the ball into the net.
2 nil and very deserved.

We continued to play the better football but Plympton keep coming forward and were gifted a goal as a cross hit the far post and deflected past Danny Cotar to make it 2-1 were it stayed until the half time break.
The 2nd half saw the obvious attacking play from Bulldogs but again we took control and never looked like losing the game.

We keep the Bulldogs out and won a corner which Stu Gannon hit hard and low to see the ball rebound off the keeper for an own goal.
Bulldogs scored a late consolation goal but the day and the points went to Vista after a very strong and committed team effort.
We are beginning to play consistently well now and we are beginning to find that bit of luck we have been lacking in other games.

It will be an interesting 2nd half of the season.

Billy Graves Senior Coach

West beach 3 Vista 1

A game of two halves.

Vista totally dominated play in the 1st half of this game, we created 5 clear chances and played the better football but we were let down by our finishing.
We didn't make the West Beach goal keeper save a single shot and were punished by a late goal after a quick break and some clever play from Beach.
Our heads went down and we walked off at halftime disappointed to be a goal down.

The second half saw Beach play much better football, more similar to their normal standards but we matched them for desire and skill as we chased the game and an equaliser which we deserved.

As we pushed for a goal Beach pushed the ball up quickly and again after great play they scored a 2nd not as much against the run of play but after our efforts we didn't deserve to be 2 goals down.

We continued to play attacking skilfull football and it paid off with Mick Mathers breaking through to score.

Immediately from the kick off though Beach broke through and the ball was cleared away only to be struck hard back towards the Vista net giving our keeper no chance.

The game finished 3-1 to West Beach.

The real disappointment of this game was our inability to convert from the great chances we created. We played very good football and the 1st half was one of the best team performances of the season.

We let beach off the hook today and were left to rue our finishing.
There were lots of positives though that can be taken to our next game, again away from home.

If our finishing is better, we will certainly win.

Billy Graves Senior Coach

Vista 3 : Adelaide Vikings 2

After a week of soul searching Vista were faced with the leagues biggest and arguably strongest striker.

This is a game we have to win and one were our teamwork had to improve if we are to stay in touch with the leading group.

Again only a few changes were made and Matt Altman was given the task of man marking the giant Viking forward whose ball skills and distribution were outstanding.

Stuart Johnson returned and his energy up front was continually causing problems for their defence, this energy was inspiring and Luke Allen was having his best game in a Vista shirt with some lovely play.

Unfortunately Vista were 2 goals down within 10 minutes as the Vikings seemed to be able to run through the midfield at ease, shortly after the 2nd goal Matt Simpson had to leave the field due to an injury which probably explained their early play.

Pete Carman replaced him and immediately Vista looked like they were there to win. A superb long range from Luke Allen inspired the team even more and at times Vista looked a different class all over the park, shortly afterwards Stuart Johnson was rewarded for his work rate with a simple tap in goal.

We were level and there only looked like being one winner.

The second half began with more Vista pressure and Robbie Williams began to turn on the style we see at training. He was awesome and just as Stuart Johnson was inspiring for the team in the 1st half; Robbie was lifting the team in the 2nd half.

It wasn’t too long before we saw a spectacular goal from Robbie; he cut in from the right wing under heavy pressure, kept his balance and curled the ball high and wide past the diving keeper and into the far top corner.

An outstanding individual effort from Robbie which showed everyone present how high his skill levels really are.

Vikings threw everything at us from then on and most of these balls headed for the giant striker but he was played superbly by Matt Altman and supported by a strong Mick James again as sweeper.

Vikings hit the bar twice in the closing stages and Vista had 4 clear cut chances to make it a high scoring encounter, Robbie Williams also had another shot similar to his 1st which hit the post and went across the goal.

Ben Johnson playing only his 2nd 30 minutes of play could have had 3 goals and enjoyed his run out.

Overall a performance to lift the spirits of everyone and a result we richly deserved, even at 2 nil down we always looked like we would win.

Billy Graves – Senior Coach

Adelaide Pumas 0 : Vista 4
Another very controlled performance today from the 1st team. The communication was again fantastic throughout the game and the team continued on from the Bulldogs game with work rate and overall effort.
Pumas were playing their first home game so we had to take our time and take control of the game quickly and be patient with our build up and create the chances for our forwards.

