Soccer
ROSEBUD v Mornington and Peninsula Strikers v Banyule City are the marquee match-ups in this weekend’s second preliminary round of the 2025 Australia Cup. Rosebud and Strikers go in to these sudden-death ties as underdogs but they won’t make life easy for their more-fancied opponents.
Many Rosebud players have ties with Mornington having come through the club’s juniors and played in the reserves and in most instances they have moved on in order to gain senior playing time. What an opportunity this clash presents to showcase their talent to their former club. Remarkably 18 of Rosebud’s senior squad have been involved with Mornington at various levels. They are: Jack Wyer, Sebastian Siegl, Louie Bisogni, Ben Symonds, Barney Johnson, Ethan Hunt, Sam Ruddy, Sean Smith, Connor Wharton, Alfie Harris, Nathan Yole, Callum Hughes, Harry Wyer, Hamish Budgen, Josh Lyall, Kai Robinson, Enzo Rosenblum and Ethan Sanderson.
Saturday’s Olympic Park tie is a potential banana skin for Adam Jamieson’s side and the Mornington gaffer was unsure of how he would approach the clash as we went to press. “Not sure how we are going to go about this one yet as our main focus is the league,” Jamieson said. “We have had a few injuries over the last few weeks and we need to make sure that we are all ready for March 22.” It’s expected that Jamieson will field an under-23 squad as he has done in previous Australia Cup ties.
One player who may not be wearing a Seagulls strip is English veteran Nick McKoy who agreed terms with Mornington early last month. It’s believed that the club is having an issue registering McKoy who was given a life ban in 2014 for match-fixing when playing with Southern Stars but later had the ban overturned. Mornington has sought legal advice regarding the situation.
Rosebud head coach Stuart Johnson was an interested onlooker at Mornington’s friendly with Clifton Hill last weekend and welcomed the challenge of facing a much higher-ranked opponent. “We go into the game as massive underdogs and it’s a good benchmark for our boys to see where they are individually,” Johnson said. “Most importantly it’s going to be a great night for football on the peninsula with hopefully a great crowd.”
State 2 promotion hopeful Strikers are pitted against a State 1 opponent that has splashed the cash in the off-season and made it clear that it is targeting an NPL spot.
Banyule finished fourth last season and immediately embarked on a recruiting campaign that has netted a host of players with NPL experience including midfielders Nicholas Voulgaris and Evan Christodoulou, defender James Riccobene and wingers Nicholas Sette and Matt Lazaridis.
This may be the biggest test Strikers face this season and they do so without Campbell Steedman (absent) and injured duo Jamie Davidson (hamstring) and Noah Musso (ankle hairline fracture).
However news that winger Matt Harrington’s international clearance came through last week is a welcome boost for the home side.
Saturday’s midfield battle is intriguing given Strikers’ strength in that area where Wayne Gordon, Ethan Goulding, Danny Brooks and Jaiden Madafferi all have played at NPL level. Strikers gaffer Scott Morrison expects a contest that will test his men to their limits. “Banyule presents a great challenge for us and exactly what we need right before the season starts,” Morrison said. “They have signed a lot of top NPL players and are full of quality so it’s great for us to go up against that and see where we are at.
“We will go in as strong as we can albeit that we’re missing a few through injury or being away but that also presents opportunities to boys to prove themselves in a tough game before Round 1.”
Last week Football Victoria released the official State League fixtures for 2025 and three local derbies highlight the season launch.
Round one kicks off on Friday 21 March when Chelsea and Mentone meet under lights at Edithvale Recreation Reserve at 8.30pm.
All other matches take place on Saturday 22 March: Gippsland Utd v Mornington, Baxter Park (Warragul) 3pm; Peninsula Strikers v St Kilda, Centenary Park 3pm; Berwick City v Skye Utd, Jack Thomas Reserve 3pm; Rosebud v Frankston Pines, Olympic Park 6pm; Somerville Eagles v Springvale City, Westernport Secondary College 3pm; Monash University v Baxter, Monash University Playing Fields 3pm; Seaford Utd v Mount Martha, North Seaford Reserve 3pm; Mount Eliza v Bunyip District, Emil Madsen Reserve 3pm; Barton Utd v Aspendale, Barton Recreation Reserve, 3pm.
Last week’s friendly results:
Peninsula Strikers reserves 6 (Sean Benz 2, Jack McKernan 2, Nave Yoresh, Hayden Schreck) Mount Martha 0; Endeavour Utd 3 Skye Utd 2 (Elliott Craig, Tapiwa Kufakurowa); Casey Comets 3 Chelsea 2 (Daniel Vella 2); Mornington 4 (Kieran Dover, James Kelly, Tom Wood, James Clark) Clifton Hill 0; Baxter 1 (Hassan Nazari) Middle Park 4; Gippsland Utd 9 Skye Utd 4 (Jason Nowakowski, Elliott Craig, Tapiwa Kufakurowa, Triallist); Frankston Pines 1 (Triallist) Dandenong South 4.
This week’s VPL1 round 4:
Saturday 1 March
Langwarrin v Brunswick City, Lawton Park, 7pm
Australia Cup second preliminary round:
Saturday 1 March
Mentone v Mazenod, Darebin International Sports Centre, 3pm
Aspendale v Melton, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, 5.30pm
Burwood City v Skye Utd, Burwood East Reserve, 3pm
Peninsula Strikers v Banyule City, Saturday 1 March, Centenary Park, 12 noon
Mount Eliza v Balmoral, Saturday 1 March, Emil Madsen Reserve, 3pm
Keilor Park v Baxter, Saturday 1 March, Keilor Park Recreation Reserve, 3pm
Rosebud v Mornington, Saturday 1 March, Olympic Park, 6.30pm
Monday 3 March
Somerville Eagles v North Caulfield, Olympic Park, 7.30pm
This week’s local friendlies (check social media to confirm kick-off times):
Saturday 1 March
Casey Panthers v Chelsea, Prospect Hill Reserve, 12 noon & 2pm
Frankston Pines v Mount Martha, Monterey Reserve, 12 noon.
