AHJSA Match Reports

Great game in wet conditions. Mt Barker had control from the start with some fantastic attacking skills and backed up well by the midfield.

The defenders stayed strong defending our goal line.

The first round of the division 2 regular season was played at the Hahndorf Soccer Club's home pitch on Pine Ave in Hahndorf, in the most difficult conditions to date. Very wet. Very cold.

 

The good will and strong sportsmanship between these two teams showed again today. And the scoreline belied a much closer match.

 

Damon Martin was awarded 3 votes this week for the hardest work ethic. While Grace Haynes and Ryan Schwarz were awarded 2, and 1, votes respectively. For excellent setups, and intelligent play on the pitch.

 

Orland Retig and Manning Broadbent showed flashes of brilliance in front of goals, combining for 7 goals between them.

 

Overall it is clear both teams are improving with every week, being the second week in a row they faced each other. And the games have been enjoyably played in a friendly spirit. And, it is obvious to all watching how hard all the players work and run, all game. 

 

Great game!

The Torrens Valley Soccer Club, the Rams celebrated their 40th year on the weekend, and it was a day of fun for families. Every team played a home game with a great atmosphere. Thanks to the association for supporting the idea of having all teams at home for the celebration day.

With a bit of rain overnight and light showers in the morning it was a heavy pitch but in good condition. the Rams took advantage of the conditions and moved the ball to the strong attack where Aiden Williams scored early from great midfield work. The Warriors were quick to respond and got the Rams defence on the backfoot, finding gaps that allowed them to get a shot on goal to level up 1-1 at half time.

The second half began with tight play and hard-fought contests through the centre of the field, but rams midfielder Ben Kramer was solid in his defence and moving the ball forward. The rams broke the even score, and then began to find a way through the Warriors strong defence. Movement of the ball from the defence line by Samuel Jones to the midfield and onto the attack found Cooper Ward positioned to convert the play to a goal. by full time the score progressed to a 5-1 win for the Rams. 

As part of the 40th anniversary celebration there was a post-game Tug-O-War which was hard fought by both teams, but it was the Rams day wining the Tug-O-War as well. The Rams will be ready for a hard game when next they meet the Warriors.

It was a cold, wet and windy morning for this weeks match. Woodside Warriors U12 Div1 came up against Torrens Valley this week at Birdwood Park. After an official start to the match with both teams walking onto the pitch with the referee both teams started off slow. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched in the first half with lots of good runs down the pitch and successful defence from both teams stopping goals. Aiden Williams from Torrens Valley kicked the fist goal 16 minutes into the first half. Then it took 12 minutes for another goal to be scored and that was from Woodside Warrior Domenico Silvestri. Woodside Warriors goal keeper Barnaby Bevan worked hard stopping all other shots that was made for goal. Scores were tied at 1 all when the half time whistle blew. After some words from the coach, Woodside Warriors started the second half with a run down the pitch by James Lunnon but Torrens Valley defence was too tight and made it difficult for Woodside to get anywhere near their goals. Torrens Valley kicked the first goal for the second half only 8 miutes in. Jett Warren, Troy Murray and Oscar Maguire worked tirelesy to get it down to Woodsides goals with no luck. Mattise Mack, Oliver Boerth and Max Davis had their work cut out for them trying to cover the runners from Torrens Valley. Torrens Valley had determination and fought for the ball at every opportunity and proved they were determined by kicking a second goal only 3 minutes after the first. we saw some great interceptions from Israel Maxwell, Sidney Cotton and Eddie Moylan. Torrens Valley kept goal keeper Mackenzie Olsson on his toes. Mackenzie did well to stop some of their attempts but they got 3 goals past him making Torrens Valley the victors this time with a 4-1 win.

 

 

This Saturday's u14 Div 2 'RED' Team saw Strathalbyn play Mt Barker BLUE.

From the outset Strathalbyn's team play was outstanding and as a result goals came quickly for the Home Team.

