Vikings dominated on the field for the first half of the match, with Enrique Dos Santos and Aarav Bhatia working well in offense, creating several close goal-scoring opportunities. Edward Melville demonstrated his endurance and determination consistently throughout the match, as did Peaches Strarritt, whose speed enabled her to outplay her opponents and feed the ball towards goal.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Edwards and Cameron Peirce proved lethal in defence, clearing the ball from potential threats with precision and power. Riley Frazer put his body on the line as he chased the ball down with pure grit and Caden Saunders took his corner kicks to the next level with accurate placement. Scores at half-time were 0-0.
The second half saw the team ready to capitalise on their hard work. Shewan Silva showed yet again his excellent ball skills on field and Jesse Nye was persistent in creating great positions in offense as well as switching into defence with just as much style.
Aarav was awarded a penalty shot later in the second half, which he converted with ease, and Jed Guinan followed shortly afterwards with a confident goal, finishing off a strong match with fire in his belly. The team earned a well-deserved win 2-0.
Under-12 Border Raiders
Moama Echuca Border-Raiders hosted Strathdale Roar at home on a chilly Saturday morning. The Raiders came out strong, with Tommy Quirk letting fly from outside the box to get the scoring under way.
The Murphy brothers, Finn and Nate, worked in tandem in the midfield to create opportunities for the Raiders’ forwards, with Matty Maxwell hitting the score sheet early, again in the first half. Jack Gibson was causing havoc down the left wing, asking questions of the Strathdale defence and putting fantastic crosses into the area for the Raiders.
The defence, led by the tall timber brigade of Xavier Stewart and Alex Attalh, starved the Strathdale Roar of any scoring chances. Raiders’ ever reliable goal keeper, Jack Dunne, played his role down back, propelling the ball deep into the attacking zone.
Goals kept coming from the Raiders, with both the Murphy brothers scoring and Tommy Quirk adding another to his total for the day, putting the home team in a great position at half time. The second half saw a strong response from Strathdale Roar and the scoring dried up and the game became a tight encounter.
Daniel Barry and Oscar Dawson played a critical role in defence, keeping calm on the ball, and with Billy Quirk taking on the goalkeeping duties in the second half the Raiders where well on their way to a great win. The day finished with a 6-1 win to the Raiders in a fantastic game played in great spirit.
Under-16 Border Raiders
This week saw the under-16s face the ladder-leading Spring Gully White at Moama. The Border Raiders started strongly, with the backline of Aiden Bruffell, Paddy Barry, Mason Bayley and Matt Whyte constantly denying attackers the chance to break through.
Asha Davies provided a nice through ball for Jye Dos Santos for an opportunity to score early, which narrowly missed. Blade Bawden made plenty of saves; however, Spring Gully got through the Raiders’ defence with quality passes and consistency in finishing off their good work. Half time saw the Raiders 8-0 down.
After the break, the Raiders’ midfielders continued to apply pressure, with Lottie Pickles, Brydie Davidson, Marco Maxwell and Seb Jouault-Thomas all running hard for the day, supporting the backs and then pushing the ball forward. Full time saw the final score of 16-0.
7°C