Under 12’s V Myrtleford   Won  14 – 0
Great to see us playing as a team. Passing to feet and passing out wide was good. Some great switches were made that resulted in goals.
Awards: Wendell, Riley, Tyrese and CJ.
Goals: Kye 3, Connor 3, CJ 3, Wendell 2, Harry M 2 and Harry C 1.Under 12’s Girls V Myrtleford   BYE

Under 13’s V Myrtleford   Won  11 – 1
All the players played like a solid team – just like the “players” on the block … connecting and working well together to get the job done. Manny and Harry were solid in defence like a brick wall from the block. Several of our goals today came from some great passing … Marcus to CJ to Kye who scored, Kye to Marcus to Gerizim who scored. Scott once again played well in goals and congratulations to Tyrese for his first game with the 13s. Marcus pounced on a loose ball and managed to put it away for another goal for the team.
Goals: Kye 4, CJ 3, Marcus 1, Connor 1 and Gerizim 1 and an own goal.
Best on ground: Wendell, Riley and Tim

Under 16’s V Myrtleford   Lost  2 – 7
The defence had to work very hard in the opening minutes while the Myrtleford attack looked very dangerous. Myrtleford scored 2 quick goals around the 8th and 9th minutes during a brief lapse in intensity from our boys.
Our attack then warmed up and we scored through Samuel in appx the 12th minute and continued pressure awarded Samuel with a second goal in appx the 23 minute to bring us back to 2 all. Myrtleford soon broke back again however to take a 3-2 lead into the half time break & earning a rest for our goalie who had made some great saves in the first half to keep the game alive.
Although we started with good attack and penetration in the second half it was Myrtleford that scored the opening goal of the half to stretch their lead. Although the game eventually ended 7-2 in Myrtleford’s favour; we were unlucky not to finish closer coming dangerously close on a number of occasion’s to scoring more goals in what was a very physical match.
A good effort from all the boys and special mention to Alexander, Connor and Heathy for stand out performances, and a great first game of the season by Sean against a very strong team.

Over 35’s V Myrtleford  BYE

Reserve Women V Heart   BYE

Reserves V Myrtleford  Draw  5 – 5
The Reserves have become the entertainers in the club with some of their amazing games. This team was down 5-2 after our opponents grabbed three goals in as many minutes. Looking down and out the Ressies started to play much better and slowly but surely scored three goals to tie up the match. They even had chances to win the game. The defense has to be better next time but is was a great effort to fight back. Chris Maher had a top game and was well supported by Santi and Sam.

Seniors V Myrtleford   Lost  1 – 4
A disappointing game after the teams good start to the season. Myrtleford took advantage of some poor defending and were two goals up after ten minutes. Spurs started to get more possession but could not get a goal. The opposing keeper made some good saves as well. Mark Belgre got a nice consolation goal and played well all day. Ryan Weston was also good on a day when many players did not play as well as they can.

Under 11’s V St.Pats   Lost  1 – 9

Under 12’s V St.Pats  Won  6 – 2
A great display of soccer by both teams. Harry played well in defence and controlled the back line well. CJ worked hard in attack and Sarsha stepped up to take the penalty. The team played well together.
Goals: Kye 3 and CJ 3.
Awards – Will, Zac, Scott and Wendell

Under 12’s Girls V St.Pats   BYE

Under 13’s V St.Pats  Won  6 – 4
The boys played with well in trying, non-festival conditions – drizzly soaking rain. Felix controlled the midfield well and managed to score a hat trick. Marcus played well and Tim did some nice clearances on from the goal line. Scott made some remarkable saves in goal. A job well done by the team.
Goals: Felix 3, Kye 2 and CJ 1
Best on ground Felix and Connor

Under 14’s V St.Pats   Won  10 – 0
Our game at Alexander Park was an absolute Harvest Festival. The earth was sodden and the team  reaped what they sowed; many, many goals! Three in the first ten minutes and that pressure was maintained throughout the game. Final score 10! Our goal kickers were Oliver, Ben, Luke, Mitchell, Charters and Zac.Fantastic work from Cody instigating and early goal from Ben. Great work everyone!

