The Mitcham Junior Football Club was involved in Round 5 action on Mother’s Day. What a difference a week can make in regards the weather conditions. Last Sunday was a fine and sunny day and then this weekend most of our teams were faced with cold, blustery and wet conditions.
Our Under 8 Mitcham Black team played East Ringwood Blue. Coach Peter Ajani sent in this match report – “Our game was played in almost constant wind and rain. The boys came to play, showing that they can play some of their best footy in the wet. This week’s captain, was a boy who has shown that he is born to play footy - Jesse. He led the team by taking a great mark down back and winning the ball out of the middle, just when the team needed it. Great effort Jesse! East Ringwood award a medal to one of the opposition players who they think played a great game. They awarded the medal to Steve, who showed how to play wet weather football, always being first to the ball and trying his hardest for the entire game, by running, kicking and all round team play. Great stuff Steve. The Mitcham Medal went to Liam, who had asked to play in the middle and followed this up by being first to the ball on several occasions, winning the contest and passing the ball on to team mates. The other Mitcham Medal went to Felix, who received Liam’s passes and ran on as instructed, to kick 5 very nice goals. None better than the great snap from the boundary line. Well done Liam and Felix. The Panelen’s Healthy Nut Bar and Café Award, double ice-cream sundae, went to Tong and Nay who got better as the game went on and started winning the ball and passing to team mates. Great team play boys. The EFL Mr Crocs award went to Archie “the king of defence” and Matthew, “Mr Fix It”. The Mitcham encouragement award went to Lucas who continued to throw himself at the ball and our own super-boot Gabriel, who also kicked a goal. The final award for the Mitcham Hot Dog and Drink went to Charlie, who read the play well and also kicked a nice goal. Well done to all the boys!”
Our Under 8 Mitcham Yellow took on Kilsyth and Coach Josh McConnell has this to say about their game – “After an up and down week it was great play against Kilsyth Black and have all kids from all clubs still be able to play. Daniel Grace was our Captain today and he did a fantastic job. He led the team really well in the heavy rain and kicked a couple of great running goals after being first for the ball in the slippery conditions. All the kids played really well and worked hard to be in front and first to the ball. This was very important in the wet conditions. Our opponents where a few players short today so a number of the boys each played a quarter for Kilsyth, and we were proud of their efforts in helping out the other team so that everyone could enjoy a full game. Our two Medal winners today were two of many who always positioned their body in front of their opponent. Tyson Darmody was awarded a medal for a great game where he was often first to the ball, and took some fantastic marks. He also kicked a great goal. Alexandra Parigi was also awarded a medal for his fantastic game in the forward line and also when playing down back where he took some terrific marks. He also kicked a nice goal and helped setup several more. Harrison Fearnley was awarded the Panelen¹s Nut Bar and Café award for his continued hard work at the ball. Many times he hand balled it out to teammates, and was very close to kicking a goal with a nice snap. James Watt took a couple of great overhead marks when he worked his way to the front of the packs and was awarded a Mr Croc¹s star award for his efforts. James Wilson has been a hard worker all year. Today he was awarded a Mr Croc¹s Star Award for his handballing to his teammates across half forward and half back where he helped set up the play and kept the ball moving forward. I was really proud of how all the boys have played and improved which we can see as they are getting more and ball and sharing it well with their teammates. Great boys! Look forward to training on Wednesday and our game against South Croydon next Sunday at 10am. Go Tigers!!”
The Under 9’s were at home against Boronia after their great Lighting Premiership wind last Sunday. Coach Brad Aujard sent in this report – “Fantastic game again today with wet weather football played excellently by all. The boys started early with their usual run and flair but learnt the hard way that the ball doesn't bounce so easily in these conditions. Daniel, Seb and Will seemed to adapt best to the poor conditions taking the awards for the day. The backline stood tall with Lachie, Ben, Ryan P and Ryan O creating a wall preventing Boronia entering the forward line…well done boys. The centre-line started excellently with Joshy getting the ball early, together with Will and Felix and just the right amount of muscle thrown in by Daniel in the later part of the game. Seb down forward, together with Jacoby & Sam were rewarded for their persistence kicking some great goals today. The teamwork and unselfish play shown by all is awesome to watch, especially in the wet weather. It’s great to see you all gelling and playing for each other week by week. I am very proud of the way you guys are playing as a team. Today the umpire mentioned to me after the game how unselfish he thought you all are and this is something you should all be proud of. Well-done boys! Happy Mother’s Day to all those who ventured out into the elements this morning and also to those who chickened out!”
The Under 10’s travelled to Miller Park to take on Boronia. Coach Carlo Fanfulla spoke with pride when he posted this match report – “Today we not only had to compete against the opposition but also the cold and wet conditions presented to us throughout the game. The Mums who came to the game were rewarded with a Mother’s Day gift from our boys who played a great game of football. A strong start to the game with a goal by Hudson Goulding gave the boys a boost of confidence in the first quarter. We used some very impressive ball movement for the wet conditions. Boronia were certainly impressive in the second and third quarters with direct kicks into their forward line, but the Tigers kept on applying pressure at every contest, which then created opportunities to our advantage. I really felt for our boy's at the last break as many of them told me they couldn't feel their hands from the cold and wet conditions. Instructing the boys to push on past the pain barrier and run hard with only twelve minutes of play left in the rain is exactly what they did which created two brilliant goals from Hamish Gill. So proud of our boys today. They never gave up at any stage and continued to create opportunities to power on. Go Tigers!”
