Samford Rangers Football Club

Our first year at the week-end long Sunshine Coast Masters Football Tournament at Buderim was a huge success on and off the pitch.  

The standard was higher than we had experienced during the regular season however we still managed a winning record with 2 wins, a draw and a loss to eventual grand finalists, the Sunshine Coast.

Many thanks to Brian McGuckin for organising the week-end!

A fantastic season was culminated last night in a game worthy of a Grand Final. After fighting back from a 1 - 0 deficit the scores were locked at 1-1 at full time and again after extra time. So for the second time in as many matches against Toowong we faced the knowledge that if we couldn't break the deadlock afer 100 minutes of football it would be to penalties to decide the winner. Both teams had multiple chances in extra time but the deadlock couldn't be broken and so it was to penalties which Toowong won 4-3.

This was a gutsy, determined, commited effort by a team that typifies the Mountain Men mantra. Finishing second in the Premiership and pushing a team like Toowong to their absolute limit 3 games in row is an awesome effort and by far the best season in the teams 7 year history.

Congratulations to all team members for a great year.  

Congratulations also to the Old Boys Over 35's team for their season. Second in Division 1 and Runners Up in the Grand Final in a very strong competition is a credit to you all. 

SAMFORD RANGERS U13 - PREMIERS AND GRAND FINAL CHAMPIONS !!

Samford Rangers U13 won the Grand Final of the Football Brisbane U13 Division 4 North competition, by beating Ridge Hill 1-0 on Sunday Sep-9th. The final was played at Peninsula Power's ground in Redcliffe.
 
The game had a fantastic atmosphere with both teams having a large supporter presence, balloon decorated gazebos and never ending vocal encouragement.
 
It was a close game. Both teams played very well, with Ridge Hills defenders working hard at stopping our strikers' darting runs.
Ridge Hill had their chances too. They came high and low, right, centre and left ; but our well oiled defence (Euan, Tom and Owen) was focused and meaning business, and our super-sweeper, Grace, was in no mood to let anyone through (ball or player). Our "safe hands" Goalkeeper, Alex, was also in fine form, specially during corners when Ridge Hill was putting a tall player to unsettle and block his view. Our midfielders (Isabel, Darcee and Angus) were the busiest as usual, providing support to our defense when under attack, and linking with the strikers when we had the ball.
 
We sacrificed our left attack with our regular left striker, Danny, crowding the centre midfield, ensuring it was ours, and also allowing Angus to spend more time to venture through the middle of the Ridge Hill defense, linking with Harry and Josh.
 
With our 13th player unavailable (Galen, who played a fantastic semifinal) we only had one sub. Our utility (can play in any position) man, Kyle, back from 4 days of bed-bound sickness, provided the extra spark every time he came to cover for our tiring midfielders.
 
With five minutes to go, and a suffering coach (Jorge) losing whatever was left of hair and nails, a breakthrough. One of the Ridge Hill defenders used her hand to stop a cross inside the penalty area and a penalty was awarded. Josh kept his cool, and his shot was hard, low and to the left of the goalkeeper where he could not reach. The last minutes of the game saw our defense tighten even more and our strikers energized, but no more goals came.
 
The final whistle came and celebrations started, until then we were focussed. Smiles all round. Team and coach walked together to thank our supporters, who in turn thanked the kids for trying hard all season. The medal and trophy ceremony followed, with speeches from coaches, captains and Football Brisbane General manager, Reuben Robertson, who attended the game.
 
After the ceremony, we all went to the beach, to relax and reflect on a very successful season:
- won the Division grand final;
- won the Premiers trophy, as we also ended top of the table after 15 games;
- scored 60 goals, and only let in 11; a true reflection of a strong team in all positions;
- fastest goal in the competition, under 1 min from kickoff during semi final;
- top 3 scorers of competition are samford rangers players;
- we had 8 clean sheets (won games without letting a goal);
- first Samford Rangers team to win both Premiers and Grand Final since 2010.
- two broken arms during season (not during games), 3 twisted/hurt knees and multiple sicknesses saw us fielding 11 players and no subs for many games, against teams with several subs; and,
- all of the above and with the nicest bunch of kids, the Samford community should be very proud!!
 
Finally, thanks to the Club officers for their support during season and during the celebrations.
 
Jorge

PS: Below photos of:

- Pre-kickoff handshake (First time I notice the height difference between teams!!)

- Post game thanks to our supporters

- Grand Final Medals and Trophy

- Premiers and Grand Final Medals and Trophies ceremony at John Scott Park.

Semifinal after extra time

I love it when a plan comes together.....

For those too young to remember Hannibal Smith, this is not an original quote, but the reference to the A-Team is appropriate.

For our final game of the season we had the interesting scenario of playing the team we met in the very first game of the season:  a great way to assess how our season has gone. In that first game we fronted up with five players from the previous year’s Newcastle U7s – who were all first timers then – plus four new players who were debutantes and Joe who had played one season at another club. Basically a pretty green team compared to many who had played together since U6 or even earlier. We showed good promise in that first game – Jacob opening the scoring and enthusiasm across the park – but we were outplayed by a better team.

Roll forward 17 rounds and the story was very different. In this game, we dominated the opening period scoring two deserved and unanswered goals in the opening ten minutes only to then let our guard down and let a couple through within a minute – including a very unlucky goal that hit our post then bounced off the ‘keepers back and stopped at the base of the same post where a Mitchie player was ready to tap it in.

We went to the break on a high after playing the better football and working really well as a team.

The second half continued the same way with Newcastle playing very effectively as a team. The style we practised in training – with the ‘keepers picking out the open player and the back three feeding balls through to the front – working brilliantly.

There were several highlights with Connor making some incredible reflex saves in goals, Emily and Jacob breaking away with Emily passing through to Jacob to score and Hannah (My daughter) finally scoring her first goal of the season in the second last minute of the last half of the last game!

Also Toby’s goal kicks in the first half were dynamite; Sebastian’s ability and bravery to fight through a pack of players and come out the other side with the ball; Mason was taken out with a really late kick across the shins that nearly had him come off – but he played on; Nick as always had great positioning and Messi like turns (might have been a Cruyff turn in there also);  Joe showed his reading of the game and usual style on the ball and Corban was fearless in defence, being a wall in the centre.

We had several other near goals, including both Jacob and Hannah arriving on the ball just as the ‘keeper got their gloves on the ball.

I’m not sure what the final score was, but there couldn’t have been more than a goal in it either way, but the biggest highlight of the whole season was the way every player had improved over the 18 rounds and that as a team we had improved dramatically, outplaying the team that outplayed us in the first game. I couldn’t have asked or hoped for more – what a brilliant season! Great job everyone.

In the final piece of synchronicity for the season, Emily took out the final Player of the Week for her assist with Jacob’s third goal and her uncanny positioning and effort, bookending her PotW award in the very first week!

And if you haven’t already, please vote for us in the OPTUS SSF awards at: https://optusfootball.com.au/ossf/view/182/

The boys arrived keen to finish off the season on a winning note. It was great to see Michael there for the game after suffering from flu earlier in the week.

Arsenal got off to an early lead and were never headed despite some good attacking raids from Blackburn.

Goal scorers:

Harvey Goldsmith 5

Seb Woods 2

Harvey Mercer 1

Player of the week was Morgan Pond for a very solid game in the midfield.

The win meant that Arsenal remained undefeated for the season, a record the boys are very proud of and a tribute to some great coaching from Mark. The improvement in individual skills and in teamwork was obvious over the course of the season.

A big thanks to the parents for their help and enthusiasm during the year.

Scorers: Darren, Paul, Jesse

Last fixture of the season.  Well done boys, led the league from start to finish!  Bring-on the finals!

Waiting on the results of a postponed fixture to be played on Monday to find-out if we will be crowned champions...

Congratulations to the Over 35's Mountain Men for finishing their season in second place and good luck in the finals!

The one that got away....

Our second and last trip to Westside to take on the Mariners was one of those games where we played well, did all the right things, had the run of play and managed to not score a goal!

As I said to the team at the end of the game, I blamed the howling wind, fresh from the snow down south, for the strange happenings.

In the first few minutes of the game we should have scored at least three times. The ball hardly left the oppositions half, we had several shots hitting post, keeper and narrowly scraping past the goal on both sides.  I remember turning to Jacob’s dad and saying “I hope it’s not going to be one of those days”. Fateful words as it turned out, because after total dominance of the opening of the game, the first time they got near our goal an unfortunate fumble from our ‘keeper had the ball just roll out of the penalty box before he could reclaim it. The ref duly awarded a free kick, but then strangely awarded a goal when the indirect free was thundered into the top of the goal without another touch!  After such a great start we had been scored against.

At the break, with no more goals having been scored, we were confident of making at least three in the second term to restore the correct balance of the game.

However it wasn’t to be. In my mind we played the better football, the team defending well and playing to the plan. But every through ball was just toe-tipped by the opposition, every shot went just wide and crosses went unanswered. It was one of those days.

But we went away happy with a game well played.

Connor’s work down the wings was impressive with several fantastic crosses going across the goal without either team getting a touch on.

Jacob, Hannah and Joe never stopped trying to push forward. Jacob with an insatiable appetite for the ball, and Joe showing the great poise he has recently developed.

Nick managed to put in a couple of his trademark Messi runs, with turns totally wrong-footing several defenders.

Mason was rock solid at the back as usual.

