The penultimate round of the 2024 home and away season showed that our teams are determined to give their all, with the prospect of success in the finals.
Semi-finals begin on August 31, with our teams participating in finals for U12 (2 teams), U14, U17, Division 1 and Division 2 Women. This week’s games will be very interesting to watch.
Under 10 Stead Park
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 1-4
U/10 Strikers played a very competitive match against Geelong Jaguars. The first half was highlighted by really solid defence from James, Edward, and Thomas. Strikers did a great job of looking to pass into space, particularly out to Dot and Isla on the wings. A great series of passes from James to Dot to Harry to Isla very nearly resulted in a goal to the Strikers. Despite great defence, Jaguars managed to score just before halftime.
The second half saw Jaguars score two quick goals, pushing their lead to 3-0, though Strikers maintained pressure with Dot and Isla leading a strong offensive push that resulted in a well-executed team goal, finished by Harry. James continued to excel in defence, especially during short corners, but a late goal from Jaguars sealed the match at 4-1.
Special mention goes to Edward, who, despite taking a significant knock to the knee late in the game, showed remarkable resilience by playing in the subsequent U/12 match.
Under 10 Lloyd Reserve
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Dynamos 9-6
Rebels played Dynamos and came away with a win, the score being 9-6.
It was a close first half, and both teams put in a fabulous effort. It was great to see Rebels playing as a team, lots of passing and calling for the ball. There were some epic tackles from Beatrix, Abby and Esther that really helped set up some goals for the team. Harry and Freddie worked hard in defences saving a few goals. Florence ran hard and worked to create space.
In the second half Harry was on fire, scoring a total of 6 goals for the game. Charlie was also running hard and attacking, he ended up with 2 goals. Caspar scored 1 goal and was involved in lots of tackles in the second half. We need to work on creating space and getting everyone involved. It’s great to see everyone growing in confidence! Thanks for a great game Dynamos, and well done Rebels.
Newtown Rockets vs Newtown Spirit 0-8
This week we had the following players: Austin, Elspeth, Harry, Lily, Nora and Ryder.
In the first half we did some great defending against Spirit and managed to stop a lot of their goals from getting through, with many saved inches from the goal line. Lots of great teamwork and looking for spaces where we could bypass Spirit.
The second half was a bit harder and not as focused and Spirit scored a few more goals with the final score being 8-0. Spirit increased the intensity, using the space on the wings to move into attack. Despite some great running back to support our defence we were not able to cut off the approach to goal.
Fantastic to see the effort shown by each player for the whole game. Well done Rockets!
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rockets 8-0
Newtown Spirit played Newtown Rockets on Saturday morning. Spirit developed a plan before the game, which was for our defenders to move the ball wide, then bring the ball into the D along baseline and setup each of our three forwards (Tess, Hayden and Saskia) to score. Tess scored after about five minutes and then Hayden scored after another five minutes. Saskia couldn’t quite score and had several shots blocked by Rockets and one shot that hit the post.
In the second half, we decided to play with less structure. Hugo scored several goals and we finished off strongly.
Under 12
Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 1-0
A hard fought game , where Strikers found themselves defending for the majority of the game. Had it not been for the heroics of our goalie Albie, who made several amazing saves, the result would have been very different. Albie was supported strongly by Paddy, Alex, Eddy, Eva who all made vital defensive plays to prevent Spirit from scoring late.
We had several opportunities to score early in the game with Georgia making great position to cover the post on a few forward thrusts and narrowing missing. The only goal came late from a solid build up that involved Joey and Cooper, moving the ball past defenders, which finished with a nice strike from Jack.
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 0-1
Spirit in 2nd place on the ladder playing the unbeaten Strikers but there was quite a bit of confidence by Spirit after recent performances. A couple of nervous moments at the start of the game but Spirit’s quick and long game started to gain dominance. Unfortunately the finishing was not there and at half time there was no score.
Strikers relied on some counter attacking but Spirit again had territorial control. Three short corners in a row but Spirit couldn’t find that last push in to the goal. Strikers got the ball up to a scoring position and probably their best chance of the game resulted in a goal. Spirit had most of the best scoring opportunities for the game but weren’t accurate enough when it counted. Full time Spirit 0-1 Strikers.
Under 14
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 2-7
U14 Strikers have had a tough year against a strong Jaguars team, but what the scoreboard doesn’t show is the improvement that the coach, team manager and parents see week to week from the team!
This week was no different, particularly in the first half. Strikers made sure the ball spent plenty of time in our half and heading towards our goal. Ruby and Lucas Y applied lots pressure when Geelong had the ball, and Lucy and Oliver worked hard to get the ball back up our end.
All this great team work meant that Geelong went scoreless right up to the last 3 minutes of the half! (Editors note: fantastic work team!)
In the second half there were plenty more highlights from the team, including:
– great communication amongst our players, helping each other out with options and encouragement
– more great saves from our new goal keeper, Kayden 🙌
– team work and quick passes between Ved, Lucas Y, Jess and Cormac that ended in a goal
Lots of great efforts and progress from everyone in the team – let’s see how it all pays off next week against Torquay!
Under 17
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 2-1
This week, we faced Torquay in yet another tightly contested match, adding to the series of exciting encounters we’ve had with this season.
With finals on the horizon, we made some strategic positional changes to further enhance our squad’s flexibility. Every player embraced their new roles, and the Strikers took to the field with a determined mindset to avenge last week’s loss.
Ollie set the tone early, netting a brilliant goal from the far post. Shortly after, Ollie and Surry combined beautifully for what seemed to be a second goal, but unfortunately, it was disallowed.
Undeterred, the Strikers maintained their attacking momentum. Nate led several surging runs, skillfully utilizing Aimee and Serena on the wings. Meanwhile, the half-backs—Rylie, Will, and Georgia—provided excellent support, creating opportunities to open up the game. Zac capitalized on the team’s efforts, with a great move inside the circle and scoring to extend Newtown’s lead to 2-0.
Torquay didn’t back down and continued to apply pressure. Despite some outstanding saves by Ruby in goal, they eventually found an opening and managed to score. The final quarter was intense, with both teams creating scoring opportunities. However, thanks to some resolute defensive work from Kayla and Amelia, we were able to prevent any further goals.
It was a tremendous game to watch, showcasing the team’s resilience and teamwork. With just one more match before finals, this hard-earned victory gives us great momentum moving forward.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Geelong Jaguars 1-2
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 1-4
Newtown Falcons played Saints Black on another unseasonably warm August afternoon. It was a tight first half, with Saints taking a 1-0 lead with a deflection goal. We played generally well with solid defending and good ball movement, particularly through the right-hand side with Basyl, Tom E and others combining. We dropped off in the middle of the game for 10 minutes – some sloppy marking led us to conceding two goals.
We were rewarded for our strong play late in the game with a terrific goal resulting from Tom E running hard through the right-hand side of the field and then hitting a hard ball across goal to AJ on the post. AJ committed to the ball and tapped it in.
Sadly, this was our last game of the season. It has been an enjoyable season where we have been able to match other D1 teams for most of the game, but unfortunately a lack of consistency with our lineup has hurt us in attack (both getting the ball into the D and converting opportunities). Many players have improved during the season. If we can increase our consistency and recruit a few more players, we can have a strong 2025 winter season and push for premierships.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 2-1
