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Spartacus continued their league play on July 28th with a game against Weston Soccer Club. The game demonstrated the fact, even a team that has been riding a wave of successful results cannot go into a game with the attitude it will be an easy game.

Spartacus had significantly more ball possession than their opponents, but much of that possession translated into very little positive purpose, as Spartacus played sluggish and uninspired football. Defensively, Spartacus lacked their usual poise and tenacity allowing the opposing offence to have opportunities to be menacing when none should have developed.

However, any successful team must achieve positive results when they are performing at a level significantly less than they are capable of, and at half time Spartacus had built a 2-0 lead.

In the second half Spartacus continued to fail to identify the correct tactical build up in a timely fashion when in possession of the ball, as well as invited unnecessary problems when not in possession of the ball as a result of apprehensive play. Nevertheless, Spartacus higher skill level allowed them to improve on their half time lead and finished the game with a 4-0 victory.

Although by the final whistle Spartacus won comfortably on the scoreboard, the game should serve as a lesson that regardless of how good the team might be, the team will struggle in any given game if they are to rely on past performance as a tactical strategy.

Spartacus has just returned from their highly successful participation in the Inaugural Milton Magic Soccer Tournament U11 (Year up) division.

On Saturday Spartacus played their group stage matches, finishing with a perfect record without even conceding a single goal. Based on their play during this stage of the tournament it is clear the team has become much more comfortable playing on a larger pitch which includes many more players. Their passing game was creative and their finishing play was attempted with much greater confidence than was previously evident. Also, their defensive capability continues to be a team strength when called upon. Consequently by the end of the first day of competition Spartacus had secured top spot in their group, earning them a place in the semi finals.

The semi final game against Erin Mills proved to be the best game of the tournament for Spartacus, as the team showed consistent quality in their passing game, along with a lot of class around the opposition’s goal. At the game’s conclusion Spartacus had attained a deserved 5-0 victory along with a berth in the final.

The final against Waterloo witnessed Spartacus best start to any of their games, as from the opening whistle the team played at a very fast tempo while at the same time maintaining a high level of technical football. As a result Spartacus went ahead early from a well taken free kick. Soon after Spartacus doubled their lead with an easy head from close range after the initial shot rebounded off the crossbar. Spartacus continued to press and was rewarded with a third goal soon after scoring their second. Halftime arrived with Spartacus holding a commanding 3-0 lead.

In the second half Spartacus continued to dominate ball possession and create chances. For much of the second half the game was played in the opposition’s half, but when called upon defended with poise, confidence, and in fact did not concede a single shot on goal. At the final whistle Spartacus had won the game 3-0, and crowned champions of the Milton Magic Soccer Tournament.

11 a side games summary

Spartacus continued their progress toward playing next year as a full 11 a side team with two more exhibition games last weekend against Brampton under 11 and High Park under 11.

Spartacus continued to demonstrate their impressive defensive strength, even against older opposition. However, Spartacus offensive understanding showed vast improvement over games previously played against other 11 a side teams. Over the two games Spartacus scored 13 goals, and decisions made around the opposition’s goal area showed much greater tactical awareness than had been previously evident.

Many players were given the opportunity to play in positions they were not familiar with in order to see how they would respond, and the results of this experiment were extremely encouraging as overall effective team shape was maintained, and individual players continued performing with confidence and aggressiveness.

NYYSL game summary

Spartacus most recent game was a league match versus North York Cosmos. It was a tense hard fought contest throughout, with both teams working hard to shut the other down.

Spartacus had a slight edge in play in the first half, and was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty kick after one of their players was brought down by the Cosmos goalkeeper. However, shortly thereafter Spartacus went ahead through some fine finishing. For the remainder of the half Spartacus had the lion’s share of the play but could not finish on any of the scoring opportunities they created.

The second half was a continuation of the first, with Spartacus having a slight edge in play, as well as higher quality scoring opportunities for the most part. Although Cosmos tried to push forward for the tie, the Spartacus defence remained resilient making sure any attempts on their goal were made from a less than ideal position on the field.

Late in the second half Spartacus put the game beyond doubt through a nice pass from midfield that split the opposing defence, followed by some high quality finishing. This seemed to take any hope out of the Cosmos to salvage anything from the game , with Spartacus comfortably seeing out a well earned 2-0 victory.

Recently Spartacus completed four games in four days. The first two games Spartacus played 11 a side games against Brampton and Erin Mills respectively. Brampton plays a physical style, trying to release their two fast forwards whenever the opportunity arises. Spartacus responded extremely well to this tactic, keeping a very high line at the back and pushing their defence quickly up field when gaining possesion of the ball.
As a result Brampton were continually caught offside, allowing Spartacus to regain posession quickly whenever Brampton attempted to move into the final third of the field in attack.

