Today was the first day of the national championships. It is being held here in Perth, which saves us a lot of money in travel and accommodation costs (for Craig, Mitch and me), and also means that lots of other family members can come and watch Matt play. Today, Mum, Rob, Mum Tate, Aunty Wendy, Mark, Linda and Nick all came to cheer on the WA team.
The first game, at 8.00 am, was against New South Wales. We knew it would probably be a hard match, and we were right. They were much bigger team physically than us, and very well-drilled. We seemed to be quite defensive throughout the game, and they were constantly piling on the pressure. They scored first, only a minute or so in, and then also scored the second goal. We got one back through a fantastic goal by TJ Brown, but this was followed by two more NSW goals. 4-1 down at half time.
We came out determined to do better in the second half, and we fought hard, but still lost the half 3-1, for a final score of 7-2 to NSW. Matt had a good game, although he struggled to get the ball out of defence at times, because of the lack of movement by his team-mates.
At 2.00 pm, we played game 2, against Victoria. They also were quite an imposing team physically. There was one boy playing for them who we recognised instantly from the U12 National Championships (outdoor) in Newcastle. A big, red-headed boy who was involved in some rough play during the game back in 2009.
We started a little tentatively again, and they scored two quick goals to put us on the back foot. To the boys' credit, they played this game much more positively, launching attacks from the press and generally playing a more attacking style of play. Unfortunately, we just couldn't put the ball in the net. We hit the post twice, and missed another couple by the barest of margins. They got a couple of goals via a high forward, lurking near our goals. We didn't seem to quite know how to counter this measure.
In the last 5 minutes or so, Matt finally had a run in the forward line. Although he nominated as a centre or forward, the coaches have had him playing in the backline during training and practice matches. He played the loose forward fro us, and really gave the team some drive up forward. Almost scored a goal. Hopefully he will get more time up there in future games. The key will be whether they have someone who can take his place in defence, and who is strong enough to get the ball through to him.
At 4.00 pm, the WA girls took on NSW. We stayed to watch Matt's girlfriend, Monique, play. It was a good game, and WA fought hard, but eventually lost 5-1 (including a goal scored after the siren). The scoreline didn't really reflect the game, as the girls were very competitive.
We will get to play these teams again later in the week, so it will be good to see the improvement we make as we gain more experience.
Queensland scored again very early in the second half, again off a short corner, and we were now down 0-3. The boys didn't give in, and slowly started to claw their way back. Matt came back on, and they went on to score the next 4 goals! (Including one by Matt, in general field play). It looked like we might finally have a win, but with only about three minutes to go, Queensland scored the equaliser. Then, they were awarded a short corner, and the final siren blew. JBQ couldn't bear to watch, and I almost couldn't watch either! Given that Queensland had scored most of their goals from short corners, I wasn't very confident about our ability to defend one. I couldn't believe we might lose the game after the siren. We saved the first corner, but another was awarded. Once again, the defence held, TJ cleared the ball out of the circle, and we held on for the draw!
