Dear Hotspurites,

CLUB NEWS

CLUB MEETING　 is to be held on next MONDAY 5th May 7-00pm START　 at the ASTOR- All welcome

UNDER NINES
Our under NINES start this Saturday- many players will be playing with HOTSPURS for the first time- We hope all players have a great game!!

DRAW FOR THIS WEEKEND

SATURDAY　 3rd MAY
Nines　 V　 　Twin City White　 at Diamonds on La Trobe　 　 Kick-off 11-30am

SUNDAY　 4th MAY
HOTSPURS　 V Lavington Panthers　 at Melrose Park-Lavington All teams play normal times

Under 12 Girls V　 Wodonga Panthers at Willow Park-Wodonga　 　Kick-off　 1-00pm

**** Finally the award for our best report using the word of the week “holiday” judged by the newsletter editor (me) goes to the report of Daina Mollison of the U13’s. You can pick up your drink prize at the canteen when we have a home game. An easier word for next report is “pavlova”.

Thirteen 'Spurs donned the gold and black garb under precipitous skies to take on the TCW outfit. The slippery surface and lower temperatures conspired to thwart our initial efforts to break down the opposition defence. It took some time before Gus Staples pounced on a loose ball in midfield, danced around the defence and calmly slotted a neat goal. Another ten minutes elapsed before Dom Baker picked out Jack Day who deftly flicked the last pass for Lewie Couper to claim a well deserved goal. In the shadows of half-time Dom Brew's corner was parried into the legs of a defender by Gus before Jack sliced one into the narrow gap with his left to make it 3-0 at the interval.
Quenched with home grown Kergunyah watermelon we negotiated a relatively even second half and a good opportunity to experiment with some
positional changes. Jack scored a second, the only other goal of the game, after another good pass from Dom Baker. Jack took possession outside the box, jinked, stepped over and dodged a flurry of legs before slamming home a powerful left foot drive. Brandon, Lewie and Garth created a number of scoring opportunities, without luck, whilst Zac and Blake performed well in defence. Chris Boyall and Joe Davies had close to their best ever games in midfield, with Dan Kipp playing a blinder at centre back. To his powerful kicking, Dan has added finesse and speed, giving him the ability to set up many attacking moves from the back. 4-0 at the whistle to consolidate with our 5th win of the season.
*Goals*: Jack Day 2, Angus Staples, Lewis Couper.

This was always going to be a hard game with the opposition so much in fear of us that they had to bring down players from u13s whilst still having a full bench. Our defence of Lucy, Esmond, Blake, Ryan S. and Isaac worked hard all day with some awesome throw-ins by Lucy. Ryan W. Cam, Hamish and Thomas should sleep soundly from their efforts in midfield, while Liam and Jack had few opportunities up front. Things were looking a bit glum with the scoreline 0-3 at halftime, but with words of wisdom from coach Terry, to their credit the team lifted and had a much better second half. We had much more possession and were finally able to get the ball in to space for Ryan W. to convert the goal. Thanks to Henry who bravely stayed in goal all game and thanks to Blake and Jack who played up. Hopefully next week will see all players back from holidays

Eleven girls descended on Waites park. Umbrellas & jackets were the order of the day. Who'd of thought the seasons could reverse so in one short week!
　 　 The game started late, mixed messages about the playing field by the opposition & a referee had to be sourced. By kick off our girls were restless & eager to run. We started well, Paige & Emily Min drove the ball towards goal but Panthers managed to deflect each time. At our end Ruby kept well to keep the ball out. Approaching half time the score was locked at nil all until a concerted push by the opposition saw them score, 'against the flow', we muttered.
　 　 Jelly snakes & some encouragement from Jim saw us take to the field refreshed for the second half. Tahlia & Lauren defended strongly with the help of Beth in goals. Isabella & Emily Mac covered the wings & Emma S held the midfield. We played to feet consistently & run the ball up the sides more often pressuring the opposition. Milla helped up forward & a flurry of passes saw Melinda put one in the back of the net. The parents were jubilant! The girls were quite happy too. From there the game to & fro'd, both sides attacking & defending well for no addition to the tally. Well played by all! We look forward to a rematch next week at Willow park.

It was the last day of the school holidays in Albury, NSW, but by the sea of umbrellas you could imagine your were at an English beachside resort in the middle of July.

