MR Munchkins V Vasse Hawks/Cornerstone Cubs

By Simon Jeffs
The Margaret River Munchkins played some awesome football at the weekend despite the absence of a few big names who were obviously enjoying a bit of sunshine up north.

Mikey Jeffs played a fantastic all round game with some great defending moves and attacking football.

Casey Castle showed all involved just how good a striker he can be running the entire length of the field at times and finding the back of the net on more than one occasion.

Jasper Hillman and Jaxon Deighton provided good defence and were often seen running wide of the pack waiting for the loose ball and regaining control.

Ashley Jarvis and Lizy Wilkie were joined by one of the Vasse Hawks players and the all girl trio were dazzling.

Jervis was too good for the opposition and a number of great clearances saw her bearing down on goals with the opposition nowhere to be seen. Wilkie provided great support and defended well as the girls dominated their opponents.

The Munchkins are really beginning to shine with all players showing great skills, ball control and team work. Go Munchkins.
Images below: Casey Castle handling the pressure from the Hawks.
Ashley Jarvis goes it alone with an eye on the goals.
Mikey Jeffs and Jaxon Deighton working together.

MR United 1 v Vasse Falcons 2

Under 15
By Paul Brown
What can you say about this game which had everything from start to finish. The last time these two teams met it was a close game and this game was exactly the same as both teams had spells in which they dominated.

The tackling was ferocious and the speed and skill of the game was at a very high level.

Margaret River took the lead against the league leaders midway through the first half from a well taken goal by jake cockin which was his first ever goal in soccer. This was well deserved as joel fraser in the Vasse goal made some great saves to keep the United team out.

Then the game was turned on its head as Jayden stammers and a Vasse player attacked the ball in midfield, both players refusing to back out which resulted in Jayden being carried off the pitch, which was later to be confirmed that he had broken his leg.

Up to this point Jayden and Kade Bougoure in midfield were dominating. With a bit of reshuffling the United team got their composure again, but from a well taken corner Vasse equalised and the half time score stood at 1-1.

United’s goalkeeper for the day Jake Sales was having such a good game he was left in and the rest of the team knew it was going to be tough as they only had one substitute left.

The second half was just as intense as the first, neither team were giving an inch.

Sam Berridge was having a great game in defence closing down the attacks and also linking up with Zac Harney on the left.

Midway through the second half Vasse took the lead resulting from a long kick by the Vasse goal keeper, the Vasse striker running on to it and calmly slotted it in to the corner.

This goal lifted the tempo again and the United team threw everything at the Vasse defence, but couldn’t find a way through, and the final whistle blew to finish an epic struggle.

Congratulations to all players from both sides and to the United team you were superb and should be very proud of your efforts. I am sure that Jayden would have been very proud to see how much effort you put in .

Stingers v Eagles

The Margaret River Under 8 Stingers played host to the Busselton Eagles last weekend and showed that the mid season break had not slowed them down.

Quinn ‘steam train’ Cargill Fletcher was again dominant up forward bagging a personal best 7 goals. Despite Quinn scoring all the Stingers’ goals, Taj ‘the rock’ Spencer, Anj ‘kung fu’ Kupfer-Hollis and Bryce ‘jetsetter’ Bennett also applied great offensive pressure.

The Stingers’ attacking play originated from the defensive half with Hugo ‘boss’ Smith in goals and Chloe and Asha Altmann and Noah ‘x-files’ Mulder locking down the Eagles’ attack.

The Stingers proved too strong for the Eagles finishing with a 7 goals to 1 score line.

Players of the day were Quinn for his impressive bag and Anj for his excellent efforts all over the ground. Next week the Stingers travel to Busselton to challenge the Dunsborough Rockets.

MR United 2 def Busselton United 0

By Patrick Marzohl
Margaret River United eagerly anticipated this show-down with the only team that has beaten them this season, however absences of seven key players and injury to three (including Jake Graebner-Bond, the keeper) made the game plan difficult to organise.

It was decided to play a 5-4-1 with Mehdi Balkhi the lone striker, supported by Benjamin Smith and Dylan Johnson-Swainston on the wings. The focus was to neutralise Busselton’s midfield. Sam Connell and Henry Rogers did a fabulous job of this.

The game started frantic on this cool but dry Saturday morning. Balls were kicked all around the places and it took the teams some time to find a rhythm.

[At left: Jack Hewton and Lewis Hayes watch as Oscar Howse raises to head the ball.]

Margaret River had the better of the first ten minutes, but Busselton kept pushing and hit the upright in the 13th minute. Busselton then pushed strongly; however the home team began to settle down towards the end of the first half, now enjoying great possession and control.

Unmarked Benjamin Smith hit the ball over the crossbar in the 28th minute after a precise Mehdi corner. In the 32nd minute a quick passing sequence saw Margaret River taking the lead.

The ball was played by sweeper Mat Kevill to Sam Connell. He flanked to Mehdi Blkhi, who outran his marker. Mishka Marzohl darted forwards and booted the ball into the back of the net after an accurate through ball by Mehdi. A clever and stunning goal!

At half time the team was reminded to keep the game simple and controlled. Changes include the positioning of Benjamin in defence with right back Kane Duggan taking a rest.

Only six minutes into the second half, fast winger Aaron Locke collided with an opponent and had to be substituted. The injury looked serious and Aaron could no longer take part in the game.

The game was a very tight affair with Busselton and Margaret River closing down the space effectively. In the 48th minute, a Busselton shot flew just over the bar. Four minutes later, Henry Rogers got away on the right flank.

[At right: Benjamin Smith and Mishka Marzohl in front of Busselton's goal.]

His pass found Mishka who laid the ball on for Mehdi. The swift forward ran unhindered onto the keeper to score the second Margaret River goal.

Busselton however did not give up and kept pressuring Margaret River’s defence. The backline consisting of captain Mat Kevill, Benjamin Smith, Oscar Howse, Kane Duggan and Lewis Hayes held firm.

In the 57th minute, keeper Jake Graebner-Bond saved a dangerous high ball. On the other side, Mehdi and Mishka both missed some good opportunities. In the dying minutes, Busselton hit the upright after Jake struggled to contain the ball.

This win was impressive considering the absence of so many key players.

The player-of-the-match award went to Henry Rogers, with the encouragement awards going to Kane Duggan and Mishka Marzohl.

The team also wishes to thank referee Bruno Hangartner and assistant coach Simon Deuring. Hopefully we will have the full squad available for this Saturday’s game.