Not ready to concede defeat the away team fought back and netted a few goals for themselves, all the while playing solidly in an attempt to slow the attacking Strathalbyn team and putting pressure on the home teams defense but ultimately they were unable to gain control due to Strathalbyn's excellent possession throughout the game.

Final score Strathalbyn RED 8* - Mt Barker BLUE 2

It was a wet and wild start to the game on Saturday with both teams warming up in light rain before both teams ran for cover as a down pour hit. It gave an opportunity before the start of proceeding for parents and players to see the handing out of the two captain armbands to our two on field leaders for the season.

The rain finally lightened off and both teams took to the field to start the game on time. The Warriors started the game with eleven men and knew it would be good competitive game losing to their opponents in the grading round by a solitary goal. The last time our opponents managed to get behind our defence to score, but this time our defence were ready for the challenge and after last week’s courageous effort they stood strong. Murray Bridge finally found their range taking shots from outside the box and when one shot took a wicked deflection off our centre back the warriors were down a goal. True to their fighting spirit the warrior side continued to try and put passes together, but with an opposition rotating players regularly fresh legs were making a difference and half way through the half Murray Bridge finally got behind the defence crossing the ball across the warrior goals a slotting in a second goal. A well constructed passage of play that was rewarded. 

With a new determined effort the Warriors worked hard and when our substitutes arrived an opportunity came to offer a forward a rest from their hard work. We continued to work hard making a number of opportunities ourselves to close Murray Bridge’s lead but the Bridge’s keeper did an outstanding job every time. Again Murray Bridge worked hard moving the ball forward and again found range outside the box, but with Warriors closing the shooter down another deflection occurred and the ball deflected pass the keeper into the net. The Warriors bounced back and in the last few minutes of the half our right midfielder broke through with an attack on goal, taking his time he slotted it past the keeper, and onto the post bouncing back to a scrambling keeper.

The second half started with a number of changes in positions and the boys began to find the spaces necessary to beat the strong Murray Bridge defence. Working hard the forwards and midfielders managed to make their way through the defences but Murray Bridges keeper and central defence managed to beak down the attacks. The ball continued to travel from end to end with each team’s  defence holding strong. Again the Murray Bridge forwards took their chances outside the box and with another strong strike and defensive pressure a ball rebounded off a defender and into the net. 

With 10 minutes to go the Woodside coach rolled the dice putting on his U12 reserves and putting 4 upfront. The added pressure upfront had its rewards with a number of successful attacks, but too many offsides halted the momentum and Murray Bridge were able to settle. With four upfront it meant our back three had to work hard to repel their attack, this they continued to do with additional support from a hard working midfield. The final score did not reflect the efforts of the team but Murray Bridge should be commended for their play and sportsmanship.
 

Strath's first home game for the season was a wet one, reminding us of the need for new clubrooms at the Polo Grounds - donations welcome. Strath U14 White played Woodside Red, both teams looking competitive after grading. Strath looked hot in the first 5 minutes with COOPER BARKER scoring an early goal, but it was Woodside who dominated the first half making Strath look slow and uncommitted. As the rain continued to fall, Woodside scored four goals from four different goal scorers. Strath replied with one more before half time with a 2 goal difference in favour of Woodside at the break. The second half was a different story. MEL BARKER'S oranges must have something magical in them as Strath came out a different team ready to take the ball and do something with it. HAMISH WILSON (tall Hamish) finally listened to his coach and had a crack at goal, hitting the back of the net. LACHLAN CROSS wearing his lucky #31 guernsey punched two more past the Woodside keeper. Strath's momentum briefly wavered when a rogue tackle from COOPER BAILEY drew a yellow card from the ref. With Cooper rattled, the rest of the strath team rallied to continue their domination. Woodside remained goalless in the second half. Final score, 6-4, Strathalbyn win.
Special thanks to HAMISH WILSON (SMALL) for filling in and giving the coach more options in the backline.

Goal Scorers Strath - COOPER BARKER 2, LACHLAN CROSS 2, RILEY BROOK 1, HAMISH WILSON (TALL) 1.
Goal Scorers Woodside - JOSHUA BEVAN 1, JETT TONKIN 1, TOBY VINCENT 1, JAMES WALL 1.

