Round Robin 1 (8 Aug)
RESULT: DRAW 1-1
SCORERS: Nick Grul
Congratulations to PHD Team 16 on their best game of the season.
The first half saw PHD the more dominant and determined team with constant attack and good teamwork. Nick O combined well with the attack passing accurately, while Alex showed committed efforts in defense blocking the ball early. Matt P was persistent in attack with crisp passing and solid teamwork. Aiden successfully took over the sideline throw-ins from Harry with strong throws, allowing Harry to step into the role of goalie for the game and powerful goal kicks were a feature of his game. Mark showed great speed and skill in running down the ball and taking it from the defensive half up to the opponent’s goal. Nick G kicked strong cross passes and successfully landed our goal with a powerful and well-struck ball into the top corner of the goal. Unfortunately our many other shots at goal failed to find the net.
The second half saw Hawks more dominant in the later part and they managed to equalize the score.
Sam L was constant in tackling with effective passing and crossing the ball up into the attack, while Sam H was actively anticipating the opposition’s passes and intercepting before Hawks had a chance to clear.
This game’s feature was the much improved teamwork by the attacking forwarders of Sam L, Matt P, Nick G and Mark and they were unlucky not the secure the win for us.
Great game guys and an exciting game to watch!

Week 6 (1 Aug)
RESULT: LOSS 1-2
SCORERS: STA OWN GOAL
An evenly contested match that was narrowly won by our opponents.
A certain early goal by STA was saved just in front of the line by Alex, and Tom worked hard all game, at times placing his body on the line to consistently save further goals. He courageously saved many on the edge of the box.
STA’s first goal was initially saved by Matt Fawcett but good follow through by STA put the ball away into the back of the nets.
PHD attacked consistently with a couple of near missed penalties by Harry and some good crosses and shots by Nick G. Nick O’s efforts were strong in both attack and defense.
PHD leveled the score after a shot kicked by Nick was headed by an opposition defender into the goal.
STA managed the winning goal late in the second half.

Week 1 (25 July)
RESULT: LOSS 1-6
SCORERS: Matthew Pitman
The first half was a very tight contest after an early goal by WRR.
WRR constantly attacked our goal but great saving by Tom, our goal keeper, kept them from scoring again in this half. Mention must be made to Sam Liu who saved a certain goal just in front of the goal line by heading the shot away to relieve the defense and prevent WRR scoring. Alex was also persistent in defense and successful in determined tackling.
Harry’s strong throw-ins gained us great ground and Aiden was unfortunate to miss a penalty shot. The score at half-time was 0:1.
Early attack in the second half saw WRR score again and this gave them the confidence and momentum to continue on to the win. Zech showed great efforts in the goal and his “never-say die” attitude helped the team immensely. Harry was most unfortunate that his powerful penalty kick hit the goal post and deflected away, but his effort was rewarded soon after with a well-positioned cross picked up by Matt P who landed the ball into the goal to score our only goal for the game.
Thanks to our valuable substitutes Zech, David and Daniel for their great contributions.

Week 14 (18 July)
RESULT: WIN 3-2
SCORERS: David Koleth (14-3), Harry Mahaffe, Aiden Pipe
A WIN for PHD!!
Even being down 1:0 at half time, with a goal scored after another defensive error by PHD, we felt we had a good chance of success with this match. Aiden worked well with effective set-up before managing to pass across to David who successfully put the ball away into the back of the net to score our first goal of the game. Kenthurst immediately fought back, and found our defense lacking, to score their second goal. Not to be deterred Harry shot a powerful long cross kick from outside the box, beautifully positioned into the top corner of the goal just out of the reach of Kenthurst’s goalie, to level the scores at 2:2.
Our win came with a strong kick from Aiden a good distance from the goal but due to the unpredictable bounce of the ball the goalie was unable to save the ball and we were up 3:2.
The final minutes of the game left us fighting off Kenthurst’s attack to secure our first win of the season. A long time in coming. Congratulations Team 16.
Thanks to our valuable substitutes David and Daniel for their great contributions.

