Juniors Notch Up Some Wins

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U16A

Castlemaine was active right from the first whistle with a number of well organized forward attacks.

Strathdale also had their chances in front of goal and Castlemaine’s keeper Mick Broughton was doing an excellent job keeping them from scoring until midway through the first half when a fast attack gave Strathdale their opening goal.

To their credit, Castlemaine replied within minutes with an equalizing goal from Bailey Chapman.

With solid work from Angela West and Eli Flavell, the game was hotly contested through the centre until Strathdale scored their second goal with 5 minutes to play, making the score 1-2 at half time.

Castlemaine again came out firing in the second half with strong runs by their strikers keeping the Strathdale defense under constant pressure.

A long free kick by Eli Flavell found the back of the net and the score was 2-2.

Castlemaine kept attacking with strong runs down the line by Tom McArthy, Spencer Saltmarsh and Sam Chandler resulting in some near misses.

Tireless work from James Chaffey was rewarded after he received a penalty midway through the second half. Eli Flavell took the kick and scored his second goal to put the home team 3-2 up with 10 minutes remaining.

Castlemaine stayed in front to chalk up their first win of the season.

 

U12A

The nets were still being put on the goals as Castlemaine warmed up pre-match at a chilly Epsom ground early Saturday morning.
Wednesday’s training session concentrating on short and long passing shone through on the pitch. As did the return to a team structure used at the start of the season. Many good passes with patient build up led to a multitude of chances, with five goals scored by three different players in the first half.
Epsom were unlucky not have at least two themselves hitting the post and the crossbar.
With their confidence flying high, Castlemaine took to the field for the second half with the shining sun on their backs.
Substitutions were made keeping the successful structure of the team intact. This led to even better connective play with some sublime passing combinations worked from the back four, through the midfield, out to the wings, then on to the strikers. With goals from the strikers, midfielders, and a centreback coming forward for a corner, all the positional groups got on the scoresheet, with a further seven scored.
Credit must go to Epsom for not giving up. This resulted in them scoring two in the second half.
The joy and happiness the first win of the season brought was clear to see on the faces of players and parents/carers alike.
A special thanks to the two injured/sick players that turned up to cheer their teammates on.
Final score: Castlemaine 12 defeated Epsom 2.
Goals T. Callaway 1 (second-half), R. De Podolinsky 4 (2 in each half), A. Elkhazzari 3 (1 first-half 2 second-half), E. Jarrett 1 (second-half), G. McCoy 1 (second-half), T. Slaytor 2 (first-half)

U10 Swift Parrots

The roo pellets still lay frosted on the field as the Castlemaine Swift Parrots kicked off against the Spring Gully RedBacks at Chewton on Saturday morning.

Give or take a little sunshine, the fast-paced end-to-end play soon put a melt to that.

Happily it was the Swifties’ defence, led by Grif, Tom and Silas, that held firm, complemented by some very solid goalkeeping from Ciaran in the first half and Aidan in the second. Their excellent throws and kick-outs helped ensure the key contest was being fought out in midfield, where Eva, Charlie, Finn and Jack eventually won out through their passing and pressure. Meanwhile Louis was his irrepressible self on the wing.

The Spiders certainly showed some fine skills and had their chances, but it was the Parrots forwards who made the most of theirs. The goals came in a flurry in the latter part of the first half, with two to Monte and another to Elliott, who pounced on a poor disposal from the RedBacks’ keeper.

Final score: 3-0.