Best Players Strath - RILEY BROOK, LACHLAN CROSS, LIAM JOPPICH

Raincoats and umbrellas were the order of the day with the forecast for Saturday morning rain, rain and more rain. The early moments of the match saw Stirling United attacking, but some solid defending from Hahndorf was keeping them out. In the 9th minute, the dam broke when Ky Henry made a long run down the right side from his position at right back, getting all the way to the penalty box before crossing superbly for Charlie Rollings to calmly slot the first goal away. Shortly after, a free kick on the edge of the area was struck beautifully by Rollings to give him a second. Further goals to Henry Monaghan, Nick Smith, Henry and Toby Leigh saw the United side with a big lead at half time.

In the second half, the drizzle turned to rain and wind, and the majority of the spectators made for the relative protection of the canteen, leaving only a few hardy souls on the sidelines. This didn’t deter Stirling, who continued to score, with Zachary Gardiner-Sheridan, Tom Harris, Joe Doyle and a second half hattrick for Yuto Okada also on the score sheet by the end.

To their credit, despite the conditions, Hahndorf continued to fight till the end and a late goal at least gave them something to take away from the match.

A strong win for the home side to kick off the post grading part of the season.

Despite the morning rain, the 1.00pm start saw the skies starting to clear allowing the game to be played in the best conditions of the day. The local derby between Stirling United and Stirling Districts is always highly anticipated and this was no exception, but with Districts Red starting the season in devastating fashion, they came into the game as favourites. The game was tightly contested early, but midway through the first half, Districts broke the game open with 2 quick goals and by half time had a 3-0 lead.

After half time, United had chances to score, and eventually got one through Kane Gibbs, but Districts Red were too strong, eventually taking out the game 7-1.

It was a wet rainy day for Woodside's U16's to take on Strathalbyn. Both teams were even on 12 points and the winner would take a clear second place on the ladder. The game started strong and Strath were first to put the pressure on and looked more hungry for the ball. It didn't take them long to score they're first goal. Woodside took some time adjusting to the speed and the conditions of the game. Woodside were unlucky in conceding their second as it hit the keeper but slipped under to give Strath a buffer. Woodside steadied the boat and began to play some good football. Stringing together some good passes but Strathalbyn's defence seemed to be one step ahead and ready for each attack. The half time score was 4-0 and not looking good for Woodside but they improved in the second half, as the rain eased off. Strath were well drilled and it was difficult to pick faults in their passing and spread with the ball. They kept possession well and played their game well. Woodside eventually scored through hard work and some determination. But couldn't take anything away from Strathalbyn's solid performance. The game finished 7-1 and showed some good areas for us to grow in for next week.

Murray Bridge United hosted Hahndorf Soccer Club and it turned out to be an entertaining, hard-fought game. Hahndorf was awarded a penalty early in the first half and Micah Edgecombe made no mistake slotting the ball into the back of the net. Murray Bridge fought back and equalised after two earlier attempts at goal, which were saved by Hahndorf’s in-form keeper James Bagley. Hahndorf’s Xavier Kell was busy and attempted a long shot at goal only to be denied by Murray Bridge’s keeper while Jack Anderson made a few runs towards goal. Hahndorf’s Jamie Hamilton missed a shot at goal but found the back of the net late in the first half with a great run and chip over the keeper’s head from a slick pass by Anderson. At half time the game was tied at two all and the second half proved to be as entertaining as the first. Hahndorf’s defence was strong and was tested a few times as the Murray Bridge forwards broke through but Tully Probert, David Nielsen, Josh Rayner and Alex Montagu denied them a shot at goal. Eddie Hardingham was strong in the midfield while Angus Mason made several runs down the right wing and Murray Bridge’s defence stood strong.  Murray Bridge scored with a chip over Bagley’s head and Jack Anderson’s hard work for Hahndorf paid off with a cracking left foot snap. Murray Bridge scored their 5th goal late in the second half and finished with a 5-3 victory in what was a terrific game with great skills and good sportsmanship shown by both teams.