Tag Archives: junior hockey

The 2016 Geelong hockey season came to a close with a very exciting day of Grand Final matches, and successes earned by great efforts during the year.

Kookas

Very impressive skills and understanding of the game from new players Lachlan and Rory was a highlight of this week’s game. Great teamwork and use of space, with both teams using switches to players on the opposite side of the field to create attacks. Ella, Sam and Lachlan were a potent opposition despite being outnumbered. Matilda, Jai and Rory put great pressure on the ball carrier and blocked many attacks, then turned possession to their advantage. A very close scoreline ended the game with great fun had by all.

Under 11

Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit 0-0

An exhibition match between the Premiers of the Under 11 North and Under 11 South competitions, Newtown Rebels and Newtown Spirit, finished off the hockey season for these players. The game showed the great standard of skill and depth of talent at this level. The game was fairly even, with both teams having plenty of attacking moves. Great ball control skills from both teams, and Newtown Rebels attacked well through Olivia, Basyl, Sam and Patrick. But both teams had great defence setups too, with Luca doing well for Rebels. Angus, Liam and Oliver held off many of Rebels attacks and turned the ball to Spirit’s advantage. Late in the game Max went for a run into an open goal and a goal to Spirit seemed a certain thing, but it was not to be. The game finished with a 0-0 draw – a fitting result for such a great game.

Under 13

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 1-5

The U13 Hockey Grand Final was played between the two Newtown teams Spirit and Strikers.  The Spirit team were very excited about playing in the Grand Final and really enjoyed the game.  Everyone worked really hard and there was some lovely team hockey on display again.  The Strikers were a strong side which put a lot of pressure on our defence.  Jarrett played a fantastic game down back stopping numerous Striker attacks and Max in goals also made some great saves.  Harry S stepped up to take a short corner and slotted a great goal towards the end of the first half.  A big congratulations to the Strikers on their win they played a great game and had a fantastic season.  To the Spirit team, well done you all played amazing and you should all be very proud of making it through to the Grand Final.  Thanks for a great hockey season and look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 5-1

Under 15

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 3-1

Wow! What an amazing game and a terrific reward for the teams’ effort throughout the season. The match was another tense affair, with both teams displaying great skill, desperation and sportsmanship throughout.

Torquay had the better of the opening forcing the Spirit to defend desperately. Eventually Torquay found an opening and scored after 10 minutes. Rather than be deterred the Spirit lifted their effort and eventually gained the ascendency. It wasn’t long before the Spirit leveled the score with a great goal to Lachie. The Spirit continued to pressure Torquay and a scrambled goal to Amber saw them take a well-deserved lead into half time.

After the break both teams continued to look dangerous when attacking but neither could capitalise on their opportunities. Fantastic goal keeping and desperate defending repeatedly denied Torquay. The Spirit maintained their intensity and continued to combine beautifully as a team. Eventually another scrambled goal to Matt gave the team some breathing space
and they held on until the final whistle

All players should be extremely proud of their success as well as the way they represented themselves, the team and the club. It has been fantastic to watch the improvement in skill and confidence of all players during the hockey season. A big thank you to Niko and Brendan for coaching the team – the players’ improvement and success is a reflection of your efforts.

Under 17

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 1-2 – in extra time with a golden goal to Kardinia

Full of hope and optimism, and a hint of emotional reflection (for those of us with top age players), we all arrived ready for a closely fought Grand Final. Kardinia have been playing better each game, as they moved towards the GF, so the expectation was that they would be putting up a strong competitive effort.

From the outset, it was on, with Kardinia alternating with Newtown in attack – the defensive pressure   applied was impressive, and despite several opportunities to score by way of PC’s, Newtown were unable to convert early in the game.
However our defense was strong as well, and with commitment and a bit of luck, Newtown too defended some efforts by Kardinia to score in PC’s, reaching half time, nil all. Tension was evident with both teams desperate to score. Kardinia were able to put one in first and allowed the psychological advantage over Newtown to raise the pressure in the second half. Some great efforts in defense by Tom, Dan and Nick P, prevented further scoring from Kardinia, though the clock was ticking down with still no score from Newtown.

Finally some great play to move the ball up into our attack and the opportunity to score was taken with a lovely angled field goal by Gus to equal the score 1:1 just minutes before the final whistle. Into extra time, it was looking positive for Newtown with early part in attack and several PC’s in a row however again, the set ups didn’t come off and opportunity lost. Kardinia strong on the ball, were able to return the ball into their attack and with a PC, converted to a goal, WON the match in the first period of extra time.

