A good win to end Round 1

Again with only 11 players West Hobart under 12 girls played an exciting game to win 1-0 against Waimea Heights. The first half started with some domination by West Hobart when a number of shots pressed the Waimea goalkeeper, including a long kick by Tamsin which went over the bar and out of the ground. The constant pressure on goal eventually saw Grace strike the ball cleanly past the keeper with her first time playing centre forward.


To the credit of Waimea, they started to string a number of passes together and some excellent ball skills saw a number of times their forwards run pass West Hobart's defence. An excellent tackle by Annette, coming out of nowhere, saved a definite goal chance. Then late in the half an excellent save from goalkeeper Jessica stopped a low hard shot just on the line.

The second half was well played by West Hobart with their goalkeeper not touching the ball once in the half. Awein played her best half of the season with a number of penetrating runs towards goal. Jessica and Susie also had a number of runs at goals with more shots saved by the goalkeeper or blocked by a defence which at times swarmed the Waimea goal.

The girls can be proud of their effort in their first round with two wins, one draw and two losses.

U11 team holds on to win

Coach Jerry de Gryse reports
In its toughest match yet, the Girls Under 11s held on to tie with Princess Street 3-3. Ahead 2-1 at the half, on goals from Jessica Hepburn (her first this season) and Alison, Anna scored early in the second period to lift the score to 3-1. Undaunted, Princess Street clawed back to even the score on crisp passing that resulted in numerous shots on goal. Only Steph's strong save under pressure at the whistle secured the tie, helping the team to close out the first part of the season with five wins, no losses and one tie.

At the end of the game, Coach told his girls that he was proud of their team play and that he was looking forward to more good fun in the second semester.

Results and Training clinics

Tamsyn plants the boot during yesterday's U12 game against Waimea Heights which we won 1-0. Ross will post his notes on the match shortly.

Ay caramba! Georgie and Megan discover there's a ball near their feet

With holidays imminent, there'll be six useful training sessions for kids from U6-U12 with the first one on Tue 6th June at Sandown Park in Sandy Bay. Three will be at Sandown Park, two at Margate and one in Huonville. Each clinic should run two hours with midday barbeques.

More details on the Central Region Junior Soccer website:
2006 June Holiday Clinics

Results to date for U11 Girls

By Jerry de Gryse

Game 4 - 20 May
Saturday's Girls Under 11 match against Friends was won (5-1) at both ends of the field. On attack, Anna was unstoppable scoring four goals assisted by heads up passing from fellow attackers and the midfield with Alison capping the scoring. In defense, Alouisa and Sophie tackled well and consistently cleared the ball to waiting teammates. Meanwhile, goalies Niamh and Stephanie made numerous tough stops with only a late score by Friends spoiling their shut out.

Game 3 - 13 May
Excellent goal keeping at both ends of the field was a highlight of the Under 11 Girls 2-1 victory over Taroona on Saturday. Tied 0-0 at the half, Niamh and Stephanie scored back-to-back goals on good passing from the mid-field. A late Taroona goal made for a tense close to the game, but good work in the back line and tenacious goal keeping by Alison saw the team capture its third consecutive win.

Game 2 - 6 May
The Girls Under 11s soccer team notched up their second win on Saturday with a 4-2 victory over St. Mary’s. Behind 0-1 at the half, the team exploded into the lead with three unanswered goals from Alison. Strong team play featured once again in the victory with good communication and passing between the players to move the ball up the field and into range for numerous shots on goal. St. Mary’s scored late in the game to make it 3-2 but an insurance goal from Alison (her fourth), vigilant defence and tough play in the midfield shut down any chance of a late comeback.

Game 1 - 29 April
Good team play featured in the 'Lady Bugs' (Girls Under 11) 5-0 victory over Lindisfarne on Saturday. The offence was aggressive with excellent passing leading to numerous shots on goal. Alison (2), Tilly, Anna and Stephanie all scored goals. Excellent defence ensured the shutout held when late in the game the team began to tire.

Another tough-fought game for U12s

Ross's notes - 20 May
The Under 12 Girls had another tough game this week going down 0-1 to Metro. However the score could have well been in their favour had luck gone their way.

With a number of girls injured or sick, the team took to the field with no reserves to help. A promising start saw a number of missed opportunties on goal with the Metro goalkeeper making several saves. Then late in the half a surprising decision resulted in a penalty to Metro. Annette made a brillant save pushing the ball away and then without hesitation followed up with a collision onto the charging striker. An injured leg resulted and Annette had to be carried from the field. The girls bravely fought on with only 10 players to have a nil-all result at half time.

West Hobart found the second half difficult with the ball constantly in their half of the ground. Not surprising with the continual pressure, Metro eventually scored from a hard long range shot. Later a hand ball in Metro's penalty box brought an opportuity for Ione to score. However her great strike just cleared the bar and Metro received a huge reprieve.

The girls fought hard with Annette playing injured, and Georgie and Megan being winded from blows to their stomach. Despite the loss the girls can be proud of their effort and the manner in which they played the game.

We (almost) beat Metro

For the U12s - it was close, very close. Metro scored the only goal today (and won). Sad to say, the ball just rolled through the goal but it was still our best game so far. The ground is one of a series on a big reserve right next to Cadbury's chocolate factory at Claremont; unfortunately there weren't any tours today. The umpire, a teenager herself, made the girls remove all their jewellery and tuck in their jumpers. This last bit caused some grumbling...


One of the soccer balls got stuck in a tree (briefly) until Ross shook it free and then another one was booted over the fence into a neighbouring backyard.

Sat 27 May

• West Hobart Gold vs Waimea Heights. Venue is the top ground at Waimea Heights at 1pm.

Please remember to arrive a little earlier for this match which is the last one for the term.

Tough match but scores level

The U12s played well against Taroona today at Sandown Park. Taroona is a strong side but we forced a one-all draw. Jessica kicked our only goal which also happened to be the first score of the match.

One, two, three, four

Georgina, Jessica, Laura and Amelia take a deep breath before playing St Mary's in the first match of the season.

Games coming up

Did you know the U12 Girls roster is part of the Kookaburra league? Now, here are games and venues till the end of this (school) term's roster.

Sat 13 May

• West Hobart Gold vs Taroona at Sandown Park 2 at 1pm

Sat 20 May

• West Hobart Gold vs Metro at Cadbury's at 1pm

Sat 27 May

• West Hobart Gold vs Waimea Heights at Waimea Heights top ground at 1pm

Don't forget that Development Programs began last weekend for U9-U12 girls. More details on the local soccer website: www.central.soccertas.org.au

Season kicks off

After four weeks of training, our season has finally begun. So far, we have two teams: the Under 11s and the Under 12s. The U12 card shows one win and one loss after the first two matches. St Mary's beat us 5-nil in the first game then we beat Collegiate 3-nil this week.

Our coaches are Ross and Jerry. We train between 4pm and 5.30pm every Monday on the oval at Guilford Young College, entrance off Patrick Street between Barrack and Hill streets.