SOCCER JOSH Hine’s hat-trick and Peninsula Strikers’ unblemished record were highlights of local State League fixtures last weekend. In State 1 Mornington got its promotion chase back on track with a 4-1 home win over Bentleigh United Cobras on Friday night. Assistant coach Nathan Peel resigned after the previous week’s 2-0 reversal against Casey Comets so it was important for the local club to bounce back immediately. Hine scored a second-half hat-trick and is one of the leading contenders for the league’s Golden Boot honours while John Maclean was Mornington’s other scorer. Strikers kept their faultless State 2 record intact…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER YOUNG Tom Simmons proved to be the matchwinner as Somerville defeated Baxter 2-1 on Saturday in the first local derby of the season. Clashes between these State 4 rivals are usually entertaining and this encounter was no different. Tyabb Central Reserve is a difficult proposition for sides that favour an interpassing game and the home side adapted to the bumpy surface with a no-nonsense approach. Baxter led 1-0 through Lachie McMinimee’s well-taken strike in the 20th minute but its new striking combination of McMinimee and boom recruit Dave Greening blew a series of chances in both halves. The key…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers have made their best start to a league season since 2016. A revamped senior squad under new coach Donn Delaney relied on a 22nd minute Cooper Andrews shot from inside the area to record a 1-0 win over Old Scotch at Ballam Park on Saturday evening. The result follows a 2-1 opening round win in what is Delaney’s first senior coaching job. He was unavailable last weekend along with four players who all were forced to isolate. “We’re a tight-knit group so handing the reins over to (reserves coaches) Steve Shephard and Jake Priest was easy,” Delaney…
SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines’ title tilt got off to a flyer last Friday night when it smashed visitor Brighton 5-0 at Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve. Pines made no secret of its State 3 ambitions during the off-season and although it’s just one game in it has reclaimed the ladder position it had cemented before last season’s shutdown. A Liam Baxter hat-trick underpinned this result as the visitors couldn’t contain the experienced Scottish striker and ex-NPL hit man. Baxter put Pines ahead in the 12th minute when he finished a Tom Hawkins’ cutback from the right and three minutes later Brighton had…
SOCCER THE 2022 league season gets underway this weekend with high hopes that for the first time in three years a full season can be completed. There are a few local clubs that fancy their chances this year none more so than Frankston Pines. However head coach Kevin “Squizzy” Taylor is on holiday in the UK and will miss the first three games. Assistant Paulo Pinheiro takes over as Pines embarks on a State 3 campaign it hopes will go some way towards making up for the club’s bitter disappointment at the outcome of the previous two seasons. Mornington rounded…