MWFA

Top of the Premier League table Mosman to host CC Strikers at home

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Mosman FC is top of the Premier League table and riding the crest of the biggest wave in memory. And this Saturday at Middle Head Oval they host CC Strikers, the other table-topper who’ve recorded six wins and one loss. And Middle Head Oval is ready to rumble, according to Mosman coach Luke Tinker.

“The boys are confident and enjoying their football at the moment so we’re all very much looking forward to Saturday. The news of us having a great start is filtering through the club and outwards into the community. The club is pushing supporter engagement so hopefully it will be a big turn-out at Middle Head on Saturday,” Tinker said.

To beat the perennially competitive Strikers, Tinker said his team has to “turn up and be the best version of ourselves”.

“We know what this league is like, if you don’t turn up you will get beaten. Anybody can beat anybody on the day, so to beat a top team like CC Strikers we have to be on our game. We had a battle with them in reserve grade last year, beating them to the title on goal difference. They beat us in the grand final on penalties. So hopefully we can have a similar battle this year in first grade.

“That said, we don’t focus too much on the other team. We are just taking each game one at a time knowing we have to be at our best. However, we are aware they have some dangerous players who will cause us problems if we let them.”

In last weekend’s match report of his team’s 1-0 win over Harbord, Tinker said his best players were goalkeeper, centre-back and central defensive midfielder. This weekend he’s putting the hard word on his forwards. Tinker wants goals.

“In order to take our game to the next level – which I believe we can – our forward players need to start firing, and be more clinical. They know this. And they’re motivated to do it for the team,” Tinker said.

Mosman vs CC Striker kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at Middle Head Oval. Other Premier League games are:

Harbord vs Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders at Harbord Park

Seaforth vs Saint Augustine’s at Seaforth Oval

Brookvale vs Narrabeen at Grahams Reserve

Curl Curl vs Manly Vale at Abbott Road

Pittwater RSL vs Wakehurst at  Kitchener Park

By Matt Cleary

Manly Vale take on top-of-the-table Wakehurst

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Manly Vale women’s Premier League team travel to Lionel Watts Oval to take on  on Sunday, and Vale coach Tony Bruzzano said his team will “have to turn up and bring our top game with us”.

“We aim to get better with every training session and every game. If it doesn’t work, we break it down, find the problem, fix it, and move on. And when it does work, we enjoy it!

“The girls are really looking forward to playing Wakehurst this weekend. They look to be travelling well – three wins in their first 3 games. We always know we are in for a tough game against Wakehurst, and especially at Lionel Watts, they are always hard to beat!”

Bruzzano said his team don’t know the make-up of the Wakehurst squad.

“It looks like they have added a few new players to their squad and they have a new coach [Greg Chipman]. So it’s a little bit of the unknown preparing for the match.”

Vale, meanwhile, have won two, lost one in their first three games, a start Bruzzano said has borne “mixed results”.

“It’s been a little bit of a stop-start season due to the weather. But hopefully we can start settling into a bit of a rhythm with regular football. We’re focussed on playing a simple game. And that continues this weekend.

“We don’t have anyone in particular scoring our goals, they are all shared. At the back we’ve welcomed back goal-keeper, Lauren Scaramuzza, after a year off to an ACL injury.” Bruzzano said.

Manly Vale vs Wakehurst kicks off at 3pm. Other women’s Premier League fixtures are:

Mosman vs Seaforth at Allan Border Oval

Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders vs Brookvale at Wyatt Reserve

Pittwater RSL vs Beacon Hill at Kitchener Park

Bye: Manly Allambie

By Matt Cleary

Female Only Skill Training Course Available

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As part of Female Football Week, MWFA is pleased to announce our first ever Female Only Skill Training Coaching Course, following on from our very successful Female Only MiniRoos Coaching Course that took place on April 12.

A total of 22 female coaches of all different ages and experience levels attended the Female Only MiniRoos course this year, which was even more than the 2020 version, and everyone involved had a great time.

Imogen Carlisle and Sai van Wegen presented the course, along with assistance from Marilinda Winter. MWFA would like to thank the Coach Developers for running such a great course, and wishes all of the coaches who participated good luck for the rest of the season.

MWFA is 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.

This new 2-night course is designed to up-skill female coaches of age groups U8 to U13. This course is fully practical and deals with the development of the 4 Functional Game Skills: First Touch, Striking the Ball, Running with the Ball and 1 v 1. It will take place on Monday May 10 and Monday May 17 at Cromer Park, from 6pm to 9:30pm on both nights.

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

 

 

MWFA will also once again be offering Female Coaching Scholarships in 2021. Please stay tuned to our website later in the season for more information.

