Presidents Report
What a great weekend for Hotspurs in the first round!
For the first time in a few years we have filled all divisions and have terrific numbers across the board.
Starting from the U/12s, there were some very excited boys starting their transition from Miniroos to full sized fields and proper rules. They had a brilliant win and sang the song with gusto.
Our U/12 girls were also a massive highlight. Most of these girls can still play 2-3 years in the Miniroos at the ages of 9 and 10 but have made the plunge to play Sunday Comp and really took the opportunity in their stride. Congrats girls, you are the future of our female footballers.
Speaking of female footballers we entered the Div 1 competition again in the Ladies and a few of our star juniors got a taste of what it looks like at the top of the competition. They showed great signs for the future just going down to the cup winners from 2019. This is exciting to see at Spurs, and cant wait for the season to unfold for our female stars.
The senior men had a strong start to the season also, the hard work during an interrupted preseason has really paid off and we are looking forward to seeing how far this team can go in the 2020 season.
At the time of writing this report we have plans in place to play the next round at Lambert Park on Sunday against Wodonga Heart. But as we have seen recently, COVID-19 has been changing our landscape dramatically, we 
will endeavor to keep you up to date with any changes. Regardless of what approach is taken, please be vigilante with any health warnings given, lets ride the wave of whatever is presented in the weeks and months ahead and stay healthy and safe.
#GoSpurs
Brad Howard
President
Albury Hotspurs
Brady’s Railway Hotel
450 Smollett Street, ALBURY NSW 2640
Phone: (02) 6021 4700
Email: functions@bradysrailwayhotel.com.au
FOOTBALL TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED
Following on from advice received from Football Federation Australia, Albury-Wodonga Football Association will be suspending all football activities from 12:00am Wednesday 18th March 2020 until 14th April 2020 (inclusive).
This suspension includes:
- All games from Round 2 to Round 4 (inclusive)
- All training, including practice matches and MiniRoos training between the above dates
- All training for the Talent Support Program (TSP)
- All training for Representative Programs
AWFA meeting will be held with all clubs on Monday 23rd March 2020 to discuss how we manage the missed rounds and further advice will follow when it is available. Any members with ideas are welcome to pass onto their Club President for discussion at the meeting.
New Club Short
The committee has worked tirelessly over the off season and leading up to the start of this season. We have managed to sign on two Club Short Sponsors,
Beyond Bank Australia and Bonetti’s Pizza & pasta
The New Club Shorts will be available late April to early May. Until then, please use plan black shorts thank you.
Miniroos
Our Miniroos training programme has been running since Tuesday February 25 from 5pm to 6pm. We have had lots of new and returning kids back having a kick and learning to play football.
Unfortunately like all other age groups Miniroos will also be temporarily suspended until further notice. Hopefully we can be back on the park late April. Until then, try to enjoy a kick around in your back yard or nearest park.
Match Reports
Div.1 Men v St Pats Won 3-1
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Women Div.1 v St Pats lost 0-3
A fantastic first game for the Senior ladies squad. It has been a few years since we have been in the
Senior competition and the Spurs ladies battled it out for the full 90 minutes. We allowed Patties to
score early but then held them off only going into the half 1 nil down. We created many scoring
chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net. The girls were lead on the field well by Captains Jess
and Bella. Keely, Daisy, Lil all made their debut for Seniors and were awesome!! Christie was fantastic in goals and
Ava lead the back line and did a great job and plenty of running from Yas and Grace all game.
Thanks to Shelby, Kelly, Ciara and Lil for doubling up. Keep up the great work girls!!
Div.2 Men v St Pats Drew 1-1
After the build-up the team finally got to take to the park and kick the ball in anger for the first time this year. We had a new look side on the weekend and played some fantastic football for periods of the game but the lesson for us is that we need to be more clinical in front of goal, which will come with more game time. It would be very hard to single out any of the field players for a special individual mention as everyone put in a fantastic effort but it was nice to see Sammy Thorman and Will Haberfield back in Spurs colours with Sam slotting one of his many chances and Will keeping us in the game in the second half. We also welcomed Aiden Burke and Jacque Ndume to the team.
Women Div.2 v St Pats lost 2-6
It was a great battle and the score line certainly doesn’t reflect the game. Spurs had
4 new players who all did a great job. Lil and Shelby scored two absolutely awesome
goals for Spurs. Christie played well on the field. Ciara, Kelly, Eliza and Elisha defended
well and Sharni did an awesome job in goals for the very first time. Sam had a cracking game in
the midfield running all game and creating chances. It was great to see Narelle back on the field holding
up the ball with great skill. The girls should be proud of their efforts and will keep improving the more they
play together. Keep up the great teamwork girls.
Over 35s v St Pats Drew 3-3
The team was rocked with the sudden departure of Craig “Platini” Underhill for an undisclosed fee to Boomers on Thursday evening, we would like to thank him for his years of poor service and goal misses and hope that this continues at his new club (joking) and we wish him well but he has assured us that he will still be involved around the club, thanks again Craig. We have also had Phantom Ben, Edwardo and Foxy decide to have the year off, thanks for your service last year and if this wasn’t enough, Wildhino decided to self-quarantine from the 35’s and stay with the ladies as he was still embarrassed about his last game, last year. Aido and Coatsy took one for the team and sat the game out. We welcomed John “Cobra” Belgre in for his debut and he didn’t disappoint. The lads were reeling at 2-0 and 3-1 down but fought hard to get a well-deserved point from the match. We learned a few things from the weekend, we need to convert our chances, take a bit more time in the build-up and not let T-Bone score so many as we have to put up with his crap all afternoon! Well done on our first match and we all look forward to our next game!
