ALBURY HOTSPURS
NEWSLETTER Phone :
0260233561 Fax : 0260232053 Email : ian.belgre@optusnet.com.au Website :
www.alburyhotspurs.com.au Newsletter:
Wilson St Albury,
EST 1854 SPONSORS
18 August 2007 Newsletter Number 21
E
Dear Hotspurites,
GENERAL
NEWS
BAKER MOTORS
Don't forget to
support our great sponsors BAKER MOTORS when buying a new Mitsubishi, Subaru, Honda,
Hyundai or a great Mercedes Benz or any great USED car. Ring John Irvine
on 60 418400 for a extra special deal.
RAFFLE
All raffle tickets have been distributed(one per family) if you want some more get
some from the canteen on Sunday. Any books sold money and book to your manager
or the canteen
SAD NEWS
Mrs. Linda Ward passed away last Saturday. Linda's husband Wes and children Tess,
Kai and Aleki have been part of the Hotspurs club for many years. Linda always
enjoyed watching and supporting many Hotspurs teams during this time. Our
deepest sympathy to the Ward family on the loss of Linda. She will be sadly
missed by her many friends at Hotspurs Soccer Club.
ITALIAN CUISINE NIGHT
at SODENS HOTEL after last Home and Away game (United) Sunday August 26th at
6pm $5 head
CONGRATULATONS
Well done to the
U9 Black and U12’s who are League Champions an all the bes to the U10’s who
were 90 seconds away from also being Champions.
All the best for this week, lets hope you can sew it up.
SOME IMPORTANT DATES
Under Nine Gala Day on Saturday 25th
August at Hotspurs grounds -start 10-30am
Junior Presentation Day on Saturday
22nd September- Venue -TBA
CUP FINALS
These start on Sunday September 2nd. Teams who finish in the top eight teams in
the League Table participate in these games. At present that means ALL Hotspurs
teams will play- this is a fantastic club effort. Finals games are played as a
Knock-out- so your season finishes when you are defeated.
The Cup draw is seeded and played at various grounds. Please Note - Cup games
ARE NOT necessarily played at normal season kick-off times. More details later.
Grounds for Cup games are
Team
1 V Team 8 at
Kelly Park- Wodonga
Team
2 V Team 7 at Willow Park -Wodonga
Team
3 V Team 6 at Melrose
Park-Lavington
Team
4 V Team 5 at Glen Park- Albury
DUTY TEAM is the SENIOR MEN -Be at ground at 7-30am
DRAW FOR THIS WEEK
SATURDAY 19th August
Nine
Gold V St.Pats @ Alexandra Park Kick-off 12-20pm
Nine
Black V United @ Alexandra Park Kick-off 1-10pm
SUNDAY 20th August
HOTSPURS
V Myrtleford at HOME- All teams play at Normal Times
**** Finally the award for our best report
using the words of the week “top gear” judged by the newsletter editor (me)
goes to Karen Ruberto of the U9B’s for her “speedy”
report. You can pick up your
drink prize at the canteen when we have a home game. Also a special mention to Carol
Wright of the U12’s for a great report. The
words for the next report are “nursery rhyme” so choose one you like and use it
any way you like.
MATCH REPORTS
Hotspurs Black U9’s Diamonds
Won 2 – 1
2007 Top Gear challenge of the year
Hotspurs Black (Maserati
MC12) Vs Diamonds (Ferrari Enzo)
With the challenge set down for
The first few minutes of the game saw plenty of high octane action in
the Hotspurs attacking end with many breathtaking stunts from Setter and Reuby
and clever navigational skills from Liam and Emma S.
Our first attempt saw the ball kicked into the crossbar. Then with the
reliability of a Honda and the magnificence of a Rolls Royce Sam was summonsed
from the back-line to take a corner. Alexander passes to Tom and a hand-ball by
Diamonds saw Tom lining up for a penalty kick. The attempt ricochets off the
side bar and after some smart manoeuvring Tom switched his gear box into top
gear and scores Hotspurs first goal!
Nerves were finally settled and Hotspurs continued to pepper the goals,
another corner, and another save. There was no leg room in Hotspurs front seat
with Diamonds fully loaded in defence. The pace was fast and furious when
Alexander (known for his fuel economy and speed) crosses to Setter who
drives in our second goal!
