We are heading in to the last half of the season and our match reports show some great efforts by all our players, with teamwork and ball control proving their value.
Under 8
Newtown Spirit v Golden Plains
Newtown Spirit worked hard to rein in a fast-paced Golden Plains in the latest round of Under-8 competition at King Lloyd Reserve at the weekend. While the weather was cold, the action on the hockey field was pretty hot for Spirit’s defenders as they battled desperately to keep their opposition away from the goals in the first half. Spirit, who borrowed Jakai from club stablemate Strikers and an opposition player to bolster numbers, were under the pump constantly. Half backs Charlie and Nate covered lots of ground, thwarting many forward drives by Golden Plains while full back Ruben solidly stopped several shots on goal and cleared the ball to safety.
Spirit managed a few swift attacks of their own but were unable to capitalise before half time. The team took to the field in the second half with renewed vigour, tasked with holding onto the ball for longer before passing, communicating their positions better and using players out wide. And it worked. The Newtown youngsters were more attacking and enjoyed greater possession. The half was characterised by a series of great linking runs, with a ripper initiated by a beautiful square pass from Charlie to a fast-running Jakai at right wing and on to Ruben, who had swapped to left half after the break. Nate moved back to protect the goals after a strong showing at half back.
Left wing Phoebe showed real grit with a great intercept, before manoeuvring capably around several opposition and winning a free. She also narrowly missed out on a goal soon after, with her shot hitting the witch’s hat and rebounding over the backline. After the game Coach Kellie praised Spirit players for their efforts, applauding their improvement including more linked play, better positioning and good passing. She drew attention to Charlie’s actions where he shadowed an opposition player, waited for the best opportunity to tackle, put his stick in and cleanly won possession. Phoebe took home the Best Team Player award after a sterling game on the wing. Phoebe, who is improving every week, acted on a half-time plea to hang on to possession for longer and added real power in attack. Excellent work Phoebe.
Well done team for a good game and many thanks to Jakai for helping out and Golden Plains for volunteering a player each half to boost Spirit’s numbers.
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong
Newtown Strikers put in a great game this week, showing great improvement in keeping sticks on the ground and being ready for the next pass. Amy defended the goals well, making many initial stops right in front of the goal. Great running to intercept opposition players by Eliza and great calling by Emma gave Newtown opportunities to move into attack. The second half saw some excellent marking, with Strikers players taking up positions in front of the opposition players. Great passing by Eliza and Brandon and great tackling by Amelia created some forward moves for Strikers, and showed the benefits of maintaining possession of the ball. Best Team Player award to Brandon for his determined play.
Under 11
Newtown Rebels vs Golden Plains 0-1
A great fighting spirit from the Rebels Team who were all very determined but were unfortunate to lose against Golden Plains, who scored a goal in the first half. Locke, Harry, Flynn and Basyl all produced some great runs and skills during the first half. Declan, Bailey, Luca and Kiah showed some great defence work in the lead up to Golden Plains trying to score goals, with Ezekiel fantastic work in blocking many of the opponents opportunities to score.
Golden Plains continued to apply pressure during the second half where we saw some fierce efforts from all the team, including Taylah, Zoe, Claire and Charlotte. I’m sure this game will be great practice for our team when we tackle Golden Plains again next week in our rescheduled match. Well done team! Best Team Player went to Ezekiel.
Newtown Strikers v Kardinia 9-2
It was raining goals (and raining) Saturday morning with some wonderful play from the Strikers. A full team effort with great work through the mid-field getting it up to the forwards who regularly converted. Terrific defence limited Kardinia’s scoring opportunities, with some great clearances from Izaak at full back and solid work in goals from Captain for the Day, Paige. Thanks to Angus for filling in for us and bulking up the defence line. Five goals to Harry, three to Olivia and one to Sam R and big congratulations to Best Team Players for the week, Sam R and Brandon.
Newtown Spirit – Bye
Under 13
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2-3
A great fighting effort by the Spirit team who were unlucky to lose to Torquay 3-2. The first half was full of highlights – great defensive play by the 2 Angus’s, Sam & Will; James the goalie stopping many shots; plenty of run from Claudia, Isabel, Harry & Oscar gave the forwards Declan, Olivia, Maya & Miles plenty of opportunities. Miles scored a great goal to level the scores at the break. More of the same in the second half, again with Miles scoring to level the scores. Torquay scored late to go ahead but the team never gave up and continued to attack right up to the final siren. A great team effort.
Newtown Strikers vs Bellarine 2 2-1
One of the few Sunday games for the Strikers meant we were missing players due to Wildcats training and other sporting commitments, so we relied on Basyl and Harry from U11 Rebels, and Declan from U13 Spirit to fill in and field a full team.
The game started positively for the Strikers with two early attacks on goal, however the Bellarine goalie was reading the play well and able to easily clear the ball. Bellarine counterattacked soon after and Max, playing his first game in goal for the Strikers, came out of his goal and confidently kicked the ball clear. Bellarine continued to attack and were able to sneak in a goal from congested play in front of goal. Just before half time, the Strikers were awarded a short corner, which resulted in an equaliser to Olivia on the right post.
