U/12 Boys: Marconi Juniors too classy for brave Seaforth

Marconi Juniors were a class above in the U/12 Grand Final, a 4-0 win against Seaforth underlining their quality and dominance of the match.

Marconi Juniors started strongly with Fabian Monge and Alessi Jafari controlling the game in midfield.

The first genuine opportunity fell their way when a delightful turn from Rory Jordan on the edge of the area took him into the area, only to fire his shot wide of goal. Jordan had another chance a few minutes later and although this time he shot on target, Ben Rymill showed safe hands in the Seaforth goal. 

Jordan was looking to be the major threat, his pace causing problems for the Seaforth defence and the service from Monge was exemplary. Fortunately for Seaforth though, Rymill was standing strong in goal. 

The pressure eventually tolled in the 17' minute when Billy Nunes ran at Joe McCauley down the right and when he stood a ball up to the back post it slipped through Rymill's hands and found the back of the net.

The wind was in their sales now and they doubled their lead almost immediately. Rymill made a good low stop to deny Muhammad Michman, but Jordan was on hand to slid home the rebound. 

The match was disrupted by injury stoppages throughout the half but when the game finally did get into a good rhythm, Marconi Juniors scored a glorious third. 

It seemed ambitious when Corey Cuelho lined up a shot from 30 yards, but his strike arrowed past Rymill and into the top corner. It was a spectacular goal and one befitting the occasion.

Seaforth came out for the second half playing with renewed ambition, despite the herculean task ahead of them. 

Nick Bannigan and Mathis Guichon were threatening in the attacking third, but they lacked a killer pass to break open the Marconi defence. Mikey Howie showed some nice touches in midfield though and looked the most likely source of creativity for the Manly-Warringah representatives. 

Marconi though, put the game to bed in the 35' minute with a goal beautiful in its creation. Gian Sacco split the defence with a pass that released Cuelho down the left and his square ball was tapped in by Michman, who was left with the simplest of tasks thanks to the wonderful work of his teammates. 

Seaforth battled gamely in the knowledge that the game was out of reach. Nunes nearly put the icing on the cake when his beautiful free kick hit the crossbar in the final minute, but once the threat to goal was cleared the referee blew for full time, the scoreline confirming the class of Paul Okon's Marconi Juniors side.

Match Stats

Marconi Juniors 4 (Nunes 17', Jordan 18', Cuelho 30', Michman 35')

Seaforth 0

Marconi Juniors: 1.D Lopez, 2.Thomas Draca, 3.Alex Tourgelis, 4.Jared Dulaurent, 5.Alessi Jafari, 6.Corey Cuelho, 7.Thomas McPherson, 8.Fabian Monge, 9.Adrian Valenti, 10.Billy Nunes, 11.Gian Sacco, 12.Muhammad Michman, 13.Rory Jordan

Seaforth: 2.Liam Burke, 3.Joe McCauley, 4.Tom Dubourdieu, 5.Nick Bannigan, 6.Mathis Guichon, 7.Ben Rymill, 8.Josh McMenamin, 9.Harper Macris, 10.Mikey Howie, 11.Alex Giles, 12.Alex Reidy, 14.Joa Aitken, 15.Evan Peake, 16.Arttu Piislia

- By Matthew Connellan

 

Under 13 Boys: Figtree put Rangers to the sword in five goal rout

Figtree defeated North Epping Rangers 5-0 in the Under 13 Boys EA Sports Champions of Champions final showcasing some excellent finishing by the South Coast side for everyone to see.

Daniel Carella opened the scoring for Figtree after shooting first time into the roof of the net from a Daniel Chicharo pass inside 10’ minutes.

North Epping Rangers midfielder Joshua Stern tried his luck from an acute angle moments later with a free kick, but his effort ruffled the side netting.

Luke Skrivancic made an encouraging run down the sideline and delivered a neat cross into the box that was smothered up by the alert Figtree custodian Jarrod Twigg on 15’ minutes.

Emmanuel Kamara made it 2-0 after 20’ minutes, smashing home a wonder strike from 20 yards out that gave Rangers goal keeper Christian Knezevic no chance.

Joshua Stern tried his luck from some distance in the 30’ minute but Jarrod Twigg made an excellent save to keep the ball out of the net, parrying the ball to safety while tracking backwards.

It was end to end action as Figtree’s Emmanual Kamara smashed his shot just wide before the stroke of half-time.

North Epping failed to find a way into the match following the break with Figtree getting the second-half underway in similar fashion by adding a third goal via the boot of Daniel Chicharo in the 40’ minute after some brilliant build up play.

Figtree were gifted a penalty in the 45’ minute and Josh Head calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net, only for the referee to order a retake due to a Figtree player entering the box before the kick was taken. Unfortunately the retake wasn’t successful and blasted over the crossbar.

