Go here for a quick look at the Hakoah football story - it's terrific:
Woden Vally FC U18 v Hakoah FC
The Woden Valley FC Premier League U18s, the defending PL18 Champions had an important pre-season friendly against that well known and experienced Football club from the Easterm Suburbs of Sydney, Hakoah . This is a club that takes it's Football very seriously!
There is nothing to compare in pre-season preparation than to play against teams you never play against during the Premier League season and importantly, not from the ACT! Hakoah fielded a very capable and well coached U20 team. They could play!
It was a terrific game and just the tonic if you had just come from a couple of Fed Cup games at Hawker. Hakoah took an early lead and had the edge in the first half. But Woden lifted the tempo of the game in the second half and came within a whisker of winning. Both teams kicked sparingly, preferring to play it out form the back. The FFA's message on the way ahead it getting through! It was a highly entertaining fixture.
Woden Valley are playing the FFA's endorsed 1-4-3-3 system under head Coach Pat McCann and PL18 Coach Tony Olivera. Tony has prepared his team with customary thoroughness, with Alex (manager) doing his equally well known "Highland jig" on the sideline (no one suffers like Alex when they get it wrong!) and they are good to watch. Woden has made a conscious effort to hold players at age where they can and give the players time to mature, be good at age and enjoy their football - this is a splendid approach and brings results to the player, parents and club. They are in good hands. The same can be aid of Micheal Azize's PL16 teams. Belconnen United seem to take a simliar approach and it no surprise that they both do well.
Competition in the PL18s is always very tough, so a game against Hakoah was a game against a team at the appropriate level of resistance. So it proved to be.
You would have been hard to please if this game did not hold your attention. The good surface was a massive bonus.
Woden Valley FC Pathways v Hakoah FC senior team
The Woden Vally Pathways team played a very competitive Hakoah FC senior team. It was a game playerd with speed and skill - both teams. It ended in a draw, a fair result.
Hakoah were well coached, had a very capable playing roster and played attacking football.
Woden Valley is a club that has underperformed in the Pathways in the first three year of the PL - talent to burn, less expereience than was necessary to win the lot and an unnerving habit of losing to many games in the first round, then looking like the real deal in the second round. Alas too late. Time and tide beat Woden every time in this grade. That will change this season.
Again, Woden Valley are playing the FFA endorsed 1-4-3-3 system. Head Coach Pat McCann and Pathways Coach Martin Lategui had a firm hold of the reigns, requiring the players to continue to become familar and effective with the new plaing style and system now being run across all PL grades. The PPL team have been building steadily and things began to "click" last weekend during he road trip to play two NSW teams. They were hard matches and the PPL squad did very well.
Hakoah matched Woden and the game gave the spectators (players) a lot of pleasure. The game began in daylight and ended under lights at the AIS. Just look at the images below. This is one fixture Woden Valley FC simply must repeat next season.
The bottom picture captures the spirit in which the game was played. You would come and play or watch this sort of football every day of the week if it were possible. Nothing better than Club football! Why else do we play?
For the Woden Valley coaching brains trust, it was a good result.
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