Queens Park Lions' match Reports 2013

[ 2013 Aug]

Happy Monday (oxymoron?) Porkies!

Queens Park has had an exciting, at times surprising, and overall fantastic season, and at the end of it all we landed ourselves the number 2 spot on the table! Dunbar sat in their throne at the top of the list, with Maroubra taking a surprising third, and Coogee grappling for the bottom spot in the finals (where they belong!).

As customary in our league, 1 plays 2 and 3 plays 4, with the losers of 1v2 game playing the winners of 3v4 game for a spot in the finals. Confused?

Anyway, it meant we were up against Dunbar on Sunday, and brought it to their home stadium on NCIE. With a very full squad of 16, with poor injured Emma C and Gentle Gill both in attendance for support. Welcome back to Lyndsay and to Mrs Sonja by the way!!

The Porkies started out STRONG, rising to every header and hard challenge. On such a small field, the play was constantly threatening one team's goal but we got the edge over Dunbar, controlling most of the play.

Finally we made good on a corner kick by Emma G, when Yee and Lyndsay got their heads (or something like that) on the expertly placed serve. After a quick frenzy, the ball rolled out the Brianne, waiting patiently at the top of the box. Everyone froze.... and Brianne lightly passed the ball through the throng and into the goal. GOOOOOALLL!

Fifteen minutes later, Yee made one of many dangerous runs down the left, beating her defender and popping the ball right across the mouth of the goal, over the short/ horizontally unchallenged keeper's hands, and right into the path of Aly who tapped it it. GOOOOALLLLLL!!!

We were thrilled!! 2-0 to Dunbar in the first half!!

At half time we found a shady spot and heard some words of wisdom from Dougal. Long story short... don't get too comfortable!!! Dunbar won't go down without a fight!

And they certainly didn't, coming into the second half with lots of aggression. Dirty Deans was on fire in goal, playing at all edges of the box and cutting down on attacks before they ever really began. The defence were the true heroes of the match - between Deans' confident positioning and the defence's fearlessness in every challenge, Dunbar had minimal shots on goal!!

Highlights of the second half include one of our team's least favourite players, the mouthy number 8, being sent off with a double yellow card, and a comment after the game from the ref (who had awarded Ronnie-size with a red earlier in the season) that Ronnie was the star player of the match!!! The jury is out on if Ronnie slipped him a $20 before the match.... :)

When the final whistle blew, Social Secretary Emma C was on hand with a bottle of bubbles on ice (THAT is confidence!) and classy plastic cups for all, and team pictures were in order.

As the winner of this game, we get a weekend off and then straight into the Finals!!!! Coogee and Dunbar will face off this weekend to determine who our opposition will be, so stay tuned!

Queens Park Lions 2 (1) v (1) 2 Waverley Old Boys [ 2013 July]

Now you may have noticed a lull in these masterful wraps... we have indeed been playing, and I have been slacking! As beloved veteran Nic Belton recently said 'business must be booming!'

Sunday July 14, QP vs UNSW

We rolled up the very professional looking astroturf at David Philips and taught UNSW what was what!! Emma G started us off with a goal, followed by 2 from Ronnie, and another from Emma G just before half time. Double-stuffed Emma G and Ronnie Oreo! Emma G started out the second half as she started, and then Emma C got in on the action with three in a row! Yee had an expert header off the crossbar followed in by Emma C. Emma C finished with a bang with a header into the goal off of a cross. UNSW - don't mess with Irish gals!!! We win, 7-0.

Sunday July 21, QP vs Maroubra

Not the finest day at the office!! We met Maroubra at their home ground of Coral Sea. Queens Park just wasn't fighting for it, and was giving way to Maroubra time and again. Despite this, we ran the game and had possession for 80% of the time. We had dozens of shots, and just couldn't get any in!! Mid-way through the first half, Maroubra countered an attack, getting behind our Midfield. A huge cross from the right side hit the left mid, who belly-ed it into the back post. Grrrrr! Second half, a bit like the first. A little bit louder and little but worse!! (anybody get it?) Again, we had many shots and no success. We finally capitalised mid-way through the second half when Ronnie got one in off of a corner. Wohhoooooo! Ronnie then got a very controversial red card, sending her off for the next 3 games!! Boo to the ref!!! Not too much after this, and we left in sad spirits with a draw, 1-1.