The majority of the second half was played in Bellarine territory but the Bellarine goalie was having a great game defending his goal, so no further goals early on. With only a few minutes remaining, Harry had a blinding run into the D leading to a short corner. The shot on goal was unsuccessful, however the Strikers were able to keep possession in the D and Tom eventually scored. With little time remaining, the score remained at 2:1 to the Strikers.
In conclusion, a great match and well done to the whole team for staying committed all the way to the final whistle. Thanks to the Basyl, Harry and Declan for filling in and integrating well into the Strikers team, and special mention to Max for his first game in goal, fantastic effort!
Under 15
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 4-0
Newtown U15 spirit had a well deserved 4:0 win against Torquay on the weekend, with goals going to Declan, Monique, Callum and Jonah. After staring out on the defensive with Torquay pushing hard at our goal for most of the half, a goal by Captain Monique settled the team down and got everyone back into formation.
The second half opened with 2 quick goals before Torquay found their form again and pressured our defense. Eneko, Bronte and Cassidy presented a perfect defending structure working well with Luka in goal to ensure that Torquay were kept scoreless. A nice way to finish the before the break for school holidays.
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong 4-0
What a fabulous game for Newtown Strikers against Geelong! Not only did we win but we saw absolutely everyone having a great game. Especially in the second half when the incentives were laid out – Rachel was onto her second Mars Bar after an explosive piece of play where it seemed everyone ran hard, passed, crossed it and made it all seem easy. Hudson was starring all over the pitch, and gaining tremendous ground every time the ball headed his way and executing some impressive tackles and beautiful ball control. Byron’s speed came in handy to keep some of Geelong’s players out of the game, and Girl Power shone through in the centre as Erin, Chloe and Rachel tackled relentlessly and didn’t make it at all easy for the opposition. Luke, Jen and Josh did a fantastic job keeping the chances of scoring against us to a minimum. Tom and Miles both impressed us all with two very smooth goals, and Will and Lachlan were playing a great game in their respective positions. All round brilliant performance which we look forward to seeing more of this weekend as we play our round two match (rescheduled from Anzac Day).
Under 17
Newtown Strikers – Bye
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Red 11-2
Division 1 Women
Newtown Strikers v Newtown Falcons 3-1
A wonderful game from the Strikers this week. For the first time in a while we have had a near full team which allowed us the freedom to play in our preferred positions and, as a result, everything finally came together. Terrific work up back from Sam and Courtney backed up by some brilliant saves from Jess in the goals. Plenty of run through the midfield and up forward – including a standout game from Tiahna. Goals to Peta, Courtney and Eliza. Overall, great team effort to give us our first win against the Falcons.
Newtown Falcons vs Newtown Strikers 1-3
The game started off very well with Falcons having most of the play. Even though there were many failed attempts at goal, Kelly was able to sneak 1 through with a great back sweep shot. The passing and runs through the middle were very strong, great stick work from Elena, Katey and Rachel. Phoebe did a fantastic job at getting the ball down to goals and our tackling in defence was equally strong from Emma, Ainsley and Shelby. Jessie as usual did a stand up job in goal. Thanks to Nicola and Kellie for filling in.
Division 2 Men
Newtown Strikers vs Corio 2-1
In a heart stopping game the Strikers looked like they were going to go down one goal to nil before we gathered ourselves at half time and staged a second half comeback to win the game in the final minutes. A fantastic team effort by all involved.
Newtown Spirit vs Saints 2-0
Division 2 Women
Newtown Spirit vs Saints 0-2
This game was highlighted by sound defence from our fullbacks and halves throughout the match. Saints applied pressure from the start but Spirit were able to keep their attempts at goal to a minimum. Great tackling from Jac and Andy with Hil and Jan providing timely clearance from the circle. Peta wound up and pushed play through the centre to get it through to Lauren and Pam to make attacks. Although we did manage a few corners we were unsuccessful. Saints were able to play high and create a spare player that we just couldn’t pick off. Overall a good game despite the scoreline. A huge thank you to Lauren for filling in.
Newtown Rebels vs Torquay 3-3
Newtown Rebels showed some great teamwork from the starting whistle, using players in close supporting positions to move the ball up the field, and great running to gain possession saw Newtown score the first goal of the match. Torquay equalised quickly, putting our defence back under pressure with quick ball movement. Fantastic use of space and passing down the left side by Chloe and Erin S created many attacks with Bron and Lauren providing a focal point in the centre and threatening the Torquay defence. Despite great defence at the back by Dana and Colleen, Torquay were able to score twice more with tap ins from players on the post, and Rebels were 1-3 down. But Rebels continued to play a great team game, with Remi and Tracey making many interceptions in the midfield, sending the ball into attack. Marion’s great ball control and speed, combined with some great cuts by Meredith to get the ball, saw Rebels make many forays into the circle, and we gradually whittled the deficit down, with a strong hit from Marion to make the score 3-3. We had an opportunity to steal the game with a short corner after the final whistle but were unable to capitalise. A great game by all!
