MWFA

Seaforth kill Brookvale with 3 goal first half spurt

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A first half burst of goal action has given Seaforth a 3-nil win over Brookvale at Grahams Reserve on Sunday. Goals to Abbey Cosh, Julia Murphy and Gemma Woolley saw the game effectively killed off before half time. Seaforth coach Chris Wood praised his team’s energy and endeavor in the first period.

“We played well and scored three goals in a ten minute spell,” Wood said. “All three goals were well taken. One was from a great little cut inside, finished with a right foot. The second was from a corner. The third from a free kick played over the top, Gemma got in behind, controlled it well and rammed it past the keeper.

“The game went flat in the second half because it was killed off in the first. But that’s alright, it happens. It took three good goals to win the game.”

Wood said that similarly to the team’s Challenge Cup games, they limited Brookvale’s chances. “They never had a clear-cut chance,” Wood said. “We scrambled well and limited their chances. We were defensively very solid. If you can stop a team having chances you increase the likelihood of winning. If you don’t concede goals you don’t lose. That’s always been key for us.

“We can improve on retaining possession, even when a game is gone, and not get sloppy. When you’re leading you can tend to over-play a bit. We need to play a full 90 minutes not a solid 45. I expect that we will against Manly Allambie on Wednesday night. If we don’t we’ll get punished.”

Seaforth and Manly Allambie will play each other in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup at Seaforth 1 on Wednesday night, while Brookvale will play Belrose in the other match. Winners of both games will contest the final at Cromer Park on a date to be advised.

By Matt Cleary

Curl Curl get over Strikers at the death

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Curl Curl scored goals in the 89th minute and deep into injury time to record a fine 3-2 win over CC Strikers at Abbott Road on Saturday.

“To get over a good side like CC Strikers who’ve been premiership contenders and had the same side for a while is very satisfying,” Curl Curl coach Anthony Seminara said. “I’ve been telling our boys for a while that we’re a brand new team and it’ll take us a while to gel. But we’ll have a cracking team once we do. Once you start to play with blokes who are your mates, and develop friendships, that’s when you’re formidable.

“And to score two goals in the last five minutes shows character. Plenty of teams, down 2-1 against a good team like CC Strikers would’ve given up. But our boys really wanted to win. And our coaching staff could not be prouder of them.”

CC Strikers opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Harrison Brown equalised in the 35th minute. Strikers went ahead again before Matt Cooper brought scores level with a minute left in regular time.

Then Michael Kemper, who was among Curl Curl’s best, caught the Strikers goal-keeper off his line with a long range shot from outside the box. And there was much rejoicing.

“We haven’t had a lot of luck so far – we’ve missed penalties and hit the woodwork maybe six times,” Seminara said. “So to score two goals in the last five minutes, I couldn’t have scripted it better, While it gave us coaches heart attacks, they’re the sort of wins that fast forward cohesion, morale and team bond.

“There’s a very healthy respect between the two squads and it was a great afternoon of footy against a high standard of opposition. I really think it’s a big result for our season.”

By Matt Cleary

Three local MWFA teams joined by Manly United in FFA Cup

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Three local MWFA clubs have progressed to round 4 of the FFA Cup where they will be joined by Manly United and all NPL teams in the next round of matches, which will be played this week.

 

Manly Vale will take on Illawarra Premier League club Bulli FC at David Thomas Reserve on Wednesday night while Forest Killarney tackles fellow South Coast Club Unanderra Hearts at Melwood Oval on Tuesday night.

 

Both games kick off at 7.30pm

 

Brookvale faces a trip to Sydney’s west when they will take on Prospect FC at William Lawson Reserve with the game kicking off at 7.30pm on Wednesday night.

 

Manly United faces a first up clash with local St George Association Premier League team Arncliffe Aurora FC to open its account on Tuesday night at Arncliffe Oval. That game kicks off at 7pm.

 

Brookvale, Manly Vale and Forest Killarney have won through to the 4th round over recent weeks with some strong performances.