Sunday 28 July, QP vs Dunbar

We met Dunbar where it all began for us this season, at adorable Queens Park 28 on a very sunny day. With a lean squad and high hopes started fairly even against Dunbar. Not too long in, we were showing definite signs of running the game. Dunbar was playing their standard long-ball game and showing cracks with several calls against them and even a yellow card to on mouthy mid-fielder. Unfortunately for us, Dunbar did what they do best and made the most of the one attack they got through our defence and scored with a long shot from outside the box. Boooo! Not to be out-done, we answered back in the second half when Emma G sunk on into the net. It. was. EPIC! We continued to battle late into the second half when everyone's worst nightmare came true. The mouthy Dunbar player got a high ball from way outside the box, near the sideline, juggled it, punted it backwards and the ball soared..... high into the back of our net. A hit and a hope that paid off. We were desolate. But not to worry fair Porky Supporters, we'll have another chance to take Dunbar down later this year when we meet them in the finals!! So to summarise, QP 1 - Dunbar 2. :(

Saturday 3 August, QP vs Coogee

You may recall, we beat Coogee last time we played them so we had a reputation to upkeep!

Without a keeper in sight, brave EK and Cas volunteered to stand in goal for the Porkies, and will forever be remembered as legendary for their efforts.

Coogee didn't stand a chance! We had them from the start, beating the team to almost every air ball and rushing to defend as a team when they won the ball. In the first half, the opposition threatened us only a few times with 2 corners and one shot, masterfully batted aside by EK. We answered back when Brianne, back from injury, received the ball from a quick throw from Jen. B carried the ball to the corner for a quick cross over the top, to sink it into the back of the net. Boom! Half time. Caz puts on the keeper outfit of courage. Coogee is getting scrappy and mouthy as always. They got one very dangerous break away with defenders trailing behind, and brave Cas comes out the meet it, stopping the ball when the Coogee forward kicks it OUT OF her hands and lands ON TOP of Caz. The ref, clearly unfamiliar with the laws of the game, does not call this and game resumes. Defenders Vhari, Vicki, and Alana see the ball out as Caz pile drives the forward off of her head. It was one of the most memorable sights of my Queens Park career. Anyway, it was to no avail and soon Coogee got a corner. We quickly countered when a porky chipped the ball over their defence off the corner to Maurisa, who was standing at the mid-field line on our half. Maurisa turns it, already past the defense, as the cry off-sides. Sorry Coogee, not when she is in her own half! In a mad dash, Maurisa seals our win with a chip over the keeper and into the goal. We finish with a win, 2-0. Woohoo!

Sunday 4 August, QP vs UNSW

Again, after beating UNSW so soundly last time, we had to prove we could do it again! After winning against Coogee and with 2 more games in hand before the finals, we needed a win the cement our standings for Finals.

And we sure did! Win. By a lot.

Queens Park had the run of the game from start to finish, with poor Deans getting more and more bored out back. (But we were still SO SO HAPPY to have her back!)

Emma C started the mojo going with her standard one touch turn on a dime/5 cent piece/ quid/ whatever currency you use.

Next up, Emma C passes to Ronnie who drives the ball into the top right corner, crosses, and then followed in by Jen!

The magic continues when EK carries the ball from mid-field into the left corner, to cross the right midfielder Tess and into the goal it goes.

Looking good for half-time kiddos, keep it up!

Brianne then amazed us all with two beaaautiful shots from outside the both, dead into the top right net.

In between these goals, Emma G made a perfect corner kick, right to Ronnie-size who heads it into the left post and into the goal.

So it was another win for us 6-0!!

Afterward, we corralled at the Waverly Bowls Club for some good eats, orchestrated by the Social Secretary herself, Emma C.

Lots of excitement to follow when we play Waverly Old boys next week to exact our revenge and increase our points for the final standings of this years season!!!

Queens Park Lions 2 (1) v (1) 2 Waverley Old Boys [ 2013 ]

Queens Park Lions 0 (0) v (3) 4 Dunbar Rovers [ 2013 May 12]

Queens Park had another high-scoring escapade when we played Maroubra's second 2nd devision team (less confusing than it sounds) yesterday at their home pitch of Coral Sea.

Except for the lovely (and gentle) Gill, all players were in attendance with a mighty squad of 16!

Emma G started in true form with a run through several defenders at the top of the box, shot, and a goal in the first 5 minutes!!

Then Captain of the day EK scored a classic EK2 special, sprinting down the left side, shot across the frame, and goal 2 in the upper 90!!

For the next 30 minutes madness ensued. There must have been something in the water because us Porkies were off our game! Our usual finesse on and off the ball was at home having a sick day, and our attacks were stemmed time and time again by multiple off-sides calls. Thankfully we were able to keep most of the opposition's attacks at bay, and the ones that snuck through were quickly stifled by the mighty Dirty Deans!