Hotspurs back seat (Brodee – goalkeeper) was feeling very roomy and
comfortable due to the fine defensive skills of Alex A, Emma T and Will H.
After the citrus break Diamonds dropped a couple of cogs, ignited their
injectors and went for it….only to find a small hatchback in the form of
Isabella coming the other way...stopping them in their tracks. It was a battle
of wits and endurance until Lachie passed to Tom who swerved passed the many
Diamond road blocks and scored again!
The chequered flag comes down and Hotspurs Black are declared the
winners 3-0 (undefeated with one game to play)
Clarkson – “Hotspurs (like the Maserati
MC12 ) stand as a shining
beacon of hope that one day, all teams (cars) will be made this way.”
Hotspurs Gold U9’s V United Won 2 - 1
Under 10’s V ST PATS
Draw 1 – 1
A beautiful morning greeted
our Tens dynamos as they sought a victory which would deliver the League title
for 2007. A tough St pats outfit stood between us and our objective as we shook
off the effects of the flu, injury and the loss of key players. Angus Staples
manned the goals in the first half and had plenty to do as he successfully
repelled the rampaging St pats forwards, keen to bridge the 4 point gap that we
had established in recent weeks. We managed only a couple of shots on goal, the
best of which fell to Lewis Couper after Jack Day's quick thinking and clever
through ball. Jack Mitchell was dominant in the midfield, working well with Joe
Davies, Lewie and Zac Kraich on the flanks. A knee injury to Dom Brew left us
without his attacking venom for 20 minutes in the middle of the match and we
struggled to cleanly deliver the ball in front of goal. 0-0 at the break and
plenty left to do.
Jack Mitchell adopted the
keeping duties and like Gus, had a heap of work to do. Both boys did a superb
job and ultimately kept us in the match. Blake Robbie proved dominant in a
stopping role and working with Gus, provided good ball through the midfield to
see us pile on attacking pressure for a 10 minute period. Eventually our
pressure told with an errant kick pounced on by striker Jack Day whose clinical
finish saw us 1-0 up with 10 minutes to go. With our defence under relentless
pressure Garth Lewin, Chris Boyall, Daniel Kipp and Brandon Bulowski battled
manfully to hold out a desperate and resurgent Patties outfit. A brave effort
from an injured Will Nauer saw him give Brewy time to recover from his earlier
knock. Brewy then returned for a brief defensive cameo, twice taking the ball
off St Pats strikers within 5 metres of goal and giving his all for the team.
With just 90 seconds to go
however, we conceded a goal from a corner to keep the season just that bit more
tantalising !! Due credit to St pats - they had to give it everything and
played very well, setting a very high standard, but one to which we were equal.
Very proud of the tenacious spirit shown by the boys and look forward to next
week.
Goal: Jack Day
Goalkeeping Superheroes: Gus Staples and Jack Mitchell (look out Drummo!)
Under 11’s V ST PATS
Won 3 - 2
A nail biter for the
spectators this week with the Hotspurs attacking play operating in top gear to
keep the ball in the St Pats half for most of the match. A perfectly raised
ball by Kyle, over the goalies’ head, put the team in front. Some great team
play was finished off nicely by Joel for goal number 2.
A breakaway run from St Pats
was converted, followed soon after a penalty goal bringing the scores
level. Some heavy play from both sides
resulted in a penalty awarded to Hotspurs in the dying minutes of the game. Ryan W converted with ease and the team
sneaked over the line with another win. Another good team effort.
Under 12’s
V ST PATS Won 2 - 1
The determined Hotspurs racing team took to the track. Ready, set, go! St Pats sped off swiftly and shot a goal past
Bulldozer Ben, he hadn’t even had time to change out of first gear.
This speedy start by St Pats was soon thwarted by the Hotspurs racing
team as all players zoomed around and quickly moved the ball up towards our
finish line. A few shots went wide but
Audi Alex’s well placed second corner kick to the vicinity of Jaguar James’s
high powered boot soon resulted in a score.
The Hotspurs team continued its surge.
Audi Alex, Corvette Chris, Nissan Nick and Maserati Michael attempted to
score but the ball either veered to the side of the finish line or was halted
by the moveable barrier that St Pats team had carefully positioned near our
finish line.
Eventually one of Audi Alex’s well judged kicks placed the ball just in
front of Corvette Chris who swiftly accelerated into top gear and wizzed it
past the barrier resulting in another score.
