SOCCER
LANGWARRIN’S league season kicks off on Saturday evening when the local club hosts Bentleigh Greens in the opening round of the rebranded VPL1 competition.
It’s been almost 15 years since these teams met in a league game at Lawton Park and the locals will be hoping for a different outcome to the 1-0 loss suffered on 4 July 2009.
Langy head coach Jamie Skelly is under no illusions about the task ahead against an NPL heavyweight still smarting from last season’s relegation.
“It’s probably as tough an assignment as we could have got for round one but I think we are ready,” Skelly said.
“I expect them to be structured, well organised and they have some very good players.
“Their aim is promotion and I know that’s been vocalised by a lot of people within that club so they’ve got expectations and they’ve got pressure to do that.”
It’s a different Langwarrin under Skelly who filled the vacancy created by Scott Miller’s departure at the end of last season.
There’s been no hint of bravado, no rash claims of promotion possibilities or public pronouncements about a readiness to step up to the highest level of club competition in Victoria.
“We haven’t talked about goals or expectations because you can become hamstrung by them and you end up only focussing on that,” he said.
“We know what we’ve got.
“We know when we play at our best we can be really competitive against anyone.
“I know it’s a cliché but we’re just about looking at that next fixture not focussing on where we’re going to end up.”
Eight players have left Langy’s senior squad during the off-season and eight newcomers have arrived with three youngsters from last season’s under-21s promoted to the senior squad.
The players that have left are Tristan Meaker, Josh Varga, Simon Storey (now assistant senior coach), Carlos Abboud, Ethan Goulding, Jaiden Madafferi, Jin Jeong and Logan Crouch.
Vega proved to be a very creative player who enhanced the team’s attacking capability but Skelly is confident that they have dealt with his loss.
“We’ve made some key attacking signings.
“Joe O’Brien from Mandurah City has come in and strengthened our attacking options and Dante Avian has come in from Brunswick City so if you’re thinking like for like then he’s probably the most similar to Josh in that he’s technically very good, he likes running at players and he can score goals as well.
“And Rahul (Suresh) is a late arrival who gives us another option up there so we have a lot of attacking options.”
Brothers Rahul and Barath Suresh agreed terms last week.
Rahul is a 19-year-old winger and Barath is a 20-year-old midfielder and both are full Sri Lankan internationals.
They joined Langy from German club Niendorfer TSV.
Another attacking option is James Kelly who has had a horror run with recurring soft-tissue injuries.
Kelly may be Langwarrin’s best player but getting him onto the pitch regularly has been a problem in recent seasons.
“It’s difficult for me and it’s difficult for James to manage,” Skelly said.
“He’s such a good player and he’s important to us but you have to risk putting him out there at times and it’s about managing that risk as best you can.
“We’d love to have him out there for 90 minutes each week but that’s not going to happen.
“We know that and he knows that so we have to pick and choose the games he can start and when he’s better coming off the bench while managing his training load as well.”
When Skelly took over last September he quickly identified a need to improve defensively with last season’s side conceding the highest number of goals since the club entered the NPL in 2018.
So there’s been a deliberate focus on the team’s defensive structure throughout the off-season with promising signs judging by last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve.
“We’ve worked hard defensively and set ourselves up to be very hard to break down.
“Our recruitment and the way we’ve worked has been based on the style we want to play.
“We can make alterations to that if we need to but we’re pretty clear on the structures we want to play within.
“We’ve worked very hard on our system and we’ve made sure that our personnel fit into that system.
“We want to continue to build and to improve and over the season you generally end up where you deserve to end up.
“If we can play as best we can and consistently then let’s see where that takes us.”
Here is Skelly’s 2024 senior squad with the previous club of newcomers in brackets:
GOALKEEPERS: Griffin Bambach (Sunshine Coast Wanderers), James Burgess, Branten Kindler (promoted from 21s). DEFENDERS: Luke Adams (Dandenong Thunder), Ryo Takahashi (Albirex Niigata), Luke Goulding, Jeremy Min Fa, Charlie Fry, Thomas Podaridis, Lucas Portelli, Kameel Khan (promoted from 21s), Owen Murphy (promoted from 21s). MIDFIELDERS: Barath Suresh (Niendorfer TSV), Callum Goulding, Rogan McGeorge, Jacob Brito, Marcus Di Meo. FORWARDS: Joe O’Brien (Mandurah City), Dante Avian (Brunswick City), Rahul Suresh (Niendorfer TSV), Allen Dzemidzic (Oakleigh Cannons), Tom Youngs, Brad Blumenthal, Archie Macphee, James Kelly.
