AHJSA Match Reports

After a week off for the long weekend we were back to where it all started for most of this group, Aldgate oval Vs Stirling. Energy levels were high & ready for kick off, with the coach back at the reins & the legs refreshed ready to battle it out.

The first half started off with a bang with goals coming early, Mitchell, Billy & Archer all beating the keeper at some point throughout the term. Morgan and Ethan shared our goalie duties through out the match doing their best to replicate Australia's best (Redmayne).

In the second half everyone worked hard to try and hold out a determined Stirling. Adam providing some pacy runs down the line setting up countless shots on goal. Eddie was working hard through the midfield & teamed well with Odin who was solid in defence, clearing out a myriad of Stirling attacks. The whole team worked well together, showcasing plays well above expectations. Everyone battled hard until the end even with a slightly depleted line up. The improvements from R1 show just how far these guys have come & how well they are all willing to listen, learn & try out their new skills.

Hahndorf travelled to Woodside and were met with a glorious winters day.

Woodside Blue came out strong and really pushed the Hahndorf defense early. Miles Hennessy cleared the ball from the defensive end with a few long kicks that went sailing over the heads of the Woodside players. One of these kicks set Kealan Atkinson up for an attempt on goal. This was closely followed up by shots on goal by Michael Griggs and  Hamish Glynn.

The pressure on the Hahndorf defense continued for the remainder of the first half, with Woodside getting one past the keeper Scout Ramsey. This goal strengthened the resolve of the Hahndorf defense, with Hennessy and Harris Parkyn keeping the pressure on Woodside and Ramsey having two spectacular diving saves. Woodside did manage to sneak another goal through late in the first half.

After a few orange slices and a shuffle of positions, Hahndorf came out ready to play in the second half.

Sam Gardner donned the keepers gloves and was immediately greeted with some strong attacking play from Woodside. Gardner made a great save early, with awesome support from Charlie Roeszler. Despite the continued strong defense from Hahndorf, Woodside managed to get another one into the back of the net.

 Parkyn made some fast moves forward which really turned up the pressure on the Woodside defense. During one of these runs Parkyn had a nasty clash with a Woodside player, which lead to an early substitution with Hennessy coming on in his place. A couple of good throw ins turned the tide for Hahndorf, with some strong attempts on goal by Hennessy and Griggs. Ramsey continued showing her defensive strength, repelling further attacking moves from Woodside.

Late in the second half, Hennessy found a way through the Woodside defense to score the first goal for Hahndorf. This was immediately followed by a strong move forward by Woodside, but the Hahndorf defense held strong. After this Hahndorf really put the pressure on Woodside with multiple shots at goal. An assist from Hennessy led to a fantastic goal by Griggs in the dying minutes.

It was an enjoyable match, with enthusiastic support from spectators on both sides. Big thank you to Nic Parkyn who stepped in as coach in Gerards absence.
 

Hahndorf started with a 3 2 2 1 formation on the Summit Pitch. Carter Hartley put the pressure on early with accurate passing to create scoring opportunities. Mason Saywell had a ping at goal early after a confident solo run. Joshua Blain was clinical mopping up well in defence with that strong left boot. Hahndorf dominated possession in thier forward half for the first Levi Neumann found some space to throw his left foot onto the ball outside the box and beat the keeper to open the scoring. Nico Moran and Blain held the back positions well and saved Jasper Christou from having to repel any attempts on goal. Danny Morgan held the team structure well running the play in the midfield. Jak Skinner put a hefty shot on goals but was saved by the competent Bridgewater keeper. Moran’s clearing skills from defence to allowed another shot seconds later by Skinner. Saywell had a long range crack from 20m out that looked promising at halftime.

Christou and Neumann jumped out the blocks early in the second half, peppering the goals. Skinner got amongst the action and pumped a shot on goal only to be denied by the tuned skills of the the keeper. It was after some crafty midfield dominance by Hahndorf to set Moran up with a converted opportunity in the bottom corner to add another goal for Hahndorf. Morgan ran the ball out of defence to earn a tough free kick after a wayward tackle which led to another shot on goals by Christou. Blain and Hartley kept the defence busy and frustrated by supporting forwards and drawing the players to create more opportunities. Neumann added a couple more to put the game out of reach. Saywell was not troubled in goals thanks to the defensive structure of Hahndorf to keep a clean sheet.

What a day, the weather turned on its charm on the closest game we had to the winter solstance , who would have thought.

It  was our first game in weeks that we had had a full team, with one of our players whom had been overseas getting some international training (I hope)

back to join us. 

It was going to be a different line up with the extra player and no doubt coming in with new ideas . 