 

“They may have underestimated us”: Vescio bullish after 2-2 draw with Beacon Hill

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After a bye in the first round, a bye for ANZAC Day and a 2-1 loss to Wakehurst in their only fixture for season ‘21, it’s fair to say Beacon Hill have lacked what punters would call “exposed form” after three rounds of MWFA Women’s Premier League competition.

And after fighting back for a 2-2 draw with Seaforth on their home track on Sunday, it’s clear Beacon Hill coach Vince Vescio wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I think [Seaforth coach] Chris [Wood] underestimated us,” Vescio said. “They’re the favourites, I think, for the competition. I’m not sure, I guess they thought they had us in the pocket. We played against Wakehurst, if they came to watch they would’ve thought, ‘Beacon Hill, that’s not a problem’. But they found a different team on the pitch.”

Wood denied that his team had underestimated Beacon Hill or their wily coach.

“We never underestimate anyone, especially a team like Beacon Hill that have some talented players and a history of winning the league and grand final under Vince,” Wood said. “He knows what he’s doing,” Wood said.

Wood also confirmed that he hadn’t seen Beacon Hill’s 2-1 loss to Wakehurst.

“As a coach you should never look at another team’s results. Unless you are physically at the game you will not know the full story. For all we know, Beacon could’ve been missing players against Wakehurst; might have missed a lot of chances,” Wood said.

Seaforth opened the scoring through Gemma Woolley before Jessica Salakic levelled for Beacon Hill. Woolley got her second before half-time before Alexia Germione levelled again to setup a barnstorming finish.

“We knew it would be a tough game against Chris’s team,” Vescio said. “We knew physically it would be a big battle and we fought really hard and played well. Silly mistakes cost us two goals. But it was a quality game. The referee said afterwards that it was a long time since he’d seen a game as good.

“I’m very pleased with all the girls. We prepared well. We planned to stay in contact with Seaforth’s pace. We have plenty of good players with skills. But [Seaforth] are very fast, with ex-Manly United players, super-fit. If you make mistakes they can counter-attack with their fast players. We had to be compact and work for each other to cut down their space. And we did it. The girls listened. And right to the end the game could’ve gone either way.”

Wood said that a positive for his team was that they played well and controlled possession for the most part. “A disappointing thing was the way we conceded the goals and didn’t take a couple of opportunities.”

In other games Pittwater RSL lost 5-2 to Wakehurst, Manly Allambie (who won their first round match 10-nil against Pittwater RSL) beat Brookvale 8-1 while Manly Vale thumped BTH Raiders 7-nil. Mosman enjoyed the bye.

#PlayinPurple 2021

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Two years ago Cadel Sumner lost his mum, Susie, a hero, to pancreatic cancer and the people in his football club, Curl Curl FC, as good people do, wrapped their arms about their mate and did their best. They had Susie as an example.

Before she passed she was active in helping create better patient programs for folks with pancreatic cancer. She walked with Cadel and hundreds of people on Manly Beach, all of them decked out in purple to raise awareness of Pankind, the foundation whose sole mission is to dramatically increase survival rates and quality of life for people impacted by pancreatic cancer.

You wouldn’t get a greater cause. And you wouldn’t get a greater giver than Susie Sumner, who was still fighting to improve other people’s lives as cancer claimed her own. Bottom line: she did her bloody best.

It’s a legacy which lives on today through Pankind’s “Play in Purple” initiative. Play In Purple round will run across two weekends – June 12-13 and 19-20 – and MWFA clubs can choose which one to don purple socks.

Scary stuff: Pancreatic cancer is projected to claim more lives than breast cancer and prostate cancer, and each year almost 4,000 people will be diagnosed. Approximately 80 per cent of patients diagnosed will die within 12 months. The disease has the lowest survival rates of all main cancer types yet pancreatic cancer trails behind other cancers when it comes to funding for research, receiving less than 8 per cent of the funding available.

Want to help? Of course you do. Click here to purchase a pair of socks, they’re $15. Click here to simply donate. Every team in MWFA has a #PlayinPurple participation pack including a social media guide. Tag your people on the socials with the campaign hashtags #playinpurple #pancreaticcancer @pankindfoundation. Sydney FC is Pankind’s A-League partner and will be supporting the cause with 500 match day tickets for high-participating clubs.

Stuart Hodge, Football NSW CEO, says: “We kindly encourage our amazing football family to do their bit in getting behind this quality initiative and we cannot wait to see the code decked out in Purple to show their support for this wonderful cause in the fight against pancreatic cancer.”

MWFA chief David Mason says everyone in local football is “proud to support Purple Sock Day to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer. Grassroots football plays an important role in our community and we encourage as many teams and clubs as possible to get behind the #PlayinPurple campaign.”

Susie Sumner would agree.

