SOCCER SEAFORD United hopes that an influx of new players will bridge the gap between a top four finish and promotion.Paul Williams’ men narrowly missed out on reclaiming their State 4 status last season when they lost their State 5 promotion play-off 3-2 to Old Melburnians.The locals went into that contest without key players Cory Osorio (work commitments), Josh Vega (illness) and Sam Luxford (injured) and a penalty in the final minute of normal time proved their undoing.After the season Williams and assistant coach Steven Keenan assessed the outcome and agreed that fitness and depth needed to be addressed.“They were…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER SEVEN out of 14 local clubs remain in the 2024 Australia Cup after last weekend’s second preliminary round. The early stages of the prestigious national competition are regionalised along federation jurisdictions with Victoria using the Dockerty Cup name for its knockout rounds until A-League clubs enter the fray. Mornington, Peninsula Strikers and Skye United enter the knockout tournament at the next stage joining the survivors from round two – Frankston Pines, Chelsea and Mount Eliza. Langwarrin enters the Cup at the fourth round stage. In last weekend’s Cup action Pines came back from a two-goal deficit to overhaul Diamond…
SOCCER ONE of the greatest goalscorers in Victorian football history could be on the verge of a sensational comeback if a plan hatched months ago by Rosebud comes to fruition. When Stuart Johnston and assistant Stan Packer took over as senior coaches they identified a need to add to the team’s firepower. Johnson knew Nathan Yole from their days at Mornington while Packer was a long-term friend of Dave Greening and given that both forwards had joined forces at Baxter a couple of years ago it seemed logical to try and revive their partnership. The first part of the plan…
SOCCER IF JAMIE Skelly thought about his debut as an NPL senior coach he’s unlikely to have imagined a more positive scenario. It’s the second minute of the season opener and Skelly’s newlook Langwarrin is facing NPL heavyweight Bentleigh Greens at Lawton Park. Luke Goulding sends a long ball forward and quicksilver Tom Youngs reads the defender’s intended header back to Greens keeper Andrew Withers. Youngs nips in and wins the ball and Withers flattens him. Referee Jackson Landy points to the spot, Youngs converts and it’s a dream start for Skelly’s men. Five minutes later any remaining naysayers among…
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…