 

Brookvale have defeated Northern Suburbs heavyweights West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook 3-1 before disposing of another South Coast club Coniston Football Club 4-1.

 

Manly Vale have sneaked through by defeating the Kiama Quarries in a penalty shoot out before defeating Roselands FC 2-1 in the last round.

 

Forest Killarney had a first round bye before defeating Peakhurst FC 4-2 after extra time.

 

The other MWFA Club entered into the FFA Cup, Belrose Terrey Hills, was bundled out 6-1 by South Coast outfit Tarrawanna Blueys FC.

Saints on the Rise

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St Augustine’s sit third on the MWFA Premier League ladder with two wins from their first three games. They’ve conceded just one goal, a far cry from the side that conceded nearly 20 in their first five games last season. It’s more amazing when you consider what they’ve been through – and are still going through.

“It’s been a very disruptive pre-season,” Saints coach Sam Panetta said. “There’s not many competitions where you play your first three games without being able to train on your home track. We’ve also had a few injuries.

“But I’m very happy with the group. They’ve come together well and everyone’s going in the same direction, everyone’s bought in. Whatever we’ve thrown at them they’ve dealt with well. And they’re enjoying their football at game time. It helps when you like the guys you’re playing with.”

Yet challenges abound. Asked who fans can expect to shine in this Saturday’s game against Narrabeen FC at Narrabeen Sports High, Panetta laughed: “I can’t tell you. I don’t know who we’ve got. Our skipper’s in Queensland. The goal keeper’s having a baby. There’s injuries. It’s always fun, mate, club footy! Whoever we put out there we’ll be up against it this week. Narrabeen’s always a tough match.”

Panetta’s plan to counter Narrabeen is, effectively, don’t give them the ball. “We played them last year and failed to keep the ball off them. There was a lot of turnover and they punished us. If we can defend as a unit we can limit their chances.”

Panetta talks like his team are underdogs. Yet last start against BTH Raiders they won 8-0. “It was one of those games,” Panetta said. “Usually you’ll play well and think maybe if everything had gone in we’d have won by more. This was a game everything went in. We were so clinical.

“It was a culmination of a lot of hard work. We’re slowly coming together, we’re not there yet but hopefully we’ll be playing our best football later in the year. You don’t want to be peaking in April.”

Yet Saints’ defence is clearly a point of difference to last year. “One thing we pride ourselves on is defence,” Panetta said. “The boys can score goals, that’s never been an issue for Saints. But we’re being aggressive defensively and hopefully it’ll continue and we’ll end up near the top.”

By Matt Cleary

Premier League Games – 10th April 2021 – 3:00pm

Pittwater RSL FC vs BTH Raiders at Kitchener Park Field 1

Narrabeen FC vs St Augustine’s at Narrabeen High Field 1

Seaforth FC vs Mosman Football Club at Seaforth Oval Field 1

Manly Vale FC vs Wakehurst FC at David Thomas Field 2

Brookvale FC vs Harbord FC at Grahams Reserve Field 1

Curl Curl FC vs CC Strikers at Abbott Road Field 5

Seaforth adds goals and fitness to defence and looms as comp favourite

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Last season was a good one for Seaforth FC with their Women’s Premier League team running third and their reserve grade winning the league. The WPL team had the best defence (with Manly-Allambie), a continuation of the club’s strength over the years. But now, in potentially ominous signs for competitors, Seaforth’s scoring goals. Lots of goals.

In two Challenge Cup games they beat Pittwater RSL FC 6-1 and followed it up with an 8-0 rout of last year’s league champions Mosman. For Seaforth coach Chris Wood it doesn’t mean his team is favourite for this year’s title. But it doesn’t hurt, either.

“You don’t know this time of year how teams are going to fare, who they’ve gained, who they’ve lost,” Wood said. “It’s an unknown until you’ve faced them. Brookvale [who Seaforth face at Graham’s Reserve on Sunday], they’ve just beaten Wakehurst. We don’t know if they’re stronger or Wakehurst has lost a couple.”