Emily, Sebastian and Corban provided great cover and through balls to the forward players. Sebastian did really well up front also, having a couple of great chances on goal.

Toby had a strong game on the ball in the first half and in goals in the second. His goal kicks again a highlight with his boot flying off twice from the effort he put into them. He earned himself the Player of the Week. Well done.

Another great team effort, great play and smiles all-round. If only the wind hadn’t been so strong .....

And if you haven’t already, please vote for us in the OPTUS SSF awards at: https://optusfootball.com.au/ossf/view/182/

Narangba had the run of play early and restricted our attack with some strong defence. After numerous attacking raids were repelled by our defenders Narangba scored the first goal mid-way through the first half. Arsenal struck back just before half time with Harvey Mercer scoring off a great corner by Harvey Goldsmith.

In the second half both sides attacked and defended well and Narangba got their second goal with only a few minutes remaining. With less than a minute to go Sid took a great corner and Seb Woods managed to score the equaliser. A draw was a fair result between these two enthusiaistic and skilful teams.

Player of the week was Seb Woods.

This week we played Dayboro at home and lost 2-1. Overall we played very well and had a couple of near misses at the goal. The goal we scored was a home goal mistake by their player. POW was Josephine who played a great game, lots of passion, persistence and energy.

Well done Josie!

 Thanks to Jack's Dad Kerrod who complied this match report in my absence.

After a really good run of skill, strategy, performance and luck all working together for us over the past few weeks, we finally had a week where things didn’t come together: the classic “tough match”.

Winter colds and flu, tiredness and other factors had us down three players to the minimum to field a team. And one of those, Joe, wasn’t well either but showed up to maybe play, or maybe play just a while – but he got the news that he was on for the whole match. So we faced the possibility of playing with a team if six and a half.

The opposition, Mitchie Strike Force, were also in great form and played a great match and had the run of the game.

But Newcastle never gave an inch, even though just about every bounce, 50-50 decision and deflection seemed to go against us. The team put in 100% and I was very proud of the way they handled themselves. Everyone played to our strategy, even when we changed the strategy a couple of times in order to change the flow, the team executed the change really well.

It was not our day, but everyone still had a great time, ending the match with smiles on their faces and no juice left in the tank.

Mason’s fantastic efforts in goals in the first half plus great defence in the second earned him the Player of the Week, but as the team all improve individually and as a cohesive unit the selection of the PotW becomes harder and harder.

Hannah and Connor showed impressive positioning while up front, finding space for potential forward plunders.

Joe again showcased his style and reading of the game both in attack and defence with some classy moves.

Nick was the cornerstone of the backline in the first half and stopped the result being much worse. In the second half he worked hard in attack but also came back to help out regularly.

Corban played both up and back in each half and adjusted to the strategy changes really well. He loves being in the centre of play and made Mitchie work the wings to get around him.

Jacob was a tiger as always, working himself into a seriously reddened face by game’s end with his massive effort as he played both attack and defence for a lot of the game. Unlucky to score from his few chances, but never stopped trying.

A great team effort – really good teams work just as hard regardless of the outcome, and that’s what happened.

With that one out of the way I’m sure normal service will resume again next week when we are away to Westside.

And if you haven’t already, please vote for us in the OPTUS SSF awards at: https://optusfootball.com.au/ossf/view/182/

This week Spurs came up against the always well drilled Samford Under 10 Arsenal team.  Some exceptional first half goalkeeping and defence kept us in the game.  Some wise words at half time from Steve led to a much improved second half from Spurs who more than held their own.  The game was played at an exceptional pace and in Great Spirit.

Jonte was named player of the match and had a very strong game in goal.  Well done Jonte!

Our first away trip to Westside proved to be an exciting adventure for Newcastle U8s.

Apart from having to navigate uncharted waters to find a new ground, the perfect Qld winter weather tricked us all being icy cold upon arrival at 8am – with some folks wearing boots, jeans, scarves and beanies – to being so warm by the end of the match that polo shirts were the appropriate attire.

And the game?  Well, this game saw two closely matched teams both fielding the same 1-3-3 formation play out a game with only a couple of goals in it where either side could have prevailed: a truly epic battle.

Toby took on the ‘keeping responsibilities for the first half and did a great job. Of particular note were his well considered and executed goal kicks, finding free players on the wings or putting the ball over/through the pack to find our forwards.

Sebastian was pushing forward again and had a couple of good opportunities when he received the ball in good position.

Corban’s skills in stealing possession from the opposition were evident again and he too displayed good positioning.

Emily was as solid as ever, providing great defence as well as using her super kicking skills to land some neat passes.

Jacob, as hungry as ever, had several great shots on goal, scoring one but could easily have had at least another two.

Connor once again displayed sensational skills in defence, forming the foundation of our back line. He work going forward was also very slick.

Hannah had a great game with some superb throw-ins, super-dooper effort running from attack to defence and an unlucky shot that hit the post.

Joe impressed again with his style on the ball, using his vision to pick the best move and executing it with fantastic form. He is really coming along well with his individual skills.

Mason read the game really well and got himself into the right position early making for easy defensive tackles. His ‘keeping in the second half was once again excellent and his goal kicks of special note.

Toby, once freed from his first half ‘keeping role show great outfield skills, venturing forward from the back line to score a cracking goal in the second half. Fabulous work Toby.

Player of the Week was one of the hardest this season with so many great performances – every player is improving week-on-week, but Connor got the trophy for his extremely solid work in the back line.

We ended the day off with our team photo where our tenth player, Nick, who was rested from exhaustion of a big few weeks, got out of his "sick" bed to join us once again demonstrating the great team spirit in Newcastle U8’s.

Great job team.

The flu season has taken it's toll on Manchester United but thanks to the help of Matthew from Liverpool, it was not getting the better of this side.

Pine Hills attacked well in the first half and only some great defence, particularly from Connor, Morgan and Oscar, kept the score to nil all at half time. In the second half Pine Hills got an early goal but Arsenal fought back well to end up winning.

Goal scorers:

Michael 1

Sid 1

Harvey G 1

Player of the week was Sid Adams.

This week we played Pine Hills Rangers at home.  Locked at 1-1 at half time following a well taken goal by Jack, Spurs scored two unanswered goals in the second half for a 3-1 victory.

The entire team played very well, running into space and passing to other team members in a better position.

Emilio scored the two second half goals and Jonte had a great game in goal repelling many Ranger's shots.

Jonte was our player of the match.  Well done Jonte!

Another perfect day for football greeted us on Saturday morning at Lyle Gray field – crisp and sunny.

After resisting the temptation to play a formation all season - to give the players the maximum creative space - we finally relented this week and played the prescribed FFA 1-3-3. The previous week’s game saw the opposition park a player on our goalie and a couple back with theirs which effectively starved us of possession, so in an effort to get more ball we “joined ‘em” .

We had only one training run this week to learn the formation and I wasn’t expecting to see any fruits from this for a few weeks, but the team executed the plan to near perfection keeping a clean sheet in their first attempt.

After last week’s lack of hunger we also worked on that at training and the “Hungry Tiger” was back in the belly this week. Jacob had 6 or 7 shots on goal in the first 5 minutes – hitting the ‘keeper a couple of times, the post once and the rest near misses – before netting his first.  We went to the break having had all the possession and our ‘keeper Connor only having touched the ball once.

At the break we switched the defence and attack and I asked for 4 more goals in the second half!

Mason took the gloves for the second half and also needed only a few touches.

We continued the second half as we ended the first and once we had three goals on the scoresheet, we pushed all the players up in the quest for our target of five goals.

Emily scored another great goal (and very nearly two), earning her a Player of the Week award.

Corban’s work in the defensive line was fabulous earning a Player of the Week award.

Sebastian scored his first ever goal (woohoo!) also earning a Player of the Week award.

Hannah’s drive forward and workrate earning her a Player of the Week award.

Mason’s goal keeping and natural positioning skills – doing stuff we haven’t practised yet! - earning him a Player of the Week award.

Nick scored yet another goal and was brilliant pushing forward from the back three when instructed earning him a Player of the Week award.

Conner’s clean sheet first half and near misses on goal earning him a Player of the Week award.

And Jacob’s three goals and absolute desire, beating the entire opposition team on a few occasions earning him a Player of the Week award.

Yes, the whole team was Player of the Week for following the plan to perfection and all turning in a great effort. What a team!

With a few players out for the second week in a row, Manchester was forced to recruit a couple of support players from another Samford team (Thanks Matthew and Callum). Despite having no reserves, Manchester dug deep and played a great game, though there were signs of fatigue towards the end of the match. Matthew Chui played the full game in goals for the second week in a row and is fast building confidence and saving plenty. Manchester gave it all and most importantly never gave up. They scored a goal in the first half, but couldn’t hold out Westside who claimed victory. Coach’s award went to Ben and “Man of the Match” was awarded to Jesse.  Well done guys!

The game started with an early goal by Mitchie but by half time Arsenal had managed to score 4 goals. The second half was scoreless with Sid stopping many attempts in goal and our team just missing also on many scoring opportunities. Player of the week was Seb Lindores with a solid game up front in the first half.

Goal scorers:

Michael 2

Seb Lindores 1

Connor 1

Following an early start for our team photo, we played Samford Blackburn.

As Blackburn had 7 players, Teague volunteered to play for the opposition and was one of their best players.

Spurs scored an early goal through Jack and remained on top for the rest of the match.  Our passing game was back with all team members looking for space.