Towards the end of the half a shot rebounded off the keeper's hands to the base line, snapped up by super-speedy Jen who tapped it back to Ronnie, who whipped the ball through three defenders, to be picked up by Lyndsey who then took a touch and easily placed the ball in the corner of the frame. Teamwork at it's best!!!

Phew, 3-0 and we trot off the consult with Trigger/Couch/Dog/Dougal at half-time.

Dougal says: STOP BEING OFF-SIDES PLEASE! (And some other very productive words of wisdom).

Tess started the half with a huge answer back to our off-sides frustrations, when she received the ball in the centre, dribbled past the defensive line, and carried it alllll the way to the box to plant the ball firmly in the back of the net with a swarm of Porkies around her. Good one Tess!

Half-way though the second 45, another swarm of QPs flocks to the opponent's net to shoot, when a defender sprints back to kick the ball out of Lyndsey's possession. It's called as a corner! The ref blows his whistle. No, it's a goal kick! The ref consults his assistant ref. No, it's a kick for the other team! The ref places the ball in the box and backs up. So.... it's a PK for our team! Okay? Okay. We'll take it then! Lyndsey knocks the ball to the right corner, the keeper juuuuust gets a hand on it... and Lyndsey follows it up to score goal 5!!

Finally, Emma G finished the game the same way it began, with a deadly run through the middle, a shot from the 18, and goooooalll!

We're done, yay!

Wait no we aren't! In the final 5 minutes, the ladies in Yellow gain possession in our corner cross the ball to our goal face...bobbles in the defence to fly through the air... smack an opponent in the face... and ricochet into our goal. Shucks!!!!! End score: 6-1 to Queens Park.

Well it's a wake-up call to the Porkies, a great result but not our finest display! But its a kick in the rump we need so that we can come back stronger, wanting the win more than ever, so beware the Mighty Porkies!!!

The game ended on a high-note though, as we celebrated the prolific Lady V's birthday with a scrumptious chocolate cake baked by our other team mummy, Jen. Thanks Jen, Happy happy Birthday to Lady V, and HAPPY HAPPY (early) Mother's Day to you both!

Stay tuned for next week when we (I am serious this time) battle Dunbar at their home field of NCIE. It's going to be epic!

ALSO, by popular request of our current Porques, below are the words to our Mighty Mighty Victory Song. We're going to need it on Sunday, so look it over :)

(Sung to "Iko Iko" tune)

From Defense Into Attack
Mighty Mighty Queens Park

Talkin' 'bout Mighty!
MIGHTY!
Mighty!
MIGHTY!
Mighty Mighty Queens Park

Shout out Queens Park
Thats our name
WE JUST WON THIS GAME!

Queens Park Lions 6 (3) v (0) 1 Maroubra United 2b [ 2013 May 5]

Queens Park had another high-scoring escapade when we played Maroubra's second 2nd devision team (less confusing than it sounds) yesterday at their home pitch of Coral Sea.

Except for the lovely (and gentle) Gill, all players were in attendance with a mighty squad of 16!

Emma G started in true form with a run through several defenders at the top of the box, shot, and a goal in the first 5 minutes!!

Then Captain of the day EK scored a classic EK2 special, sprinting down the left side, shot across the frame, and goal 2 in the upper 90!!

For the next 30 minutes madness ensued. There must have been something in the water because us Porkies were off our game! Our usual finesse on and off the ball was at home having a sick day, and our attacks were stemmed time and time again by multiple off-sides calls. Thankfully we were able to keep most of the opposition's attacks at bay, and the ones that snuck through were quickly stifled by the mighty Dirty Deans!

Towards the end of the half a shot rebounded off the keeper's hands to the base line, snapped up by super-speedy Jen who tapped it back to Ronnie, who whipped the ball through three defenders, to be picked up by Lyndsey who then took a touch and easily placed the ball in the corner of the frame. Teamwork at it's best!!!

Phew, 3-0 and we trot off the consult with Trigger/Couch/Dog/Dougal at half-time.

Dougal says: STOP BEING OFF-SIDES PLEASE! (And some other very productive words of wisdom).

Tess started the half with a huge answer back to our off-sides frustrations, when she received the ball in the centre, dribbled past the defensive line, and carried it alllll the way to the box to plant the ball firmly in the back of the net with a swarm of Porkies around her. Good one Tess!

