Gorge 0 Storm 0

Frustrated. That's a word I find myself repeating to both myself and others when I analyze our games. Frustrated that we don't turn our chances into goals, frustrated that we "switch-off" on throw-ins and other dead-ball situations, and frustrated that we often seem to play to the level of our opposition. No, I'm not saying Gorge is a bad team. More that they didnt play well either and if we had applied our skills a bit better we could have been celebrating a win instead of a draw.

Unlike last week's game against Juan de Fuca where there was little to choose between the teams, we dominated Saturday's game for long stretches and deserved the win. Put simply, we created more than enough chances to win, but we failed to take them. I dont think Gorge had the ball in our end and under control more than five minutes in the second-half. But despite all of the play being in their end, too often we were late getting into the box for the cross or closing down the defender. Gorge defenders did well clearing the ball, but on many occasions we made it easier for them by not putting any pressure on them.

What's a bit more worrying was that we rarely strung more than one or two passes together all game. One of the hardest things to do against a energetic team like Gorge is to keep your composure and play simple balls. We didnt do enough of either and it seemed we were a tad tired or uninspired. Whatever it was we never reached the tempo at which we are capable of playing. And that's very frustrating as a coach when you dont feel your players left it all on the field. Be very sure that we will spend most of this week practising and re-discovering our passing game.

Next up is Peninsula. The good news is that our first game back at Lochside will be on turf. The flip-side is that we will need a much-improved performance from all players if we hope to take all three points on offer.

See you all at practice on Tuesday.