Congratulations Jack and Ryan - both boys scored hat-tricks.  Emilio scored two and Ben one.

Ben was named player of the match due to tireless efforts up front.  Well done Ben.

It seemed like ages since we’d walked out onto the field after the holidays and last week’s washout, but it was great to be out playing football again.

Winter colds and flu knocked us around again and we had two missing from our squad this week.

The first half got away to a flyer with both teams scoring in the first minute or so. Jacob, still hot from his four goals in the last game scoring ours.

Toby had the ‘keepers gloves in the first half and was unlucky to have a couple of saves creep over the line, but once again his performance was great.

Mitchie employed the tactic of camping a player right on our goal, shadowing our ‘keeper.  So at the break we solved that puzzle by bringing Joe back to take that player out of the game, which he did to great effect.

I think we were a little rusty from not playing for a few weeks – and maybe all the rain! – and the usual hunger for the ball wasn’t as evident in this game and Mitchie got the better of us, but I’m sure it will be back next week. We’ll be working on our hunger in this week’s training.

Having said that, no-one gave up or gave an inch until the final whistle. Sebastian showed good positioning moving a bit more forward than he has in recent games and found himself in good position with the ball a few times.

Our girl-power mid-field was again in action providing a good barrier to attacks and completing some nice through balls.

Toby and Connor – who had the gloves in the second half – both showed great versatility turning in great efforts both in goal and on the field.

Nick, as I have written for just about every game this season it seems, had another great game, reading the play well, defending when he needed to and mesmerising with his footwork. Talk about Mr Consistent.

Jacob is gradually sending his dad broke, scoring three goals this game earning himself a good commission again. He continues to find himself in the right place at the right time and his desire to get the ball is sensational.

Joe earned another Player of the Week for both his early attacking work and more importantly his execution of the defensive role in the second half. With the instruction to “mark that man” he instinctively positioned himself in the correct place and did the job to the letter.

Well done team!

First game for 4 or 5 weeks after school holidays and washouts saw the boys take a while to get back into stride but by the end of the match they were firing on all cylinders. Some great teamwork was on display with many passes finding a free player and leading to goals. We welcomed Harvey Goldsmith to the team for the first time and he played very well in his first game and received the player of the week award. 

Goal scorers:

Harvey Goldsmith 3

Harvey Mercer 2

Sid Adams 2

Michael Hietala 1

Following the mid-season break and a wash out last weekend Under 10 Spurs were a little rusty at times this weekend playing against a very well drilled Narangbah United Side.

Trailing 1-0 early, Teague equalised for Spurs mid-way through the first half.  Whilst all team members tried hard, Narangbah were clinical in front of goal and ran out deserving 5-1 victors.

Declan was named player of the match.  Declan's resolute defence and organisation skills were on show again this week and kept us in the game for most of the match.

Congratulations Declan!

It was Friday 13th in all aspects except for the result!

The match started with our goal in the first minute. Then, forget about the next 78 minutes except for Gordon who did a fabulous job. The match was closed by dragging /slipping the ball slowly over the line for our winning goal just as the ref was about to blow the final whistle.

No glorious match but the points are ours.

Cup Match.

Great match of the MM team with very welcomed support of the Old Boys. Mitchie probably expected a walk in the park but they had to fight very hard for their win. Each of their goal was followed by an equaliser on the spot with two beautiful goals by Brian and Pauli scaring Mitchie quite a lot.

A penalty for Mitchi shortly before full time got them into the next round.

Well done guys and a special thanks to the Old Boys on and off the pitch for your much appreciated support.

Another cracker of a winter’s morning greeted us for our second 8:30 start in a row at Mitchie. Though this time the humidity was low and there was no dew on the grass, so those roster tails that fly off the ball during the warm up weren’t there to spray us awake.

An even nicer surprise was to face a team, Mitchie Mariners, that weren’t all boys!  For the first time in several weeks Emily and Hannah had some female opposition. And for the first time, I think ever, there were more girls on the other team as three Mitchie girls lined up against us.

The game got off to an absolute flyer as Jacob netted within the first 30 seconds. But things settled down after that as the game found a groove.

Mason had the gloves in the first half and put in probably the best ‘keeping performance of the season making several great saves including a high lob from half way that nearly bounced over his head, but he was good enough to gather it. Most impressive of all were 4 or 5 running clearances made outside the box as he perfectly timed his run and kick to thwart oncoming attacks.

Meanwhile, in mid-field, Sebastian and Corban were once again solid and made great tackles and poked a few balls forward to team mates to get us moving forward. Corban’s down-on-one-knee tackling style is quickly becoming his trademark.

Toby scored a cracker of a goal with a right foot drive, mid-height to the right side of goal in general play adding to his tally for the season.

Joe made some of the best runs he’s done all season, with one in particular down the wing beating 2 or 3 then getting a great through ball into the scoring zone. Analysing the video footage after the game his awareness and "looking up" while dribbling were excellent.

Nick did his usual Messi impression down the right wing dazzling a couple of defenders with his footwork and now trademark turn.

Sebastian was in goals for the second half and put on a good display with brave saves and clearances holding out the Mitchie attack.

Hannah once again found herself in good positions and had a couple of half chances on clear breaks but was shut down by the defence. This however may change in the near future with a new incentive scheme as you’ll learn below. An off-the-line clearance was added to her repertoire also.

Emily played her natural cover defence role and had a great chance to score from a penalty kick just outside the box in the second half, but her attempt was blocked.

Talking point of the game was Jacob’s goal streak, netting four and he could have had a few more with a bit of luck. Showing great hunger for the ball he chased down everything and never gave up on the ball, eventually becoming so confident he was shooting from half way. He did a similar thing last year, when instead of the usual 1 or 2 goals a game suddenly cracked 4 or 5. The secret of his success may be the fee-per-goal contract he is on, which I have now had to put my daughter Hannah on as well. Stay tuned....

The scoring wasn’t all one-way as Mitchie got a few through the game to make it a very entertaining game to watch.

As last week’s Player of the Week, Connor was a last minute withdrawal with the flu, we didn’t have our PotW trophy as I suggested Connor’s folks not make the trip out to Mitchie to drop off the trophy as they were about to do. Before the game we joked that everyone would be player of the week but as it turned out, they all were!

A fantastic effort by everyone and a great way to lead into the holiday.

I wish all the players, parents and supporters a great break.

First half began with great enthusiasm with a well collaborated defence including Harry having a flying start in kicking the ball. Flynn Scott was everywhere around our goal area doing great tackles and helping out with the goal kicks. With many attempts at goal Mathew Chui stoped 5 certain ones against our team while on goal keeper duties. Jesse Vankan played in attack and was in good position when Flynn did  one of many humongous goal kicks well past the halfway field mark. What Jesse didn't have was support players to help him take advantage of good field position when it came so he could make a run on the oppositions goal. Jesse also did a lot of field work and was even seen defending our goal area out wide, not bad for someone that ran half the field to do so.

Ben Mortensen did some great turn and chase, dribbling and passing  and this was when he wasn't 100% well. Flynn linked up with other defenders and allowed them to run the ball down the side line.

Second half saw a lot of combined teamwork  between Lincoln Whitehead, Ben Mortensen and Zackary Warman. Lincoln did a great run and beat 3 tacklers and still kept going. Ben showed how dribbling and kick and turns should be done and Zackary did very well in cover defence and diffused one certain goal. On top of this he showed attacking skills by beating two tackles down the sideline.

Conner Hay and Daniel Dawes showed good soccer skills in the entire game with Conner  also showing good dribbling skills and two runs up the side line. Daniel showed how he is starting to read the game in defence by reading the opposition and looking for gaps  and went from defence to attack and put pressure on the opposite team forcing them to make an error in their own goal.

Mathew Chui returned the favour of helping defend our goal area when Flynn was in goal keeper duty.  In all the team played pretty well and the reason the other team won by so much was that almost all of the goals scored against us were from the same fundamental mistake of doing a goal kick straight to a wall of waiting opposition in the middle of the field and allowing them to boot it straight in at close range while most of our players were off to the sides waiting for the ball that never arrived. If it wasn't for this the scores would be pretty close so it's a lesson we must learn if we are going to win games. We are all great teammates and enjoy playing together so let's go Manchester United.  Soccer is fun, winning at soccer is even more fun!

Due to school holidays we were down to 4 players and a big thanks to Samford Fulham and Samford Blackburn for helping us out with players to make up a team. All the boys played well with Seb Woods and Sid Adams standing out.

Goal Scorers:

Seb Woods 3

Matthew 1

Mitch 1

This week we played Pine Hills Hearts.

Leading 1-0 at half time following another goal from Teague, Spurs were unable to hold on in the second half despite some great goal keeping from Ben. 

The final score of 1-1 was a fair result and reflected the closseness of the game.

Player of the match was Jack.  Well done Jack!

a good bounce back after last week's crah landing and great team effort despite the candle light illumination of the pitch.

The actual score was

5 real goals

2 real goals but the ref did not count them despite the fact that the ball was behind the line (including the goalie)

6 duds which were 150% chances

1 penalty which hit almost in the middle bewteen the post and the corner flag and sent the shooter to the bottom of the penalty shooter list.

Man of the match in shooting the ball into the biushes and the creek : Al

Thanks to Brian for supporting the MM.

It was the start of the second part of the season and playing Mitchy Mustangs for the second time showed how much the girls had improved. We did a great job keeping up with a very determined Mustangs' team, even without the Samford boys that helped us out the last time we played this team.