Week 13 (11 July)
RESULT: LOSS 2-4
SCORERS: Aiden Pipe, Nick Grul
PHD were only able to field 10 players which gave us a starting disadvantage. Another game we should have won, but lapses in defense and missed goal shots saw us down again. An early goal in the opening periods of both the first and second halves put a lot of unnecessary pressure on the team. Aiden managed to level the halftime score at 1:1 with a well placed and powerfully kicked ball from a penalty that found the back of the net. We were down 3:1 when Eastwood scored their final and impressive goal to seal the game. However Nick Grul was determined to narrow the lead, so with great dribbling around the defenders took a shot from just inside the box to score our second goal of the game.
Thanks to David our substitute from Under 14s who worked tirelessly putting in a great effort in attack and falling back to midfield when required.

Week 12 (4 July)
RESULT: LOSS 1-2
SCORERS: Nick Grul
A very evenly contested game, although Glenhaven only fielded ten players.
An early lapse in PHD defense resulted in Glenhaven scoring the first goal. However PHD came back to level the score with a well struck corner-kick from Harry that was positioned perfectly for Nick Grul, waiting on the far goal post, to head into the goal.
The second half saw constant attack from one end of the field to the other with both teams determined to the score the winning goal. We had near misses from both Nick and Harry with the closest miss being the great cross from Nick struck firmly by Harry only to hit the goal post and bounce away. Tom saved valiantly however Glenhaven managed to land their second goal and take the points. Sam Liu was hard working in defense all game, having his best game of the season.

Week 10 (20 June)
RESULT: LOSS 1-3
SCORERS: Harry
Poor weather and field conditions did not dampen the spirits of all players involved in this game and the score does not indicate the closeness of both teams. Conditions however did restrict play on the left-hand side of the field.
Two early goals by Sharks were the result of lapses in defense by PHD. However Pumas were not defeated and rallied well with strong and repeated attack, mainly by the great team combination of Aiden, Mark, Matt Pitman and Nick Grul. This passing showed a much improved effort and resulted in a penalty in the box that Harry converted to a goal. At half time the score was 2:1.
The second half saw persistent defensive and attacking efforts by Sam Liu, speedy running in attack by Mark, insightful passing by Aiden, fine efforts in constant running defense by Jeremy, good goal saving by Tom, powerful breakaways by Nick Grul , consistent defense by Nick O’Neil, a strong cross by Justin and Harry nearly scoring again with another penalty. Unfortunately PHD could not successfully land any of the repeated goal shots with Sharks goalkeeper working determinedly to keep us from leveling.
Unfortunately Sharks scored in the last 30 seconds of the game to win 3:1, which was not a truly reflection of the quality of play.
Well played Pumas.

Week 8 (6 June)
RESULT: DRAW 1-1
SCORERS: Matt Fawcett x 1
WRR pressed PHD defense early in the game and managed to score the first goal of the vigorously fought encounter. PHD unfortunately missed two shots at close to the box by overshooting the smaller goal posts and our substitute Andy was unlucky in another attempt to level the score.
The second half saw PHD attacking with more positive effort and attitude but strong defense by WRR kept us from scoring until later in the game. Nick Grul kicked a shot towards the goal that deflected off Matt Fawcett’s back into the goal to level the score.
Unfortunately the game was tarnished by some poor sportsmanship.
Thanks to our substitutes Andy and Alex for consistent and determined effort.

Week 7 (30 May)
RESULT: LOSS 1-3
SCORERS: Nick Grul x 1
Kenthurst opened the match attacking the goal but an early save by Tom, our goalkeeper, kept Kenthurst out. However they persisted and scored soon after with a goal that achieved great height. PHD came back with combined teamwork in defense from Aiden and Nick O’Neil. Harry Mahaffe kicked a perfectly placed corner kick without success but showed Kenthurst our determination. Our substitute, Harry Stewart, attacked the goal persistently with a couple of unlucky and very close misses. Nick Grul managed to score our much needed goal from the edge of the box.
After an even contest in the first half of the match PHD started the second half attacking Kenthurst’s goal for much of the period without success. Then lapses in our defense allowed Kenthurst to breakaway to score 2 further goals and secure the win. A great individual run by Kenthurst’s number 20 down half the field awarded the match to Kenthurst both in terms of score and spirit.
Thanks to Harry Stewart for filling in for us.

Week 5 (16 May)
RESULT: LOSS 0-1
An even contest throughout the whole game with Glenhaven scoring a goal in the second half with a well aimed kick that curled with the wind to land in the top left corner of the goal. Unfortunately PHD missed a few opportunities to level the score, although they pressured Glenhaven’s defense throughout much of the game.