Presidents Report
Its round 7 and it’s been a very busy start to the year.
On the weekend our Miniroos kicked off . I’m very pleased to say that we have again got record numbers with 22 teams across all age groups.
So many new players to the club, with all kids looking the part in their Quest Albury kits. There certainly is another great generation of young talented players coming through the ranks.
This has been a huge effort from Lorenzo Bonacci and his cohort of volunteers, our Tuesday age group coaches and our game day managers. Many new faces amongst them but we are so grateful to have so many selfless volunteers, and the kids really appreciate it too.
I reckon those gameday managers have the best jobs guiding the little ones, and the best seat in the house close to the action. Let’s all be mindful that they are all volunteers and assist them anyway we can.
Speaking of volunteers.
Spurs have just come off the back of 6 out of the first 7 rounds at home. This has been a herculean effort from our Canteen staff, line markers, club refs, game day set up crews and committee.
We thank you all for your huge efforts and we are now away from home for the next 5 rounds for a well-deserved rest.
We also thank all our magnificent and generous sponsors. We have managed to find kit sponsors for every team over the next 2 years. The new “Retro” kits look great and are just in time for our 50th year celebration.
This week the club is away at Melrose Park which will see a heap of highly anticipated contests. Please stick around and support the Div1 Ladies and Men as they play the preliminary round before our 50 year Foundation Cup at home in late July which will be a cracker. The club has a running booking at our Major Sponsor Brady’s Hotel for 6pm on Sunday nights. Please head back there whenever possible to enjoy dinner, post-match celebrations and banter each week.
Good luck to all, and thanks again to all our great volunteers.
#GoSpurs
Brad Howard
President
Albury Hotspurs
Club Shop – Orders
New 50 Year Retro Training/Supporter shirts added, available in short and long sleeve and 3 colourways, Gold, Pink and Black. Have you NAME or NICKNAME on the back. Head to Made to order now.
Shop open, Order Cut-Off Date for Made to order – 1 June 2023 – Previous cut off date was 3 May, all orders placed after date will be placed in the next production run pending order volume.
Grip Sock Stock now available
See Eliza at club canteen Tuesday 5pm to 6:30pm for eft payment and collection of stock and shop orders.
New hats and beanies coming soon
You can preorder to hold stock for when they arrive.
Note, each size has its own product, make sure you check before you order, Sizes depending product type S/S, S/M, L/XL
Go to Stock items in the shop
Club Shorts
More stock has been ordered for Miniroos sizes. ETA mid to late May.
50 Years Hotspurs Muscat
ONLY available from club canteen to 18+ years of age on home games, limited stock.
$30 per bottle or $25 each for two or more.
Fixtures
Round 7, away games
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | 16 Boys | 7/05/2023 8:30 | Melrose 1 |
| Diamonds White | Hotspurs Yellow | 12 Boys | 7/05/2023 9:55 | LaTrobe 3 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | D2 Women | 7/05/2023 9:50 | Melrose 1 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | D3 Men | 7/05/2023 10:00 | Melrose 2 |
| Wodonga Heart | Hotspurs | 12 Girls | 7/05/2023 10:55 | Willow 2 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | D1 Women | 7/05/2023 11:20 | Melrose 1 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | 13 Boys | 7/05/2023 12:00 | Melrose 2 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | D2 Men | 7/05/2023 13:10 | Melrose 1 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | 14 Boys | 7/05/2023 13:10 | Melrose 2 |
| Wodonga Heart | Hotspurs | 14 Girls | 7/05/2023 14:20 | Willow 2 |
| Melrose FC | Hotspurs | D1 Men | 7/05/2023 15:00 | Melrose 1 |
| Albury City | Hotspurs | D1W FA CUP | 10/05/2023 18:00 | Kelly 1 |
BYES, 17 Girls, 12 Black, Over 35s
*Note, all fixtures are subject to change and you should confirm with your coach and GameDay
Miniroos
Games this Saturday at Willow Park Wodonga. Go to fixtures
12:30pm 5, 6, 8, 10s (10-3 KO 11:30am)
1:30pm 7, 9 11s
Training resumes today Tuesday 2 May.
