Dragons breathe fire
The sun was out as Drouin Dragons Soccer Club travelled to Mirboo North on Sunday for a great day.
All teams enjoyed the high level of competition put on by the home team.
Every team gave 100 per cent and the results reflect improvement across the board, promising exciting times ahead.
The Dragon’s senior men’s reserves and Under 14b teams are currently undefeated going into round five.
Men’s seniors: Drouin defeated Mirboo North 5-0.
Dragons controlled the game from the start, leading 3-0 at half-time.
The defence kept its first clean sheet of the year. Up front, they were also clinical and put more chances away than previous outings.
Chris Davies was the star up forward with three goals. He was ably assisted by his teammates across the park, especially Brad Handley and Luke Kittelty in their first senior games for the season.
Great improvement in most areas of the park meant Drouin won 5-0.
Men’s reserves: Drouin defeated Mirboo North 4-3.
In a closely contested game, Drouin got the early jump to be ahead 2-1 at half-time.
After half-time, Drouin scored to be 3-1. However, Mirboo North kept coming and scored a late goal to make for a nervous last 10 minutes.
The highlight of the game was the first game and goal by Katsunari Abe.
Drouin hung on fiercely to record the win, led strongly by Sandy Benson up back.
Goals: Sandy Benson, Katsunari Abe and Enrico Ercoles.
Women’s: Drouin lost to Mirboo North 1-3.
The sun came out shining, and so did the women's team. The score was not a reflection on how close the game was.
The coach was extremely proud of all players who took the pitch. They were placed in unfamiliar positions and took it in their stride, with some awesome teamwork and skills on display.
The future is looking bright for this Drouin squad.
Under 16s: Drouin defeated Mirboo North 5-2.
The Drouin boys had a sloppy start despite the sun shining and the pitch in lovely condition. Drouin did not spread their opposition, which allowed Mirboo North’s defence to dictate.
After a little half-time rev from the coach with the score 1-2, Drouin cranked it up a notch and slotted four second half goals while keeping Mirboo North out.
Best players: Simon, Brandon and Charlie.
Goals: Henry 2, Charlie 1, Kieran 1 and Brandon 1.
Under 12s: Drouin drew Mirboo North 4-4.
Drouin started strongly with some great individual efforts to lead 3-0 at half-time.
However, a failure to support each other in attack and defence was costly, and Mirboo North fought to a draw. Best player: Darcy Spencer. Coaches award: Marcel Urbach. Encouragement award: Will Midgley and James Midgley.
Goals: Darcy Spencer Pawlik, Aidan Johnson.
Under 10s: Drouin lost to Mirboo North 1-8.
The Dragons mixed team came up against a formidable opposition in Mirboo North.
The Dragons started well at the back but conceded an early goal which set the tone for the rest of the half.
A few minutes before half-time, Drouin scored through a good finish from Remi. This gave Drouin some confidence going into the second half.
Drouin started the half well, having a lot of ball in the opposing half. Unfortunately, Mirboo North was the better team on the day and took out the win.
Award winners: Chase Smith, Edith Christensen and Antwon BlackabyBoyle. Under 8s: It was a chilly start but didn't take long for the kids to get warmed and ready to go.
Griffin and Adam tried their hand at goalkeeper this week, taking a half each and doing extremely well. 2, Dylan
Max was on the run again, reading the ball and picking off loose ball very well. Cal also read the play, enabling him to get a few runs down the field and share the shot for goal with his teammates. This was very impressive.
Audrey was very involved, following the play and contesting the ball at every play. Mieke did exceptionally well putting the pressure on the ball when others chose to hang back, winning numerous turnovers.
Will did a lot of running and was determined to score a goal on a large pitch. Unfortunately, after a few attempts, he was unsuccessful.
On the other hand, Spencer picked off a great deflection to score his first goal of the season. He also played a strong goal in the attacking end. Goal scorers: Spencer, Max and Cal. Parents’ award: Mieke Van-Ruiten. Coaches award: Cal Brown. Encouragement award: Max Lyons. Under 6s: This match can be best described as “hilarious”.
It had it all - players falling over other players, players falling over the ball, players falling over themselves, screaming tantrums in the middle of the pitch and one player running with the ball the whole length of the pitch to score an own-goal.
Much credit must be given to the Mirboo North referee who ran the match perfectly and allowed all players (a number which varied from seven to 11 on the pitch depending on distractions, “injuries”, tantrums and players getting lost) to fully enjoy themselves.
Awards went to Zack for not only making it onto the pitch this week, but also playing brilliantly and scoring a goal, Jack for his enthusiasm, and Maeve for some great play, coming back on after injury and her inability to run with the ball without also sticking her tongue out.
Well done to Imogen and Claire for their efforts.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable match to watch and the future of both clubs looks good if this level of enthusiasm and fun continues.
Drouin will head to Inverloch this Sunday for what is anticipated to be another fantastic day of tightly contested games.