Result: Win 3-1 v Pennant Hills

Scorers: Mel, Kyle, Matty

Our last Sunday game had surprisingly few absentees, with just Southy & Stathis away. Scott, Bol and Kyle filled for us, and we got underway without a ref against a team we should have beaten last time. We found it difficult to score in the quagmire of a box that was the Penno goal, with some hilarious attempts at goal following some good lead up play. Eventually though, Mel worked out that if you shoot from outside the box you can avoid the mud, slotting our first. Our backs had probably their worst half of the season, but some poor finishing and good keeping kept them at 0.

Second half saw more Puma domination, but Penno pulled one back with some miscommunication at the back. But we steadied with with our second coming from an Erik head to Kyle on the line, who turned and finished. Matty added a final goal on a break to make it 3. Not the most convincing win, but another 3 points in the bag we are on the charge for a top 2 finish with two tough games to finish the season.

MOTM: Matty. Was running riot up front all day and could have had 4 if we supported him properly.

Result: 2-1 win v Putney Rangers

Scorers: Matty, Smitty

We faced another darth of players this week, with Dru, Klish, Stathis and Godby all gone, we called on Baz, Gav and Nick to fill the void. The game wasn’t too kind to us either, with Putney scoring first via a Forlan special, an absolute cracker from outside that beat Southy all ends up. We pulled it back though before half time, with Smitty finishing a Ranga move down the left.

Halftime saw the remaining Pumas start to drop like flies. Matty did his knee, Smitty was throwing up, Ranga has an asthma attack and threw up the pre-game kebab that made him and Southy late and Erik & Mel started cramping with all the running back and forth that was happening. To everyones credit though, we kept the game tight, and when Putney wasted two golden chances we pounced late in the game – Nick hitting the crossbar for Matty to chest home. A great win for the boys that were there, with no reserves and 7 fit men by the end of the game, we proved that Pumas have heart.

MOTM: Smitty. Despite the chucking and nausea attacks, kept coming back for more and gave us an option up front.

Result: Win 6-0 v Macquarie Dragons

Scorers: Southy 2, Godby, Erik, Bruno, Mel

Our first late game for a long time had the Pumas looking to improve on our last performance against the Dragons, a 2-1 win only secured in the last minute. Basically it all went to plan, with a complete domination of the game bar some counter attacks in the second half as we got lazy. Instead of going on about the game, I’ll give a quick recap of the goals and fines:

Godby finished easily after a great through ball from Erik
Southy blasted home from the spot after another Godby/Erik move down the left
Bruno bombed a long ball, Robert Green style
Second half saw Erik bundle home a cross
Mel prove that not all Azzuri are muppets, pinging in a shot from the top of the box
Southy completing the rout with a sliding finish to another cross.

Fines were numerous including: Stathis late fine, Godby forgetting pads, Southy, Erik, Godby and Klish all missing in the first half, Erik for completely disrespecting the opposition and attempting a Totti at 5-0 up and missing, Klish butchering chance after chance and Skip for the latest tackle ever seen.

Man of the Match: Klish. Doubled his fines in one match and still didn’t score.

Result: 2-1 Win v Eastwood St Andrews

Scorers: Klish, Erik

Another good win for the boys, although we staggered across the line with this one. After last weeks thumping, we thought we were on our way again controlling the game, with Klish slotting a great one on one to avoid a fine. More pressure followed, but our play tended to break down just outside the Woodies box. A couple of sharp chances to Smitty and Matty went begging, before Erik stepped up over a free kick to curl a left footer into the far post, catching the keeper off guard as he played around with the wall. 2-0 at halftime and we felt pretty comfortable, but the Woods stepped it up in the second, springing the offside trap only to be brilliantly denied by Mark. However even Mark couldn’t stop another one on one, this one slotted nicely to bring it back to 2-1. A tight tussle followed, withthe Pumas unable to construct anythign through the mids. However, the whistle eventually blew to close a tight win, but a disappointing game fine-wise.

MOTM: Our second Southy, who had another great game between the sticks.

Result: Win 3-0 v Epping YMCA

Scorers: Erik, Ranga, Southy

A couple of weeks off did the Pumas well after carrying some injuries before the rain let us recover. A 9am Sunday start didn’t help though, with frost and fog mixing nicely with some guys backyard bonfire to leave us thinking we were playing in Delhi or LA rather than Epping. A good pre game warmup was gilt edged when Southy forgot his boots and Stathis turned up late, fattening the jar. Eventually though we took the field and didn’t have to wait long before Erik wanted the ball more than the keeper, nodding around him and running the ball into the net. More Puma control followed, but we weren’t able to put another away. Ranga was running riot down the left, and the backs kept Y to just the one shot all half.

Second half started well again, as Klish made a break into the box to be hacked down. Ranga calmly converted the penalty, before Erik took the ball down the right and cut it to the spot. Stathis executed a great dummy, putting off the defense which gave Southy time to line up and drill home. With the points in the bag, and our backs holding strong, we set about fattening our already obese fine jar to try and catch up from the weeks lost. Klish didn’t get a shot away on a 1 on 1, Southy and Stathis both air swung, Erik knocked a satellite out of orbit and Smitty picked up a yellow to make it a great outing for all involved.

Man of the Match: Ranga. Had a great game shredded down the left, and even passed the ball when he got to the box. Amazing.

Result: 1-1 Draw v Pennant Hills

Scorers: Erik

Our second game at the home of soccer saw us start well, putting plenty of pressure on the Penno goals. Being 2 men up, we put on a couple of chances, but Smitty decided to refrain from his usual goal socring self and instead fatten the fine jar, with a couple of excellent misses. Erik also missed a chance, and when Penno got their full team there it started to even up.

