After what seemed like a long off-season, Saturday 8 October saw the 2017-18 Football NSW Premier League 2 season kick off with a home round against the Sydney City Eagles club.
To check out the photos of this round head to the Boomerangs photo site.
Curtain raiser matches included a scratch match between the Boomerangs 10 boys and 11/12 girls teams. It was a very competitive match with both teams working hard at both ends of the court, and with only a couple of goals separating the two teams. The 10 boys are coming on well under the watchful eye of coaches Nick Rathjen and Ahmed Ugool as are the 11/12 girls who are also building their skills and team play nicely with Nick van Aalst, Grace Basser-Silk and Isobel D’Amico curating their development.
The next game was also a development squad game featuring 11-year-old boys from both the Boomerangs and visiting Eagles. The match was an even encounter which provided an opportunity for the boys to have solid run against some tougher Sydney opposition. Again, the Boomerangs young boys are developing their individual and team skills well under Ben Basser-Silk and performed creditably.
12 Boys: Boomerangs 2 – 4 Sydney City Eagles
The competitive matches (the ones played for competition and club championship points) started as usual with the 12 boys. This match was evenly contested in the first half with goals to Boomers Jacob Murta (a cracker!) and nine-year-old Michael Pratezina ensuring the teams went into the halftime break all square at 2 goals a piece. The second half though, saw the visitors come home with greater energy and running seeing them score two goals close together in the middle of the second stanza – enough to secure them an away victory.
13 Girls: Boomerangs 0 – 1 Sydney City Eagles
The 13 girls match was a very close and highly competitive game despite it being a low scoring affair. A solitary goal to the visitors in the first half was all that separated the teams after a hard-fought and evenly contested match. This was a good first-up hitout for the young girls – unfortunately without any earned competition points. Goals will come as these girls are improving all the time, and wins will come in what is looking likely to be a competitive league at this age group.
14 Boys: Boomerangs 4 – 2 Sydney City Eagles
The 14 boys turned the tables on the visiting Eagles – after the loss in the earlier 12 boys – bringing home a victory by the same two-goal margin. The first 20 minutes saw a really tight tussle where both sides battled for supremacy, but could only add a solitary goal each to the scoreline each (including a top goal by Bailey Sorenson for the Boomers). The second half saw the home team power away with a terrific team goal to Keiren Allen, a second to Bailey Sorenson and a first at this age group for Ethan Yuen.
15 Girls: Boomerangs 5 – 0 Sydney City Eagles
The 15 girls were in total control throughout this match with strong performances across the court seeing five different goal scorers. Terrific teamwork, control and finishing saw goals to Elke Aitolu, Ellen Brown and Carla Di Fronzo in the first half and an additional two goals (Stella De Marco, Ella Brown) in the second period sealing a five-goal victory. The most satisfying aspect of the girl’s performance though was their solid defence which kept a clean sheet throughout the forty minutes.
16 Boys: Boomerangs 2 – 8 Sydney City Eagles
The 16 boys came up against what was probably one of the Eagles strongest teams. Despite a huge effort and some scrambling defence, they could not stop the visitors from scoring freely in both halves. A 1-4 halftime scoreline was doubled to 2-8 by the end of the forty, signalling some work needs to be done to solidify the defence of the lads. Goals to Andrew Noack and Fabian Olivares.
18 Girls: Boomerangs 3 – 0 Sydney City Eagles
Another game that saw the Boomerangs ladies comfortably defeating their Eagles opposition. In reality, the margin should have been greater, but the inability to hit the back of the net more frequently meant that the 3-0 result had to suffice. A first-half goal to Jacqui Alferink was added to in the second by Maddie Perceval and Lefty Meuronen. On the positive side of the ledger was the terrific defensive performance of the girls that did not allow the visitors to make many goal scoring opportunities.
Youth Men: Boomerangs 3 – 3 Sydney City Eagles
Last season this Boomers team became known as ‘the entertainers’, very pleasing to watch, but without producing the winning results that were desired. The goal for this season is to continue entertaining the crowds, but to – first and foremost – convert that to wins and competition points. They indeed started this match in a very entertaining fashion, showing all their skills, energy and fast-paced offensive work. A 3-1 half-time lead reflected this effort at the offensive end of the court with goals to Daniel Fabrizio, Jayde James-Ward and Woody Withear. The second half though showed that a more consistent and disciplined defensive effort is required as the visiting Eagles lifted their work rate and intensity and this showed in the reward of two second-half goals to the travellers whilst not conceding. A three-all draw probably reflective of the match, but showing that more defensive effort is required by the Boomers youth men to secure competition points.
Open Women: Boomerangs 6 – 0 Sydney City Eagles
The senior women’s team continued the good run of the female Boomers teams on the day with a solid 6-0 victory, with three goals scored in each half. Again the most pleasing aspect was the solid defensive effort which did not allow the visitors to score in either half. A hat-trick to Alex Martens, two to Rachael Corbett and a second goal across two matches for Lefty Meuronen sealed an impressive first-up effort for the senior women’s team.
Open Men: Boomerangs 3 – 2 Sydney City Eagles
The Open Men’s match was always likely to be a cracker given that the Sydney City Eagles always put up a strong team in this division. The home team had the better of the first half with an early goal to Nick Dahl and a tidy finish by Jason O’Dwyer on the back of some terrific build-up work. The second half saw the Eagles come back strongly to level up the match with still plenty of time on the clock – and a degree of momentum their way – to take the match. The Boomers defence though, held up brilliantly, helped by some great early-season saves by Ashley Collins between the sticks. They held off waves of attack by the visitors till they themselves retook the lead with less than two minutes to play with a trademark cracking power shot from a tight angle by Brad Sawyer.
A great first up effort by the senior men against an Eagles team that will definitely be in the top four come the end of the season.
All in all a satisfying start to the PL2 season with five wins, a draw and three losses. Next week the club travels away to take on Sydney Futsal Club in Redfern.
To check out the photos of this round head to the Boomerangs photo site.