What  a tense and mercurial game, that could’ve gone either way for much of it. Well done Spirit on a really positive hockey season. It’s been a privilege watching our players over such a long time – Dan Smith, Nick Proebstl, Tom McDonald, Alex Birse, Gus McKinnon as well as Thomas and Luke Pearson from Strikers, have played their last junior match.  They are a lovely group of young men, that makes me feel positive about the future and the contribution that our boys will make.

Division 1 Men

Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 5-0

“When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment, or let the moment define you”

Each Falcon who played on Saturday evening had a defining moment, a moment that they will carry with them for the rest of their career…

• Jimmy J’s goal in the early stages of the game was an inspiration, a piece of craftsmanship worthy of unlimited praise.
• So too Mark’s work in the centre of the pitch, guiding the ship, controlling the tempo, posing for photographs in the Advertiser.
• Adham H made a full stretch diving trap, one single smooth motion that brought the crowd to its feet and Torquay to its knees.
• Michael was so cool down back; The Iceman. He was the one who never flinched, never wavered in his execution of skill or bearded manliness.
• Nick H was dangerous up forward, ensuring the Torquay defenders remained nervous and combining brilliantly with Nick M.
• Simon in goals was important at the beginning of the second half when a run of Torquay short corners threatened a comeback. If Torquay had of scored during this period the game could have taken a very different course.
• Chriso’s backstick skills complimented nicely with Adam G’s cunning defence. Adam’s defensive post work on short corners struck fear into the heart’s of the Torquay attackers.
• Speaking of fear, for the Torquay side the one-two combination of Lachlan and Sean in defence was like wolves howling at the door. Sean’s dalliance up forward proved successful.
• Kieran SD produced a breathtaking short corner flick that inspired wild celebration and much fist pumping.
• Zed played his best match of the season, broken eye socket and all.
• Our fearless Captain Leo dashed here there and everywhere, executing “The Sling” with breathtaking grace and punishing speed.
• Will was our best player, dazzling stick skills and fancy footwork allowed a seamless transition from defence to attack.

While there were many highlights during the game, perhaps its fair to say, there was no truly dominant player on the pitch. A more accurate reflection of our performance was that each player played their role, executed the game plan and most importantly, thoroughly enjoyed themselves. To me that is more important than the final score, medal or flag.

Thank you to all those who supported us on Saturday night and throughout the hockey season. Thank you to those players who played with us during the season but couldn’t be part of our grand final team such as Clarke R., Luke H and David C. Thank you to Lachlan Birse for being Team Manager extraordinaire. Thank you to Deb as Head Coach, and to Gordon for his work and commitment as Men’s Convenor. Thankyou to the Newtown Club Committee and other senior members of the club for their tireless work ensuring we continue to improve in all aspects of our club.

 May next season bring more hockey…

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 2-3

Newtown took to the field with some anticipation, having had some great matches during the hockey season against Torquay. Torquay created lots of running in the midfield early in the game and despite great position and great effort by Deb, Bec W, Ainsley and Penny were able to make their way into the circle. The first goal in the game came from Torquay, mid-height into the goal and just out of the keeper’s reach. Newtown redoubled their efforts and began to create some attack of our own, with Jess W, Nicole, Bec C and Jacquie making great space and running well. Torquay scored again to make it 2-0. However, this did not deter the Falcons players, and after half time, they came out with energy and determination  and began to control the play. Two goals on the board brought the game to an even footing, with Elese working hard all across the field. Another goal to Torquay 3-2 and you might have thought that Newtown was finished – but that wasn’t the case. Continued hard work saw a number of scrambles in front of the goal but without the desired result. A penalty corner earned right on the final whistle could have taken the game to a draw and extra time, but it wasn’t to be.

A fantastic effort by Newtown Falcons to reach the Grand Final and a great game by all the players.

The Preliminary Finals for the 2016 hockey season provided us with some great highlights as well as some sadness. With 6 teams playing, it was fantastic to see 4 of them make it through to the Grand Final next week. Commiserations to the 2 teams which were eliminated, but we are extremely proud of their efforts this year and congratulate them on their achievements and their dedication. Grand Final Day is going to be an absolutely fantastic day, and we will be cheering loudly for all our teams.