Ollie still wanted to play with an ankle injury, but she was confined to goals and what an outstanding job she did standing strong against many attempts at goal from Mitchy. It was great to have Prue and Liv back this week and both had a great game. Prue consistently read the play well and covered many players in defense with ease even when they were often much bigger! Liv's tackling was fantastic as usual and she often came away with the ball looking dangerous moving towards Mitchy's goal. Libby came in hard against her opposition and on one occasion did a great tackle on Mitchy's biggest player, which saw him come off second best and on the ground. Ash did really well moving up in defense when needed and also did a great job of taking on many of the opposition which were often many heads taller than her.

Ella and Mia both had fantastic games. Mia just didn't stop running and would be in defense on one side of the ground, see the ball coming down towards our goal on the opposite sideline and somehow make it over to jockey the opposition and eventually tap in at the right time to clear the ball. Ella's "one touch and I'm done" approach in the beginning of the year is no where to be found and she now follows up each and every time she comes near to the ball. She also did a great job this week finding space and being a great option for her team mates to pass to when needed.

The "Player of the Week" trophy this week went to Bella and much celebration was had! Congratulations Bella, you have improved so much and this week listened and responded every time coach Pat called to you with instructions.

Close and tight first half saw the score 0-0 at half time. We controlled the ball well with a new formation but failed to penetrate. With the wind in the second half we had many more chances with Matt scoring a beauty against his old club from outside the box. Leo had a strong game in defence again as did Tom up front and in the midfield. Dean pulled off some great saves again to ensure we notched up a good and well needed win.

Brrrr. Our first away game for 8 weeks and an 8:30 start at Mitchie on a coldish winter’s morning.

As we arrived at the ground the dew across the field added to the overall feeling that this was indeed a winter’s morning, but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. 

My daughter Hannah sensibly chose the end in the sun to warm up. And as we kicked the ball around, our full complement of ten arrived for this clash – the second in four weeks – with Mitchie Giants – oops Glory.

The gamed started out as a fairly tight affair, with the teams trading possession in end-to-end football. Connor had the gloves in the first half and once again pulled off some stunning saves and clearances – not to mention his great goal kicks.

Although we had several chances on goal, with Corban, Sebastian, Nick and Jacob all recording near misses, we didn’t convert a goal in the first half and went into the “sheds” a couple of goals down.

Early in the first half Jacob fell awkwardly on his shoulder at full pace and looked to have done a shoulder. But by the time the magic spray was out of the bag he was up and at ‘em again.

Toby had the gloves for the second term and also showed off his great ‘keeping skills. We are lucky to have several natural ‘keepers in out squad.

The instruction at half time was to attack, and the team responded with more aggressive play. Again we had several chances with balls falling to Emily, Mason, Joe and Conner in front of goal, and Hannah getting a couple of clean breaks, but again we were unlucky to not score.

Connor pulled off one of the best defensive tackles of our season to date, coming from nowhere, to effect a perfectly clean tackle on a Mitchie Giant who had broken clear of the pack, to the woops of a delighted crowd. This combined with his ‘keeping efforts in the first half earned Connor the Player of the Week.

It was great to see the team respond to the call to attack more in the second half. Every player is improving by the week. If we can just get someone onto the end of the great crosses we are getting in, we’ll be fabulous! Go team.

A special post-script for Nick and Jacob who both played in the Rangers’ rep team against the Caboolture development squad on Sunday. They both represented the club well with good performances in a thrilling 5-3 victory.

A chilly morning gave way to the heat of the field of the enemy when our brave lads took to the field at Mitchelton this week.

The game kicked off with 'Wildcat' Zackary running the ball around the field and exhibiting total dominance. In support this whole period was Jesse 'Tim Cahill' and 'Lightning' Lincoln in the mid field who made sure that the ball was always a threat. The defence was steadfast with 4 brilliant saves from Matthew 'Safe hands' in goals.

Harrison made a HUGE impact on the field with a great kick out to stop the progress of Mitchy's frontline. Benny 'the badman' ran the ball with such effort and courage that it made his mum weep.

After encouragement that rivalled the State of Origin team last Wednesday night, the huge gains were given up early after oranges as the heat really kicked in and the opposition scored a quick goal. This was always going to be the case with the number of kids stacking up against 'Fearless' Flynny who held fast under pressure. The hands used by this goaly would make Schwatzer proud. 

Connor and Danno also had a good second half because they never gave up and always had a laugh. Danno saw the girls on the other team and decided that marking one of them all game was a great idea, much to his Dad's delight. 

Overall we need to follow Dan's example and mark our players, be they ugly or attractive, big or small.  We also need to keep the pressure up and follow through when we are close to goal. Another big thing that was noted was the need to call for the ball, so when we see the ball coming our way, we call for it, that way we can not bump into each other and fall over.

Man of the match Zack the wildcat for total domination of the ball in the first half and the encouragement award from the Coach went to Benny for his heart of oak.

A very tough match with the team playing one person short against a full strength opposition. The boys worked very hard but trailed 3-1 at half time. In the second half everyone dug deep and managed to tie the match up by full time. There was no player of the week award as the whole team performed exceptonally, as a team.

Goal Scorers:

Michael 3

This weekend the under 10 Spurs side played Mitchie Roar at home.

Leading 1-0 at half time following a Teague wonder strike, Ben scored the only second half goal.

Emelio was named player of the match following some industrious forward play in the first half and some acrobatic saves in the second half.  Well done Emelio!

Another beautiful winter’s morning saw Newcastle taking on Mitchie Jupiter at home at Samford Parklands field #4.

The season’s colds and flus took out our gun goalscorer and Samford U8 rep. Jacob, so we had nine players fit and well for this clash.

Joe took the gloves for the first half and after taking a pounding in the opening minutes dusted himself off to complete the half in style.

Meanwhile up the other end of the park, Nick pulled off one of the goals of the season stepping around 2 or 3 defenders and driving the ball into the right corner of the goal for our only score of the match.

In mid-field our engine room was on song again with Sebastian and Corban in continuing good form, with Hannah, Toby and Connor supporting and venturing forward.

The photo shows Player of the Week Corban leading the charge to the ball while hotly pursued by several other players.

Emily and Mason were solid at the back. Emily's cover defence again a highlight as were Mason’s tackles.

Mason had the gloves in the second term and continued what is becoming a tradition of great goalkeepers in the Newcastle squad, making some fabulous saves and clearing kicks.

Another fun game was had and it was a great game to watch. Good job to all the players and supporters.

Go Newcastle!

Well, what an amazing effort this week! I don't know where to start, as every player this week played at a level we have not seen them play at previously. The girls each had an individual challenge this week and they all accomplished exactly what was asked of them.

We arrived at Mitchelton knowing we were up against a hard team and also down two of our fantastic little players, Prue and Liv. As the start of the game neared, we had two boys from Samford Liverpool offer to fill in so things were looking a little brighter.

The game started with a fierce pace and Arsenal lifted to the challenge. Bella had a cracking first half, sticking to her player like glue and hungry for the ball. Every time you looked up, she was on a path for the ball! Ella had the first half in goal and came up against a pelting of attempts at goal from Mitchy. Once on the field in the second half, she followed up on every touch of the ball. She also came up against a shoulder charge from a rather large Mitchy boy, but bounced straight back up and took off in play. Libby worked tirelessly and seemed to be everywhere. Just about every time she went in for a tackle under pressure near goal, she timed a touch to the ball and cleared it to the line. Ash once again took on the strong and large opposition. Her standout for the game was how she not only controlled the ball, but then looked up and gave a strong pass or big kick into space. Mia did not stop running and was often the player to chase down the opposition on their run to scoring and intercept their attempts at goal. Ollie had a fantastic first half with her challenge being to try and not just do a huge kick for the sideline, but look up and maybe pass or kick to space. She did a fantastic job at this and many times turned a run towards goal for the other team, into a lead in the right direction for Arsenal. The second half unfortunately she was struggling with a problem anckle, so a quick goalie change was had and she took on the Mitchy onslaught with amazing courage. It was for this reason and also her ability to excel at her weeks challenge, that she received Player of the Match.

A special mention has to also be made of Matt and Declan our fill ins. Thank you so much for playing boys. You both had a fantastic game, with Declan mixing it well with the Big Mitchy boys and Matt's huge kick finding the goals a number of times for Arsenal.

Amazing work Arsenal, your families were extremely proud of you all!

The boys had a tough game this week. The team demonstrated some great attacking and defending skills which sadly are not reflected by the final score.

The goalies for the match had to work extra hard. Matthew was in goal for the first half where he took a spectacular dive to save the ball. Connor and Flynn shared the role of goalie in the second half. Both had some great saves standing up well to the Mitchelton attacks, with Flynn literally putting his body on the line to save a goal.

Great attacking skills were demonstrated by Lincoln, Ben, Jesse and Bailey. Both Jesse and Bailey had a number of attempts at goal but unfortunately just couldn’t capitalise. They created some exciting moments particularly when an attempt at goal by Bailey was cleared by the opposition goalie only to be followed up straight away by another attempt at goal by Jessie. Bailey’s third attempt at goal with a large powerful kick was amazing and so close.

Great defending skills were shown by all of the team particularly Flynn, Daniel, Lincoln, Matthew and Zachary. There were some nice passing skills, particularly between Connor and Ben, and Daniel showed some nice play making up the front.