At the half time pit stop Coach Corona and his mechanics refuelled and
lubricated the Hotspurs team. This
resulted in a smooth and speedy second half of racing with lots of teamwork and
tactics being practised for the finals. The winning score was 2 – 1 and the win means
that the Hotspurs racing team will be the League Champions. Well done !
Special mention and thanks must be given to co-drivers Joel Escott and
Ryan Weston who drove brilliantly during their time on the race track. The long
kicks and defensive work of Bentley Ben Pearce, Wild Wagon Will, Tenacious
Tractor Tom and Bulldozer Ben in goals were notable throughout the race
especially in the last few minutes.
Rolls Royce Jamie Ryan’s consistent manoeuvring and blocking tactics
throughout the race also made it difficult for the St Pats team.
Under 13’s
V ST PATS Won 5 - 0
After a sluggish start, the
lads eventually began to warm up to the game.
With an opposition that was desperate to clear the ball, Hotspurs fell
into the trap of following their play with too much reactive kicking, without
controlling the ball and the play.
Towards the end of the first half they took better control and made some
good forays into opposition territory.
Johnny opened the account, followed by Michael Wright who hammered the
ball hard enough that even an opposition getting in the way couldn’t stop. Excellent support and positional play put
Elijah in the box seat to knock the third in.
In the second half the team moved into top gear and peppered the goal
with regularity. Will put in numerous
perfect crosses, that even the senior players would love to be receiving, and
he played with determination and inspiration. Connor also shone in the second
half with controlled dribbling and perfect execution, scoring two goals. Credit to the St .Pat’s goalie who saved
their team from a much harsher final score.
Thanks to Michael Wright for filling in and doing so with such style.
Under 14’s V ST
PATS Lost 0 - 4
With our team not at full strength,
we knew we were in for a tough game. With the usual lineup we started off
strong, with effective passing and ball control. Which faltered before Patties
snuck one through. With heads still held up high we continued on again,
determined. Unfortunately St Pats were still too good, scoring two more goals
before half-time. Second half play began stronger and more determined to
control St Pats goals. Fortunately they only scored one more before the full
time whistle, a penalty from a poor decision. Thanks to the under 13's for
once again playing up.
Under 14’s Girls V ST PATS
Lost
0 - 1
Under 16’s V ST PATS BYE
Under 17’s Girls V
SS&A BOOMERS Won 1 - 0
The girls were playing well
as a team, working their way up the side then across nicely. Some more of this
and some more looking for ‘who is there’ before kicking, will do us well. Jess
scored for the team and a lot of hard work was done to prevent SS&A from
equalizing.
Under 17’s Girls V
ST PATS Lost 2 - 4
With a wind-chill
factor, minus zero and only half a team on the ground, we must be very thankful
to four lovely and skillful Under 14 girls (and their parents) who stayed
outside for another hour to help us out. So, thanks Bec, Jocelyn, Millie and
Steph for a fantastic effort.
We were not
overly confident facing St Pat’s after being down by 7 last time but in the
first few minutes Jess scored a really stunning goal and things looked
brighter. There were some great moments and some sad lapses but probably just a
few too many missing from their normal positions for things to run as well as
was needed.
Here’s looking to
a fully fired-up team for our last match next week.
Thirds
V ST PATS Won 6 - 2
Reserves V ST
PATS Lost 1 - 3
We played very
poorly in this game. The Spurs had trouble with the bouncy pitch and the windy
conditions ( even though John was away). We will have to concentrate and play
much better to get our next win.
Ladies
V ST PATS Lost 0 - 6
This was a tough game against
the team currently second on the table. Despite the score the Ladies acquitted
themselves quite well. With only ten players in the first half the Ladies
played some good soccer but we struggled to get forward to create goal scoring
opportunities. We began to tire in the second half but all players tried very
hard. Liz Ryan played very well in the forwards and Jess and Bec Briggs had
good games in defence. Fiona again did well in goals for us.
Senior Men V ST
PATS Won 2 - 0
Despite the
tricky conditions Spurs played very well. The passing and running off the ball
was quite impressive. The post and crossbar prevented the score being much
higher. Mills and Giggsy played well in the centre. Seato and Marc Hallam were
also impressive. Great to see Luke Briggs and Tuksar playing again. Briggsy scored
a goal as well- which made his day! The defence was very solid.