The Under 11’s took on Lilydale at Walker Park. Coach Jason Philactides sent in this report on the game - "Today the weather conditions were miserable however they were the kind of conditions that would suit our boys. The first quarter was a great battle with only 1 point separating us at quarter time. After giving the boys a pat on the back at the break, they went back into their shell and allowed Lilydale to get the upper hand. Some tough love at half time saw the boys come out and play hard contested footy, which is the kind of footy that will trouble any team. In fact at the end of the game the Lilydale coach made mention to me of how physical the game was which was great recognition of our team. A win was still in our sights at the start of the last quarter and at the 5-minute mark, Jasper snapped a ripper goal to give us a sniff of victory. Everyone was excited - we were close to knocking off a top team. In the end it wasn't to be, however I was extremely proud of the boy’s effort today. They never gave up. We are continuing to improve and I'm certain a win is not far away. Today saw all our boys play their best game yet. They are following instructions and I can see that they are using their skills taught at training on the field. I am happy with all the boys’ development. Well done to Tom and Josh for their awards.”
Final Score: Lilydale 3.8.26 d Mitcham 2.0.12
Goals: Denzell 1, Jasper 1
The Under 12’s played Lysterfield away and Coach Mark Ross posed this report – “Mothers Day and a milestone game for one of our captains, Pat Cotter - 50 games. This was the second time we have played Lysterfield and we were expecting and got a very tight and physical game. Once again we started slowly, with the first quarter played between the half back lines and neither team able to score. The second quarter was a great quarter of tough, determined team footy. The Tigers kicked 2 goals to the oppositions 1 point. The third quarter was also an example of the boy’s continuous pressure and sheer will to force the ball forward resulting in another 2 goals. With the game in hand we did concede a late goal in the last quarter with Lysterfield finishing the game off well. This was a very well deserved win boys. Goals to Sam Agius, Jamie, Callum and Joel, with encouragement awards to Pat and Wilam. Well-done boys. The highlight of the day was having all of the delighted mothers in the huddle as the boys sang the song. Continue to "Enjoy the Contest" boys, work hard at training and let's just take it one week at a time.”
Final Score: Mitcham 4.2.26 d Lysterfield 1.1.7
The Under 13’s were at Morton Park in Blackburn and Coach Shane Dickson had this to say about their game – “We came up against Blackburn today who were undefeated and with us winning our two previous matches, l thought we would be in with a good chance. We contested the ball well in the first quarter, but we became very flat-footed and were behind at many contests from then on. There were some positives in the game, with Noah working hard at attacking the ball, and Matt M also contributing well in the back line. We still need to work harder attacking the ball and running with the opposition to the contest. All boys should come to training intending to focus on the development we have ahead of us. Congratulations to Nick Manks on his 50 games - great effort! I have certainly seen a lot of improvement in Nick over the last 6 or more years.”
Final Score: Blackburn 12.9.81 d Mitcham 4.8.32
Awards: Noah, Matt M & Nick
Goals: Jayden 1, Jac 1, Nick 1 & Michael 1
The Under 15’s were also at Morton Park against close rivals Blackburn. Coach Cam Horsey sent in this report - “Traveling to Morton Park today on a cold, wet wintery day, our expectations were high coming off a great win against Norwood the previous week. We looked focused and well prepared to take on a Blackburn team that contains many of the boy’s mates from school and who had shared plenty of banter during the lead up. We asked for a big commitment from the boys, to be first to the ball and to be prepared to put their bodies into the front of the contest. Blackburn won the toss and elected to kick with the wind. They used it well at the start and scored first. Our backline weren’t fazed and stood firm, held their line and continually stopped many forward advances allowing only a couple of goals to get through. Our mids worked hard to get us back into the contest and we were able to keep ourselves within a kick or two. The game continued with some pretty heavy contests throughout the day, with Jules leading the way through heavy traffic and giving us countless opportunities to go forward. Stinger was once again solid through halfback, easily beating his opponent and getting plenty of the ball himself. Unfortunately we lost Big Al half way through the third quarter which left a big hole in our backline. There had to be a bit of chopping and changing done to close up the gap that was left. Hope you come through ok Al. Timmy, JP, Tails and Hoppo worked hard all day, with Keenan and Spitter running hard up and down the wings. The day came down to an eventful finish with Timmy having the opportunity to put a bit of icing on his game. Tim had the chance to put us in front with about 40 seconds left on the clock. The result didn’t go our way, but that’s footy and we have to move on. The focus is now on next week, where we must bounce back, with what will be a very even contest. Training on Wednesday is so important boys. Go tiges!!!!”
Final Score: Blackburn 5.11.41 d Mitcham 4.13.37
DON’T forget to check out the senior website @ www.mitchamfc.sportingpulse.net for a complete wrap for the 1st 2nds and 3rds results from the weekend including coach’s comments and also our Club night This Friday Night May 15 from 7pm in The Mitcham Sporting Club. Live acoustic music, FREE Entry and finger food with drinks at bar prices. Great chance to catch up in an informal atmosphere and discuss the season thus far all welcome!
Last Modified on 04/12/2019 12:38