Early in the first half, Harry had an attempt on the ball and was also chasing and following the play. He was awarded the coaches trophy for this week both for doing well in training and during this game.

A well-deserved “Player of the Week” was awarded to Flynn.

Overall, the boys played well against a tough team – Well Done to All!

Another good game from the team. Great goal from Connor in his first start in the forwards this season. Overall the boys are putting skills learned at training into practice in games but still have plenty of room for improvement as the season progresses, particularly in remembering to pass to team mates in a better position.

Goal scorers:

Michael 2

Seb Woods 2

Connor 1

Sid 1

Player of the week was Seb Woods.

This week Spurs faced Samford Fullham.

As many players from the two teams are friends the game was played in a fantastic spirit.

Leading 1-0 at half time, Spurs played with more width in the second half running out 4-1 winners.

Emelio scored the only first half goal. Second half goals followed for Jack, Declan and Ryan.

All Spurs team members had solid games. Ben was rewarded for some industrious forward play and for his fearless tackling and was player of the match. Well done Ben!

This week I have two great performances from the girls to catch up on!

Saturday 2nd June v Samford Man United -

The girls did a great job this week managing to keep Samford Man U scoreless in the first half. This was not only due to Prue's great job as goalie with her saves under enormous pressure amazing, but some fantastic defense from the team. Bella had some impressive tackles in which she came out on top by clearing the ball to a safe space. Ash showed great determination to follow through in a hard contest and also achieved clearing the ball to the line or a team mate. Liv and Ollies' big kicks were flying as usual and saw many attempts from the opposition at goal cleared with force.

In attack Libby had some great moments of control up the line with the other team in toe and Ella showed fantastic awareness in finding space, with a call to Libby for the ball whilst positioning herself near goal.

Mia had a standout game which saw her receive Player of the Match this week. She didn't stop working and had countless 1 on 1 challenges in which she came out with the ball.

Well done girls, we are really enjoying watching you grow your soccer skills!

Saturday 26th May v Mitchelton Slingers -

It was a chilly morning in Samford, but once over the range and out of the breeze it was a lovely morning over at Mitchy. The girls were up against a strong team, but seemed to lift their performance up another notch once again.

Bella started in goal and did some fantastic work trying to keep the ball from entering the goals. She had many great saves, but the most impressive was when she stopped a goal attempt with her feet and then followed up with a great save using her hands when the ball was kicked straight back at her. Ollie was under huge pressure in the second half defending the goals and also did an amazing job. Her great clearing kicks really came in handy in this position!

Ella's confidence under pressure was great this week and saw her win many 1 on 1 contests as she then moved the ball well up field. Ash showed great skills as usual, with her control of the ball when needed being a standout. Liv was busy as usual and showed fantastic skill with an air kick save right in front of our goal. Lib and Liv worked well together at goals and nearly succeeded with a goal. Libby also took a great shot at goal and nearly found the net.

Prue and Mia showed amazing guts with both taking on many of the opposition to win the ball. At one stage Prue moved the ball into our attack half with 5 Mitchy players on her. She now just needs her team mates to get forward in position and her work may pay off with someone to pass to. Mia did similar work in defense....she came up against 3 players from Mitchy and won the ball and cleared to the sideline.

Libby received player of the match this week, due to her hard work throughout the entire game.

I was looking forward to our derby with Samford Man U. on Saturday morning as they were one of, if not the best of, the Samford U7 teams last season. So it would be a good test to see where Newcastle was.

With two of our team out with the dreaded start of winter flu, we had eight players keen to get on the pitch for this test.

Connor and Toby took the ‘keeping gloves for this game and both showed some sensational skill, pulling off many good saves with some spectacular dives.

Newcastle again showed continuous improvement with every member of the team showing their stuff and putting in a great effort.

Man U. proved to be the stronger team on the day but Newcastle competed for the whole 40 minutes. We had a few good chances to score but were unlucky not to convert.  While Man U. benefited from their greater number of attacks scoring a couple of their handful of goals from deflections.

An enjoyable game to watch and a good competitive match. It’s great to see the team grow stronger every week.

A special mention to Nick and Jacob for being selected in the Samford U8 team.

Corban also had another greatly improved performance for the third or fourth game in a row. He also copped a tag in the knee just before half time but was right for the second half.

Player of the Week was Hannah, who started off with a bang getting stuck into the play right from the kick-off, and had some clean breaks in the second half also.

Well done team!

After a cold and drizzly start to the day – the boys took to the field.

From the beginning the match proved to be a thrilling contest.

Brilliant attacking play was demonstrated by the whole team and some pleasing combination play resulted in a few goals being scored.

The first half saw Flynn Scott in goals. Connor Hay had a shot at goal with a nice attacking combination supported by Ben Mortensen. Ben M also had an attempt at goal. Good defending by Matthew Chui, and periodic follow of play by Harrison Engwirda.

The second half saw Matthew Chui in goal. The team demonstrated a brilliant attacking game, Matthew and Harrison had time for a quick game of Ring a Rosie in the goal box!

Meanwhile attempts at goal were made by Bailey Viner (x2), Lincoln Whitehead (x2), Jesse Vankan (X3) and Flinn Scott (x2) the modest score of 3-0 did not reflect the brilliance of the boy’s team work.

Daniel Dawes played a great defensive game as did Zackary Warman maintaining much pressure in the final 10 minutes with support and great passing between Lincoln and Jesse, Zach Warman scored a beautiful goal.

Flynn Scott showed great all round play and scored a skilful goal in the top right hand corner of the net. Another great pass from Lincoln - Jesse – Flynn resulted in a beautiful goal straight down the middle.

The boys should be congratulated on their fine effort and first win of the 2012 season.

WELL DONE BOYS!!!

This week saw the Samford under 10 Spurs travel to Colin Thiele Field to take on Dayboro.

Jonte was missing this week so we lent two players from Arsenal, Michael and Seb.  Both boys had very strong games.  Thanks for helping us out boys!

Whilst the score line looked comfortable (6-1), the game was a very tight affair.  Whilst Spurs led 3-0 at half time, Dayboro changed things up in the second half and were unlucky not to score more than 1 goal.

The Spurs goal scorers were:

1^st half

Teague

Ryan

Michael

2^nd half:

Michael x 2

Emelio

Teague had a strong game and was our player of the match.

Samford’s top team made amends for a first round loss to Grange by handing out a 5-0 drubbing in the opening match of the second round of the Brisbane Premier 2 competition last Saturday. The win consolidates 3^rd position on the competition ladder and now 6 points behind current leaders Bayside with 10 matches remaining.

While Grange dominated the first 15 minutes of the match Samford were snapped into action after a strong run from captain Damon Tune who came up from fullback before delivering a pinpoint cross to striker Alan Robinson who volleyed the ball into the net. This proved a tonic to Rangers who took full control of the match and before half time netted another two goals through Robbie Wales.

The second half saw much of the same with Samford controlling the match and through a long-range free kick from Sam Hornby and then Adam Sherman scoring off a corner the scoreboard could have been even worse for Grange. A number of close range chances were missed by the locals but a 5-0 score-line was a satisfying result.

“We had to make sure we didn’t become too complacent after it was clear we had the game under control and I’m pleased to say that we were very disciplined throughout” said coach Mick Hornby.

Samford was without striker Zane Clayton (unavailable) and keeper Dave Bull suffered a serious knee injury in the previous match and these were big losses for the team however reserves keeper Matt Malcewski stepped up and kept a clean sheet.

“We face a difficult month ahead with some big games and unfortunately are likely to have a number of players out so it was healthy to see us perform well without two of our stand out players and have those that come into the team play so well”.

The next match is away to Holland Park who are the form team of the competition with the next home match on Sunday 24 June.

Conditions: Wet

Crowd: Good

Referee: Good

Reserve Grade: Samford 2 vs Grange Thistle 2

The ressies team put in a solid performance in difficult wet conditions and after several raids on the opposition goal eventually scored the opener via penalty duly taken by Rhys Hornby. Although Grange held majority of possession, they did not create a lot of chances in the attacking third, however after a looping cross was not dealt with accordingly, they equalised just prior to half time.

The second half saw much of the same as the first, with both teams evenly matched and creating several chances only to be dined by great saves or poor finishing. However after receiving a ball inside his own half Mick Hornby cleverly played Jason Mckee into space behind the defence which he ran onto and then neatly slotting home Samford’s 2^nd from a tight angle. Not to be denied, the Grange team continued to play hard and got the equalizer with only a couple of minutes left to play. In the end probably a fair result although the boys were disappointed not taken all 3 points.

The match was almost a repeat of the first clash between the teams including the rain. A weak first half saw the MM under a lot of pressure and Mitchie scored an easy goal. The second half saw the MM pressing Mitchie into their box and it took almost to the end until Craig relieved the team with goal worth the title goal of the month and shocked the opposition. With a powerful hit from around 30m+ the ball flew straight to the goal smashed against the bottom of the cross bar into the goal. What a cracker.

When we arrived at Lyle Gray field for our match on Saturday morning it was cold, overcast and windy, but by kick-off it was sunny and fine. You can’t beat this weather, another great day for football.

The mighty Newcastle took on Mitchie Glory (aka Mitchie Giants), and there were some big boys in their team. I knew we were in trouble when my daughter pointed out that she knew a couple of the Mitchie boys from her school, but not from her grade 2 but from grade 3!!

