First Day of Loch Lomond Soccer Festival

It was a beautiful day for football! The sun was out all day and not a raindrop fell. We heard that this was the best weather Stirling has had in long while.

Fusion started off the tournament with a bang, shutting out Riverside 4-0. John scored in the opening five.  Jackson made a run to put one in. In the second half Austin placed shot past the keeper in the right corner. John finished what he started with a close range header through a mess of bodies.

Wednesday night’s loss to the Accies motivated the players for Friday’s games. The players were getting a better feel for each other’s strengths, moving the ball into space and being more accurate with their passes. Alex and John had multiple shots outside the box that went just wide or hit the post. We lost count of the goals could have gone in but didn’t. The play was more aggressive though not as physical.



All smiles after two tournament shutouts.

The next match against East Kilbride started much the same as the first. John drove down the field and put the ball in when EK turned the ball over after first touch. Fusion maintained possession most of the game putting constant pressure on EK’s amazing keeper. Still goal hungry after the morning match, Alex finally calibrated his boots and found the back of the net twice in less than five minutes. Jack had several shots on goal, including one off the crossbar, and Jason launched a couple wide but it was all John after that. A hat trick wasn’t good enough. He had three more goals in the second half for a total of six at day’s end.



The Fusion defense was phenomenal with Andrew sending the ball up constantly, Eric “Stonewall” Moreno preventing the offense from penetrating. Xavier and Sam kept the field wide by working the lines. At fullback, Jherson was a full foot taller than opponents with one EK parent commenting how, when he headed the ball, his “boots were at our lads’ eye-level”.

You can follow the tournament in real time at the Loch Lomond Youth Festival website: www.lochlomondsoccer.com

The next match is Saturday morning 9 am. Fusion lead the division and our scout, Gerrie, believes that they'll play the Rangers in the finals.