Second half again saw some good play from the Pumas, but injuries started popping up. First Southy went down with a repeat from last week, followed by Godby and Skip. Penno capitalised on some poor defending by our mids to slot the lead taker, but then Ranga and Erik combined to claw it back. Mel and Smitty again racked up fines as we pushed for the lead, with birthday boy Klish having to gap fill at the back. Erik and Dru then both picked up injuries to finish the game, as the Pumas limped over the line.

MOTM: Stathis. A different player from 2 years ago, our own version of Viduka didn’t waste a ball and kept our attacks flowing.

Result: Win 5-1 v Putney Rangers

Scorers: Smitty 2, Rang, Erik, OG

Finally a scoreline that reflected the state of the match. After struggling to put away goals for most of the seaon, we clicked in the first 20 to put 3 past a Ranger defense that struggled to cope with our possession and set plays. First Erik nodded home a corner on the far post, before again getting high and hitting the crossbar, for Smitty to finish from close range. Southy then showed great tenacity in first forcing a turnover, then putting a dangerous ball across the goals for Putney to turn in. Dru and Bruno were have awesome games at back, Dru repelling attacks and Bruno, along with Godby, being the springboard for most of our attacks. The only dark side of the half was Matty going down with an injury, courtesy of your usual ‘wow… he’s better than me…*HACK*’ tackle.

Second half saw Putney start on top, but Mark didn’t an outstanding job keeping them at bay. Eventualy, goals to Rang and another to Smitty saw us pull clear. Some experimentation followed, giving Godby a run up front, with Stathis slotting in at back. The Rangers pulled one back when Dru subbed off, but the game finished with the Pumas recording their most emphatic victory and securing a place in the top 4.

MOTM: Bruno. The kid was everywhere and launched most of our attacks.

Result: Win 2-1 v Macquarie Combined

Another Mothers Day match for the boys (4 in 4 years…) saw a slugglish start as the Pumas tried to take advantage of superior numbers for the first 20 minutes. It was a pretty tame and boring start, with the Pumas failing to create any real chances. Eventually, the Dragons picked up a full team, after which we had our best chance of the half, but the same post managed to thwart both Stathis and Smitty in a most amusing way. Fines to both.

The second half saw another lacklustre start, but we were startled into action when from nowhere the Dragons scored an extremely suspect goal as far as offsides go. However this only increase our tempo as we started hammering the Dragons goal mouth. First Erik put a couple of free kicks to the keeper, then Poddy went close, but finally Ranga slayed his demons from the last time he was at this ground to put away the equaliser. Then a some more pressure and a goal mouth scramble saw Smitty put away the winner, with the Pumas picked up their second win to increase our win streak to… 2.

Many thanks to Poddy and Mark for filling in, and thanks to the Southcotts who made a mothers day of it by coming down and cheering us on. MOTM goes to Godby, who despite playing the entire game out back was part of almost every decent attack.

Result: Win 1-0 v Eastwood

Scorers: Stathis

This week loomed as D-Day after another frustrating loss last week against a team we dominated. Going in 0 and 3 for the season we knew we had to turn it around, and the occasion demanded all hands on deck. Luckily, a combination of Queensland, Reunions, injuries and a 16 year old girls birthday party left us with 6 regular team players. Several frantic calls on Saturday morning eventually had a team assemble from far reaching places like the Shire. A Southy of the Mark flavor filled in, as did Danny G, as I have decided to call him. The game started nervously with newby Carrol in goals, using the crossbar well to fend off shots that had him well beaten. But a good passage followed for the Pumas, culminating in a turnover in the box and quick shot by Erik that went in. Oh wait no that’s right Stathis put his foot there to take the glory. Anyway at 1-0 up the arm wrestle continued, with Smitty and Matty making themselves felt up front, and Dru, Bruno and co keeping their forwards quiet. In the second half the STA passing game started to wear us down, but the midfield stepped up to pressure their passes and start frustrating the opposition. Dru went down in the last 10 which required a reshuffle, but we held firm to deservedly pick up our first points.

MOTM: Everyone who cancelled on Friday night. The fine jar got a lot fatter from that so thankyou.

Result: 2-3 Loss v North Ryde

Scorers: Klish, Matty

Another heartbreaking loss to follow up from last weeks last gasp defeat against Ryde. This week we played their northern cousins in a match where we almost got away with one. The match started with late fines issued to Smitty and Skip, with Southy also copping one for organising his 21st brunch before/during the game. We called on old stalwart Windy and had Karl fill in goals for us, but started poorly nonetheless. North Ryde held the ball well and it was only great defending from Dru and Bruno that kept them out. Eventually though, a good through ball saw Norths go 1-0 up, before our first 3 consecutive passes led to our reply. It was going even into the break until this happened. Luckily the linesman had decided karma was at play, disallowing the goal in payment for some dubious corner decisions earlier.

We played much better in the second half, with Klish, Smitty, Matty and Godby all getting plenty of ball. Eventually our possession paid off with a lead taking goal from Matty after being under pressure most of the game. With 10 to go with thought we had a point, but after a yellow card to a Norths player (I assume for being a jerk as he wasn’t near the ball) they scored off a corner as their smallest player surfaced to provide a free head. It was a bitter blow after trying to mark giants all game. With 2 to go the little guy popped up again, unmarked after a fast break down the wing to nod home their winner, as fitness took its toll. Again so close, but we’ll have to play the full 90 minutes if we want to walk away with points against teams like these.

- Erik