Kookas Midweek

No finals for this group of keen hockey players, but it is extremely pleasing to see the development in the skills and game play during the year. It was great to have Georgia, Abby and Lachlan join us and show such good understanding of the tactics of hockey despite their recent introduction to the game. Lachlan worked well with Sam S, finding great spaces to receive the ball and good skills to achieve passes to team mates. Abby and Georgia worked well together for Team Orange, providing options on the wings and moving the ball along the side line well. Some great running by Jai, cutting to receive the passes into space in front of the goal. Ella’s speed and reach always makes it very hard for the opposition to get past her, and her disposal to team mates created lots of attack for her team. Amy gained possession with good focus on the ball and in good position and made some great passes to pressure the opposition.

Under 13

Newtown Strikers vs Bellarine Lightning 1-0

The Strikers are through to the Grand Final after a hard fought 1-0 win against the Bellarine Lightning.

 Bellarine have been an excellent team all year and Saturday proved no exception.  The game started with the Strikers firmly on the back foot playing a hesitant brand of hockey, perhaps thinking of the consequences that a loss would bring.  With little continuity Bellarine were able to press forward regularly and when the occasional Newtown attacks were thwarted with a clearing hit there seemed to be multiple players from Bellarine waiting for the counter.  A difficult first half.  Gradually the Strikers worked into the game and created opportunities but without Angus S in goal and Angus R in defence the game would have been out of reach early.  Half time 0-0.

 At half time Coach Robson calmly delivered some home truths and encouragement to the players and it seemed to be the spark that was needed.  In a much better second half the Strikers play was characterised by second efforts, hard running, stout defence and the opportunities that this type of play delivers.  There were still chances for Bellarine and Angus S played out of his skin in goals to keep a clean sheet.  Ella streamed up and down the wing, Harry, Harrison, Kade and Miles were creative and Sam R delivered a great deadlock breaking goal.

 In all, a terrific win to earn the right to a replay against the Newtown Spirit this Saturday.

Under 15

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 2-0

Newtown Spirit advanced to the grand final after defeating Newtown Strikers 2-0 in a high-quality elimination final. The Spirit got off to a shaky start to the match with the Strikers controlling the early play. Desperate defending and exceptional goal keeping prevented the Strikers from capitalising. The Spirit eventually worked their way into the game and started to display the confidence and teamwork shown the previous week. After a period of ascendency, the Spirit eventually hit the scoreboard, with a goal to Tom. Both teams continued to look dangerous when attacking but neither could capitalise on their opportunities.

 The evenness of the contest continued in the second half with both teams enjoying good periods of play. The tension amongst the spectators grew as the Spirit hung on grimly to the one goal advantage. The players continued to combine beautifully as a team and, after a period of sustained attack, Miles was able to seal the victory with just over 2 minutes to go. Both teams played the game with great spirit and sportsmanship and should be proud of their efforts.

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 0-2

Last Saturday’s semi final brought the 2016 season to a close for the Newtown Strikers, going down 2 nil in an action packed game against Newtown Spirit.

Both teams and all players gave their all with the better team winning on the day. After the full time whistle both teams came together for a Maroon and White Newtown photo, showing the strength of Newtown’s junior teams.

The Grand Final next week will be played between the Spirit and Torquay, go Newtown.

U15 – Newtown Strikers and Newtown Spirit

Under 17

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 0-5

Last week when we came up against the Spirit, all of our players were 100% fit and we played an outstanding game.  This week we were a bit more challenged with a few players recovering from various illnesses and some playing in the U15 game immediately before.  In contrast Kardinia turned up with their “A” team who were all fresh and ready to fight for a Grand Final place.  Kardinia played very well and flooded their backline whenever we pushed forward.  They tagged our two Tom’s making it difficult for our regular goal scorers to get onto the scoreboard.  We manned up well, with Hudson, Luke H and Ollie limiting their attacks and rebounding effectively, limiting the half time score to 0-1.  We felt we had a chance to bounce back in the second half.  Despite all of our players digging deep and working hard, Kardinia just played better on the day.  Our fatigue kicked in late in the second half and unfortunately the score line didn’t do justice to what has been a great year of hockey by the Strikers.  We have a young team and most will be playing again next year, so watch out competition!  Well done to Tom P and Luke P for reaching the end of their junior hockey careers and hopefully you both continue to enjoy senior hockey.