Click for final Miniroos Teams
Club Shorts $25 and Socks $15 can be purchased from the canteen 9am-4pm Sundays at Home games
More stock of shorts on order, will advise when available.
All Abilities
Next session, Sunday 18 June 11-12pm Lambert park
Match Reports
Div.1 Men
We had Wangaratta pay us a visit for our match on Sunday. For the second week in a row, we managed to throw everything at them but they defended well and stopped us scoring. Unfortunately we had our offside trap beaten and gave away a penalty for them to walk away 2-0 winners after a scoreless first half. Once again, we have the team that can mix it with these sides we just need to make better decisions about our football and the results will come again. Thanks to Joel for making his Div 1 debut for 2023 and to everyone who came and watched the game. After the loss we have slipped to 7th and we travel to Melrose on Sunday who currently sit in 3rd position.
Div.1 Women
Div 1 ladies defeated Wang 3-2
Another gutsy win, going down to 10 players with 20 mins to go. That’s 7 wins in a row, something to be very proud of ladies.
https://www.bordermail.com.au/story/8177253/red-card-sparks-late-panic-with-leaders-put-to-the-test/?cs=97401
Div.2 Men
Div.2 Women
We didn’t know what to expect from the Wangaratta team as we all know they are always tough. Spurs came out of the gate firing but missing a few good chances, it was end to end kind of game . Spurs defence was strong, but where we won the game was through the midfield, spurs came out winners 3-0 well done spurs . Big congrats to eve for making her div.2 debut and also Mya and Indy for scoring their first goals for the team . This week we take on Melrose 💪 go spurs girls
Div.3 Men
Over 35s Men
Probably the best half of football we’ve played this season, positioning, passing and movement was fantastic. Their keeper pulled off four great saves.
Our goal finally came when The Doug got passed his opponent down the right and fired a tasty morsel to Irish who finished superbly.
1 up at the break and should or could have been more.
Second half we weren’t as dominant. Some misplaced passes and the fluidity from the first half wasn’t quite there. Still we scored our second after some tight interplay into their box when Milk found space for the shot which rebounded of the upright falling to us for another go which was blocked but when it landed back at the feet of the Milkman he made sure this time and we went 2 up.
Wang new they needed to mix things up and came at us with everything they had. Our midfield and defence held strong with Harro cleaning up anything that made it through on goal.
Wang managed to get one back after a shot rebounded off the upright on to the back of the diving Harro and spun along the line before we cleared it. The linesman deemed it crossed the line so the goal was allowed.
Special mention to Gaz for being our club ref and both our AR and Wangs AR which all did a very good and honest job.
17 Girls
On a chilly Sunday morning the Under 17 girls were ready to play Wangaratta. We had a full squad of 16 which is absolutely awesome to see all the girls available and wanting to play. The girls looked fantastic in their new retro kits and new sponsor on front! These girls are absolutely incredible to watch and play so well together as a team. We created many scoring chances and the score line could of been higher. They passed the ball well and were able to defend strongly and hold Wangaratta out. Keep up the great team work girls and enjoy the Bye and sleep in this week. Go Spurs!
16 Boys
This season our team has season has been inconsistent with many injuries to important players.
Today was no exception with Josh being out for another week with a groin and Cooper running at only half pace returning from injury.
Im pleased to see everyone else chipping in with effort, Ayden has picked up the slack in the middle and Muireann Kilroy put in a ripper effort as a midfielder against much bigger opponents.
Thanks to the U/13s and Jono Brown for filling in week to week.
David Fweme was again in fine form in front of goals kicking 2.
Bailey kept us in the game with some incredible saves and was unlucky not to rip out the penalty.
Keep training hard lads and you will get some reward
14 Boys
14 Girls
Under 14 Girls continued their winning ways with a convincing 6-1 victory over Wangaratta. They got off to a flying start with an early goal from Izzy and continued to dominate in the first half, scoring five more goals from Stam, MJ (3) and Izzy added her opener. In the second half, the team experimented with new positional changes, including our striker Izzy in defence and Lily N playing as a 10. Millie was outstanding playing at 6 at didn’t give Wangaratta a moment on the ball.