But the match was quite a close run thing.  Connor, Jacob, Toby and Nick all had space to make some great runs in the first half. Connor also made some great crosses. Emily and Hannah once again displayed the team’s girl-power in mid-field with some cool moves. Corban, Mason and Sebastian continue to improve every week, while Joe was once again solid in goals. The whole team is getting better by the week and their enthusiasm grows with their efforts.

But despite some great play and several good attempts on goal, we went to half time goalless with Mitchie having netted a couple.

In the second half we were even better, but again we were unlucky to not score from several good opportunities. Hannah, Connor, Toby and some others had clean breaks but couldn’t capitalise as Mitchie’s defence closed in.

Toby had the ‘keeper’s gloves and pulled of at least half a dozen great saves, a truly sensation effort that earned worthy applause from the crowd. Two minutes from time he suffered a couple of bent fingers trying to stop an Exocet missile from a Mitchie penalty kick, but after a quick wiggle he bravely finished off the game.  As a side note, I saw these fingers the next day and they were still quite swollen – but they also impressively scaled the rock wall at the school fair so they couldn’t have hurt too much!

Player of the Week went to birthday boy Nick, who turned in another great performance, highlighted by a Messi like run down the right wing where his swerves, turns and fancy footwork bamboozled several defenders and received a big cheer from the fans. Great work Nick.

Great work Newcastle.

A very close game between two well matched teams, with the winning goal coming in the last minute. Great saves in goal by Michael in the first half and Seb Lindores in the second half. Very good defence from Spurs kept us scoreless in the first half. The boys continue to be rotated through different positions, to give them more experience and a  better understanding of the game.

Player of the week was Seb Woods.

Goal scorers:

Seb Woods

Harvey Mercer

We knew it was going to be a tough match coming up against a well drilled Samford Arsenal side.

Samford Spurs absorbed quite a deal of pressure in the first half.  Emelio pulled off some great saves and our defensive players were very effective.  Following some great lead-up work from Declan and Ben, Jack scored the only goal of the first half.

Samford Arsenal put us under even more pressure during the second half and scored two great goals ending the match as deserved 2-1 victors.

Player of the match was Declan who was assured on the ball and set up many attacking opportunities through his great passing game.  Well done Declan!

Our first away match at Mitchelton.

A great entertaining close game by both teams.

Congratulations to Isabella for having a fantastic first ever game. Sam proved to be an absolute superstar in goals in the second half. Christian & Jackson had a fantastic game proving to be crutial in attack and defense.

This weeks player of the week went to Brandon for once again showing his skills in the midfield.

Beautiful weather again for our first Samford derby of the season, against Arsenal.

A full complement of ten players and a crisp clear day meant all the signs were good for a great day’s football.

After last week’s performance where everyone picked their game up to new levels, it was going to be hard to replicate or better the performance. But Newcastle did just that. Arsenal had a couple of gun players – must have been the green boots – who scored a handful of goals between them in the first half, but the whole time Newcastle were right with them. The team is steadily improving and individual efforts are regularly surprising me. We didn’t get a goal in the first half but had several good chances. Connors work in goals was excellent against a considerable barrage.

Mason took the “gloves” in the second half after another sterling performance in the outfield, and made some amazing stops, putting his body on the line to counter some of the guided missiles being fired at him.

In the second half we played really well, outgunning Arsenal for periods which was a mighty effort, culminating in a cracking right foot drive that their ‘keeper couldn’t stop as it slammed into the bottom right corner for Emily’s first goal. Well done Emily. The photo shows Emily’s beaming smile just after she scored.

A great team effort. Great input and work rate from everyone.

Mason picked up the Player of the Week for outstanding goalkeeping and a series of excellent games.

What another great performance from the girls this week. The competition was a little harder this week, but the girls still managed to work really hard and defend their goals fearlessly.

It was great to have Prue back on board and true to form she had a ripper game with at least 18 tackles, some great clearing kicks and some good dribbling runs into our half. We spent alot of time defending our goal, particularly in the first half which was evident in Ashley's amazing effort of more than 9 saves in goal. Well done Ash, your courage in goal is amazing!

Ella had a great defensive game with her clearing kicks really starting to have some power. She also had a skillful run up the sideline with the ball at one stage. Mia worked tirelessly this game, with a number of parents commenting on her hard work. She seemed to be everywhere and cleared the ball on many occasions when the opposition were looking dangerous. Bella again improved on her great effort last week and is really starting to look more confident when going in for a tackle. It's great to see her in a pack with legs swinging, trying to clear the ball and often achieving a good kick out in the clear.

Ollie had a strong defensive game again this week and as always, was someone you could count on to work hard in defense. There were a few good battles against the boys in which she came out on top. Libby had a persistant game, working really hard in all areas. She topped the clearing kicks tally and also had some great runs clear of the pack, controlling the ball into our half. She also managed two good shots at goal this game.

Liv received "Player of the Match" with a strong game all round. She scored well on tackles, dribbling and clearing kick on the tally board even though she spent the second half in goals. She also managed more than 6 saves in goal, showing great confidence and skill.  

Manchester United met Mitchelton Thunder on their home ground at Teralba Park. The numerous spectators from both teams had polarised themselves into opposite sides of the field for what was to be terrific game of Under 9 football.

The guys were beginning to demonstrate many more of their new skills and played much more cohesively as a team. There were moments of brilliance when Manchester United's passing left Mitchelton Thunder stretched but Mitchelton's attacks were to prove too numerous in what was mostly a defensive game for Manchester United while our back line including Dan, Conor, Flynn and Bailey kept them in check.

Zackary,  Harrison and Lincoln covered the mid field where a number of Manchester attacks began with swift passes forward to Mitcheltons goal that resulted in some nail biting shots at their goal by Ben and Jesse.

Matthew started the game as goal keeper and saw some spectacular saves and in the second half, in attack, he capitalised on a pass from Ben to find the back of Mitchelton's net.  Conor kept goals in the second half and made some terrific saves and dives onto the ball.

Unfortunately, the final score was not representative of the valiant game played by our guys and as our teamwork, passing and striking improves we'll likely see more on the board this season.

 For his strong defensive game, Ben was awarded "player of the match" and for a powerful and energetic game Flynn was awarded the "player of most encouragement".

Man of the match - Ben Mortensen

Team Photo - Players wearing a pink ribon for "Remember Kate Day" (thanks to all)

Player of most encouragement is Flynn Scott at far right (back row)

A very close game. Great defence from Pine Hills Hearts made scoring goals difficult. The boys all played in unfamiliar positions at times as part of the plan to give them all experience across the field. 

Goal Scorers:

Sid Adams (1)

Michael Hietala (1)

This weekend we faced a very strong team in Pine Hills Rangers.  Even though we recorded our first loss for the season (2-4) the team played very well and should be proud of their efforts.

Emelio contined his red hot form in front of goals scoring twice. Jonte had another great game in goals, repelling many shots and throwing himself about.  Ben had a great game split between attack and midfield.  Declan was assured in defence as was Matthew.  Teague took many great corner kicks and was tireless in his efforts around the ground.  Jack showed some nice touches, always looking to pass to someone in a better position. Ryan was industrious around the field.

Josie was named player of the match for her tireless efforts and willingness to compete. Well done Josie!

Ray did it again; killing a drop off from the goalie for the 1:0. Michael followed with a nice shot after a great switch across the box for the 2:0 half time score.

Defence nailed it with Simon's powerful kick for the 3:0 after being motivated by a kick to his legs.

Well done all.

Another crackingly beautiful day for football on Saturday as Newcastle took on Mitchie Fury.

With last weeks’ Player of the Week Sebastian out with illness we had nine players fit, ready and keen for action.

Toby had the ‘keepers’ gloves for the first half and kept another clean sheet with help from ‘keeping coach Chris.

Everyone was on form in this game and comments were made on the continuing improvement of the team.

Emily continued her excellent cover defending, Hannah ran forward and back in defence until her face was as red as her half-time watermelon. Corban and Joe tied down midfield while Mason – who had his best game so far – ventured more into midfield as well as his usual defensive role. Up front, Nick, Connor and Jacob where everywhere and once again showed off their skills with Jacob’s goal the only score at the break.

In the second half Joe took on the ‘keepers’ bib and once again did a great job.

Our only score in the second half was a poached goal from Toby when the Mitchie ‘keeper placed the ball to kick it clear but Toby got to it first and put it in the goal. He nearly did it again but the ‘keeper was on to him by then.

Another close game and great to watch. Most importantly the team continues to have fun and get better every week.

Player of the week was Toby for listening to instructions and scoring a goal. Mason deserves high-recommendation for a huge improvement and will surely win the Player of the week before long.

Well done team!

Next week we have our first home derby against Samford Arsenal which we are all looking forward to.

Last week's game saw the girls looking like a real team. Their determination and skill levels have definitely improved and it showed in the outcome of the game.

Once again we pulled in some spare players (thanks to Jimmy and Kye), but with the girls all performing so well it was quite a while into the first half before Pat wanted to call anyone off for a break. Arsenal's ability to defend and challenge the opposition was evident in Liverpool's low score. Ella started the game in goals and saved around half a dozen goals, then Mia moved in for the second half and also did a great job with more than 3 saves. They also contributed well to the game when out of goal, with both of them having a good tackle and clearing kicks tally.

