SOCCER LOYALTY is a word that Skye United gaffer Phil McGuinness uses often when discussing his newly promoted senior squad. “To be honest the main reason we’ve come so far is not down to the committee, not down to me and Stephen (Duffy, assistant coach), it’s down to the players and their loyalty,” McGuinness said. “This group is really, really close knit and anything you put in front of them they grab with both hands. “A lot of our success simply comes down to them. “These guys could all get a lot more to play at other clubs but their…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER KEVIN “Squizzy” Taylor and Doug Hodgson are locked in a battle to win the services of well-respected technical director Stephen Fisher. They were joined in the contest to lure Fisher by Bentleigh Greens but this was always going to be between Pines and the Doves. Fisher’s son Dylan, a promising teenage player, is at the centre of a tug of war between Taylor and Hodgson who reasoned that the winner would also secure the services of his father, who recently stepped down as Langwarrin TD. Taylor is senior coach at Frankston Pines and Hodgson is the new under-18s coach…
SOCCER DAVID Stirton has left Langwarrin while Josh Hine has agreed terms for a second season at Mornington. Stirton contacted head coach Scott Miller and club president Tanya Wallace last week to inform them of his decision. The 28-year-old was one of the more experienced NPL players on the club’s books having had stints with South Melbourne, Bentleigh Greens, Dandenong City and Port Melbourne and is regarded as one of the best set piece specialists in the competition. “It’s just about game time,” Stirton said, a reference to the number of matches last season in which he failed to make…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers announced the lowest junior fees in NPL Victoria history last week and threw down the gauntlet to local rivals Langwarrin and Mornington. Strikers and Mornington recently were granted NPL junior licences and had to stump up $20,000 each for the privilege. Most NPL clubs charge the maximum junior player fee of $2200 for a season. That is the case with Langwarrin while Mornington has set its player fee at $1800. But Strikers have outdone their rivals by charging junior players $1090 to play for the club in the under-13, under-14, under-15 and under-16 elite NPL competition next…
SOCCER SOUTHERN United’s remarkable youngsters stunned odds-on favourite and league champion South Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday to claim a place in this weekend’s under-16 NPLW Grand Final. Southern finished the league season 27 points behind South Melbourne who had a superior goal difference of 57. But this Southern group has been one of the NPLW’s success stories having won the title and the Grand Final in 2017 at under-13 level and doubling up on championship success last year but losing 2-1 to Calder United in the under-14 showpiece event. On Saturday South Melbourne went ahead in the 55th…