Author: Craig MacKenzie

SOCCER ARCHIE Macphee’s goal two minutes into the second half on Friday night gave Langwarrin its first win of the season and lifted the local side off the bottom of the VPL1 ladder. Langy had travelled to John Cain Reserve to face Northcote City with the weight of a winless start to the season on its shoulders and a mounting goals against record. It also was undermanned with Dante Avian still out injured, Cooper Legrand and Barath Suresh on international duty and Jeremy Min Fa unavailable. Langy started well against Northcote and was in control in the first half without…

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SOCCERTHREE local derbies highlight this weekend’s kick-off to the 2025 State League season.Chelsea and Mentone go head-to-head on Friday night, Seaford United and Mount Martha clash on Saturday afternoon and Rosebud hosts Frankston Pines in a Saturday evening showdown at Olympic Park.Get used to derbies stealing the limelight in State 4 South where six local clubs are in the same league, unprecedented in the modern era. To add even more interest to these games local clubs in State 4 and State 5 are fighting tooth and nail to maintain their league status given the major restructure Football Victoria is implementing…

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Soccer THIS is a year of reckoning for Somerville Eagles. Since winning the State 5 South championship in 2019 the Eagles have clung on tenaciously to their State 4 South status but now face a challenge like never before. As previously mentioned in this round-up State 4 and 5 clubs must finish in the top six of their respective leagues to at least maintain their status. A major reconstruction for 2026 will create State Leagues 6 and 7 and standardise the competition into North-West and South-East divisions at every league level. Clubs finishing from seventh to 10th positions in State…

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SOCCER LANGWARRIN, Mornington, Skye United and Aspendale will fly the flag for local soccer in the next round of the 2025 Australia Cup. And they could be joined by Somerville Eagles who were due to play their Cup tie with North Caulfield last night (Monday).Third-round preliminary ties in the national knockout competition are scheduled for a fortnight’s time, a week before the start of the State League season Langwarrin enters the Cup after the third preliminary round.A young Mornington squad backed up by senior players James Clark, Jacob Brito, Jack McDonald and Halil Reki overcame the challenge of Rosebud 2-0…

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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…

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