Under 14’s Girls V St.Pats  Lost  1 – 7
The story of this game was a tale of two halves. After being 5-0 down at half time, the girls showed courage and determination to go down only 2-1 in the second half against a strong St Pats team. This showed that we are capable matching it with some of the stronger teams when we put our mind to it.  Our challenge is to do what we did in the second half through the entire game. Congratulations to Hannah who scored a great goal and Anna was unlucky on a few occasions and gave their defence a difficult time when we went forward. Also special mentions to Sam, Sarsha, Mary and Lily who all had solid games. Final Score 1-7. Awards this week go to Isabella P and Hannah P

Under 16’s V Wangaratta  Won  4 – 1
“Water Bill”. How do you put that into a report? Well… I guess you just chuck it at the start. I digress, let’s get into it. Everyone turned up bright and early for the game against the FORMER undefeated champions of AWFA Under 16s, but this did not worry the mighty spurs boys. Under the guidance of our wonder coach Azar, we never felt the pressure. The game was off to a good start with Shortbread’s blocked shot being powerfully picked up and slotted into the back of the net by one Alexander Ruberto. The goals flowed very thick in the first half with only one counter goal being exquisitely finished by a member of our own team, who shall not be named due to copyright circumstances ©. But a great individual effort by Shorty ensured us a comfortable 4-1, thanks to a first half hat trick from our inform striker. All in all a good effort by the lads, it gives me great pleasure to be a leader of this great team. Oh and FORCA BARCELONA!!!

Under 16’s V St.Pats   Won  10 – 1

Under 17’s Girls V St.Pats Lost  0 – 5

Third’s V St.Pats  Lost  1 – 3
Our first defeat for the season but Spurs showed enough against a strong side to suggest that we should have a good year. We created a number of scoring chances but could not get  the ball in the net. Our opponents did convert their opportunities and this was the difference  in the game. Sajit played well in his first game. Indra senior and Hamish also had good games. Caleb and Indra junior had strong games in defence.

Over 35’s V St.Pats  Lost  0 – 2
With 15 players available on a small field we had St Pats on the back foot for the first 20 minutes & were unfortunate not to score on a number of occasions. A contentious decision against the run of play resulting in an offside goal for them was the only flaw in the first half.  The rain came down in the second half & made the conditions a little challenging but with good structured play & ball to feet we continued to have plenty of shots on goal. A penalty that should have been given when our attacking player was brought down inside the box was dismissed as an indirect free kick. Unfortunately we lost our way a little after that & let the opposition regain some of the momentum. A rebound goal for them late in the final 10 minutes summed up the day we were having. A great effort from all involved.

Reserves V St.Pats  Won  3 – 1
The Reserves played well and could have won by a bigger scoreline. Ram(bo) was outstanding in scoring a hat trick. Dhan set him up with a couple of great crosses. Wayno and  Irish were again good in midfield with the defence of Zac X 2, Middi and Tuksar doing a really top job. Welcome to Santi and Ravi who both did  well.

Seniors V St.Pats   Won  2 – 0
The senior men made it two in a row with a good win over Patties. Our opponents started better and were first to the ball early but as the game settled Spurs showed they were a superior side playing some good football on a wet pitch. Matty Townsend had a great  game as did Paul Kinning who scored both goals. In a surprise return to seniors Jono Cochrane played himself to a standstill. Both Ryan Weston and Jack Percy played well.

Under 11’s V Wangaratta   Won  7 – 1

Under 12’s V Wangaratta  Won  2 – 1
A hard fought match with the game deadlocked until the last 30 seconds. The back line was solid and Will was strong in goals. Kye scored both games from through balls – one from Josh and the other from Connor. Great team work from all the players.
Awards: Sarsha, Jaspa, Harry and Josh

Under 12’s Girls V Wangaratta   Won  9 – 0

Under 13’s V Wangaratta  Lost  1 – 3
A very fast game with Manny, Harry and Marcus dependable in the back line. Felix played a solid game in the mid-field and was ably supported by Kye. Tim passed the ball well to his team mates and Connor played a valuable role up front. He passed the ball through to Felix who scored the only goal for us. Nice work by Scott in goals. Well done boys.