Key information:

  • #PlayinPurple 2021 runs on two weekends in June 12/13 or 19/20 (clubs choose their round to play in purple socks);
  • All players, clubs and codes are encouraged to participate Australia wide, with a simple change of your local club socks to purple socks for one weekend;
  • The PanKind purple socks are $15 per pair and the funds raised will go toward pancreatic cancer research and patient support;
  • Pankind has “reinvented” the purple sock design this year to “bring new excitement to the campaign”;
  • Socks can be ordered through the online store https://fcw.com.au/shop-product/pankind-foundation-socks/
  • Clubs and associations are able to make a direct donation to PanKind https://playinpurple.raisely.com/

Flying high: Mosman stays top after 1-0 win at Harbord

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Mosman coach Luke Tinker said it’s been so long since Mosman FC’s been top of the MWFA ladder that no-one at the club can remember when they were last in the lofty position. But after coming away with three points from a hard-fought and gripping 1-0 win over Harbord at Harbord Park on Saturday, top of the table is where Mosman sits.
And it seems Tinker intends to enjoy it.
“I said to our President [Richard Pike] we should be celebrating even being joint top [with CC Strikers]. We beat Pittwater this year for the first time in 10 years. We’ve been bottom three for the last five years. Mosman’s never won the league. No-one can even remember when we were on top!” Tinker said.
Tinker came into the top role at Mosman two years ago motivated to change the club’s “winning mentality and culture”. It appears to be working. Games Mosman may have dropped in recent years they’re now “getting over the line”, according to Tinker.
The 1-0 win over Harbord illustrates their season perfectly.
“We showed great discipline in defence while still creating chances,” Tinker said. “We’ve had a togetherness all season and it’s a chemistry that’s been getting us over the line each week. It would’ve been nice to score from open play as well as the penalty, we created several good chances. It would’ve been nice to put the game to bed. As it was Harbord came hard at the end and we had to fight to the 90th minute to keep them out.”
Best for Mosman included experienced goalkeeper Scott Bagnall who’s been at the club since he was ten. Elsewhere centre half James Bell was defensively sound as was central defensive midfielder Finn Mack.
Asked for his match highlight Tinker laughed: “The final whistle! Our goalkeeper made some key saves in the final minutes. We also had plenty of good passages of play.”
Harbord captain Eddie Goodall said Mosman “were well structured from their backline through to their forwards, they played great counter attacking football”.
“Our coach [Paul Mulligan] was pleased, we most certainly gave them a run for their money. We missed a few clear-cut opportunities and a point would have been fitting. We were hard to break down and Mosman got lucky with an early penalty that they capitalised on and managed to grind out the win,” Goodall said.

By Matt Cleary

Upcoming Coach Workshop: Match Day Coaching

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MWFA is pleased to confirm dates, topics and locations for various upcoming Coach Workshops, starting with one at Cromer Park on Monday May 3 which will cover the popular and important topic of how to effectively approach coaching on match day.

These coach education opportunities aim to provide ongoing guidance and advice throughout the season, and to compliment official FFA coaching courses, with topics based on feedback received on what coaches would find valuable.

 

DATETIMETOPICLOCATION
Wednesday March 136:30pm - 8:30pmPre-Season Training
- Developing fitness for football
- Preparing for Round 1 with limited sessions
- Getting maximum effort from your players		Cromer Park
Monday March 256pm - 9pmPositioning / Spreading Out / Teamwork:
- Ideal exercises for playing with width, switching play etc
- Teaching good decision making
- Working with limited space and numbers		Cromer Park
Monday April 296pm - 9pmMatch Day Coaching:
- Warm ups, coaching, and sub management
- Formations and set pieces
- Engaging parents and managing staff		Cromer Park
Monday May 206pm - 8pmCreating and Scoring More Goals:
– Ideal exercises for attacking and finishing
– Teaching good technique and decision making
– Managing a wide range of skill levels		Lionel Watts (Wakehurst)
Monday May 276pm - 8pmPlaying Out from The Back:
- Ideal exercises for learning how to play out through pressure
- Teaching good decision making
- Working with limited space and numbers		Kitchener Park (Pittwater)
Wednesday May 296pm - 9pmInvolving / Including Goalkeepers:
– Managing goalkeepers in a full squad
– MiniRoos goalkeeper development
– Goalkeeper specific skill tips		Cromer Park
Wednesday June 126:30pm - 8:30pmDefending as a Team:
- Ideal exercises for learning how to work together to protect the goal
- Getting maximum effort from your players
- Working with limited space and numbers		Dee Why Oval (Dee Why)
Wednesday July 315pm - 7pmKeeping Players Engaged:
- How to make training fun
- Maximising limited training time
- Behaviour management		LM Graham Reserve (Brookvale)
Thursday August 16pm - 8pmTraining with Intensity:
- Football based injury prevention
- Developing fitness for football
- Getting maximum effort from your players		St Matthews Farm (CC Strikers)

MWFA also has several official FFA coaching courses available over the next couple of months, offering coaches the opportunity to develop their skills and pick up some ideas to help organise fun, safe and engaging training sessions. There are MiniRoos Certificates at Cromer Park and Narrabeen, Skill Training Certificates at Seaforth, Cromer Park and Narrabeen, and a Game Training Certificate at Cromer Park as well.

