Strong wins for Margs junior soccer teams

Youth League Boys

Margaret River Strikers 6 v GMAS 0

THERE was a buzz in the air on the first day of the 2012 soccer season, as months of training was to be put to the test.

Fielding mostly 16 year olds and facing a lot bigger opposition, the Strikers may have felt slightly daunted, but they need not have worried, as the crisp passing and movement of this Margaret River team had the GMAS chasing shadows, and they proved why they were winners and were unbeaten in the league last year.

It wasn’t long before the Strikers took the lead through a well-taken goal by Kelby Guthrie Phelps and there was the possibility of a big score line, but solid goal keeping by the GMAS goalkeeper and poor finishing in front of goal kept the score line the same to half time.

The half time team talk was of moving the ball faster in the attacking area and communicating more. This had the desired effect as the Strikers laid siege on the GMAS goal and wave after wave of attack kept going and finally Kelby added to his total.

This broke the back of the GMAS team and a well-worked move was coolly finished by Sol Masters, who went on a goal scoring blitz and added two more for his hat trick, and Zac Harney added a sixth for good measure.

This was a great result by the Strikers and they were well worthy of the win. Special mentions to Daniel Murtagh on a great debut game for Margaret River and captain Jake Sales, who led by example. Congratulations to all the squad for great team play.

Eagle Boys Player of the day was Sol Masters and the Yallingup Maze award went to Daniel Murtagh.

–Paul Brown, coach

15U

FMR Dragons 6 v Geographe Bay Stingers 0

AFTER a night of welcome rain a great day of soccer followed and the Dragons opened their 2012 season in fine style with a hard-fought, convincing win against quality opposition.

After a solid start, the home side went a goal up from the boot of Nathan Doig with a volley finish from a quality cross that will be hard to better. Nathan made great position all game and contributed hugely.

The Dragons’ young defensive line held firm and Kai Graebner-Bond was solid between the posts with a safe pair of hands.

Tyron Bradshaw went on to score twice before half time and he too was benefited from some great build-up play through Ryner Koster, Rory Stevenson and Brayden Gray.

Jack Kneebone and Riley Demunari were also very mobile in mid field as the entire team benefited from some hard yards on the training pitch.

The Dragons took a while to settle into some reshuffling after half time and the Stingers were enjoying their best period of the game. They were unlucky with a few chances on goal however, now Tarn Staveley was also showing a safe pair of hands in the goalkeeper’s role.

Tyron went onto complete his hat trick and has become a player who finds himself in the right place more often than not both in attack and defence. Ryner Koster finished off with two goals himself after some great team play through the midfield saw him with great opportunities in front of goal. He too was unlucky not to bag a third with a great volleyed effort late in the game.

A satisfying win and some great signs from all team members was welcome reward after hard yards at training. Well done Dragons.

–Neil Mattinson

13U

Margaret River Waves 7 v GMAS 1

AN exceptional start to the season from an inexperienced Waves team.

With only three players having played FIFA-ruled games before, the transition was as smooth as a mill pond.

Although edging GMAS in possession in the opening 15 minutes, the game remained scoreless, until a penalty was awarded, which Sam Leigh calmly placed in the bottom right corner.

This settled the Waves, who quickly built on this goal to take a 4-0 advantage into the break, with further goals from Luke Harney, Hudson Moore and Sam, with the later two both going on to complete hat tricks.

The midfield trio of Jasper Harvey, Tanah Howdon-Woodland and Jaz Kupfer-Hollis all had wonderful games in all positions asked of them.

Central defenders, Alistair White and Jasper Seisun, had a complete understanding from the first minute and looked like they had played together for years.

Ethan Hamilton and Aria Beddow defended well, linking defence and attack on many occasions.

Wini Knapp wins the Yallingup Maze award for her determined approach to the match and Janaya Beddow takes out the Eagle Boys Player of the match for a brilliant performance for such a young lady.

The best move of the game was left to the last goal for the Waves with several one two’s being played up the centre of the pitch before being slotted home by Hudson. Well played the Waves.

–Gary Leigh, coach

Margaret River Glory 4 v Cornerstone Crusaders 0

A SUNNY day and promising ground conditions awaited Margaret River Glory for their first 13U match of the season.

Undeterred by a late start, Glory settled into the game early and played a strong attacking game. The Crusaders’ defence was challenged but was successful in fending off Glory until the pressure became too much and a handball error forced them into a penalty situation. Glory relished the opportunity and Lucas Marrill secured goal number one.

In reply, the Crusaders lifted their game and went into attack but strong defence from India Stanley and Sam Lane, in conjunction with some quick, long kick outs from Lani Payne in goal, kept Cornerstone at bay.

In the second half, Glory continued their attack on the Crusaders’ goal, supported by relentless pressure from Callum Stevenson and Brenton Tebbutt, with a scoring shot presenting itself to Lucas Marrill again, which found the back of the net.

Wasting no time Luke Harney spotted another scoring opportunity and the third goal was secured.

Taylor Kevill and Shealy Carboni both put in strong performances in their soccer debut, transitioning from netball with ease.

The Crusaders’ gallant performance unfortunately left them scoreless. Glory’s teamwork was rewarded and players were pumped by their victory.