The goals were well deserved, Mick Mathers getting two deserved goals, Matt Simpson scored and Mick James scored one but could have easily had 4.

The second half was as comfortable a game as we will have this season, we were able to give the young lads a run without worrying about losing the game.

Overall again I have no complaints about the way the team played today, we took control again very quickly and created many chances for our forward line. We did have chances to make the result a bit more commanding but we didn’t take them but a win away from home is always a great result.

Billy Graves - Seniors Coach

Vista 1 : ISC Raptors 2
A very disappointing result today in poor conditions. Raptors were a solid unit and played to their strengths all day although they were under pressure for the majority of the 2nd half after Vista were reduced to 10 men after a mistimed tackle.

Their 1st goal was a speculative long range shot that somehow squeezed itself under Dylan Swanns body; it was totally against the run of play and gave Raptors confidence and belief.

Our equalizer came before half time with a great goal from Matt Simpson, again it was deserved and fair for the amount of possession we had.

We attacked strongly in the 2nd half and had all of the play until we lost a player due to an honest mistimed tackle; it left us with a mountain to climb if we were going to win the game.

The Raptors 2nd goal was a very quick break away after a Vista corner, Raptors cleared the ball to the halfway line and our sole defender tried to force the attacker away to the by line but he clipped it over his head and played it through to a lone striker who calmly placed the ball passed the Vista keeper.

Towards the end of the game Robbie Williams came on and created many chances for Vista to equalize, we had 2 cleared off the line and hit the woodwork.

It was one of those days when we just couldn’t score. All credit to Raptors; they played their game and got the result they came for. Vista played some great football but with 10 men it was always going to be a difficult game.

Billy Graves - Seniors Coach
 

Pontian Eagles 2 : Vista 0
Today was our most difficult challenge, Pontian are seen by many as the team to beat this year.

Our game plan was to stop their two forwards having space and time on the ball and look to get a goal through smart ball play and quick thinking.
The pitch was in poor condition with lumps and holes all over it and this was always going to impede the way we played but Pontian have to play on it too so we just have to accept it and work with it.

We sat very deep in the 1st half as I was concerned about the play maker in the midfield. He sat deeper than I though and was able to pick his passes without too much trouble, over the course of the 1st half I thought we played our man marking game very well, Debutant Anthony Tomas at right back because of a suspension played superbly throughout. Mick Tomas marked his man superbly but had to leave him to pick up a player our winger had not followed, the resulting through ball fell straight to Mick’s player and he scored to make it 1 nil.

In the second half we pushed forward more and tried to create chances but our final ball was not good enough, maybe it was the surface but it was disappointing not to force a single corner all game. Our crosses were all high and made the Pontian keeper work but he caught everything we put in.

The 2nd goal was after very clever play by Pontian, a corner was cleared to the side and clipped back in to the box, their striker moved quickly to give himself space from A.Tomas and scored to make it 2 nil.

I thought we played nervously today, in patches we played good football but could not create any clear cut chances for our forwards. Defensively our two man markers played very well and their strikers only got one chance each which they put away.

Billy Graves - Seniors Coach
 

Vista 3 : Plympton Bulldogs 1
A very controlled performance today from the 1st team.  The communication was fantastic throughout the game and the team played with all the spirit and ethics that they are capable of.  The Bulldogs came at us right from the kick off as we knew they would, they are a very competitive team but we took our time to find the right pass and make sure we didn't lose our patience.

The 3 goals all came as a result of clever free-thinking play, the 1st was a long ball free kick which Mick James guided past the keeper with his head unmarked as he ghosted in from the right wing.  The second was after clever over lapping from Matty Altman who played a superb one two with Mick Mathers, the resulting cross was met perfectly by the head of Stu Johnston.  The 3rd summed up the control and confidence the team had as some more clever football saw the ball roll into the path of Aras Shaksi to smash a 20 yd shot hard past the keeper.

Overall I have no complaints about the way the entire team gelled today. They always had confidence in their own ability but today was not about individual performances, it was total teamwork.  They went out with a game plan and executed it to the letter.

Billy Graves - Seniors Coach

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