Wood is right. But he’s also playing coy. Because when you beat the champions 8-0 you’ve shown you’re a threat. When asked about that result in the Challenge Cup quarter-final, Wood said it just all clicked on the day. “We were 1-0 at halftime and then our fitness kicked in. Once we got to 3 or 4-0 they [Mosman] completely tired. We broke in behind them with some of our quick girls. It doesn’t mean Mosman were that poor. It just happens sometimes; they began chasing and we beat them on the break.”

Wood said the club has signed several good players and others have come back from injury. “The whole squad, firsts and reserves, is progressing and getting better each year. Our goal, and it would be the same for most teams, is to win everything we’re faced with.

“One thing we have done well is learn and get better. From round one to round two we adjusted against each team. We looked at their strengths and weaknesses and how to exploit them. We’d lose to a team in round one and beat them second time around. We adjusted to the information received and prepared. It wasn’t just a training session, it was focused on the team we were up against.”

The players bought in, realised they couldn’t win the same way each week. There was also freshness from changing up, from different formations.

Another string to Seaforth’s bow is fitness, according to Wood, who said his team has going hard since January. “They’re set challenges by coaching staff. They’re doing extras. The Women’s Premier League is extremely competitive. Every team is capable of beating every other one. There were games last year the girls came off shattered. You have to work very hard for a result.”

By Matt Cleary

 

Women’s Premier League – 11th April – 3:00pm

Wakehurst FC vs BTH Raiders at Lionel Watts Field 4

Brookvale FC vs Seaforth FC at Grahams Reserve

Pittwater RSL FC vs Manly Allambie FC at Kitchener Field 1

Manly Vale FC vs Mosman FC at David Thomas Reserve Field 2

Beacon Hill – BYE

Female Only Coaching Courses Available

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MWFA is pleased to announce that we will be hosting TWO female only coaching courses at Cromer Park this season.

As an association, we are keen to celebrate and recognise the contribution females make to our sport, as well as develop more female coaches and role models for female players, so we believe offering a learning environment that is more welcoming for prospective female coaches is important.

We would like to encourage female parents, older siblings, senior players and even youth players from U14s and above to consider attending these courses if they might be interested in being involved in coaching. Any female coaches who have already done these courses but would still like to join in to support the event are more than welcome as well.

The courses will be presented by female Coach Developers, and all participants are also encouraged to bring a female friend or family member along to make it a more comfortable atmosphere.

Both courses are completely FREE, and there is no expectation that you will make a commitment to being a coach – just come along to learn about football and coaching in a fun, practical, and supportive environment.

 

MiniRoos Certificate

This course is designed to up-skill coaches of age groups U6 to U11, or just as a good introduction for coaches of any age group.

Monday April 12 @ Cromer Park

7:00pm to 9:30pm

Register here: https://education-ffa.sportingpulse.com/event.asp?ID=23084

 

Skill Training Certificate

This course is designed to up-skill coaches of age groups U8 to U13, and those keen for more in depth coaching practice and learning.

Monday May 10 and Monday May 17 @ Cromer Park

6pm to 9:30pm (both nights)

Register here: https://education-ffa.sportingpulse.com/event.asp?ID=23071

 

CC Strikers roll over Manly Vale with emphatic 4-1 win

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The top-placed team played the last-placed one, and there would be no fairy tale for the latter, with CC Strikers recording a comfortable 4-1 win over Manly Vale on Sunday at Cromer Park 2.

 

Yet Vale coach Michael Yarnold, his squad decimated by injury, took plenty of positives from the result.

 

“We’ve now got several guys who aren’t regular first graders who’ve made statements to be included in that first XI,” Yarnold said. “[Despite the loss] I was actually pretty happy given our walking wounded. There were long patches of play that we controlled the match, kept possession and out-played them.

 

“But we weren’t clinical up front and the Strikers were. The chances they created they finished. They scored three quick goals. Their front-three was very good, particularly Luke Curnow.”

