Match report

Match report

For the first round of the 2022 U12 season, Mt Barker Red headed to the Strathalbyn Polo Grounds to take on a young Strikers outfit.
The first game of the season is always an interesting one: even after a few solid training sessions, it is never a sure thing whether a squad will 'click' after the opening whistle blows.
And so, after just 5 minutes of frantic 9-a-side mayhem, the Reds' supporters breathed a collective sigh of relief when Danny Paterson found the back of the net. Mount Barker continued to push for more goals and, perhaps inspired by a certain Argentinian who shares his shirt number, #10 Arlo Turner scored the team's 2nd goal in the 8th minute.
Although this first half was dominated by the Reds, the young Strath Strikers had fantastic attitude and determination, which was evident in their positive play style. When the Strikers managed to counter-attack, however, they were met by a 3-piece brick wall in the form of Harrison Betts, Harrison Burt and Alec Belsey - a trio who worked splendidly as a unit to repel any incoming Strikers raids.
The Barker midfield and wing combos looked dangerous from the start, with Rylan Henke - fresh off a 22-minute 5km 'warm up' - getting agonisingly close to his first career goal. Rory Martin was also searching for that elusive maiden goal, but was denied repeatedly by the fantastic glovework of the Strathalbyn #1 . It didn't take long for Max Barrljung-Hummel to conjure up a first-half hattrick - tripling his goal tally from the entirety of last season!
Turner scored his second goal just before half time, with last year's leading goal scorer Lincoln Denley notching up a handful of assists. At this stage, it looked like Strath would have to conjure up some magic to reign the Reds back in.

Second half underway, and the young Strikers looked to be a whole new team. Finding chinks in the Reds' previously impenetrable armour, the young Strath forwards gave 'keeper Tyler Raven something to worry about, but they couldn't find the back of the net.
After a back-and-forth 5 minutes, Paterson kicked his second, and Denley found himself on the scoresheet after working hard to assist his team mates. Turner looked certain to get his hattrick, but a sizzling shot was belted skywards by the Strath Keeper, and off the outside of the crossbar. After working tirelessly through the midfield, Isaac Pickert was denied a goal of the year nomination; a seemingly perfect header sailing towards the top corner... only to be thwarted by the 'keeper once again!
Just before the final whistle blew, Paterson deservedly rounded out his hattrick, already surpassing his season goal tally from last year.

Strath is a young team at the start of their competitive soccer journey. The positivity from players and coach, regardless of the score, was fantastic to witness, and it's an amazing example of how junior soccer should be played.
A few from the Mt Barker outfit have been in U12s since 2020, when they were 9 years old. The playing group and coach have experienced the highs and lows of being the youngest team in the league, and are interested to see how they fare being one of the older teams this season, with a wealth of new talent added to the 2022 line-up.