We had girl power in goals today and a positive outlook from our previous matches that we could come out firing. 

a final score of 4 /3 thanks to our goalie for doing a flying save to keep us out in front . 

great game and thanks for filling in for me . 

 

After a week off for the international break, it was all back on for the Warriors U10 Blue team this Saturday at the Summit Recreation Park in Mt Barker. Our players reported back from their respective national squads ready to resume club duties. And what an international break it was! With the Socceroos managing to qualify for the World Cup in November through the penalty shoot-out antics of ‘the grey wiggle’, interest in football has peaked again in Australia and so we had a capacity crowd at the Summit, many of whom were no-doubt expecting to see some goal line dancing during attacking set-pieces.

The match kicked-off on a bright and clear winter morning and Woodside were the quicker team to settle, creating the better chances at the opening of the game. Tommy Garden nearly put the Blues ahead at 3 minutes, with a left-footed shot across the face of the goal that beat the keeper only to bounce back into play off the far post. The Blues created a few more chances, with Elliot Stewart finding good attacking positions and was unlucky when his best chance of the half went wide of the goal. It was Barker who broke the deadlock about 20 minutes in but fortunately Woodside pegged them back three minutes later to go into half time level, a scoreline that was more or less a fair reflection of the game up to that point.

There is the old cliché that football is a game of two halves, but this time around it was the second half that was a game of two halves. In the first ten minutes Woodside struggled to find their feet in defence and didn’t clear their lines, as a result gifting Barker the ball and conceding three soft goals to seemingly put the game beyond Woodside’s reach. However, a tactical switch with about ten minutes left brought Noah Paech into midfield and his industrious presence and relentless chasing of the ball lifted the energy levels of the team. Woodside pulled one back when Forward Theo Nicholson played a defence-splitting through pass that Logan Bridge latched onto, dribbled forward and hit a blazing shot that the keeper was unable to hold and spilled over the line. After this it was almost all Woodside, and within minutes the irrepressible Leo Tucker whipped in a curling, dipping shot that beat the keeper and brought Woodside back to within a goal of Barker. The Blues continued to pile on a huge amount of pressure and a series of corners that pinned Barker back into their own box looked certain to yield a much-deserved equaliser, but the final whistle arrived before the Blues could find it.

The final score flattered Barker, who only really outplayed the Blues for a short period early in the second half, but it was a lesson for Woodside about keeping their heads up and so the Blues coach went the full Ted Lasso at the post-match team talk, emphasizing how important it is to BELIEVE! And there is no game where belief is more important than a derby, which is exactly what we have next week when the second instalment of Woodside Red versus Woodside Blue comes around. Unfortunately Woodside will be without box-to-box midfielder Tyler Berwick for a few weeks as the day before the match he picked up an injury in one of those unstoppable force versus immovable object experiments that kids of his age like to try. We’ll miss his presence on the pitch for the next few weeks and hope to have him back to peak fitness soon.

Perfect morning for soccer at the Summit.  Hahndorf U12 playing Mt Barker United Blue.  Hahndorf won the toss but Mt Barker were able to bring the ball down to their forward and have the first attempt at goals but Hahndorf Goalie Chris Haynes was quick to kick it to the Hahndorf’s forward.  Hahndorf were able to get the first goal from Jensen Ingram.  Second goal was from Joel Bateman.  Mt Barker cleared it out of centre and with a good pass we’re able to kick their first goal.  Not long after Hahndorf took it out of the centre with great foot skills from Bateman was able to get Hahndorf’s 3rd for the half.  Hahndorf’s defence in Billy Cook, Jackson Bidgood, Harry Wood and Thomas Stapleton made is hard for Mt Barker to keep in their forward line. Half time it was Hahndorf 4 Mt Barker 1.

Hahndorf were quick to bring the ball down to their forward with Bateman seeing the net for Hahndorf’s 5th goal.  Mt Barker got it out of defence but a big kick from Wood saw it back in Hahndorf’s forward.  Bidgood made an attempt at goal with a good save by Mt Barker Goalie, but with another quick kick from Bidgood saw Hahndorf get another goal.  Mt Barker took the ball to their forward but with Hahndorf’s strong defence in Sonjae Cook, Louis Moran and Goalie B.Cook the ball was brought down to Stapleton who attempted at goal, hit the side post which saw Bateman kick it towards the net for his 4th goal.  Hahndorf Emlyn Gilroy controlled the ball and kicked another goal for Hahndorf.  Moran got the ball from centre and went down forward to kick a goal for Hahndorf.  Mt Barker never gave up and tried one more attempt at goals to have Hahndorf goalie B. Cook saved it at the final whistle.  Both teams showed great skills and teamwork throughout the game.