 

Yet goal of the match came from Brazilian import Gustavo Anacleto who left CC Strikers keeper Matt Smith stranded with a volley out of nothing. Elsewhere Anacleto’s countryman Jadson impressed on his flank, drawing several fouls as defenders struggled to contain him.

 

CC Strikers coach Ryan Butcher declared himself “really happy with the performance for the most part”.

 

“We were much sharper in the final third. We created a heap of chances and probably could’ve had a couple more goals. We had the right level of movement and kept busy all game.”

 

The Strikers roared out of the blocks to be 3-nil up after 35 minutes with goals to Rhys Vorillas (15th minute) and Curnow (20th and 35th).

 

If Butcher could be critical of a 4-1 win, he’d say that his team “relaxed a little bit”, with Anacleto’s volley late in the first half making the score 3-1.

 

Yet the Strikers took control again and came up with a big play in the 80th minute when multiple players were involved in a build-up before Curnow notched his hat-trick with a surgical strike into the top corner of the net.

 

Best for CC Strikers were Curnow who combined well with up-front partner Michael Morrison, while midfielders Brody Strachan and Ryan Berry were busy all game, securing clean ball and dictating the tempo of the match.

 

Butcher said his squad had set themselves the goal to win all three games leading up to Easter, which they’ve achieved, with maximum points in both grades.

 

On Vale Butcher said: “At 3-nil down they dug in and took it to us. They got the goal and had a good passage heading into the second half. They made us work hard to stay in control and will cause problems for teams going forward, I’ve got no doubt.”

 

By Matt Cleary.

Rise of the machine: CC Strikers hope to further damage busted Manly Vale

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Collaroy-Cromer Strikers have kept clean sheets in victories over St Augustine’s and Narrabeen in the opening two rounds of Premier League competition, and head into Sunday’s clash with Manly Vale (0-and-2) high on confidence.

Goal-keeper Matt Smith is back from injury and firing. The back four of Zack Trisic, Nick Parker, Kory Leung and Sydney FC NPL coach Jim van Weeran have been impregnable. And at the top end Luke Curnow and Michael Morrison have formed a key combination.

And yet, according to CC Strikers coach Ryan Butcher, his team is yet to reach their best.

“We’ve been grinding out matches really well,” Butcher said.

“The organisation and shape have been the most noticeable positives.

“But everyone has another gear to go – at least.”

Butcher declared that he is particularly pleased they’ve kept two quality teams goal-less.

He said his team’s defence and organisation have been key to their winning ways.

“We’ve been up against two sides that play some footy. So two clean sheets is a pleasing way to start the year,” Butcher said.

“We’ve also created chances, don’t get me wrong,” Butcher said of his team’s brace of 1-0 wins.

“But we’re looking to lift the decision-making and quality of the final pass.

“When that clicks I think we will cause some damage.”

Manly Vale, for their part, crippled by injury, have a weapon of their own in Vincente, who’s been scoring goals for fun in FFA Cup – including a screamer in the team’s 2-1 win over Roselands FC on Thursday night.

Vale coach Michael Yarnold said that on his day Vincente is the best player in the competition.

“His goal last night from a free kick was as good as you’ll see – a bullet into the top right hand corner.

“Just a beauty.

“So he’ll be one to watch on Sunday.”

Yarnold said that his club’s challenge was to field a fit squad – and make lemonade from lemons.

“We’ve got 16 injuries in a squad of 38.

“So we’ve tinkered with a few things and implemented some changes, and won a few games in FFA Cup as a result.

“We’ve made a good result from a tough situation.”

By Matt Cleary

Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory W-League at Cromer Park

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It’s a BIG BLUE at Cromer Park this Wednesday night as Sydney FC fight arch rivals Melbourne Victory in the last regular season match of the Westfield W-League season.

 

Kick Off is at 7.30pm, with gates from 6.30pm. Entry is FREE for all spectators, simply scan in at the gate.

 

Be there to send off the girls in sky blue to the Semi Finals in style!

 

Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory (W-League)

Wednesday 31 March, 7.30pm KO

Cromer Park

FREE Entry