In State 1 news Mornington has signed Rhys Craigie and Kostas Droutsas.
It’s Craigie’s second stint with the Seagulls.
In his native Scotland the midfielder played with Hearts, Stenhousemuir and Trenant Juniors.
Beaumaris was his first Australian club and he joined Mornington in February 2022.
During the current off-season he switched to Malvern City but when the chance came to get back to Dallas Brooks Park he jumped at it.
“I’m just happy to be back and see so many familiar faces and I’m really buzzing to get into pre-season again,” Craigie said.
“I think this is the year we go all the way because ‘Jamo’ has assembled an unreal squad.”
Droutsas joins Mornington from Dandenong City.
The former Bentleigh Greens and Eastern Lions player is likely to be used in a front three or as an attacking midfielder.
He had been training with Bentleigh Greens during the off-season.
Here are the results of some local friendlies:
Keilor Park 2 Mornington 0; Frankston Pines 2 (Ardi Ahmeti 2) Mount Eliza 2; Baxter 2 (Liam Baxter, Tom Hawkins) Albert Park 2; Seaford Utd 2 (Luka Premuzic o.g., Charlie Jeff) Peninsula Strikers reserves 6 (Alfie Harris 3, Campbell Steedman 2, triallist); Dandenong Thunder U23s 0 Langwarrin U23s 1 (Owen Murphy); Dandenong Thunder 0 Langwarrin 0; Peninsula Strikers 2 (Taylan Geylan, Wayne Gordon) Gippsland Utd 1; Frankston Pines 0 Brandon Park 6; Baxter 1 (Ryan Brown) Skye Utd 1 (Marcus Collier); Somerville Eagles 4 (Marcus Anastasiou 2, Corey Riddle, Howie Anderson) Bunyip District 2; Seaford Utd 6 (Paul Aitchison, Josh Vega, Callum Norton, Sam Luxford, own goal, Isaac Lifu) Old Melburnians 0; Mount Eliza 1 Chelsea 3 (Jake Ross, James Stinson, Daniel Vella); Lilydale Montrose Utd 2 Aspendale 6 (Ben Garside 3, Dominic Paul 2, Ryan Mravljak).
Here are some upcoming friendlies:
Tuesday 6 February: Doveton v Mornington, Waratah Reserve, 6.45pm; Peninsula Strikers reserves v Doveton U23s, Centenary Park, 6.45pm.
Wednesday 7 February: Dandenong South v Peninsula Strikers, George Andrews Reserve, 7.15pm; Rosebud v Chelsea, Olympic Park, 7pm.
Saturday 10 February: Beaumaris v Mornington, Beaumaris Secondary College, seniors 11am & reserves 1.45pm; Casey Comets v Skye Utd, Comets Stadium, 1pm & 3pm; Somerville Eagles v Monash Villareal, Westernport Athletics Track, 11am.
Sunday 11 February: Frankston Pines v. North Caulfield, Monterey Reserve, 7pm.
Here are next weekend’s Australia Cup/Dockerty Cup round 1 ties:
Friday 9 February: Mount Eliza v South Yarra, Monterey Reserve, 8pm.
Saturday 10 February: Aspendale v Knox Utd, Edithvale Recreation Reserve, 12pm; Chelsea v Alphington, Edithvale Recreation Reserve, 4pm; Lyndale Utd v Mount Martha, Lyndale Secondary College, 1pm; Westside Strikers Caroline Springs v Mentone, McKechnie Reserve, 3pm; East Kew v Seaford Utd, Pettys Reserve, 3pm.
Sunday 11 February: Shepparton South v Baxter, McEwen Reserve, 2pm; Rosebud v Greenvale Utd, Olympic Park, 3pm.