What a stunning winter morning for soccer as we headed to Springbank for the match against Blackwood Forest. The opposition came in strong leaving Hahndorf a little unsettled. Cooper Liddle settled quickly and was confident in his header in attack. Joash Ng continued his graceful glide with the ball but Blackwood came in for their first attempt at goal, swiftly saved by Daniel Peters.

 

Ryley Neumann was ever present in defense, sticking by his opponent and quickly turning the ball over. However Blackwood returned fire with their first goal, 1-0. This woke Hahndorf up and Hayden Lien weaved through a number of players to even the game at 1-1 within minutes. Pepe and Jet Zahra ran strong through the mid and along the wings giving Liddle more attempts at goal but not to be. Blackwood responded with 2 quick goals and lead 3-1 at the break.

 

The boys had a sugar fix and a pep talk at half time. Patrick Hinze and Blain Balcom had some cracking plays and their best game of the season using their body and passing to Oliver Aylen and Jacob Gardner running through the middle. Some great teamwork lead to Levi Beesley finishing with a goal, making it 3-2. The crowd kept up the encouragement of the players in the hope of another goal before the final whistle.

 

Benjamin Romaldi saved a cracker, and Luci Tinsley-Smith and Harry Gould continued to control the ball. Some swift passing to Neumann and a clever chip over the goalie on his left foot lead to cheers and a 3-3 game.

 

Hahndorf’s toughest game of the season, but they didn’t give up. And great rustle by all for a deserved draw result.

 

Round 7 

Woodside Warriors vs Murray Bridge Gold

 

Parents didn’t need to consult Google Maps as we travelled down to Murray Bridge in consecutive games this time facing the fierce Murray Bridge Gold.

Woodside held control of the play in the early periods of the first half with some spectacular through balls from Tye and Jackson however we were unable to capitalise and the early missed opportunities would prove costly. 

Murray Bridge sensing a lowered confidence in the Warriors players went on the attack. The defensive efforts along with several cracking saves by William were admirable however the halftime whistle blew with a score of 3-0.

Coach Mark put on his Ken Hinkley cap offering an inspirational half time talk to his charges. The warriors responded with numerous quality plays and defensive efforts including a whizzing goal off the left post from striker Abbie, a bone shaking tackle from Hamish, run downs from Lillian & fingertip saves from Dean.  

The final whistle blew with a score of 7-1. A lot of positives to take out of this game as we look forward to our next challenge.

Report this week from one of our  Blue Cheer Squad - Dave Vanderaa 

 

Stirling hosted Woodside Warriors U13 Red for the midday game at Bradwood park.

From the get-go Stirling took it to the visitors, attacking hard to create a corner in the opening minute. This was executed beautifully, finding a team-mate in the six-yard box. This was denied by a desperate Woodside defender who blocked the shot, but the ball bobbled too long in the danger zone and was deftly pushed into the net to give Stirling the early lead. After this the game sea sawed, with both teams searching in attack and defending well to deny a clean shot at either end. If anything, Stirling was creating more sustained pressure, but although they looked dangerous on several occasions the Warriors routinely denied them time to prevent the home side from delivering a clean blow. The deadlock was only broken when a Woodside clearance hit a team-mates hand and the ref awarded a free kick 20 yards out. Here the Stirling midfielder showed his ball-striking ability to guide a powerful kick into the top corner of the net and extend his side’s lead. Again, the game entered a stalemate with neither side able to capitalise on their opportunities. And again the home-side was could only goal after a deflection resulted in another hand ball in the area. Again, this was finished with class and precision with the ball driven low, hard and with margin for error. And so, Stirling entered the break with a commanding lead, despite the game appearing to be a relatively equal affair.

When the teams strode out for the second half, Woodside looked like a team possessed. All 11 on the pitch took it to their opponents, pressing hard at the ball carrier right across the park. This sustained pressure gained Woodside valuable ball and turned the tide on numerous promising raids from their hosts.  Before long, the Warriors’ efforts were rewarded when their left wing capitilsed on one of many beautiful passing exchanges through the midfield and wing forwards. A powerful run and immaculate finish had Woodside on the scorecard and for a moment this threatened to swing the momentum. But an almost comical goal to Stirling arrested the flow when a high, long shot saw the ball deflected off the crossbar, onto the goal keepers head and eventually over the goal-line – when things aren’t going your way, they can really not go your way – This one took a bit of wind out of Woodside’s sails. But they dug deep and worked for one another. In the end, Stirling scored a couple of goals in the dying minutes, and although they deserved the win, the margin did not reflect what was a tight and enthralling encounter.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in the valley. Hahndorf U15s, undefeated, took to the pitch once again and this much anticipated game between two of the league leaders did not disappoint.