Spartacus is still developing an understanding of the different tactics required to score on a large field against eleven players. Although they moved the ball well from defence, through the midfield and down the flanks to their forwards, Spartacus did not capitalize in and around the penalty area. This will improve with practice and experience.

The second game againt Erin Mills saw two teams playing similar styles. There were few offsides, plenty of passing and good defensive play. The rain made the field very slick but both teams coped quite well with the less than ideal conditions. The balance of play was decidedly in favour of Spartacus, but as was the case against Brampton, the team could not finish around the opposition goal area.

The final two games were played on successive nights against Weston and Hillcrest. Both games began quite similarly, with Spartacus dominating possession and scoring opportunities.

However, in both games the half time score did not reflect the play. Fortunately in both games the scoring opportunites resulted in a much more successful completion rate, as Spartacus
built insurmountable leads in both games.

Moreover, Spartacus did not allow a goal from open play during the four games, and allowed only one in total. As a team Spartacus is quickly becoming highly technical at shutting down their opposition, while a much more balnced attack is definately becoming more evident.

Spartacus continued their season with a game last Thursday against North York Cosmos, followed by a game on Monday versus Hillcrest.

The game against North York Cosmos was close only on the scoreboard, as Spartacus dominated in both possession and scoring opportunities. Misssed opportunites was the common theme of the day as Spartacus failed to capitalize on the many scoring chances they created, and credit must also be given to the Cosmos goalkeeper for pulling off many fine saves.

Spartacus did take an early lead but allowed Cosmos to tie the game soon after. From that point the majority of the game was played in the Cosmos half, yet Spartacus seemed destined to finish the game even on the scoreboard. However, with virtually the last kick of the game Spartacus earned a deserved win as a hard well placed shot which beat the outstretched Cosmos goalkeeper.

Against Hillcrest Spartacus scored early and often. From the opening whistle the pattern of the game was established, as Spartacus moved the ball around through short passes while Hillcrest seemed content to kick the ball long at any and every opportunity. Despite very little pressure the Spartacus defence stayed focused, as well as determined to not even allow a shot on goal by the opposition. By the end of the game Spartacus had earned a 6-0 victory

It is worth noting new additions to the team do not look out of sorts playing alongside established players as they become familiar with a team philosophy that demands playing as a team when in possesion of the ball, as well as an expectation every player must work hard to regain possession when possion is lost.

As a result Spartacus has a perfect record, conceding only one goal so far this season, often playing attractive football resulting in games where Spartacus has dominated time of possesion.

Spartacus’ participation in the Ancaster Heritage Days tournament exceeded everyone’s expectations. Despite having never played a competitive 11 verses 11 game prior to the tournament, and playing against teams a year older, Spartacus completed the tournament undefeated.

Spartacus’ first game against Waterloo saw Spartacus start brightly. Despite the opposition’s physical advantage Spartacus dominated possession, and attacked using intelligent passing tactics. What was also impressive was Spartacus’ ability to consistently win tackles, as well as their ability to contain a team who preferred long ball tactics to create offence. Waterloo also mistakenly believing they could simply run the length of the field dribbling the ball. At the end of the game Spartacus was unlucky not to have obtained a better result than a 1-1 tie.

The second game saw a similar game develop. Spartacus continued to impose their tactics of passing and building an attack down the wings, while St. Catherines Roma was content to kick long balls for their forwards to chase. Despite going down a gaol in the first half Spartacus remained resolute to push forward, creating many scoring opportunities but lacking a finishing touch. However, Spartacus were rewarded for good transitional play, creativity and a willingness to pass the ball as a team, and eventually won the game 2-1.

Spartacus’ third game was against a team which relied heavily on playing very physical, and tried to stop open play whenever the opportunity arose. There were many cynical challenges by the Windsor team, yet Spartacus refused to be intimidated by such tactics.� Once again Spartacus found themselves down a goal early, but as before refused to give up without a fight. Finally Spartacus scored a much deserved tying goal.

The physical and mental demands of playing three 11 versus 11 games on the same day against older teams began to take their toll in the second half, with tired legs making it difficult to execute a successful and consistent passing game.

Therefore a tactical change by the coaches was made to allow players to support each other defensively, which proved to be effective as Spartacus saw the game out to a 1-1 tie.

