Minis: The sun was shining for the first gala day of the season held at Trangie and the 19-strong mini soccer team were all eager to hit the field for the three games.
Trangie beat Warren 2-1 in a first close game with the whole team playing well and Felix Weston scoring our goal. Warren beat Nyngan 3-0 in the second match up with Warren playing a near perfect game. Bradley Chick, Thomas Munro and Patrick McKay scored a goal each. Gilgandra beat Warren 5-1 in game three with everyone playing very well. Courtney Graham had a great save as goalie and Patrick McKay scored his second goal for the day. It was a long day for the minis who all showed good sportsmanship and behaviour, well done.
Intermediates
The intermediates had a full program of six 20-minute games. Fortunately there were plenty of players desperate to go on so coaches Jeremy Weston, Dale Freese and Scott Chick had an easy time rotating fresh legs onto the field. As an added bonus newly-appointed team mascot Peter Nadin turned up in his wheelchair, sporting ‘the’ broken leg, to cheer his mates on and most importantly collect signatures on his cast. Teams played were Trangie 1 and 2, Nyngan 1, 2, and 3 and Gilgandra, so instead of six match descriptions, this week sees the report in an individual appraisal format.
Thomas Ramsay displayed great defensive skills and tricky manoeuvres. Hugh Maxey had some dramatic tackles and injuries but was able to return to the field after some encouragement from Mum. Ross Job had good runs up the wing, managing to keep the ball in play and passing back inside to his mates and Jack Taylor pulled out his signature clearing kick when it most counted. Hugo Weston discovered the benefits of teamwork, passing the ball and working hard to support other players, Charles Noonan toiled like a Trojan all day and Hamish Callander also had a fantastic day. Alexis Campbell exhibited her usual steely determination, while Abbey McCloskey and Lucy Ramsay worked well as a pair only stopping for a chat once or twice. Ollie Webb displayed some inspiring footwork and Aron Patterson was his usual determined self in attack. Will Donnelly developed a real taste for the goal and it was difficult keeping Harry Glover off the field. Wesley Murphy showed real improvement as well, while Arielle Irving has taken to soccer like a duck to water. Emily Chick showed just how much she has improved with some good, long kicks to clear the ball when under pressure from the opposition. Alec Brown was always alert and keen and Xanthea Smith had great composure in the goal, saving many attempts and maintaining incredible focus. Mathew Pardy was impressive in all games, managing to clear the ball when needed and supporting his team mates well. Scorer Bailey Freese displayed great speed and fitness, reading the game well and thinking of how to outsmart the opposite team. Harrison Moulder had some massive kicks almost the length of the field and backed up with a strong chase while Mathew Pardy played with great enthusiasm, tackling hard and showing just how much he listens at training.
All in all it was a hugely successful day with plenty of good quality soccer. The kids all showed improvement and displayed some great skills and sportsmanship and the parents were able to cheer them on while catching up on the sidelines.
Seniors
The senior team travelled to Trangie and the team’s first game was against Tottenham 1. Tottenham started stronger of the two teams with Xanthe Van Lubeck getting through a mountain of defence early, with one great save to defuse a Tottenham scoring opportunity. The team started to warm up and gel as a team with the ball being passed between players, no more evident than in the forwards of Bree Lomas, Katie Hammond, Sophie Kentwell and Jess Wilson. Bree had numerous scoring opportunities, however, it wasn’t until a brilliant strike just before half time saw Warren score the match-winning goal.
The second game was against the local team of Trangie and was very defensive with little opportunities for the two teams to score. With the injection of Basil Jones to the mid field the team’s defence massively increased.
Dale Lomas and Ty Arnold added further strength to the defensive line which Trangie found hard to penetrate. The final score was a nil all draw.
The third game was against a Tottenham 2 team and Warren started slowly with a relatively easy goal scored by Tottenham.
This lifted the players and Amy Wilson saved a number of attacking raids, Mathew Stanley chased the ball well and the midfielders started to act in a swiping role to clear the ball. The second half saw Brittnay Moriarty show great footwork for an opportunity to score however it was defused just inside the keeper’s box. Vanessa Smith started to gain more confidence and this was no more evident than her defence runs avoiding a number of key Tottenham players. With a majority of possession to Tottenham it was not long before Tottenham scored their second goal nearing full time. The final score Tottenham 2- Warren 0.