Here is a brief analysis of the goals that have been scored against the Westminster division 5 team in our first five matches. For context, we are currently in second place out of the eight teams in the league.

Key points:

  • We have conceded four goals from five matches.
  • Of our four goals, two were conceded in the last few minutes before half time. This might indicate that we’re lagging in energy in those last few minutes!
  • All four goals were conceded in, or very close to, the penalty area. There seems to be a combination of communication errors (especially between the keeper and the defense) and some subtle mistakes from the keeper (me!).
  • Over our first five matches, we have an average of 0.8 goals conceded per match. This means that we are the second best team in the league in terms of goals conceded.

When were the goals conceded?

In each match, our four goals were conceded at the following times:

  • Cardijn: 50th minute
  • Mount Barker (league): 40th minute
  • Atletico: 20th minute
  • Mount Barker (cup): 39th minute

Note that two of these four goals were conceded in the final few minutes before half time. This might indicate that we’re lagging in energy in those last few minutes!

Graph showing the time when goals have been conceded

(Credit goes to Tayla for noticing this!)

Where on the pitch were the goals conceded?

The following diagram shows where the four goals were conceded. This is from my memory and as a keeper it’s hard for me to judge the distance from goals, so these are all approximate!

All four were within or very close to the penalty box.

  • The two Mount Barker goals were near the centre which, of course, is the most difficult location for the keeper.
  • The Atletico goal was actually off a free kick—I blocked the initial shot but failed to catch or punch away the ball, and the striker got to the ball before we did.
  • The Cardijn goal was on our left-hand side, and the shot was aimed at the far post. We actually had a defender blocking the near post (I can’t remember who this was).

I also think all four of these goals are preventable.

  • The Mount Barker goals probably could have been stopped if the keeper (me!) and the defense had communicated more effectively to put pressure on the strikers—might be something to practice.
  • The Athletico goal was my mistake, and I’m practicing catching rather than hitting away the ball during training where possible.
  • The Cardijn goal was also my mistake—my positioning could have been better, as I didn’t think to adjust for the fact that we did have a defender blocking the near post. Had I realised this, I could have shifted my position slightly to the right to extend my reach when diving to the far post.

Diagram showing where on the pitch goals were conceded

Not to criticise myself or anyone, of course—as the next section shows, we’re already doing a great job. Just noting things we can work on tightening up as a team.

Goals conceded per match

We currently rank 2nd in the league in terms of goals conceded per match. In other words, we have conceded the fewest goals per match of any team except for Cardijn. (And the one goal that has been scored against Cardijn was scored by our very own Amanda!)

Here is a list of all eight teams in the division 5 league. For each team, I’ve counted the number of goals that they have condeded each match. The teams are ordered by their current position in the division 5 league table. (While I’ve only included teams from the division 5 league here, not the cup tournament, I’ve included the cup matches from those division 5 league teams. Note that I’ve listed Mount Barker Div 5 here. We played against them in the league, but the cup match on April 27 was technically against Mount Barker Div 4.)

Since the teams have played different numbers of matches, I’ve divided the number of goals by the number of matches played to arrive at an average number of goals concded per match.

  • Southern Breakers: 7 goals conceded in 5 matches (1.4 goals conceded per game)
  • Westminster: 4 goals conceded in 5 matches (0.8 goals conceded per game)
  • Cardijn: 1 goal conceded in 5 matches (0.2 goals conceded per game)
  • FC Summit: 13 goals conceded in 6 matches (2.2 goals conceded per game)
  • Sturt Lions: 16 goals conceded in 6 matches (2.7 goals conceded per game)
  • Mount Barker Div 5: 7 goals conceded in 4 matches (1.8 goals conceded per game)
  • Flinders: 24 goals conceded in 8 matches (3.0 goals conceded per game)
  • Atletico - 41 goals conceded in 5 matches (8.2 goals conceded per game)