The Trafalgar Victory Under 12s played Newborough-Yallourn and Moe United in rounds 4 and 5 respectively. In the first of the two matches, Trafalgar had the vast of the majority of play yet could not buy a goal. The midfield lead by Jacob Holmes and Rhys Thege repetitively set up shots on goal in the box, whilst the Trafalgar forwards invented new ways to miss goals from very short range.
At the other end of the ground the defensive line, ably lead by Nic Tammes and Jackson Clerks, contained Newborough-Yallourn for most of the day. However, two bad passes across goals from Trafalgar resulted in two costly goals against the trend of play.
On a positive note, the team worked exceptionally hard in the second half and eventually scored courtesy of Joshua Smith-Butterworth who accepted a delightful pass from Michael Judd. The Trafalgar players continued to push towards goal and eventually ran out of time to score the equaliser. The full time score read Newborough-Yallourn 2 – Trafalgar 1.
The Round 5 match against home team Moe was a wet and muddy affair. The day did not start well with defender Tristan Farrell ruled out with an ankle injury and star striker Flynn George also ruled out after he came off second best in a fight with the soccer goals.
New recruits Connor and Luke Ibbotson were welcomed to the team and added some much needed size and power to the Trafalgar line up. The twins bring the number of Warragul based players in the team to five. All of whom have strengthened the squad considerably and who have been very well received by returning players.
Despite great determination and hard work from the likes of Jacob Holmes and Ben Turra, the Moe team were a bit too strong and fast for the Trafalgar backline who were broken on numerous occasions. Goal keeper Luke did his very best in goals and made several saves. However, the tide of Moe attacks resulted in 4 half time goals.
At half time Coach Mark and team Marshal Wayne challenged the players to give their best and get some basic right on the pitch. The team responded accordingly and within a matter of minutes, Michael Judd had found the back of the net, thanks to a lovely cross from Josh Smith-Butterworth. Nic Tammes and Rhys worked exceptionally hard in the back line and restricted Moe’s scoring accordingly. Both Kate and Jaynie also played very well as defenders throughout the day. Both players are improving with every match.
With Drew O’Brien in the goals for the second half, Luke joined his brother Connor in the midfield and both worked well in the heavy conditions to transfer the ball from defence into attack. By the final whistle the Moe team had recorded a 5-1 win. However, the second half effort from the Trafalgar kids suggests better score lines are on the way.
Awards: Drew O’Brien, Jaynie Bodger, Kate Wheildon & Nic Tammes