Division 1 Men

Newtown Falcons vs Saints 4-1

On a balmy Saturday evening, out old Corio way,

was a team of white male Falcons looking for somewhere to play;

They sidled up to Stead Park, almost 50 minutes early,

Coach no-beard nearly had a stroke and didn’t look one bit surly;

Now long warm ups can sometimes work, other times not in your favour,

so the boys had a rest in the middle of the pitch, with plenty of time to savour;

The game actually got started, against the Saints the Falcons sure looked good,

Pinnie and Rosso controlled the match, while 4 goals came like they should;

The second half was not as pleasant, perhaps the boys were getting tired,

after all we’d warmed up for 40 minutes, so the legs were feeling fried;

But in the end the siren sounded, Adham sure was puffed,

Sean and Lachlan had been pillars down back, and the Nicks were most certainly stuffed;

So if you’re bored this Saturday 5:30, with nothing else to do’s,

please come on down to old Stead Park, and bring some nice warm shoes.

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Geelong 2-1

Facing up to Geelong who had led the D1 Women’s competition for much of the year saw Newtown Falcons start the game with anticipation, and expecting a hard match. Geelong started fast and caught our players off guard, scoring the first goal of the game. However, Newtown remained focussed and continued fighting hard to create attacking opportunities, and levelled the score with a strong attack and great work from forwards Bec C, Phoebe, Jacqui, Jess and Emily. We played a very good first half in both attack and defence stopping Geelong from scoring any more in the first half. Great keeping by Jessie and steady midfield defence by Deb, Bec W, Elese, Tiahna and Kelly limited Geelong’s opportunities.

After half time our girls decided to attack hard and some fast play along the wide spaces resulted in another goal. The team played a very good defensive game with Sam, Ainsley and Penny adept at stopping our opposition from scoring again for the half. Goals scored by Bec C and Tiahna.  The team played a very strong game to defeat Geelong and were delighted with the result. Good luck to the Falcons womens team for the Grand Final against Torquay.

D1 Women Newtown Falcons

 The 2016 hockey season is fast nearing the end, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still watch some fantastic hockey, and the Semi-Finals this week provided a feast of great hockey. The effort and teamwork was superb, all the way from our Under 13 players to our senior men and women.

Kookas Midweek

No rain for the Kookas game this week so we were able to get out on the field and really use the space for a great game of hockey. Marcus and Hugo joined us and added some bite to the attack for Team Red with great use of space and vision to find team mates Amy and Ella in good position. Some lovely passing for players to run on to saw some great touches rewarded in front of goal. Sam H and Sam S continued to switch the play to advantage for Team Orange and Matilda was focused and always ready to put pressure on the opposition. Great ball control skills from Jai and good use of his team mates helped move the ball into attack for Orange. A very enjoyable game with great skills and teamwork by all.

Under 13

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 0-1

The first final saw the Strikers meet the Spirit in an all Newtown affair. What followed was probably the tightest and most desperate hockey we have seen  for the season.  The Spirit finally broke a 0-0 all deadlock with 6 minutes to  play and despite some close shaves that is where the score stayed for a  deserved Spirit  victory.

During the first half both teams had periods in attack/defence with the Spirit  forcing the Strikers wide or playing long balls though the midfield and  forcing the Strikers to double back in defence.  There were a number of  terrific efforts where Ella took long runs down the left wing but  ultimately there was a lack of support to make good these attacks.  Miles  ran tirelessly from defence to attack and back again, Olivia put  in multiple efforts up and down the field, Angus R put in a number of  goal saving clearances with his powerful strikes and Flynn was creative. Oscar created perhaps the chance of the half as the goal keeper  desperately covered his shot. At half time the score was nil all.

The second half was played at either end of the field.  The Spirit winning  repeat short corners and placing pressure on the defence while the Strikers  played the counter attack.  Harry created some terrific chances on  the counter almost scoring on multiple occasions while the team literally ran  themselves to a standstill.  Sam ran through the middle creating  chances.  Jonah stopped a number of free flowing attacks from the fleet  footed Spirit.  Angus S faced down countless attacks on  goal from waves of Spirit players preventing a lopsided scoreline.

While the team lost its first match for the season, as a group of parents we  could not be prouder of the level of effort put in by the players and to  nearly pinch what would have been a most meritorious victory.  Congratulations  to the Spirit on an excellent team game.  Next week the Strikers play again  for the right to a rematch for the Spirit.