Without any previous competitive 11 versus 11 experience and playing against older opposition Spartacus should be extremely proud of the fact overall Spartacus played much more attractive football than their opposition. Moreover the physical advantage the opposition had was rarely a hindrance to the tactics Spartacus set out to play.

Players, coaches and parents should feel extremely optimistic about the team as they continue the transition to playing 11 a side games on a permanent basis next fall.

The game against Hillcrest demonstrated that a pitch with overly long grass, together with opposing team tactics which comprised keeping their players well behind the ball and clogging up the area in front of a very small sized goal net, is a recipe which makes it difficult to score goals.

Despite dominating possession and accumulating an overabundance of quality scoring opportunities, Spartacus was not afforded the number of goals their overall play merited.

Spartacus continued to show they are team that likes to build offence via team passing, and their forays down the wings were too numerous to count. However, the team’s crossing needed to be a little more efficient, as many crosses were directed too close to the opposition’s goalkeeper, although this aspect of their game improved in the second half.

As the game progressed Spartacus quality, skill and overall team dominance prevailed, as they went on to win the game by a score that failed to reflect the vast quantity of high quality scoring opportunities they constructed over the course of the game.

In less than six months Spartacus must permanently change over to playing 11-a-side football. Moreover, at that time Spartacus will be competing in a league which will consist of most of the other best teams in the region.

Therefore Spartacus participation in 11-a-side tournaments such as this weekend’s Ancaster Heritage Days Tournament is a crucial component of the team’s summer programme if they are to be properly prepared for this significant change rapidly approaching.

The round robin section of the 2010 COVI tournament saw Spartacus 2000 play Kleinburg A, Leaside Dragons and Pickering A. Rather than look at these three games individually, it would be more beneficial too look at common traits Spartacus displayed during these three games.

Defensively Spartacus were very strong, in part due to a new team formation, but mostly because all players contributed to maintaining the proper team shape, pressured the opposition in all parts of the pitch, and showed full commitment in their tackles. As a result not only did Spartacus allow just one solitary goal, hardly any scoring opportunities were presented at all to the opposition over the three games.

Offensively Spartacus created a balanced attack which was evident in so many different players scoring goals. This will hold the team in good stead in the future, because it will make it difficult for opposing defences since they will not simply be able to focus on shutting down one or two players. Spartacus completed the round robin section of the tournament with a perfect record, and tied for the best team defence.

It is unfortunate that despite finishing first in their group Spartacus were drawn against such a strong team as Woodbridge A in the Quarter Finals. However, Spartacus showed the same tenacity and desire to play for each other they had demonstrated during the round robin portion of the tournament. The game began brightly with each team exchanging goals early.

As the game progressed it was evident both teams had enormous respect for the other’s quality on the ball. Consequently the remainder of regular time saw two teams working extremely hard to deny any scoring opportunities on the part of the other. However, for much of the second half Spartacus outworked their opposition, and was denied a potential wining goal late in the second half by a fine save from the Woodbridge goalkeeper.

Even though extra time concluded with Woodbridge scoring the winning goal from a corner, it would be fair to surmise it was a game played at the highest level which based on performance neither team deserved to lose, and it is no coincidence the winner of this game went on to win the tournament.

Spartacus will now focus toward building a strong team to compete successfully in 11 a-side games. Based on their current form and composition the team can expect to have a successful 2010 season and beyond.

To view more pictures from the Spartacus 2000 participation click here.

At risk of accusations of overstating the obvious, last night’s game versus West Toronto was a classic example of a game of two halves.

In the opening half Spartacus did not provide the intensity and tempo required of competing against a fast and physical opponent, and indecisiveness led to conceding goals gratuitously. However, in the second half Spartacus responded well, passing the ball with much greater success despite less than ideal field conditions.

Also, Spartacus played with much more conviction in the second half, and the team showed good determination to play more responsibly when the opposition had possession of the ball. As a result Spartacus dominated play in the second half creating many quality scoring opportunities, and save for a lack of scoring touch around the opposing goal coupled with some outstanding goalkeeping on the part of West Toronto, could easily have doubled their already impressive scoring tally.

It is extremely important both players and parents focus on the many positive aspects Spartacus exhibited during the game, and therefore properly prepare for the upcoming COVI tournament…

For more pictures click here.

Spartacus 2000 players have played their second match in 11 a side formation. This time the opponent was Erin Mills Eagles Gold -solid, skillfull and fast to act team. The perfect weather condition allowed players from both team to show good, quality soccer… Spartacus 2000 has recorded the first ever goal scored in 11 a side formation.

Click here to view more pictures from that game…