Libby had a great game all round topping the tally for dribbling and kicks for goal, but most impressive was her high tackle tally at more than 15, with Ashley also doing a great job in defense following closely behind with 9 tackles. Liv also had a great game particularly in defense and had an enormous amount of 14 clearing kicks for the game. She also topped the board for passes which is a skill the girls seem to strugle to use during the games, so it was great to see her use the ball in such a positive way.

It was great to see Bella improve so much this game, as she put her body on the line numerous times and made a good score on the tackle count. She also had some fantastic clearing kicks this game, which shows her determination is there. Oli once again seemed to be everywhere, which showed with her consistant result on the tally board. She managed a good shot at goal, as did Liv, Ella and Libby, but unfortunately none landing a result (keep trying girls, you will get one eventually).

The excitement was overwhelming at times on the sideline, but never more than when Ash found the net with a great goal in the second half and the team erupted with joy. It was great to see Ashley's continutal hard work finally pay off and she was also awarded "Player of the Match".

Great job girls, your parents were very proud of you all!

Manchester United took to the field with confidence this week encouraged from the sidelines by the team's new cheer-leading squad. 

Defense was good, particularly during the first half which saw Manchester concede only a single goal. Flynn took to keeping in the first half and withstood numerous attacks from Westside and showed great courage throughout. Other defense worth noting came from Bailey who displayed strong tackles and some massive clearing kicks that saw the ball sent out of our half. His efforts were rewarded with Player of the Match.

Lincoln and Zac played a great game defending our goal and helped with our advances on Westside. Harry was getting amongst it with the boys, while Jesse and Ben had a few attempts at goal between them but unfortunately fell short of the mark. Most improved player was Dan, being recognised for putting his body on the line time after time and providing several clearing kicks when most needed. He also led an attack that saw his run challenged by three Westside players.

Much of the second half was spent in our goal end with Westside sending a barrage of goal attempts our way. Connor who played goalie during the second half defended remarkably well given the onslaught and showed great courage by going out to meet the ball.

Manchester United worked together as a team and created their own opportunities on the field by passing the ball. One particular play that comes to mind saw Connor in goals kick to Ben who was placed just short of half way, who after a short run kicked the ball down the line to Jess who was waiting in the wings. Jess then continued the run with the ball to just outside the goal box and took a shot at goal. While a goal was not forthcoming, this demonstrates how their game is evolving - working as a team and passing the ball.

Well done boys!

Bailey Viner - player of the match

Daniel Dawes - awarded for player of most encouragement

Another good effort from the boys. Teamwork is improiving each week in both attack and defence and Mark continues to rotate the players through positions to give them experience across the field.

Goal scorers:

Michael Hietala 2

Seb Woods 3

Harvey Mercer 1

Following a washout and a bye, it was great to see the U10 Spurs run out against Samford Blackburn.

As many players from the two teams are friends the game was played in a fantastic spirit.

Leading 3-0 at half time, Spurs tired in the heat somewhat in the second half but still finished the game comfortable 6-1 winners.

Emelio opened the scoring for Spurs and finished the game with a hat trick.  Ben scored two near post goals and Jack slotted one into the roof of the net.

Declan had another very strong game in defence.  Jonte and Matthew had half a game in defence and goals each.  Josie was enthusiastic in midfield and Teague had another strong all round game.

Emelio was rewarded for his three goals and tireless effort and was named player of the match.  Well done Emelio!

Unlucky not to win this round 4 encounter. Strong running from Elija and Zac in the first half gave us many opportunities, which unfortunatley we were unable to capilise on. We were pinged far too many times for off-side, something we need to get better at. We also struggled a bit in goal without Dean, though Velvet and Connel did well in an unfamiliar position. 1st half score was 2-1 to NP. The backs again played strongly, particularly Leo and Madi, with Harry putting in a good effort in the 2nd half. Connel again was very solid in the 1st half. With 5 min to go and 4-2 down all looked lost, then Elija ran onto the ball nicely and slotted one in the corner, to give him 3 for the match. From the kickoff we got it down their end for a corner and Madi was fouled in the box for a penalty. Madi then put it away for a 'get out of jail' 4-4 draw.

It’s either pouring or a perfect summer’s day at the moment, and this week we were lucky enough to have the latter for our round 4 clash with Dayboro Gold at Samford Parklands’ field #4.

With only Connor missing due to illness we had nine players just bristling to get on the pitch. So much so that a tooth – albeit an already loose one – was knocked out by an elbow in the warm-up. A sign of things to come ......

Nick took the ‘keepers gloves for the first half and showed some natural talent in that role maintaining a clean sheet in the first half.

Unfortunately Dayboro also kept a clean sheet in the first half as the closest tussle I’ve seen in a small sided game was scoreless at the break. Both sides were playing well and creating opportunities and it was a joy to watch. Once again Emily, Mason, Corban and Joe were fabulous in defence, Emily’s positional work in cover defence worthy of note, and all backed up and pushed into mid-field, where Sebastian showed his superb balance and never-say-die attitude.

Jacob, Toby and Hannah made up the front third for most of the first period and many opportunities were made but none converted.

At half time the team once again impressed me with their ability to consume oranges – well above their age/weight!!

In the second half Mason took the ‘keepers gloves, and with some great direction from dad Chris, also kept a clean sheet for the team.

Nick, released from the goal square, ran amok with several runs from end-to-end opening up Dayboro and creating chances as the game opened up and became an end-to-end battle.

Sebastian’s forehead was on the receiving end of a well struck drive from Dayboro and needed to come off to recover. Meanwhile, one of Jacob’s many challenges on goal resulted in the Dayboro ‘keeper’s hand accidentally being stood on, and the ‘keeper had to sub’ed. As Dayboro were out of subs, Sebastian bravely offered to play for the other team but his services were eventually not required as the Dayboro ‘keeper returned to the field.

While the mid-field was being guarded by Corban, Emily, Sebastian and Joe, Jacob took advantage of the game opening up and scored the only goal of the match with a cracking left-foot shot.

Hannah, Toby and Nick all had good chances also in a heart-stopping final few minutes. Toby particularly had several shot go either side of goal.

Sebastian took the Player of the Week award for his sportsmanship in offering to play for the opposition even though injured, and returning to the field to help his team. Nice work.

Great game from both sides, and good to see Newcastle hold its nerve and continue to play great football in a close match. The team enjoyed the applause at full-time.

Manchester United finally played, bathed in brilliant sunshine, and had an outstanding game all round. Without any reserves Ella Bennett from Arsenal U9's helped in the first half of the game returning the favour when our Bailey helped her teammates in the game prior to out match so he should sleep well tonight (good on you Bailey)

The game started off locked, with each side ‘feeling’ out the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses.  It wasn’t until near half time that Mitchelton Slingers found some gaps. 

Up front Jessie & Lincoln was on fire with both good tackling and passing of the ball. Jessie had several shots at goal and scored a great goal and unofficially spectators of the field reported another one went in over the line but not counted.

There was great field position improvement for all of the team. Bailey from a defensive position near his own goal got the ball out to the side and  passed up the field by Lincoln along the side line to a waiting Jessie and then back into the oppositions goal area. That's how it done boys.

Cover defence was excellent by Dan and Connor putting in a big effort diffusing a lot of potential strikes around our own goal. Connor also put in a lot of tackles and passes in the midfield to his teammates which helped greatly in our attack. A big thanks to Dan for getting the ball cleared around our goal on many occasions.

Zac played almost everywhere on the field and helped all of the team and did lots of good passing and as well as tackles and never got caught with the ball something that the coach Bruce has been preaching and the players have obviously been listening to. Harry worked mainly in the midfield and had several touches of the ball with a renewed interest in the game even doing a few tackles and passes, good work Harry.

The highest tackle count went to Connor, Bailey, Dan & Lincoln

The best offensive player with attacks on goal was Jessie supported by Connor and Zac.

The most improved player this week went to Lincoln Whitehead and was very determined to show what he was made of.

The player of the match who has not yet been mentioned is Mathew Chui who played as goalie.  Matthew kept Mitchelton’s score lower and gave all he had to stop the ball finding the back of the net.  Very impressive stuff.

Well done Manchester United for putting in such a big effort and a big thanks to the coach.

Many thanks to Lisa Hay for her input in this match report

A much closer game than the score indicates with Fulham superb in defence, particularly in the first half, but the Arsenal boys were able to convert their opportunities better in the second half. The focus on teamwork at training is certainly starting to pay off with some great passing to team mates in a better position being one of the highlights.

Goal scorers for Arsenal were:

Michael Hietala 4

Sebastian Woods 3

Morgan Pond 2

Player of the week award went to Morgan Pond who, along with Seb Lindores, excelled in their first attempt at playing forward in the second half.

The girls were excited as we had a full complement of players and 3 new talented players (Zoe, Georgia and Jess) had also joined …. We now have subs and a good goalie!…Scotts words were…”crikey we will be strong.” He was right.

Kim cracked one in after 3 minutes and scored 4 goals in total for the game. The first photo below is Kim watching her last goal push out the back of the net.  Tahra lived up to her name and was schooting them in from all over the place. In the photo below, she is her scoring first goal and it was a beauty. Jordan scored 2. Below she is scoring her last goal. And Maisy scored her first goal for the season. We would have scored more except we got a bit excited in the second half, had too many up front and kept getting goals disallowed as we were offside. Leroy had the unfortunate task of calling these and it was even more difficult as it was his first go at being linesman .

Regie provided some comic relief again this week when she took an almighty kick to whack the ball into the gaol, mis-timed it , spun herself around and landed on her back….. it was great to see she got up laughing though!

