SOCCER
MORNINGTON gaffer Adam Jamieson has signed Taketo Hosokawa from Bayside Argonauts and has now turned his attentions to a forward and a midfielder with impressive CVs.
The pair on the Seagulls’ radar are from NPL and VPL1 clubs respectively and would see Mornington entering the State 1 season with one of its strongest ever squads.
Hosokawa, 22, joined Bayside Argonauts last year from Japanese outfit Joganji Toyama.
He’s an attacking wide player who can also play in a central midfield role or even up top.
Mornington assistant coach Marinos Panayi knows Hosokawa well from their time at Argonauts and speaks highly of him.
“He’s a very good player and it will take a few weeks to get him as sharp as he can be as he was on the bench for Bayside’s first three VPL2 games this year,” Panayi said.
“He’s sensational technically and very creative.
“Extremely strong in one-one situations going both ways.
“Once he fully understands and adapts to our style of play as well as the roles and responsibilities within our formation I believe he will play a pivotal role for us this season.”
Mornington has been hit with a raft of injuries and fielded a depleted line-up in last weekend’s 3-2 loss away to Craigieburn.
Campell Steedman scored Mornington’s goals.
The Seagulls’ matchday squad was without Rhys Craigie, Chris and Kosta Droutsas, Liam Grimshaw, Max Civil, James Clark, Kameel Khan and James Kelly.
In VPL1 news Langwarrin lost 4-0 away to Manningham United Blues on Saturday.
Langwarrin started poorly and in the second minute a dreadful square pass at the back was cut out and Yanni Panakos’s shot was deflected past Langy keeper James Burgess.
The remainder of the game highlighted Manningham’s efficiency in front of goal with Langwarrin having 18 shots to six but unable to score.
On Friday Langy faces another away trip this time to Port Melbourne.
Oakleigh recruit Noah Holmes returns from suspension while Kosta Apostolopoulos and Luke Adams remain injured.
In State 1 news Skye United triumphed in a seven-goal shootout away to Craigieburn with a 4-3 win.
Skye flew out of the blocks and a Nasha Hussainy free-kick gave the visitors the lead after just a few minutes.
Skye dominated proceedings for the rest of the half and Marcus Spivey’s simple header had Skye 2-0 up at the break.
Jack Geddes poked home a loose ball from a corner on the hour mark then came a raft of substitutions.
Combined with some careless defending this enabled the home side to score three times in 20 minutes.
From the kick-off following Craigieburn’s equaliser Rama Hussainy finished off a well-worked passing move to curl his finish around the keeper for the winner.
In State 5 news Somerville Eagles continued their pre-season preparation with a 3-1 win over Mentone at Westernport Secondary College on Saturday.
A Corey Riddle penalty broke the deadlock and the Eagles went in 1-0 up at the break.
In the second half Alex Hall made it 2-0 then Rahman Afzali pulled one back for the visitors.
Cole Ryan then scored from a move he initiated and Mentone couldn’t respond.
In State 6 news there’s a growing confidence at Monterey Reserve that the last three seasons of gloom and doom have been confined to the dustbin of history.
New senior coaches Al Baldwin and Chris Sanderson have not only addressed the need for a complete rebuild of the squad they’ve also tackled the need to confront the despondency that comes with back-to-back-to-back relegation.
“First of all coming to Pines for me and Al has been like a breath of fresh air because a lot of the stuff we wanted to build at Mount Martha was already here,” Sanderson said.
“We’ve been open and transparent with the players that there’s no money here but we’ve sold the club on its fantastic facilities with year-round access and its big history that they have a chance to build on.
“So far everyone has bought into this.
“Thursday night dinners after training have become a big thing now.
“Even the MiniRoos stick around and the senior women have joined in in fact last week two of the women did some traditional African food which was fantastic.”
That was after the senior men beat Lyndale United 3-2 at Monterey.
Pines led after three minutes when Naseer Mohammad played in Alec Keisoglu who made no mistake from a one-on-one with the Lyndale keeper.
Two minutes later Pines keeper Ben Jones came out to collect a long ball but was injured in the process.
The referee waved play on and Lyndale equalised.
Jones had to be taken off and left the pitch on crutches.
Dreadful defending from Pines allowed Lyndale to take the lead and it was 1-2 at the interval.
There was a noticeable lift in intensity and quality from Pines in the second half.
Four minutes in and a superb move ended with Mohammad applying a smart finish to a Kenny Akalan cross from the left for the equaliser.
The winner came in the 65th minute.
A superb Archie Thomas cross picked out Akalan whose sweetly struck half-volley settled the issue.
In other friendlies Chelsea lost 1-0 to Endeavour United while Monash Villareal proved too strong for Rosebud winning 3-0.
Here is this week’s VPL1 match:
Friday 13 March
Port Melbourne v Langwarrin, STRUC Steel Stadium, 7.30pm
Here are this weekend’s third round Dockerty Cup matches featuring local clubs:
Saturday 14 March
Mornington v Moonee Ponds Utd, Civic Reserve, 3pm
Baxter v Skye Utd, Baxter Park, 2pm
Seaford Utd v Collingwood City, North Seaford Reserve, 5pm
Here are some upcoming friendlies:
Tuesday 10 March
Heatherton Utd v Chelsea, Bosnia Herzegovina Sports Centre, 7.45pm
Thursday 12 March
Rosebud v Somerville Eagles, Olympic Park, 7.30pm
Saturday 14 March
Frankston Pines v Ashburton Utd, Monterey Reserve, 4pm & 6pm
Sandown Lions v Aspendale, Ross Reserve, 1pm & 3pm