See here for more details: https://www.mwfa.com.au/2021/01/28/new-coaching-courses-confirmed/ 

 

 

 

Wakehurst wary of battling Seaforth

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Seaforth FC hasn’t scored a goal in their first six MWFA men’s Premier League outings this season while at the same time they’ve conceded 22 goals. With Manly Vale (who’ve also lost six consecutive games) they sit comfortably equal-last on zero premiership points.

Yet this only makes them more dangerous, according to Narrabeen coach Paul Juergens, who’s been deep into video of his team’s opponent on Saturday at Lionel Watts Oval.

“I’ve watched parts of a couple of their games,” Juergens said. “Seaforth have not had a great start so we are wary of them. We know that no team is easy to beat in this competition. We have had a few key outs this year but have good depth and we’re confident we’ll get the points on the weekend.”

Juergens said his team – which has won two, lost three and is coming off a 1-1 draw against ever-powerful Brookvale – has been building over the last few weeks after a slow start.

“Training has focussed on defensive patterns and ensuring that we balance quick ball movement with keeping possession,” Juergens said. “We don’t have any one point of improvement. We need to lift across several aspects.”

A win could see Wakehurst leap-frog Harbord (who play equal-first Mosman) and St Augustine’s (who play fourth-placed Brookvale).

Match of the round is arguably table-topping Collaroy Cromer Strikers versus Pittwater RSL who sit five points shy in equal-sixth position on the Premier League ladder.

Other contests which look competitive include BTH Raiders vs Manly Vale, Narrabeen vs Curl Curl and Harbord versus Mosman.

All MWFA men’s Premier League games kick-off this Saturday May 1 at 3pm.

Saint Augustine’s vs Brookvale @ Grahams Reserve

Narrabeen  vs Curl Curl @ Narrabeen High

Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders vs Manly Vale @ Wyatt Reserve

Wakehurst vs Seaforth @ Lionel Watts Oval

Collaroy Cromer Strikers vs Pittwater @ St Matthews Farm Reserve

Harbord vs Mosman @ Harbord Park

By Matt Cleary

“As good as I’ve seen”: Chipman lauds battle-scarred Wakehurst ahead of Pittwater challenge

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Wakehurst stars Abi Fenn (ankle) and Sam Coupland (ACL) are gone for the season while several of their team-mates remain in doubt for this Sunday’s match against Pittwater RSL at Kitchener Park. So physical have been the first two rounds of the MWFA women’s Premier League competition, last weekend’s bye for ANZAC Day could not have been better timed, according to Wakehurst coach Greg Chipman.

“The Anzac Day break was a bit of a godsend for us,” he said. “We’ve had a number of players recovering from bumps and bruises after the first two rounds, which is in part a function of an interrupted pre-season and limited trial games.

“But we’ve done well early and all of the squad has been performing. The back four, in particular, in both grades have been terrific and it feels like we’re starting to build a pretty good platform that will hopefully allow us to express ourselves a bit more with the football.”

Helping will be the return of experienced Sara Page after a break. Chipman said though his team has been challenged with depth and injury issues, a number of talented younger players have stepped up.

“We showed a lot of character in both grades to come back from a goal down against Beacon Hill and we’re continuing to develop what we’re able to do in possession and on transition,” Chipman said.

“The girls are a great bunch of footballers and most importantly people and I think the culture they’re building as a squad is as good as I’ve seen.”

Chipman added that he had great respect for his opponents, Pittwater RSL, whom Wakehurst takes on at Kitchener Park on Sunday.

“They must be a really resilient and talented bunch with a strong mentality to have come back from a first round 10-0 defeat and then beat BTH Raiders in round two! I’m sure there’s a good story there and I suspect we’re going to have to at least match them in most areas to have a chance against them on Sunday,” Chipman said.

In other games, all of which kick-off at 3pm on Sunday May 2:

Brookvale vs Manly Allambie @ Grahams Reserve

Beacon Hill vs Seaforth @ Beacon Hill Oval

Manly Vale vs Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders @ David Thomas Reserve

Pittwater RSL vs Wakehurst @ Kitchener Park

Mosman: BYE

By Matt Cleary