My lowest point ever in coaching took place about two years ago as Albury Sharks lost on penalties in a cup semi final that they really should have won, leaving the kids that I care about feeling crushed and despondent. The underserving victors that day were Goldsworth Park Rangers Kings, and the Sharks had clearly not forgotten.

In fairness to the GPR Kings, they are a brilliant team, well coached and with a great attitude, and it was no surprise that they had enjoyed a strong start to the season. This was the first of five crucial games for the sharks in determining the outcome of their season, and it was a match that could have been very tricky. The game started relatively evenly, with a lot of transition in the middle of the field, but Albury were certainly the stronger team. Ben Gregory and Daniel McGraw ran the game from the middle of the field, however, to start with, they were struggling to get the ball out wide, and the direct attacking play was dealt with well by the GPR defence. Luciano Gouveia looked lively when he had the ball on the left hand side, but the final ball wouldn't quite reach Josh Franklin who led the line for the Sharks once again.

At the back, Albury rarely looked troubled. Gabe and Ali were so comfortable at the back, using their pace and power to outmuscle the GPR attackers, and force them into taking long shots that were easy to save for Dexter Williams. Harry Connelly and Monty Byrne dealt with the GPR wingers, who were probably their strongest players) very well, and did excellently to not only win the ball but then set up an attack with clever forward play. In fact, GPR almost broke on two occasions but were thwarted on both occasions by Monty Byrne, whose intelligent positioning and tough tackling neutralised the attacks pretty quickly.

It was goalless after 20 minutes, and Mackenzie Rose was introduced to shake things up a bit in attack. He had an impact immediately, distracting the GPR defenders with his height, pace and clever runs, giving space to Noah Davies on the right hand side and Luciano Gouveia on the left. Both wingers began to cause GPR problems, and it was from the left hand side that Albury got their first breakthrough, Captain Ben Gregory firing fiercely past the goalkeeper for 1-0.

The second came just seven minutes later, as Ben turned the provider, feeding Josh Franklin who finished excellently for his first of the game. Albury were dominant now. Harvey Rush, who entered the pitch on the right hand side, was giving his full-back a lot of grief and winning a lot of corners and throw ins in attacking positions. Our opponents soon realise that throw ins are as dangerous for us as corners, as our centre back Gabe Fitzgerald has such a long throw that it effectively turns into a cross. It was this hammer throw that assisted Ben Gregory to poke in his second of the game. Albury were really pounding GPR at this point and goal number four came as Ivan Iduriaga assisted Josh Franklin for yet another goal. It is at this point that I want to commend Josh Franklin for an outstanding start to the season. A year ago, having just joined our team, he would have called himself a defender but he has quickly adjusted and learnt how to play successfully as a forward, and is now reaping the rewards. Well done Josh!

The fifth goal, however, was the pick of the bunch. Ivan Iduriaga, who has also had an incredible start to the season, managed to press and win the ball in the attacking third, before unleashing a laser shot into the bottom left corner with his weaker left foot. This pleased me on so many levels: firstly, to have the tenacity and hunger to win the ball so high up the pitch, secondly to have the confidence to shoot with his weaker foot, and thirdly for having such excellent technique and composure in such a high pressured position. This was a really special goal that I hope he is very proud of!

Half time:
Sharks 5-0 GPR

Having ripped GPR to pieces in the first half, we spoke about keeping our intensity high and demanding high standards for the rest of the game. Although the second half was less goaltastic, the Sharks still put on an impressive performance. Josh Smith led the line for the first time this season, and immediately started chasing the GPR defence down, pressing with intensity and allowing Albury to win the ball high up the pitch. Luciano moved to CAM, a position that he rarely plays, but has the skill and vision to do, and was flanked by Noah on the left and Mackenzie on the right. Albury were much better at getting the ball wide at the start of the second half, and Noah and Mac both impressed with their movement and decision making. Luciano was involved in everything, displaying his superb control and skill as always, while also adding a physicality and strength that the defenders really struggled to handle. Albury created a few chances that they couldn't quite convert, and the opposition goalkeeper made a couple of fine saves from good chances. At the other end, Albury looked the most comfortable that they had in ages. Gabe and Ali gave the GPR attackers absiolutely nothing to work with, allowing Harvey Rush, who had moved to right back, and Monty Byrne to push forward and overload the attack. After a few nice passing moves, Josh Smith fed Luciano, in danced through a few defenders before releasing Noah on the left hand side. Noah finished low into the corner to complete a nice passing move, another great goal from Albury and a well deserved goal from a player who has really impressed us this season. Noah has always had great skill and footballing intelligence, and is adding pace, passion and grit to his game, making him so difficult for other teams to play against.

Albury really should have had a few more, and were it not for a couple of loose shots, and several excellent saves from the goalkeeper, it could have been 10. However, Albury still found enough in the tank to score with the last kick of the game, as Josh Smith buried the ball into the top corner with his left foot, a great finish to end a great performance from the Sharks.

Final Score:
Sharks 7-0 GPR

Goals:
Ben Gregory x2
Josh Franklin x2
Ivan Iduriaga
Noah Davies
Josh Smith

Paul's MOTM: Monty Byrne- Monty was immense today and stopped two dangerous attacks single-handedly in the first half. His positioning is outstanding and opponents under-estimate him at their peril!
Harry's MOTM: Luciano Gouveia- Goose was fantastic today, a threat for the entire match. The ball seemed to be glued to his feet and the defenders just didn't know how to handle him. At one point there were four defenders around him, and he still escaped with the ball.
Captain's MOTM: Josh Smith- Ben chose Josh today for his relentless pressing and the attacking threat he posed in the second half.

Coaches reflections:
1. This was the best performance of the season against a good team. Albury dominated in every aspect of the match, and made a tough game look easy. I was a very proud coach watching!
2. Our defence has looked a little shaky at times this season (by our very high standards) but today they looked impregnable. Superbly organised and executed brutally, GPR barely had a sniff! All the players who played in defence, Harry, Gabe, Ali, Monty, Harvey and Mac, deserve a lot of praise for that.
3. Our finishing under pressure may need a bit of work, the scoreline should have been much higher!

I want to finish by commending the GPR players and coaches. Not only was the coach immensely encouraging and positive to his players throughout the match, in spite of the scoreline, the players were also gentlemen throughout. One of their players even went out of his way to come over and compliment some of the sharks on the way that they played football, something that I have never seen before. At this age, matches can be a little hostile, so this warmth and sportsmanship was a really nice change. Well done GPR, I hope our boys would be man-enough to do the same if we had been that heavily defeated.