–Rona Mirtle

Margaret River Raiders 3 v Corner­stone Titans 10

THE towering Titans were on the back foot within minutes thanks to the pressure and sharp skills of the Raiders’ attack, which saw an own goal giving the Raiders the first score of the match.

Not long through the first half, more midfield pressure resulted in another goal for the Raiders through the nimble work of Caleb. With some fine passes by the likes of Angus, the speed and agility of Natallie and the great running and team work by Tia, Claudia and Abbey, the Raiders held their own against this big side.

The first half saw the Titans take the lead, but late in the second half the persistence of the Raiders kept the Titans on their toes, with another goal scored by the weaving Liam.

The Raiders’ defence of Jukia, Finlay, Connor, Xavier, Pascoe and Freya did a fantastic job and was kept busy by the speed of the Titans, with many great saves made by the lightning moves of Taj in goals.

The Titans played fair and were worthy opponents applying consistent pressure throughout the game. Although the Titans won on the day, the Raiders played tremendously, great talent and enthusiasm was shown by all and no doubt this season we will see many more exciting games.

–Tristan Dowding

9U

Margaret River Mambos v Busselton Falcons

A SUBLIME performance from the Mambos saw the home team walk away with three points.

The Busselton Falcons, although bigger in size, were no match for the Mambos on the opening day of the season. Playing as a team like it was mid-way through the season, the Mambos took control of the game from the first whistle.

With a front line of Nick Bosich and Max ‘Pizza’ Douglas finding space, they created confusion for the Falcons’ defence. Midfield playmakers Mikey Jeffs and Fred Sanderson made light work of linking up the strong Mambos defence and the two attackers.

With the defence made up of Charlie ‘Chips’ Best, Luke Broadhurst, Reina ‘Ray Ray’ Woolgar and first-half goalkeeping from Henri Sibon, there was little for the back four to do.

Going into the break two goals up, it didn’t take long for the Mambos to double their tally with a third from Henri and fourth from Fred. The Falcons deservedly pulled one back with the last kick of the game.

Player of the day awards go to Mikey Jeffs and Fred Sanderson. Well done to all players for kicking off the season with a strong team performance.

–Jeremy Sanderson

Gremlins

THE Margaret River Gremlins played GMAS in their first game of the season and enjoyed the bright sunshine at home in Margaret River.

All players showed terrific skills and parents and spectators were treated an exciting game on both pitches. Well done to everyone.

Senior soccer lads score three for win

South West Soccer, Men’s:

Australind 1 v Margaret River 3

MARGARET River travelled to Australind on Sunday smarting from a defeat the previous week.

Players were keen to make amends and get their season back on track, although Australind is never an easy venue.

They knew that if they played with the same commitment as the previous week, they were in with a chance.

The game was played at a very high standard with every player focused. The first 10 minutes saw both teams sounding each other out, and it was not for the faint-hearted.

Playing with the wind at their backs, Margaret River slowly started to get on top, but once again poor finishing let them down. Finally Margaret River took the lead from a goal by Ethan De Latte who followed up a great strike from Mehdi Belki that cannoned off the cross bar.

Another great strike by Declan Genge hit the post and the flood gates were waiting to open, but just before half time, Australind took a quick free kick and scored a well-taken equaliser which gave the goalkeeper no chance.

Kicking against the wind in the second half, Margaret River knew they had to be right on their game. Australind were shaken by the fierceness of the opposition and were being beaten all over the park.

Some of the link-up play was a pleasure to watch, but unfortunately Margaret River continued to struggle to finish it off as the forwards again found numerous ways to miss the target.

With eight minutes to go Garry Holmes found the corner of the net, much to the relief of the rest of the team. This was quickly followed by a great long-range shot from Scott Guthrie Phelps which put the game to bed.

This was great team performance made all the better by the fact half the team are 16-18 year olds from the juniors, congratulations to all the players.

–Paul Brown

Poor first half robs ladies

Football Margaret River 0 v Blackwood 1

WITH the bare minimum 11 players, the Football Margaret River team trekked to Balingup confident a win was possible.

The first half of the game was arguably FMR’s worst 45 mins of football, with miss-kicks, airies and no structure or shape. However, Blackwood were as bad. After half time it was like a new team had taken the field.

Marnie Robbins in goal kept FMR in the game with a stunning save low down to her right that was going in on the post, Jasmina Andros, 14, the youngest of the team, out-performed everyone on the pitch with 80m sprints in attack and defence, and Kate Salvatore supplied quality ball to the forwards who now had Blackwood defending their own goal.

Things began to get willing and the yellow card came out to try to tame the girls, but it only escalated, with strong physical performances put in by Sharni Giles, Jaelle Hofman and Evie Koster. Grace Allington had several close calls only to be denied by the keeper.

With the clock ticking down Robbins pulled off another gutsy save from the feet of her opponent only to see the ref point to the spot and Blackwood slot a penalty with only minutes to go.

Bad luck girls but if you played the first half like you played the second, you would have won.

You always know it is going to be an interesting day out when you come across your two strikers chasing three pigs down a country road en route to the game - priceless ladies. Next week we play Collie at home. Mature-age players still required, info@footballmargaretriver.org

–Clive Slater, coach