Half-way though the second 45, another swarm of QPs flocks to the opponent's net to shoot, when a defender sprints back to kick the ball out of Lyndsey's possession. It's called as a corner! The ref blows his whistle. No, it's a goal kick! The ref consults his assistant ref. No, it's a kick for the other team! The ref places the ball in the box and backs up. So.... it's a PK for our team! Okay? Okay. We'll take it then! Lyndsey knocks the ball to the right corner, the keeper juuuuust gets a hand on it... and Lyndsey follows it up to score goal 5!!

Finally, Emma G finished the game the same way it began, with a deadly run through the middle, a shot from the 18, and goooooalll!

We're done, yay!

Wait no we aren't! In the final 5 minutes, the ladies in Yellow gain possession in our corner cross the ball to our goal face...bobbles in the defence to fly through the air... smack an opponent in the face... and ricochet into our goal. Shucks!!!!! End score: 6-1 to Queens Park.

Well it's a wake-up call to the Porkies, a great result but not our finest display! But its a kick in the rump we need so that we can come back stronger, wanting the win more than ever, so beware the Mighty Porkies!!!

The game ended on a high-note though, as we celebrated the prolific Lady V's birthday with a scrumptious chocolate cake baked by our other team mummy, Jen. Thanks Jen, Happy happy Birthday to Lady V, and HAPPY HAPPY (early) Mother's Day to you both!

Stay tuned for next week when we (I am serious this time) battle Dunbar at their home field of NCIE. It's going to be epic!

ALSO, by popular request of our current Porques, below are the words to our Mighty Mighty Victory Song. We're going to need it on Sunday, so look it over :)

(Sung to "Iko Iko" tune)

Whose that team in the Red and Black?
Mighty Mighty Queens Park

From Defense Into Attack
Mighty Mighty Queens Park

Talkin' 'bout Mighty!
MIGHTY!
Mighty!
MIGHTY!
Mighty Mighty Queens Park

Shout out Queens Park
Thats our name
WE JUST WON THIS GAME!

Queens Park Lions 4 (1) v (0) 0 Waverley Old Boys 2 [ 2013 Apr 28]

After a rain-out last week, we are back in action with a win against Waverley Old Boys Div 2. It was a pretty tough victory for most of us but we got there in the end!

Here is how it went down:

Saturday 27 April: the Porkies go to the Schweppes Race Day at Randwick, a fantastic day out planned by our lovely Social Secretary Emma C. Many were in attendance, few remember the finer details towards the end of the day. An all-around blasty blast, the ladies (and attending partners) scrubbed up real good and import Ronnie won best-dressed with a classy fascinator, $7.50 marked down from $70 thank you very much!!!

Sunday 28 April: the Porkies go to QP28 for a 1pm game. Most were in attendance, and fairly dusty to boot!

The game started out with a bang - for WOBs, who took the Ladies in Red by surprise with their strength on the ball and quick pressure! The play remained in the opposition's half, but QP lacked our standard control and composure.

Finally we broke through the defence with a stellar cross from Brianne, a rebound, and excellent positioning by Jen resulting in Goal 1! Wooohoooooo!

Unfortunately, it was the only goal of the half, and the ladies struggled through another 25 minutes of heat and bouncy play until the half-time whistle blew.

The little piggies trudged to a shady spot to get a Negative Sandwich (Negative start, middle, and end) from Dougal, and rightly earned!

It seemed to work because the gals came back much stronger in the second half and soon earned Goal 2 when Emma C performed a $25k turn (not as good as million dollar but still pretty good!) to shoot, rebound and followed by Maurissa into the left corner.

Not ten minutes later Ronnie sent a cracker across the mouth of the goal straight to Lyndsays epic cranium, to earn us Goal 3!!

The last goal of the match was earned by none other than Jen M, her 2nd goal of the day - another case of perfect positioning and a great cross.

And so in the end we came away with a 4-0 victory and a mild case of dehydration!!!!

Well done to all and good vibes to the suffering calves of Tess, Dougal, and Vicky.

See you next week for a BIG game at NCIE vrs nemesis Dunbar!!!!

Queens Park Lions v Waverley Old Boys 1 - CANCELLED [ 2013 Apr 21]

Queens Park Lions 8 (3) v (0) 0 Maroubra United 2a [ 2013 Apr 14]

So sorry for the delay, the ladies in red did indeed play this past Sunday with victorious results!

At our home field of QP28 we played one of the Maroubra 2nd Division teams, a mix of ex- div 1 players and long-term div 2 players including ex-porky April!

We had a healthy squad of 16, a welcome change, and our beloved Deano was back from Fiji and manning the net for us once again.

