SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines won promotion to State 2 last weekend despite a 0-0 draw against State 3 title challenger Hampton East Brighton. And the $3.9m Monterey Reserve upgrade will be officially opened on Thursday even though the new clubrooms may remain unfit for purpose if problems with gas connection continue. Pines have been forced to use the synthetic pitch at Wedge Road in Carrum Downs for much longer than anticipated. That was the venue for the ladder leader to grind out a point on Friday night and with other results on the weekend going in Pines’ favour it was able…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER SOMERVILLE’S Adam Steele has been forced to retire due to ongoing concussion issues. The uncompromising defender is the second local player to stop playing this season due to the risk of head injury after post-concussion syndrome prematurely ended the career of Frankston Pines’ stalwart CJ Hodgson in April. London-born Steele, 32, arrived in Melbourne in 2012 and his first club here was Manningham United where he made the switch to defence after playing most of his career up front. He joined Somerville in early 2021 after stints with Eltham Redbacks, Ashburton United and Mount Martha. “Somerville’s been a fantastic…
SOCCER BAXTER announced on Monday (27 June) that Stephen Fisher would take over from George Hughes as senior coach for the 2023 season. Fisher will be in charge of a senior squad on a full-time basis for the first time but has an extensive playing and coaching background. The 55-year-old played with Chelsea, Frankston Pines, Frankston City and Botany Park and his coaching career kicked off at Lawton Park when he coached his son Dylan in Langwarrin’s juniors. “Gus Macleod was instrumental in getting me to do coaching courses and he recommended me to Football Victoria to get involved in…
LANGWARRIN soccer club is still celebrating the Socceroos’ qualification for November’s World Cup finals. Bailey Wright is one of Langwarrin’s favourite sons and played a pivotal defensive role in the eventual win over Peru on penalties last week in Qatar. The Socceroos’ defender was making his 25th national team appearance and is now vying for a spot in the 23-man squad for the finals. Langwarrin technical director Gus Macleod gave Wright his senior debut in 2009 when the teenager was 16 years old and has followed his career closely. “He’s come a long, long way from the wee five-year-old who…
SOCCER HOLDER Somerville retained the Eagles Cup after a 2-2 draw with Baxter at Baxter Park on Saturday. The charity day has become an integral part of derby clashes between these local rivals and last weekend’s contest didn’t disappoint. Baxter was forced to dig deep when staring at a 2-0 deficit after 15 minutes. The home side struggled to defend set pieces and the left boot of Somerville’s Adrian Pace, a former Baxter player, was a constant threat whenever his corners were swung into the back post. The visitors took three minutes to hit the front when Connor Carson was…