Dear Hotspurites,

DRAW FOR THIS WEEK

HOTSPURS v Twin City at Home. ALL Teams play at normal times.

DUTY TEAM - Ian will inform the coach as to which team. Please be at the grounds at 7-30am to set up fields

**** Finally the award for our best report can not happen this week as I was away. Looking forward to the next set of reports as we are back in full swing. An easier word for next report is “holiday”.

With only 9 regulars due the mid-holidays weekend we were very lucky to be able to call up Sam Hodge, Sam Thorman and Will Setterfield from the 10s. Not having encountered an SS&A side in our 4 years of soccer, we were a little unsure of what to expect, though wary of the fact they were coming off 2 comfortable wins.
Ten minutes in and 6-0 up, we were running amok, with Gus Staples scoring twice in the first 90 seconds, follwed up by 3 goals to Jack day and another to Gus, all well fed in by Zac, Blake and Brewy. Will Nauer went close on two occasions, as did Brewy, before we lapsed at the back and conceded a soft goal to make it 6-1 at the citrus interval.
Playing against an inexperienced team and well up, our boys drifted away from the basics and got a bit goal hungry. Our good passing broke down until later in the game when we were able to string together some good passages of play, culminating in a 30 meter screamer from our right back, Dan Kipp, who had moved up to fill a gap in the midfield. Brandon narrowly missed with a
header before the final whistle called a halt to proceedings. Jack got 3 more to give him a well balanced 6 for the game - 3 in each half and 3 with each foot, whilst Gus bagged 3. Jacob Pargeter continued his impressive defensive work; meeting the ball first in disputed situations before adeptly passing to his teams advantage. Will Nauer made a great save in goals whilst all 3 boys from the Tens (Sam,Sam and Will) played great games, especially factoring in that they had played without subs in their previous game.
Thanks for helping us out boys.
The 10-1 win takes us to the top of the ladder, ahead of Albury City on goal difference (+5).
Goals: Jack Day 6, Gus Staples 3, Dan Kipp.

On a glorious autumn day, certainly not a day for feeling GLUM, IT was a Hotspurs team missing their coach and several players, who took the field against SS&A. With Will Mollison standing in for coach Greg, and 4 players from previous matches – Sinead, Jack, Esmond, and Cam – Hotspurs U13s played out a tight and enthralling match and were gallant losers at 2-3.

The first half was characterised by solid defence by Chris Bridle and Ben Hoopell (in goal), some strong battling on the ball by Thomas S., and some creative team play where the players were prepared to pass wide or back. The Midfield – Nida, Jaimie, and Ezra - were starting to HUM. IT was, in fact, a left-midfield combo – Alex to Nida to Jaimie – that set up Tom Hodge for Spurs’ first goal. Both sides continued to have opportunities, and it was the efforts of the Spurs defence – Sinead, Ben, Chris, and Ben H. – that kept the score to 1-1 at half-time.

At half-time coach Will strove to DRUM IT into the team – let the ball do the work. Sinead came off and was replaced (belatedly!) by Cam, while our two key defenders – Chris and Ben H. –changed places, Chris going to goalie and Ben to centre-back. Spurs continued to dominate and certainly had opportunities: Jamie hit the left post after a long left-side run by Tom Hodge, and a great right-side run by Jack Day set up another (missed) chance to Alex. A corner to Spurs resulted in a second goal – an Alex toe-poke which was a reward for his persistence in the goal-mouth. Spurs, finding themselves at 2-2, conceded another goal, causing their supporters hopes to PLUMMET. The team continued to attack throughout the second half but the third goal refused to COME. IT was during yet another Spurs attack that the final whistle blew, leaving Spurs supporters NUMB. IT is a new experience for this team to lose!

To sum it up: a game of missed opportunities.

Score SS& A 3 – Hotspurs 2. Goals to Tom and Alex.

Highlights: some great goalkeeping by Ben H and Chris B, without which the scoreline would have been much worse.

Thanks to Will (coach), Sinead, Jack, Esmond, and Cam for helping out.

The girls started the game well, pressuring the opposition and trying to keep possession. they marked up well, cleared the ball out of defence quickly and kept the Boomers defence under pressure. We had a few shots on goal which was good to see.
In the second half the girls looked as though they were tiring but did their best to stay competitive. After a scramble in the box we luckily cleared the ball and it was looking as though it would be a draw but in the final minutes Boomers got a cross into an un-marked player and they managed to score.
Special mentions to Millie, Nicole, Mel and Skye who did fantastically in goals. Also a big thank you to Ricky, a great job by all girls.

What drives a man to drink ? Coaching. Fielding on paper a fairly strong side and starting off well pushing the ball around and playing with some confidence our old bogey from last year　 reared its ugly head, lack of concentration and commitment. Boomers scored two goals one soft and the other by no one prepared to lay a tackle on a running player allowing someone to run from the halfway line and cruise through 5 players says it all. One bright moment was Eriks nice run and cross which somehow missed Jake and Jeremy managed to misskick and put in the net much to everyone’s delight. Erik proved this was not a fluke by doing exactly the same thing but with his right foot in the reserves with the same outcome a goal. Next week Twin City which should prove to be a much harder game.