It looked as though Hahndorf would be on the end of a routing as large periods of the first half were dominated by Mt Barker Reds powerful attack. All momentum was with the away team apart from the occasional counter by Hahndorf and Mt Barkers persistent pressure resulted in them scoring the first goal in the 21st minute.

Hahndorf pressed back with some quick passing and shots at goal but were unable to find the back of the net before Mt Barker doubled their score in the 30th minute with a belting strike from outside the box finding "top bins".

Hahndorf struck back in the 32nd minute with their first goal, but remained under pressure. Hahndorfs solid defense hustled to keep the score unchanged and went to the break 1-2 with work to do.

 

The second half began with open end to end play, neither team able to gain control of the game. Each team coming back harder and faster putting both 'keepers skills on display. Mt Barker looked to be building momentum as Hahndorf's defense rallied and with some creative passing and intensity by their forwards on the Mt Barker defence, Hahndorf equalised in the 51st minute. Hahndorf had found their stride and began to dominate possession as they took the lead midway through the second half with their third goal.

Both teams kept the pressure on into the dying minutes with strong plays and shots on goal, but the score remained the same and Hahndorf took the win in what was an exciting and tight game.

 

Woodside again hosted Strathalbyn but after a number of players competed for association teams over the long weekend, both teams were depleted in numbers with Woodside only having a bare 11 for the first half. 

Woodside shuffled its personnel to better balance the team in an effort to try and save their legs for what would be another good contest. Woodside though started the stronger, with a greater commitment to win the ball and put their opponents under pressure. As planned Woodside tried to make the ball do the work and it was not long before they were switching play and getting behind their opponents, putting the Strathalbyn keeper and defence under pressure. For 20 minutes the Strikers held strong but the Woodside winger got free and, through the defensive line, he found the back of the net and opened his account. Woodside continued to amount the pressure and were denying their opponents an easy way out of their defensive third. In a rare opportunity Strathalbyn got past the Woodside defence but leaving his goal line the Woodside keeper stopped any real chance of a goal. Woodside continued to defend strongly and with Strathalbyn having the luxury of substitutes, the back four remained strong. Woodside’s strong throwing midfielder was causing trouble for the Strathalbyn defence clearing them and allowing the Woodside attack to run onto balls and create opportunities. In one instance he managed to get the ball past all
opponents and team mates and land the ball in the back of the net untouched. With 10 minutes to go in the half Woodside were awarded a penalty when a ball ran down a defenders arm in the box leaving the referee no choice but to award a spot kick. Woodside’s central striker took the kick and increased the lead. As the half drew to a close Woodside again scored when the Strathalbyn defense allowed the Woodside winger to score his second for the game. At the half time the score was 3:0. 

Woodside managed to increase its numbers in the second half when a determined player arrived on his bike after riding from Mt Torrens, late but ready to play. Also determined was Strathalbyn who knew they were a better team than their first half efforts demonstrated and wanted to make this a closer game. While the Striker’s were more determined this half, the Woodside unit held strong and repelled any attacked the Strathalbyn team offered. Woodside continued to play good football and with its central midfielder taking throw ins like a corner, the strikers remained on their toes. This was a better half for Strathalbyn who defended exceptionally well. With a reserve now, Woodside was able to rotate its forwards giving them a well deserved break. However, Woodside's midfield and defence were tiring. With five minutes left on the clock, Strathalbyn’s forward managed to run onto a ball and as the keeper and defence tried to close him down, he managed to get a shot away and found the back of the net. Woodside though were not out of the contest and in the final minute scored their fourth. 

The final score was 4:1 to Woodside

A damp pitch but sunny day saw the teams lining up after the bye round. The game oscillated between midfields with few forays beyond the 18-yard box by either side. Stirling however began to dominate the centre and soon was launching more attacks. Jess Verryt showed some good ball skills to get clear air near the 6-yard box to net the first goal. In almost a carbon copy, 5 minutes later Jess netted her second. After this it seemed, despite good defence from Mt Barker, Stirling Districts just seemed to be able to find a way and ran in seven more goals with Evie-Mae Kaines netting 5, and En Ueda netting 2. Amongst all this Isabelle Brown netted one for Mt Barker.

The second half saw some formation changes and soon they paid off for Mt Barker with some fast-breaking attacks through the centre and right flank. Ind-Rose Fillbrook scored Mt Barkers second and third goals within minutes early in the half. Some positional changes from Stirling slowed the attacks but not but didn’t completely stem them with another to Isabelle Brown. Maeve Cavaney was not to be out done and chimed in with a late goal for Mt Barker to round the game out with the final score falling at 9-5 in Stirling’s favour.