AHJSA Match Reports

The Mount Torrens Rams made the most of a good pitch and great conditions. Much of the game was played in their attacking half but the breaks from Mount Barker were hard to contain.

regardless of shots on goal the Mount Barker goalkeeper did a great job keeping the rams to two goals and the opposition converted their chances with four goals in all.

At the end it was 2-4 win for Mount Barker.

 

 

Strathalbyn Under 14 RED played their first Cup Round game this Saturday at their home ground against a 'lively' Murray Bridge team in a game that saw a few heated moments from the away team.

Murray Bridge opened the scoring early in the first half which put pressure on Strathalbyn to match their game and whilst there was an overall frantic nature to the playing style from both teams Strathalbyn managed to even the score by half time.

It was in the second half however that Strathalbyn pulled out all stops to show that they were the stronger team even amidst an increasingly more aggressive style of play from Murray Bridge.

Strathalbyn managed to maintain composure thanks to solid defending and great goalkeeping, which gave the home team the momentum they needed and in turn allowed the forwards to counter Murray Bridge's attack which resulted in another 2 goals for the home team.

Final score Strathalbyn 3 - Murray Bridge 1

Birdwood played host for a first round cup game between the home team, Torrens Valley, and the away team, Woodside Warriors. Despite the early week forecast of a wet Saturday the light cloud cover and eventual sunshine told a different story, perfect for a game of football in mid-May.

The last time these two teams met was the first round of the league, when Woodside started their clean sheet run through the five grading matches. When Woodside first met Torrens Valley they were victorious with a 9-3 win. Cut to five weeks later, the first of the Cup games, and Woodside was looking for another simple win.

Unfortunately Torrens Valley had other ideas and wasn’t happy to hand over an easy win to the opposing team. The game kicked off at 10:30pm. Time for the two teams to determine an outcome.

Despite the solid warm-up, the away team started on the back-foot, going into the game almost lifeless and out of tune with the quality of what their supporters expect of them. When Woodside’s IZEYAH RAYMOND landed the first goal on the 12th minute no-one was confident it was enough. Ten minutes later JOSH BEVAN delivered Woodside’s second and still no-one was confident it was enough.

Torrens Valley, having had enough at this point, threaded the ball through Woodside’s defence, landing it in front of an onside Aiden Williams. The TVSC player then carefully put it past Woodside’s keeper and opened the home team’s account. JETT TONKIN managed to add a third to Woodside’s tally before half time. Even at this point no-one was confident it was enough for a win.

The whistle sounded, marking the half way point. All players, deserving of their weekly orange quarter session, also had to endure the words of their coaches.

The second half fell heavily in favour of the away team with four additional scorers (TOBY VINCENT, CAMERON MCLEAN, JAMES WALL and HAYDEN DAVIS) all adding onto Woodside’s haul, some of whom added a couple to their name.

The referee sounded his whistle on the 70th minute, declaring the game in favour of the away team, being 9-1 for Woodside Warriors.

“The end score doesn’t reflect their efforts”, said Woodside Coach, BRUCE TONKIN, of the opposing team. “It was quite obvious that they’re a young U14 team. We weren’t expecting an easy game and TVSC certainly put up a fight. Given that most of this team will be retained in the 2020 U14 season they’ve got the potential to be a danger. Be aware!”

TOMMAS BALACCO, following on from a brilliant 5th round performance, delivered yet again, taking home the Coache’s vote for man of the match. Cameron McLean and JOSH VASSOS weren’t far behind.

In the first round of this years U14 AHJSA Cup, Stirling Utd U14 hosted Woodside Warriors U14 Blue for the mid-morning match. With grading completed, this match would see a clash between the division 1 rated Stirling United and division 2's Woodside Warriors Blue. Fine weather and a damp but firm track ensured that this would be a free flowing affair with goals on offer for whoever had the skills to make it happen. 

And it wasn’t long before United opened the scoring with some fine transfer play and a long accurate shot on goal. They had given Woodside their first lesson – stand off us and we’ll hit the net! The young Warriors were shocked (and a little slow on the uptake) with Stirling U hitting the net no less than thrice in the next few minutes of play. Such a dazzling start by the home side threatened to bring capitulation from the visitors. But when true fighting Warriors are injured, they don’t lie down – They get back up  - And step forward. And the young lads from the agricultural side of the Hills did just that. Their defenders closed down their opponents, denying time and space; Their midfield surged up and down the ground, helping their tired defence and rebounding with intent; And their forwards found the will to hassle their opponents and defend as far back as necessary! But United were too classy to be rattled, even by such dogged opposition. Their willingness to work for the space and pass the ball to a team mate in a better position, and their skills at being able to find feet through traffic, to hustle in defence and to structure up at all times saw them control the remainder of the first half and score another couple of well-earned goals.

The second half also presented an opportunity for Woodside to lie down. After all, the mountain that United had built for them to climb was of Himalayan dimensions! So, with the sceptre of a superior opponent waiting for them on the field, Woodside walked out to face the music. But the second was played in stark contrast to the first. United were on top, yes. But the Warriors were well in the match and defending out of their brains! The lesson had been learnt. Quality players feed on space and time – Deny them this and even the best will have to earn their meal! The entirety of the second half was a pitched battle. United had set camp outside the gates in a siege-like attack on their opponents fortress, while Woodside fought for their lives and threatened mightily on the counter attack. In the end Stirling proved that they were just too disciplined, too strong and too talented and managed to hit the net on another three occasions on their way to a well earned victory.