Under 14’s V Wangaratta   Won  5 – 3
It was going to be a tough game for the U14’s, that was clear from the very start, especially after hearing the news our captain wouldn’t be playing.
Then Wangaratta scored after one quick minute. Our defence stood valiantly for the next little while, and our goalkeeper Ray had to be fast on his
feet, but Wangaratta’s second goal came not long after. A difficult start, but it gave us something to aim for. We pushed and pushed for the remainder
of the first half. Cody streamed down the right, leaving the defenders in his wake and Mitch demolished the opposition in the centre. Charters and
Anna stood firm at the back and we started to overlap down the flanks.  We deservedly got a goal with ten or so minutes left – in a mad rush to get the ball in the net it took the third or fourth effort before Zac latched onto it and sent it true. Then, with three seconds left until the break, Oliver pounced onto a high corner from Mitch and poked the ball into the open net.

Half time and two all.

Coach John told us we needed to play to feet, and so we came out onto the pitch rejuvenated. Oliver scored his second, volleying the ball in from close to the penalty spot. Alex adapted well to his new role as attacking midfielder, while Casper and Jack halted most of the opposition attacks. Charters then took us safely into the lead with a terrific kick, before a nerve wracking five minutes as the opposition received free kick after free kick on the edge of our box. In fact the referee Lewis gave a yellow card to his own sister Anna but it came to nothing as Ray saved spectacularly. However a corner not long after led to a Wangaratta goal and we were only up by one. Then from a through ball by Ben the goalkeeper came rushing out and knocked over Oliver. Zac stepped up and scored from the resulting penalty. Ben and Felix had marvellous games, taking turns to mark Wangaratta’s best player out of the game. Oscar was influential in the back after coming on and all of the forwards looked dangerous. Altogether a good win from the team, and we look forward to the rest of the season. The only downside: the fact that the words “Water Bill” could not be included within this report.

Under 14’s Girls V Wangaratta Won  3 – 1
A warm and sunny day embraced a diminished squad of girls for their round 2 clash at Wangaratta. We only had six under 14 girls in attendance with a string of 12 girls hitting up into the 14’s with great aplomb.
The pitch for our game was rather ordinary to say the least, very dry and patchy and quite obvious that Wangaratta FC had been remiss in paying their water bill.

As for the game what a stellar performance by the bare 11 girls, with courageous and gutsy performances by the 5 under 12 girls playing up, what stars of the future who are obviously learning a very good game plan and skill sets from their coach Fiona Smith. The game started with Hotspurs dominating from the get go and a stunning goal from Mary B in the 8^th minute looked like we were going to be on a roll, however Wangaratta stepped up a bit and an end to end tussle ensued. Albeit the majority of the play was going Hotspurs way, when a fast break by Wang had Anna lunging to stop the goal and a great save helped keep Spurs in front. Late in the first half Mary B went on a stunning run into the box to be brought down, the ensuing penalty was converted by Tarsha C which excited the girls no end, 2nil up at half time.

The second half started with some clever play from the Wang girls and to be fair some of our troopers appeared a bit tired. Around the 11^th minute mark of the second half Wang got one back on the scoreboard when a Wang fast break caught our defence out of position. A late goal to Mary B after some great lead up work by Hannah P enabled the girls to come away with a well earned  win.
All girls played well, especially when you considerer due to the low numbers how many played out of position. Mary B was rather inventive in her new position of centre forward, ably assisted by Hannah P on the right and Sarsha (Supergirl) Smith on the left (Sarsha was playing her 3^rd game for the day).