Depsite the missed penalty, Figtree got on with the job and Manny Hondroudakis made it 4-0 with a wonderful shot outside the 18 yard box after 52’ minutes before Daniel Carella slotted home to make it 5-0 with the last kick of the game in what was a rock-solid effort by Figtree against a very competitive North Epping Rangers side.

Match Stats

North Epping Rangers 0

Figtree 5 (D Carella 10/60’ E Kamara 20’ D Chicharo 40’ M Hondroudakis 52’)

Sunday October 21st, 2012

Valentine Park, Glenwood

North Epping Rangers: GK.C.Knezevic; 2.D.Hempill, 3.M.Muranty, 4.J.Parkinson, 5.M.Knight, 6.K.Thornton, 7.H.Joslin, 8.A.Sandhu, 9.N.Stubbs, 10.J.Stern, 11.H.Foristal, 17.L.Skrivancic, 19.L.Carfax, 24.W.McLachlan

Figtree: GK.J.Twigg; 2.J.Kalmanidis, 3.T.Rutty, 4.T.Maclou, 5.J.Head, 6.M.Hondroudakis, 7.M.Faulkner, 8.A.Gallo, 9.E.Kamara, 10.R.Akhurst, 11.D.Carella, 12.C.Popovski, 13.D.Chicharo, 14.W.Ramsay, 15.C.Graham

-By Dean Southern

 

U14s boys: Putney Rangers too slick for Connells Point

Putney Rangers have been crowned Champions of the under 14s boys competition at the EA Sports Champions of Champions tournament thanks to a Jayden Baikie goal in the 35th minute.

Battling the early heat as well as vocal supporter on the sidelines, Gladesville Hornsby District side, Putney Rangers took on the St. George association winners Connells Point in what proved to be a feisty affair.

Thanks to a mixture of nerves and excitement, both sides struggled to get control of the ball in the opening ten minutes however it was Connells Point who had the better start with front man Stefan Sarandopoulos narrowly shooting wide of the goal after some fantastic build up play from winger William Monaha.

Heading into the break, Putney Rangers started to hit their stride playing a pretty passing game mixed with a strong counter attacking brand of football. It was the young winger come striker Jayden Baikie who was the bright spark for the team in red with his pace down the flanks as his willingness to take on his defender.

The first half might have remained scoreless but the final seconds of the half were filled with Connell Point hitting the side netting twice sending shock waves through Putney's defence.

The team in red got the game under way for the second period of play and were instantly on the attack. Whatever the pep talk was that these boys received was obviously a meaningful one as only Connell Points' goalkeeper was able to deny an opening goal just moments after the restart.

In the 35th minute of play, Putney took the lead. A lovely through ball from Cameron Court playing Jayden Baikie into space through the middle meant Jayden was able to knock the ball into the back of the net beating the Connells Point keeper, Christopher Keryakos.

Connells Point had a golden opportunity to find an equaliser with ten minutes remaining to play through Reece Gledhill however some brilliant last ditch defending from Ethan Harris was enough to block the shot.

With the clock ticking down, the frustration started to settle in with Connells Point’s centre forward Stefan Saradopoulos sharing some choice words with Putney Rangers left midfielder, Haydn Houssenloge. Both players lucky to escape a yellow card from referee Toby Williams.

The final kick of the game came from Connells Point’s Cooper Lean who volleyed in a low, hard ball aiming for the bottom corner of the goal but only found the Putney Rangers goalkeeper James Conagham.

Match Stats:

Putney Rangers 1 (Baikie 35’)

Connells Point 0

Saturday 20th October, 2012

Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood

Referee: Toby Williams

Assistant Referees: Jack Morales and Aleesha Morales

Putney Rangers FC: 1. James CONGAGHAN, 2. Cameron COURT, 3. Tony CHEN, 4. James HANLON, 5. Haydn HOUSSENLOGE, 7. Ethan HARRIS, 9. Jack ARMSON, 10. Jayden Baikie, 11. Nathan GREEN, 12. Andrew CHAPMAN, 13. Jarrod CHATER

Substitutions: 6. Caleb PURCELL, 8. Morgan LING, 15. Michael NGO

Yellow Cards: Nil.

Red Cards: Nil.

Connells Point FC: 1. Christopher KERYAKOS, 2. Cooper LEAN, 3. Mark MIFSUD, 4. James SAAB, 5. Nicholas RUSSO, 6. Brian KONG, 7. Tivon MEGASE, 8. Reece GLEDHILL, 9. Stefan SARANDOPOULOS, 11. William MONAHA, 14. Anthony KHOURY

Substitutions: 10. Daniel MACRIS, 12. Ryan MUSGRAVE, 15. Steven CASH, 16. Billy RICHARDS.

Yellow Cards: Nil.

Red Cards: Nil.

- By Pete Nowakowski