Although Wangaratta managed to score a goal against the run of play, the Girls remained in control of the match, constantly pressuring their opponents, and creating chances. With three more points in the bag, they now sit at the top of the table. We play Heart this week, the following week we will face Cobram in a top of the table clash on Mother’s Day. Overall, it was another impressive performance from the girls, and they will look to continue their winning streak in the coming matches.
13 Boys
We welcomed Wangaratta to “Spurs Stadium” in what was going to be a bumper day for football. We welcomed the only other club in the association with a full allotment of teams and it was our 13s team that were on duty for the day.
Before I get into the match report I would like to give our team a massive pat on the back, the work done by so many of the parents grand parents and kids from the 13s team meant the day ran fairly smoothly from a logistical point of view. I would also like to thank those parents from the 14s girls who helped pack up Lambert and those that helped pack up after the seniors game.
Now into the match report. Before the game the players were presented with their brand new Moose and Co shirts for the year and they loved them. Thank you to Mel & Jess Vlaskic for their sponsorship of the team and I hope the kids do you proud.
We kicked off to a strong start and showed the same intensity and structure we have for the first 6 weeks of the year. Everyone played their role to perfection and the backline worked well together to make it that Elijah only had to touch the ball once in the first half. We went into half-time 5-0 up which gave us the luxury to be able to throw the magnets around a bit and see how the kids did in different positions.
They all played really well and we kept to our structure and ended the game with an 11-1 result.
Our goals scorers were Cayde, Taj, Connor, Mason, MJ, Thomas, Ryder, Julien (2), Massimo (2)
Our Twin City Tiling awards went to Noah Robertson who was brilliant across the backline and Connor Medcraft who set up a few goals as well as scoring himself. At times he seemed to have the opposition on a string and moved them as he pleased.
Well done team, this week we travel to Melrose to take on the purple army. Please get to the ground and support Melrose’s canteen as they try and get some funds in to build their new facilities and thank you to all of Wangaratta FC who supported our canteen on the weekend, this kind of stuff doesn’t go unnoticed.
No fear, no ego, no excuses.
12 Boys Black
Under 12 Black came into the match as league leaders, but were met with a tough challenge against Diamonds Red. Despite the final scoreline of 0-8 in favour of Diamonds , The lads put in a commendable performance, battling hard and applying pressure to their opponents throughout the game. In fact, I praised them for their efforts, stating that it was the best performance I had seen from them, even though it resulted in their biggest loss ever for these boys, remembering that we are an under 10 side.
Under 12 Black’s Pedder’s Best on Ground award went to Cooper, who played an outstanding game. Overall, the team’s hard work and determination were evident, and they can take away valuable lessons from this match as they continue to develop their skills.
12 Girls
12 Boys Yellow
On a nice and early Sunday morning, the under 12’s Boys Yellow hosted Wangaratta at home. The team was looking sharp in their new strip, courtesy of their team sponsor Pedders Suspension & Brakes and the boys were eager to get the game underway.
The game started off slow, with both teams exchanging possession quickly. However, Cayde capitalized on a goalkeeper’s mistake and scored the first goal of the game midway through the first half. After that, the boys began to find their rhythm, connecting passes and taking control of the game. By the end of the first half, the score was 4-0 with goals to Cayde, Mason, Ziggy & Marcus.
In the second half, the boys picked up right where they left off and dominated the game. They added six more goals to their tally, with Noah Robertson and Mason scoring some amazing goals. The match ended with an impressive scoreline of 10-0
The goal scorers for the match were Ziggy, Cayde, Mason, Noah Robertson, and Marcus Campbell, with Ziggy and Cayde each scoring a hattrick.
Overall, it was a great result, however there were still some areas that needed improvement, which we will focus on during this weeks training!
Match reports and newsletter information
Please email all match reports, photos and Hotspurs news to info@alburyhotspurs.com.au by 9am Tuesday morning.