Div.3 Men v St Pats Won 1-0
The thirds won a hard fought match, fighting for a 1-0 victory. Marcus and Manny kept the backline tidy with some help from debutant Sam. Jay had an immaculate display on the wing, resulting in a well earned assist. A smart change of tactics from Harry Maher, Ben Gardiner and Jacob Schreiber allowed a quick push in attack that allowed us to pierce the St Pats defence which resulted in the only change to the scoreboard. Over all the team battled well, big things should be expected when the season
re-commences . Other notable performances – Toby, Cody, Harry, Jack, Bella, Afro Jack and of course Nagle who kept a clean sheet and made a very influential accidental save. Massive thank you to Joel and Craig for the work that made us the better team on the day.
16 Boys had a BYE
Unfortunately the 16 Boys team had a bye for round 1 and will have another bye in round 3. We were making sure we could arrange to play the round 2 game v Diamonds White as a midweek match and all was in place until the COVID-19 cancelled all those plans.
Hopefully things improve and we can start our season mid-April.
16 Girls v St Pats Won 3-0 (by forfeit)
Unfortunately we didn’t get to play as St Pats had to forfeit.
Same as for the boys the girls will now have to wait until mid-April when hopefully they will be able to start playing some games.
14 Boys v St Pats Won 2-1
The 14s will be battling attrition all season with many doubling up from the 113s. They got off to a flying start through a cracking goal from Wildy. Alex Ventress was a real fortress down the left side, being complemented by Charlie in the middle playing a second strong game at centre back. We found a brilliant attacking force also with Paras who has found an extra yard of pace when he sees the goals ahead of him. He finally got reward for his efforts slotting home the winner, set up by some great team work from Carl Liden.
Tyreece has found a new role in goals, and I must say he looked a natural, well done.
By the end of the game, everyone was out on their feet, this will only help build the fitness required for those players doubling up. Great win and a terrific team effort.
Special mention to Shanaya who played her first game at Spurs, crossing from United. Well played Shanaya.
Goals: Elisha, Paras
14 Girls v Diamonds Won 4-2
A great season opener for the Spurs 14 girls- they played really well on a super hot afternoon at Diamond
Park. Mya scored a cracking first goal to get the girls started. Spurs passed the ball around well and Alice was
flying down the wing creating many chances. Isla and Mia played well in multiple positions. Daisy held the centre
and Eloise, Keely, Sienna and Shanaya were super strong in defence. Clarise had a great first game for Spurs as did
Shanaya. Rylee scored 2 great goals and was supported up front by Lucinda and Elisha was unlucky not to find the back
of the net several times. A really great start for the girls- House of Trends Award went to Super Keeper Alex!!
13 Boys v St Pats Won 9-1
Great start to the season for the 13s. Lenny and Cooper worked together well in the midfield in their new roles. John was in incredible form at the start of the season at centre back, cutting off most opposition attacks and was very smart when starting our own transition to attack. Josh hit the target with a hat-trick, which is great to see as he has worked hard on his goal kicking. Billy, Cooper and Isaiah also got some goals in what looks like a potent set of attackers. Will Hale also had a cracking game with numerous assists.
It was also good to welcome Jake who crossed over from Alb City in the preseason.
Goals: Josh x 3, Cooper, Isaiah, Billy x2
12 Boys v St Pats Won 7-0
The under 12s made their team debut on the big field in front of some very excited parents! We announced Will Hale as Captain and Cooper Howard as Vice-Captain before the game and both showed that they will be great leaders in future. We welcomed Billy Whitfield, Aiden Lescun-Davies and Muirann Kilroy from the under 11s as well. The team piled on the pressure the whole game and played very well creating opportunity after opportunity and scoring 6 with one own goal from St Pats. Whilst we were great in attack, our defensive effort was fantastic and they held tight not to concede. We look forward to next game.
12 Girls v Wodonga Diamonds Won 5-0
In our first game together as a team and the first game of Sunday soccer for most of the players, the girls adapted really well to the new rules. It is a very young side, with only 5 actual under 12s and only 3 players that have played the 11 a side game before. Elissa, Pania and Stam made their debuts for the club and Izzy and Mia had their first ever competitive games of football!!
Captain Steele pounced on an early mistake from the Diamonds keeper to put us 1-0 up after 5 minutes and completed her hattrick before halftime. Stam buried her first goal in a Hotspurs shirt to make it 4-0 at the break. We made a lot of positional changes in the second half to give some of our defence a run up front and Lexi pulled on the gloves to give Emma a run outfield. After a few near misses, Muireann made it 5 shortly after halftime with a great finish. Despite hitting both posts, the crossbar and a few of our own players with shots, the game finished 5-0. BOG were Rylee who dominated in the middle and Izzy who covered every blade of grass on the pitch.
A great start for the season and we are looking forward to the rest of the year!!!
Gaz, Aidan and Craig
Did you know that Baker Motors is Albury Hotspurs longest serving sponsor and that they pay additional sponsorship for every vehicle sold into the Hotspurs community?
If you are interested in a Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot or quality used car please contact club members
- John Irvine 0412 526 616
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Match reports and newsletter information
Please email all match reports, photos and Hotspurs news to info@alburyhotspurs.com.au by Tuesday morning at 9am.