The game started out with a bang, with QP dominating and camping out in the opposition's half. Unfortunately our shots just couldn't find the frame, despite several well-constructed attacks.

Finally powerhouse veteran EK took the ball up the left, aimed for the upper right corner andddddddd GOAL! The flood-gates were opened! Brianne made a run up the right to shoot, rebound, picked up by Emma C for a quick shot anddddddd GOAL! Next the Porkies won one of many corners and Aly served the ball to the back post for a rebound in the mix, and Ronnie to volley in the the back of the net for a third GOAL!!!

Half time came none to soon for the ladies to grab some shade and a pump-up positive/negative/positive chat from Dougal, and off we went again to rack up as many goals as possible to increase our rankings in the table.

And so we did rack up more goals!

After another frustrating stretch of shot upon shot on Maroubra's net, and one or two scary runs towards our own net, Lyndsay did a trademark turn on a dime and shot from the top of the box to swoosh into the goal! Soon after both Emma C and Emma G got goals that were called back by a very picky ref and a few of the gals received some dubious yellow-cards to add to our bad-*ss reputation. After a series of free-kicks, one went our way and Lyndsay took a penalty shot to win us another goal, that makes 5-0 now in case anyone's counting!

Next, light-footed Yee ran the ball up the left to cross to fellow ex-Gleber Jen, who rewarded Yee for her hard work with another goal!

Lyndsay then attempted to grab a hat-trick with a third goal, but it was unfortunately called back by the ref :(

Brianne made sure we didn't have too long of a lull when, ten minutes later, she took the ball herself through not three but four defenders into the box and sunk an easy low shot to earn us our 7th goal.

Emma G gave us a strong finish in the final ten minutes of the game when she took a masterful shot from the top of the box and earned back her goal of the match.

That's right Porkies near and far, that means the girls ended the game with a final score of 8-0, not including 3 goals called back, and then we all went squealing off to the sidelines to enjoy some refreshing beverages and support our over 35s team while they battled their own Maroubra!

Most exciting is the fact that, of the 8 goals, 7 Porkies claimed goals which means we have one heck of a well-rounded team this year!!!!

Next week is our first Division 1 team - Waverley 1s - of the season, so thankfully we can expect a bit more of a fight!

Hope you all have a great week!

Queens Park Lions 9 (4) v (0) 1 Queens Park Rangers [ 2013 Apr 7]

Can you believe it's that time again?

This year the league has decided to combine the first and second divisions (at least for round one games) to give us some variety. Last year there was only 5 teams and it got pretty repetitive!

So, our first game of the season was against none other then the Queens Park AAW2s, and they were hungry for an upset at sunny Heffron 55.

In addition to our vets from last year, new to the team this year is defensive extraordinaire Vhari, speed-demon middy Yee, and ballin' Brianne in attack! Coming home after a leave of absence are rough 'n tough EK2 and 'meerkat' Ronnie Gibboooo.

After a whole week of rained-out practices, Porky The Uno team was ready to shake off the rust, and boy did we come out with a bang!

With 'Braveheart' Vhari starting at keeper (Deans is sunning herself in Fiji obviously) and Lady V, Cazablanket, Sonja, Alana, Tess, Aly, Yee, Lyndsay, EK2, Emma G, Jen and Brianne on the field, the team quickly surged ahead in the first 25 minutes with 3 goals in the opposition's net!

Meanwhile, injured Gentle Gill supported from the sidelines looking super trendy in an artfully torn sweater, while Meerkat Ronnie and temporarily out of action Emma C ran around the park like happy little leprechauns.

Lyndsay then took one for the team and released Vhari from her 'keeping duties, and the competition ramped up a bit, with Queens Park II scoring a very deadly header off a set piece into the back of our net. We answered with another 3 goals before half-time, and trotted off toward Dougal Couch to re-group.

In the second half the weather was warming up and so were we! With EK and then Caz braving the GK duties, the team continued to utilise the width of the field, make great movement off the ball, and litter the other team's net with shot after shot, ending the game in a victorious 9-1 score, if we don't say so ourselves!

Props go to Brianne and Yee who both claimed well-deserved hat tricks, and to Lyndsay and Emma G who scored 2 and 1 goals, respectively.

Huge massive awesome job to Vhari, Lyndsay, EK, and Caz who starred in GK for us, especially on behalf of one who would have run out of the goal screaming!

And finally, a big thank you to Dougal Couch, who is leading the pigs again this year to victory! It's going to be a great season on and off the field, so let the games begin!