Another great Saturday morning of Hills soccer with the game played hard but fair and the better team winning on the day.

With the sun out, and a freshly mown pitch, Aldgate Oval was abuzz with the added excitement of the first knockout cup round of the season. Despite the slightly earlier start than usual, Stirling United were on fire from the kick off, with Araby Phelan scoring in the first and third minutes of the game, followed by goals to Toby Leigh and Henry Monaghan that saw United with a four goal lead inside ten minutes. Ky Henry was continuously making long penetrating runs down the right hand side to open up the Woodside defence and provide further opportunities for United to score. With further goals to Leigh, Yuto Okada and Phelan before half time, the game was well in United’s control.

After the break, Woodside were able to exert some pressure on the United forwards, minimising the scoring but only had limited opportunities themselves. With Phelan bagging his fourth, the game closed out with Calen McCormick scoring after a lovely run and pass from Monaghan, and then Monaghan dribbling through a number of Woodside defenders to slot home the final score of the match.

A comfortable win for Stirling United who move through to the next round of the cup.

First round of the cup and it was perfect conditions. Woodside were up against Stirling United who we had just played a few weeks ago. Stirling started strong and the better of the two teams which resulted in an early goal to set the game going. Woodside steadied the ship and slowly fought back, holding defensively but also putting pressure down the other end. Eventually the pressure broke through and Woodside had scored their first. Not long after Stirling picked up the pace and returned with a goal before Woodside equalised just before the break from a freakish long distance shot off Ben Tyas. The half time score was 2-2 and setting up to be a tense second half. It was good football from both teams. Shots coming from both sides and the pressure building. Woodside's keeper had many many good saves but unfortunately could do nothing when an own goal managed to spin its way into the net off a deflection. Stirling pounced quickly afterwards and scored a couple more to make it 5-2. But Woodside hadn't given up and we're still pressing for goals. Out of nowhere they scored two and we're back in it. This made the last 10 minutes intense but incredible to witness. Both teams fighting to get to the next round. Stirling managed to hang on and walk away with a well deserved win. Neither team deserved to lose and the Woodside boys were unlucky but it was a spectacular Cup game to watch. The final score was 5-4 and sees Stirling United onto the next round.

After a tightly fought match earlier in the season where Woodside came out on top, this first round cup game promised to be a hard fought affair. Stirling started strongly, and when Nick Robinson scored in the second minute, had some early confidence. Both sides had chances, with one of the best being from a Woodside free kick which saw Liam Gibbs in the United goal out of position, but the powerful shot from Woodside was bravely blocked by Matt Daly in the United defence. On 21 minutes, another Woodside cross into the box which saw the initial shot blocked by Joseph Doyle, but the rebound was put away by Hoyle for Woodside to level the score.

Stirling United then had a good period of play, with a lovely shot from Sam Bartlett saved by Casey Paterson in the Woodside goal. Following this, Robinson pushed forward with a great solo run that saw his shot go just wide, but almost immediately, he followed this up with a beautiful left foot shot that hit the back of the net to give Stirling the lead. Bartlett had a number of further opportunities saved by Paterson, but as the end of the half approached, Woodside turned the tables and pinned Stirling in their back half. A Woodside corner resulted in a shot that just went wide, and just before the whistle, Tyas took a long range shot from well outside the box which he struck beautifully into the top of the net to level it up at half time.

Early in the second half, a great run and shot from Toby Christiansen for Woodside was well saved by Gibbs in the Stirling goal. At the other end, Bartlett had another shot that went just wide, followed by a great cross from Tyson Reuter which saw the ball pass multiple Stirling forwards before a shot from Anton Levings also missed the target. Continued pressure from Stirling eventually saw them retake the lead thanks to an unlucky own goal after yet another brilliant save from Paterson. A minute later Tom Packer made a great run down the right wing, and then with a precision pass found Levings on his inside, passing to Bartlett who scored through the tiniest of gaps on the near side of the goal. A further period of end to end play eventually saw Bartlett trap the ball with great skill, and then score with his favoured left foot to put Stirling ahead 5-2 with 17 minutes left to play.

With the game looking to be well in hand with less than 10 minutes to go, Woodside scored two in two minutes through Boyes-Flynn and Christiansen which set up a tense final stage of the match. Both sides had chances, but when the final whistle blew, Stirling prevailed in what was a highly entertaining and competitive match. Stirling go on to the next round, while a gallant Woodside can lick their wounds and continue the fight for the league.

Cup Round this week saw us take on Murray Birdge again under lights. We came in to this week feeling like a new team, with our first win last week giving us renewed energy and team spirit.  At first kick off we had great set up for goal, but missed our first few chances. With another great set up by our forwards saw Brooklyn hit the net with our 1st, murray bridge soon followed with their 1st making it a great and intense first half. 

At half time saw us up 5 to 2.

Come the start of the 2nd half saw a wobbly start, but with quick thinking by coach sarah a change around of positions we settling in, with Tahlia finding the net with the 1st goal to the second half. Our defence was strong working hard to keep Murray Bridge at bay. Second half goal keeper Hannah, gave us a heart in mouth moment, taking a chance leaving her post to clear the ball, backed by her defence who worked as hard to make sure no goal was scored. Late in second no momentum was lost as Layla and Brooklyn sealed our win with 3 goals between them.  

 

Goal scorers  Brooklyn, Layla , Tahlia .