Under 13 – Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 1-0

What a great game of hockey played between the two U13 Newtown teams. It was a close hard-fought game with Jamie scoring a nice goal in the second half to give Spirit a 1-0 win. Well done to Strikers who played strong hockey even though they were missing some key players. A big congratulations to the Spirit team who once again played great hockey to go straight into the Grand Final. Awesome job guys and hope to see you all at training to sharpen the skills for Saturday week.

Good luck Strikers for this Saturday! If you’re not doing anything this Saturday morning, I’m sure they would appreciate the cheering and support!!

Under 15

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-4

What an excellent effort Newtown  Strikers put in this weekend as we took the pitch against Torquay. The game was by turns pressured, busy and went from our end to theirs and while the scores didn’t go in our favour, we were winners in our continued effort and really came undone in the last five minutes when they scored two quick goals. Everyone ran hard and put in 200 percent, running down the ball and always keeping going. Great positioning by many, bringing up a timely reminder that there were a few times where your teammates were in a great position but we failed to use them. Look for options, and create options! All the best for this week everyone. We look forward to Ella and Will back on our side this week for the game against our Newtown opposition. Win or lose, it’s been a season to be proud of.

Newtown Spirit vs Bellarine Storm 6-2

Newtown Spirit defeated Bellarine 6-2 in a highly entertaining elimination semi-final. The Spirit got off to a strong start to the match controlling play from the outset and capitalised within the first 6 minutes with a goal from Miles. The team combined brilliantly out of defence and through the middle of the pitch, creating opportunities in the forward half. To Bellarine’s credit they defended tirelessly before Lachie inevitably scored with a goal in the 17^th minute, another followed 5 minutes later. The Spirit were unlucky to concede a late goal from a penalty corner resulting in a 3-1 score line at the break.

The start of the second half saw a reversal of roles from the first with Bellarine controlling play, scoring an early goal and continually attacking. The Spirit defended grimly with Angus, Matt, Harry and Josh in goal, valiantly defending the last line. To the team’s credit, even when on the back foot, players continued to look to share the ball. Eventually, through the hard work of all players, the Spirit again gained the ascendency and a goal to Olivia with a deflection from a shot by Amber saw the margin back to 2 goals and Niko’s heart rate back below 200 BPM. After this the Spirit enjoyed the fruits of their hard work with Lachie continuously distributing the ball with precision out of the back half, Jemma, Miles and Amber providing great run out wide and Declan, Tom and Olivia offering attacking options. A further two goals (Matt and Miles) saw the final result a well deserved 6-2 victory in the team’s best game (so far!) for the season.

 Under 17

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 5-4 in ‘golden goal’ extra time

Such a beautiful day today. What a great setting for a tight Semi Final against our rival Newtown Strikers. Always promising to be a close game, Strikers came out firing against us – slow to switch on, Spirit allowed Strikers all too much freedom, by defending loosely. Strikers were playing a very solid team game and despite many opportunities by way of Penalty corners, our scoring was severely limited by Strikers defensive pressure and some impressive goal keeping throughout the game by Luka. Spirit were two  goals behind early on in 1st  half and to their credit,  didn’t go into panic mode. Patches of good hockey from Spirit were revealed with Gus eventually able to set up with a lovely pass to bro Jo, and score our first goal.

Half time saw us trailing 2:3 and allowed some helpful insights by Don, as well as from Josh our GK – how NOT to score!! Much more productive and switched on second half for Spirit, with some impressive defensive efforts on the wing by Caleb and Cassidy. Tom and Dan were working hard in defence and limiting more of Strikers’ opportunity to score.  A score equalizing goal from Gus, took some of the pressure off, however Strikers continued to press, and play with purpose. The effort and team play from Strikers was impressive, and forced Spirit to work hard to stay in the game.

Despite another 7 or more PC’s, Spirit was unable to convert, and with some ongoing pressure and attack from Strikers, Spirit were again trailing 4:3, with the clock ticking down. Again, Bronte and Monique were positioning themselves well and all players at times were working hard to achieve something from their efforts. An equalizing 4th goal was scored by Gus however Spirit were unable to convert opportunities to win within match time.

Extra time began with some tense and stressful effort!! I’m not good with it!! Spirit were lucky to get away with the win this time, with Gus scoring the Golden Goal, however huge congratulations to Strikers for their team game and so nearly getting the win. We really will be barracking for Strikers against Kardinia in the PF next Saturday so that we can replay today’s game in the GF!! Well done Spirit.