Like last week we all played well. The gaols wouldn’t have been scored if we didn’t have Mia, Zoe, Simone, Georgia, Regie and Bella opening up the gaps and getting the ball to the strikers. And we wouldn’t have kept the Wolves to a nil score without Jodie, Mara, Imogen and Regie defending strongly.

Jess felt it was important to keep limbering up so she could continue her great diving saves in goal.

We ended the game with a 12-0 win. Player of the match was Kim.  Scott’s rating on team performance is:

Our first away game was against Dayboro Blue and for a change the weather was beautiful – hot even!

With a full complement of 10 players, Toby had goalkeeping honours in the first half and Hannah in the second. 

In the first half the team’s individual skills were on display as we played a reasonably close game with Dayboro. Hannah had several runaway attempts in the first half but no luck with a goal.

At half time we talked about using some central runners when we had the ball, and the team executed this with outstanding success.  Goals to Corban, Joe, Connor and Jacob demonstrating this great teamwork with the first two on the list employing the central runner theme. Several crosses from Connor could have resulted in even more.

A special note for Sebastian’s effort in the same role with at least three good shots at goal all being thwarted.

Mason, Toby and Emily once again displayed outstanding teamwork and great cover defence when needed. Nick, Connor and Jacob all making many great individual runs with superb ball control and awareness.

A fabulous effort again and great to see the team improve in leaps and bounds each week.

Player of the Week award was a close call with a few players scoring their first goals of the season and everyone improving, but Joe took the award this week to celebrate his first goal.

The grass is wet with dew, the boys arrive and gather for their warm up, goals are put into position and parents unfold their chairs ready to cheer. The whistle blows to begin the first game for Manchester United at our wonderfully new home fields.

The first half saw Liverpool show there strength and start with 2 quick goals, even with the bulldog courage of Dan in defence and Flynn as keeper booting the ball with a force to be reckoned with. Mathew and Zach moved the ball with skill and were in there amongst it all mid-field. We had the jubilation of Ben scoring his first goal just before half time and Harry controlling his kicks and having a short run with the ball toward our goals. Well done to them both.

Cheeks flushed with their efforts, oranges eaten and a pep talk from our amazing coach Bruce made our boys who mind you had no reserves this week come out blazing in the second half!!! Many attempts for goal were made by Jess, Conner and Ben after another quick goal form Liverpool. All our boys had their heads up and passed confidently down the field with their positioning improving. Mathew was in keeper position second half and made a champion style block that saw him grin from ear to ear.

Manchester United has turned a corner at today’s game, every team member through themselves into it and didn’t give up, a great game to watch with the final score 4-1 to Liverpool. And I would like to quote one parent as I said I would “It has been our best attacking game yet!” Keep the good work up boys…..!

Flynn’s Mum

A good game from all the players. Teamwork improved from last week with passing to team mates in a better position a highlight of the game, as was some great defence at the back. Goalscorers were Michael Hietala (5), Seb Woods (3), Harvey Mercer (2) and Sid Adams (1).

Player of the week was Ryan Tsang.

Justin (3), Shannon (3), Peachy

The first game of the season was a great success, well done everybody. The coach, manager and all the parents watching the game were really impressed with the skills and effort of the players.

We started the game with Alex as a goalkeeper. Anthony and Casey did a good job in defence, though we did not have to do much of it – so good was the attack that we pinned the opposition deep in their own half for much of the game. The new additions to the team – Lewis and Tyler - displayed lots of skill and proved to be valuable additions.

Isaac, Daniel and Tyler scored plenty of goals in the first half. Owen had a great game playing in the wide midfield positions and Ruben did lots of good passing and tackling in the midfield.

Lewis was a goalkeeper in the second half and apart from one or two goal-kicks had not much to do. Once again the Arsenal did most of the attacking and scored lots of goals – too many to count. Alex had a chance to show some good dribbling and Tyler scored some brilliant goals.

In the end Arsenal won by a large margin. This was a very impressive start for the season.

After a lead up to the start of the season where four out of five training sessions were rain-affected it was no surprise when, after a sunny morning, we arrived for our first game and it was raining.

The rain however was no deterrent to the enthusiasm of the team, who were busting with excitement at the prospect of their first game. It did make pre-match preparations a little tricky on the veranda of the club rooms and meant no pre-season team photo was had!  This is the closest we have:

The other news of the morning was an invitation to play a second game immediately after our scheduled match, against Samford U8 Roar, as their opposition had forfeited. So our first round was to be a double header!

The game started crisply with Jacob scoring the first goal of the match and our first for the season and our first on the new ground.

The first half settled into an end to end contest with all players getting up to speed with the game.

Connor took the goalie’s jersey for the first half and pulled off some stunning saves, while Corban fell into a natural sweeper’s role in front of goal.

Emily, Sebastian, Mason and Joe held the mid field tight with some great defensive work and break out attacks.

Nick, Jacob and Hannah provided some good forward moves down the wings and through the centre.

In the second half, Sebastian donned the keeper’s strip and showed the solid stability he regularly has in mid-field he could also demonstrate in goal.

Connor, fresh from the goalie’s job, had some great runs in the second half, taking the ball out of defence and into the attacking half.

A great outing for our first match. The team all showing promise for the season to come. Well done everyone.

Following on from a gruelling match against Mitchie, Newcastle had only a few minutes to draw breath, have another wedge of orange and a drink before fronting up against Samford Roar in the second of our opening round double header games.

With seven players in the squad available for the second match, each player was in for a full game.

Joe took on the keeper’s role in the first half and showed some natural goalie talent.

To limit the amount of running required by tired legs, Hannah played a more forward role, while Connor, Jacob and Nick seemed to have boundless running in their legs.

Corban, while still sweeping, also moved up more into the pack alongside Emily who formed a natural back line.

However, tired legs and a well drilled Roar were a bit too strong in the first half and we struggled with fatigue and were still blending as a team.

However after a cunning half time talk, or more likely the magic oranges and promise of a full-time jelly snake, Newcastle came out in the second half a stronger team. The team started putting plays together, troubling the Roar goalie and defence much more than in the first half.

Emily provided one of the plays of the day, tracking a Roar attack down our left wing stealing the ball and bringing it back out to safety on the wing, where we could launch another attack.

Jacob, in goals for the second half, also provided a highlight reminiscent of the EPL, when with a minute left and Newcastle having a corner he came out of goals and joined the attack, which nearly culminated in a goal as Hannah’s shot was stopped on the line. Jacob then made it back to his goal to stop the counter-attack.

A scintillating last ten minutes of play – with more than an hour’s running already in their legs - that had the crowd cheering was a great way to finish off round one.

Emily won the Player of the Week trophy for her fabulous improvement in the second game and great plays when we needed them.

A great start to the season for Manchester United U'9s especially considering the weather  conditions with the match almost being cancelled. The team worked cohesively in both defence and attack in passing the ball to each other and working as a team.

Well done to Jesse for scoring the first goal of the season and getting the player of the match. New team members Bailey, Zach and Mathew added new depth to the team their contributions were greatly appreciated.

Dan, Conner and Flynn were as usually the cornerstones in defence around the goal and deserve a good mention for their efforts.

Ben and Lincoln had obviously been working on their passing game as well as kick and chase and bedazzled their opponents at times through the match. Harry put in some great efforts and had plenty of action with the ball

A good effort by all the team and a special thanks to Bruce for working through the holidays to get the team match

 ready.

With school holidays not yet finished, both sides were short of players. A big thanks to Ewan and Jacob from Samford U10 Fullham who helped out both sides so we could have an 8 a side game.,

The match was fairly even throughout. Samford Arsenal eventually scored a narrow victory through goals to Sid Adams, Michael Hietala and Seb Woods. Player of the week award went to Connor Panitz for his rock solid defence at the back.

What a great start to the season for Samford Under 10 Spurs.

Eight Spurs team members came up against a well organised team of 12 Mitchie players who chose to keep 9 players on the field for the game.  Locked at 1-1 at half time, Samford Spurs showed a great deal of heart and out-ran and out-enthused their opponents in the second half registering a 3-1 victory.

Jack (2) and Teague (1) scored the goals and had fantastic games.  Jonte was safe and secure in goal; Matthew and Declan were resolute in defence and launched many attacks down the wings.  Ryan and Ben posed many questions of their opponents and were sure on the ball.  Josephine was enthusiastic in pursuit of her opponents.

Matthew was awarded the player of the week trophy having played consistently well for the entire game.  Well done Matthew!

The girls arrived with some fear in their hearts as they only had 9 players and the opposition had 13...they looked a bit like a swarm of wasps in their orange and black jerseys... but our girls were determined to show that they are a force to be reckoned with.  Scott knew they had the talent to put up a good fight but everyone was a bit worried about fitness levels.

Regi provided some comic relief for everyone when she scored one of the best own goals we have seen for a while when a miss-kick sent the ball at Mara's head and it bounced back into goals. Not to worry though as we were already in an unbeatable position by then - and Mara didn't suffer any ill effects!

Scorers: 3 Paul (pen), Brian, Mike (pen)

Scorer: Andrew Holman,

In what was a good solid perfomance for our first fixture the Mountain Men overcame a much improved Pine Hills team. Both teams played some great football but in the end it was the Mountain Men's use of width and desperation in defence that won the day.

A good season becon's if we commit to all our games like we did to our first