Twin city were revved up and jumped at us from the start forcing Ben into a save in the early minutes of the game. We fought back and won a corner. Alex’s dead ball kick was of the usual high standard, Chris connected well to head just over the bar. After 10 minutes, Hotspurs were asserting themselves, but again Twin City was on fire forcing another great save from Ben. End to end stuff now; Hodgie blasted from distance – on target but saved. Suddenly Tom C broke through, no joy though - just off side. Again Twin City counter attacked this time making a great cross. Ben got a hand to it but the ball was headed in on the rebound, we were one down.

Twin City continued to apply pressure, but Chris, Ben P and Nick sopped it up. Our midfield fought back, Nida and Ezra working hard.

Finally it was half time - Twin City 1 Hotspurs 0. This was no holiday!

Twin City continued where they left off – attacking. Chris was in goal now and on his toes. Nick and the Bens were defending, with the two Toms working hard. Hotspurs got down the right - another great cross by Sam, Michael drove the ball just over the bar. Twin City answered and Ezra saved a certain goal with a great header. We were determined. Nida got the ball on the left, played it to Hodgie, who shot. The ball was deflected and slipped through the goalie’s hands - 1 all. The game continued to seesaw, but Hotspurs had more possession. The ball was forced forward into Twin City’s penalty area; a desperate scrimmage took place; the ball bounced to Michael’s feet; he shot and the net rippled. Hotspurs 2, Twin City 1. The opposition was in no mood to roll over and kept applying pressure. Eventually they were rewarded with a goal driven in from the right. The linesman had his flag raised for offside, but was overruled by the ref - 2 all. It was cold and wet and the tension was at fever pitch. We felt we could still win it and kept battling. Sam narrowly missed grazing the right post, but almost immediately Chris was forced to make another great save. Fulltime - 2 all

What a holiday, nerves are shot, the hearts are pumping. It was a great game!

In wet and cold conditions we trudged onto the field not knowing what to expect from Twin City. For the full duration of the first half we managed to keep them scoreless with some fierce defending and some great saves by James. The next half began much the same until Twin City managed to get one through, more determined now than ever we tried even harder only to have another scored against us. Still we pushed on play after play and attempt after attempt at Twin Cities goals. Only to have a third goal scored against us and finish off the game. Better luck next time and thanks to the thirds for playing down.

Despite the freezing weather the girls braved the conditions but unfortunately had a bad start to the game, with an early goal. The girls managed to hold off Twin City's forwards and get the game moving but to no avail as we could not get the ball in the back of the net. After another goal from Twin City we tried to keep our heads high and did our best to keep the ball out of shooting range.
In the second half Twin City got a very quick goal so Spurs did some reshuffling and held them off for a while with the ball staying in the middle of the pitch for most of the half. Towards the end of the half Twin City scored again to a tiring Spurs. But a good effort by all. Special mentions to Stef, Pip and Mel. Good luck for next week.

Real winter weather a bit different to what we have become used too, and it took a while for some to adjust to the conditions. As usual we conceded a soft goal to start, James off his line, ball drops short and we are nowhere to be seen result simple tap in for the opposition. While we played some nice soccer we need to get a bit more hungry up front. With Peter "O" organising the backline we can now start to work the ball forward and hopefully build more self confidence in our ability to push other sides .The scoreline did not really reflect the difference between both sides but we need to become a bit more hungry for the ball and stop gifting sides goals. Well done Sam and Robbie 'G'.

Hotspurs had a tough start against our undefeated opponents finding themselves two goals down after twenty minutes. Suddenly the team
started to gell better and Mick Corkett, Ben Porta and the old fox Davies were starting to dominate the game. A great headed goal by Mickett
off a Porta cross　 got the team back in the game. Kel curled a shot in the second half and a penalty by Mick tied the game up. Mark played well
substituting in goals and John and Paddy played well in defence.

Our ladies did not play as well as they have in recent weeks particularly in the first half. Our ball control and thought processes were much better after halftime and we created a number of chances to score but we had to wait until the last five minutes for Emma to score a spectacular goal.
Emma sprinted from halfway with the ball and placed it in the top corner of the net- top stuff! Our defence was good all day with Rikki,Lucy and Lauren playing really well. Ellen improves in goals each week. Mia, Jelena and Joce worked very hard in midfield and Jess and Liz played well in our forward line. Well done everyone- it was great to taste victory again.

The senior team played very well against a dangerous team. Luke Drummond made some great saves early to keep the score at nil all when after twenty five minutes Tuksar headed in off a corner kick. The doctor scored the second goal after a great run from Dave Robin. Chris Johnson finished off a great game from him with the third goal. Ryan Giles again played really well in the midfield, while John Cock and Rowan were excellent at the back. Dave Robin was outstanding in the forwards. Top win !!