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 4-5

We came up against our intra-club rival for the first round of the finals; the only team we have not beaten this year.  And WOW; it was game on!  You will not see too many local junior hockey games played like this.  I don’t know how many of the players had been watching the Olympic hockey but I’m sure it must have influenced some of them because the standard was sensational.  We jumped off to an early lead with tomma-Tom P scoring a nice early goal to get us off to a good start.  Spirit fought back hard but through good teamwork and passing we had the ball back in the forward line; a great pass from Oscar at the baseline to Corey at the top of the D allowed Corey to slap one in and make it 2-0 at about the 7 minute mark of the game.  We hadn’t dreamt of such a great start and we knew Spirit would not lie down and hand us the game that easily.  Our defence was superb, led by Hudson calling the shorts from full back.  Luke H ensured that their centre forward didn’t score any goals and Jen covered her opposing wing well intercepting many of their passes out to the wing. And what would the scoreline have looked like if it wasn’t for Luka?  We certainly wouldn’t have made it all the way into golden goal time without all the saves that he made.  Jack not only kept a close eye on one of the Spirit’s more dangerous forwards but switched to offensive mode seamlessly when we required to rebound.  Luke P’s speed is really starting to show with  another week in the midfield as he tagged his opposition players and made sure he got in the way of their forward thrusts;   Luke’s a regular at training every week and the impact of that dedication is showing.

 The Spirit certainly fought back as we expected and scored the next two goals.  From then on it was goal-for-goal.  Will made some great leads into the forward gaps with clear calling that allowed the mid-fielders to distribute it out to him effectively and set up forward attacks.  Whenever we thought the game was slipping away in the second half, Tom M reached into his bag of tricks and seemed to find something special as he scored two freakish goals that even got him fist-pumping.

 Unfortunately the Spirit were able to score the first goal in golden goal time to seal the game which means we will have to take on Kardinia next week.  For those who weren’t there, this game was an epic; not only for the result but the standard of play.  It was a very entertaining game for the spectators with lots of hooting and hollering on the sidelines.  Newtown has lots of good hockey to look forward to.

Division 1 Men

Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 2-3

Newtown Strikers vs Saints 1-4

Well, you can’t say that we didn’t try.  Going into half time we had Saints on the ropes after going toe to toe for the first 35 minutes and scoring a short corner from a great brotherly effort from the Hinetts.

 Going into the second half we knew that it would be tough, especially due to the fact that as usual our full team sheet evaporated before the start of the game with two players not turning up and the ridiculously bad fortune of Jimmy who chipped a tooth during the warm-up after a freak ball ricocheted from the group warming up the goalie and hit him on the side line.

 That being said, we resolved to continue playing the hockey that had gotten us into the top 4, a combination of attacking the ball with numbers and working it up the field together, keeping control before releasing to the forward line.  For the first 5 minutes it was looking positive, even though Saints had obviously gone up a notch.  Unfortunately, Saints scored an equalizing goal and as our players become more fatigued and an additional injury had us down to 10 players, more gaps began to open which allowed them to score another 3 goals before the end of the game.

 I think everyone that came out to watch the game would agree that it was a gutsy performance from the Strikers. Considering the double digit thrashings that we had been receiving at the start of the season, I’m incredibly proud of the improvement that the team has made this season, especially considering that as much as our skills have improved I think it’s the way that we came together as a group which has been the deciding factor in the teams success.

 Looking forward to building on what we have achieved next year (and hopefully having a bench…)

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Bellarine 3-2

A great game by Falcons showing what the team is capable of. Newtown attacked from the beginning and had the majority of the play in the first 15 minutes of the game. Great play in midfield by Deb, Bec W and Tiahna blocked most Bellarine attacks and with the backs, Ainsley, Sam and Penny, stepping up to the play and pressuring Bellarine’s forwards, it left our keeper little to do for some time. Long hits by Sam got the ball out of the danger area. Running to space and great passing in the forward line by Elese, Nicole, Phoebe and Jess often saw the play in the circle and Newtown scored the first goal. Bellarine bounced back and began to gain some control of the game and a quick run saw them even the score. Determination and effort from all, with Bec C and Jacquie working hard saw the play move quickly from end to end. A further goal to each team and the score was locked at 2-2, and extra time looked likely. But the work ethic continued and Falcons were able to score the winnng goal with less than 1 minute to play. A great result for great effort – on to the Preliminary Final next week!