The midfield had a lot of action with Tarsha C in the first half and Captain Anna P in the second half filling up centre midfield with 2 very able and courageous 12’s in Laura G and Bella G playing at right and left mid respectively, they delivered so much ball out of the midfield it was great to watch.

The backline was classic in its shutting down Wangaratta raids, barely letting the Red Devils into scoring opportunities, a super game from Isabella P, Erica Smith, Alesha M and newcomer Yasmin L. What a super effort Yasmin first game of 12’s for Hotspurs and then backed up for a very good performance in 14’s with pace and a good boot.
We will be giving out two awards each week for our budding champions, this week’s award winners are Bella Godfrey (best on ground) and Erica Smith for a super defensive effort. Next week we play St Pats at Alexandra Park, let’s try and get a full team there for that one.

Under 16’s V Boomers FC  Won  5 – 1
“Thorman brace fires ruthless Spurs to victory”
A brace from Samuel Thorman saw Albury Hotspurs put Boomers to the sword with a 5-1 thrashing at Aloysius Park on Sunday. The home side started the match brightly with Lee pouncing onto a spill from the keeper to slot home from close range. It did not take long for the hosts to double
their lead as Thorman dribbled past a couple of defenders to fire low past the Boomers keeper. A goal from Boomers late in the first half saw Hotspurs lead at the break 2-1
The second half started at the same tempo as the Spurs ran riot while the visitors remained determined to keep the score as respectable as possible.
Parrett killed off any hopes of a late comeback as he drove in his first league goal of the season from a set-piece 40yards out. The hosts still kept their guns blazing as Clarke fired a superb shot from the right to solidify a superb start to the season for Spurs.
Thorman completed his brace a few minutes from time moving defenders inside and out, moving Hotspurs on to 3 points, at the top of the table par with Myrtleford who also grabbed a superb 5-1 win against Wodonga Diamonds.

Under 16’s V Wangaratta   Won  4 – 1

Under 17’s Girls V Wangaratta BYE

Third’s V Wangaratta Won  5 – 0
A very good game from the Thirds. The highlight was the hatrick by our German import Felix Mulitse, who worked very hard on his shooting at
training during the week. Other players to standout included Indra junior, Hamish, Karl and Will Heath. Welcome to Suman who played well in his first game for Spurs.

Over 35’s V Wangaratta Lost  1 – 4
Our first official game of the year & we started well, & for the first ten minutes were mostly in control. Then our structure fell apart once again (as in previous years) & we let them back into the game when we started standing off them. This resulted in Wang running the midfield & scampering down the flanks on a very short pitch. Down 0-2 at half time we attempted to regroup & start again but another Wang goal & a silly own goal did not help our cause. We tried hard & were competitive but could not get back in to the contest. A reshuffle & some cool headed play towards the end resulted in a well-placed goal from Mark to put us on the board. Jim Cannon was very unlucky not to have got on the scoresheet with two well hit ‘rockets’ deflected around & over the posts & crossbar by their keeper. A rusty start but with some good patches of play shows us there is some positive & encouraging signs that we will improve as the season evolves.

Reserve Women V Wangaratta   Draw  0 – 0

Reserves V Wangaratta Won  4 – 1
The Reserves played an excellent team game with all players contributing to this win. The defence lead by Mitch, the two Zac”s  and Jon C was very solid. Wayno, Irish and Vids were a strong midfield and Dhan and Ram were good up front. It was good to note the contribution of Ethan and Brayden. Goals to Wayne E, Irish and Ram set up a good win.

Ladies V Wangaratta Draw  1 – 1

Seniors V Wangaratta   Won  6 – 2
The senior men were impressive in deposing of Wangaratta. The players combined well and most goals were the result of good team play. Towny got two and did Ryan G with  Mark Belgre and Paul Kinning getting one each. It was pleasing to see how the Spurs players maintained their composure when Wang started engaging in rubbish. Ryan Giles, Tyson Mason, Paul Kinning and Jack Percy were excellent in a good team.