Mixed results at Mirboo North

The Drouin Dragons Soccer Club travelled to a very wet Mirboo North on Sunday with mixed results.

Under 8

It was a case of rain, hail then shine when the under 8s took the field.

The children had a ball out there, getting wet and muddy.

Three games in and they are really coming together as a team.

Their confidence is growing and they showed some real heart getting in there and tackling and passing the ball around.

Logan was goal keeper this week and did a good job.

Player awards: Best on ground: Logan Prokopiwskyi; Coaches award: Lacey Bryant.

Under 10

What a difference a week makes, the under 10s did everything right against Mirboo North, excellent passing and good use of space allowed Drouin to make the best of the cold and windy conditions.

Up front, great attacking play kept the hosts on the back foot, and fantastic defence and midfield work meant that most of the play was in the opponents half.

Jordan secured the best on ground award for his many attacking runs and Harvey received the coaches award for his midfield work.

Under 12

The under 12s finally got their first win of the season beating, Mirboo North five goals to two.

During the week the team had worked on defence, which really showed on Sunday.

The defence held their nerve when Mirboo North attacked, only letting two goals get scored on the day.

The first goal for the game was a nice left cross into the back of the net by Nathan Beer.

Cooper Spencer, sporting a new hairstyle played his heart out in the middle of the ground, which resulted in being voted best on ground.

The rest of the midfield worked well, running all day on the wet Mirboo North pitch.

The Silver boys played well in defence and attack, each kicking a goal apiece. Player awards: Best on ground: Cooper Spencer, coaches award: Holly Martin, Encouragement award: Tahj Osseweyer; Goal scorers: Nathan Beer, Ethan Hambridge, Seth Lear, Tristan and Lachlan Silver.

Under 14

Full-time score: Drouin 1 – Mirboo North 3 A cold and wet morning greeted Drouin at Mirboo North.

Drouin started brilliantly on a waterlogged pitch, scoring after just nine minutes with Jackson finding the back of the net.

Drouin controlled the ball very well and had the best passing display of the year for the remainder of the half, and could easily have had several more goals.

Joel was instrumental in several attacks, yet was just off target several times.

Mirboo North scored two goals in the first half and Drouin went to the break trailing by a goal despite having the better of play.

In the second half, Drouin continued to play well and Tyan in the midfield was superb with his run and passing.

Tom in defence continually rebounded and set up many attacks.

Mirboo North scored the only goal of the second half to end 3-1 victors, a scoreline that doesn’t reflect just how well Drouin played.

There are plenty of things to work on, but there were some great signs in the way Drouin moved the ball.

If Drouin can finish more accurately the results will turn around .

On a lighter note seeing Jackson standing against his opponent really brought a chuckle as he barely reached the chest of the very tall defender, who thwarted many attacks. Player awards: Coaches award: Joel Van Raalte; Encouragement awards: Tyan George and Thomas Agudo.

Under 15

The Dragon girls got off to a great start against an in-form Mirboo North side.

It was clear from the first five minutes that Mirboo are the team to beat this season, with players coming from Gippsland representsative squads to play for Mirboo.

Mirboo scored first, and it took Olivia Sheil until the 16th minute to reply, as she collected a rebounded shot from Sasha Geerlings and put it past the keeper.

Five minutes later, Sasha scored her own goal, following a superb run down the wing.

Miriama Cooper and Violette Thomas started well in attack and keep the Mirboo defence on their toes.

Up the other end of the pitch, Drouin’s defence were pushed to their limits.

Hayley Berry, Zoe Hope and Sophia Belcher chased the ball hard and supported the mid field well, however, the mud puddle in the middle of the pitch made it difficult to move the ball.

Charlotte Brown worked hard all day, she had a clear patch of pitch to run on and made the most of it.

Sadly, the girls went down 7-3, but it was a hard fought match and the girls demonstrated that they will be a team to beat during the season.

Senior Women

Full-time Score: Drouin 5 – Mirboo North 1

With wet and cold conditions to attend to, the women knew it would be a physical slog right from the first whistle.

The first half was pretty much all of Drouin with the play when Jess Nalty put the first into the back of the net at the 31st minute mark.

The girls were keen to keep the momentum up with Liz, putting the second in two minutes later.

Drouin had the plays of passage settled in and there was some fancy footwork happening all over the pitch.

The backline held strong today with Bec directing her other defenders to the right plays.

Biscuit, Kerry and Zali all followed Bec’s cool head and got the job done.

In the second half the women came out a little confused after the change of ends, and Mirboo took advantage and scored in the first minute.

Once the girls settled again, it was Drouin with the plays which saw Casey put the first in for the second half.

Not to be outdone Liz comes back with her second at the 14 minute mark and again at the 30 minute mark, making a total of three for Liz.

All the women should be proud of their efforts, the passing, the encouragement, the ball skill, the overall game play, was outstanding.

Beautiful balls through the passage had the midfielders in the prime positions and the girls are starting to connect as a team and unite as one. Player awards: Best on ground: Zali Fitzgerald; Other awards: Kerry Brown, Bec Bikerdike; Encouragement award: Erin Park.

Goal scorers: Jess Nalty –1, Casey Lewis – 1, Liz Beard -3.