SOCCER THE State 5 South championship and automatic promotion are within touching distance for Somerville Eagles after Saturday’s 3-1 derby success against Rosebud. Nearest challengers Old Mentonians continued to stumble after a second successive draw and even if the grammarians win their catch-up game this week against bottom team Hampton Park United they will be four points behind Somerville with three matches remaining. Somerville has an inviting run home coming up against three of the bottom four sides and the biggest challenge facing co-coaches Scott Morrison and Dave Greening is to ward off complacency among their players. Veteran striker Mark…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers midfielder Jordan “Kaka” Avraham is on the verge of making his international debut for the Fijian Olympic team. The 22-year-old has been playing in annual Fijian club tournaments for the past few years and competed in the Pacific Cup last November against teams from Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and the US. “Kaka” played for Western Sydney in that tournament and the coach of Western Sydney arranged for him to try out with the Fijian Olympic squad. The Fijian connection is through his father, Israel, and the young midfielder attended a two-week training camp earlier this season. He…
SOCCER A SIZZLING injury-time winner from import John Baird gave Langwarrin its best win of the season against visitor Werribee City at Lawton Park on Saturday. The former Scottish professional let fly with a first-time left-foot volley from the left of the area that Werribee keeper Nikola Kostadinoski couldn’t stop from rocketing into the far corner of goal. Werribee came to the peninsula in third spot in NPL2 West just two points behind leader St Albans Saints but its promotion chances were dealt a bodyblow by Baird’s late winner. Langwarrin had lined up in a pink strip as part of…
SOCCER MILLA Jowett of Southern United flew out of Melbourne on Friday to start a two-year scholarship at Sussex County Community College in New Jersey. The US college announced recently that it had signed the 19-year-old defender who is expected to make an immediate impact in the starting 11 for Sussex Skylanders. Coaches Frank Vernacchio and Michael Rath have been touting Jowett as one of a number of key recruits who they hope can propel the college’s women’s soccer program all the way to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament. Jowett is a former Peninsula Strikers player who has been coaching…
SOCCER A STUNNING performance from Seaford striker Dylan Waugh highlighted last weekend’s round of matches. The gun forward scored all of Seaford’s goals in a 5-1 trouncing of FC Noble Hurricanes at North Seaford Reserve on Saturday. Harry McCartney reports that the Waugh onslaught started after just five minutes when he won a 50/50 challenge with the last Hurricanes defender then easily sidefooted the ball home. Seaford dominated the first half but had to wait until the 39th minute to gain reward for its efforts when Waugh pounced on a bouncing ball and delicately tapped it over the head of…