LANGWARRIN’S come-from-behind 2-1 win over Eastern Lions at Gardiner’s Creek Reserve on Saturday has secured its status as a VPL1 club for next season. The recent turnaround in the club’s fortunes has been remarkable and a change to its playing style may be the key. “Safety from relegation seemed a long way off when we fell to the bottom of the table eight weeks ago after the 5-0 loss at George Cross,” head coach Jamie Skelly said. “But six wins, a draw and a loss over the past eight weeks has turned our season around and we now look to…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
Soccer PENINSULA Strikers are on course for State 1 status if Scott Morrison’s second-placed side can maintain the momentum gathered in recent weeks. Strikers made it five on the trot with a clinical 3-1 away win over Bentleigh United Cobras last weekend. The win was helped by a first-half red card for Cobras captain Daniel Moirana who received two cautions in four minutes. His first came in the 30th minute after he left the pitch for treatment but re-entered without permission. His second came as Strikers’ keeper Faraz Zenoozi had the ball in both hands preparing to launch it downfield…
Soccer Skye United has blown the State 2 South-East promotion race wide open after Friday night’s 2-0 away win over Casey Comets. Skye became the first team this season to do the double over Comets having beaten Kevin “Squizzy” Taylor’s men 3-1 in their round 4 clash at Skye in April. It took just nine minutes for Skye to open its account on Friday when Varmah Mgoneh pounced on a loose ball after a long throw-in and lashed home the opener. It was Mgoneh at the double in the 26th minute when Sharmeit Sharma’s ball across the face evaded everyone…
Soccer Joe Tweats and Bailey Head are the latest players to arrive on the local scene after joining Langwarrin and Peninsula Strikers respectively. Tweats, 23, was signed from Northcote City and came off the bench in the second half of Langwarrin’s 3-1 home win over Moreland City on Saturday. The midfielder had youth experience in both England and Spain before arriving in Western Australia and playing with Perth Glory then Sorrento. Northcote signed him for the 2024 season. “Joe is a player we have liked since he came across from Western Australia and he compliments the players we have in…
SOCCER MORNINGTON expects ex-Manchester United midfielder Liam Grimshaw to arrive this week. The 30-year-old came through youth ranks at United before signing a professional contract with the English giant in 2013. He signed for Preston North End in 2016 and the following year joined Motherwell where he made 101 appearances before joining Morton for the 2022-23 season. He was on the move again the following season and made 33 appearances for Dundee United.The Seagulls were alerted to his availability through assistant coach Nathan Peel and have been speaking to Grimshaw for the past fortnight. “He’s got some pedigree,” Mornington head…
SOCCER MOUNT Eliza and Seaford United are in an intriguing race for a top-two finish that would secure their State 5 status for next season. Football Victoria’s State Leagues restructuring plan has a major impact at State 5 level as the governing body’s overhaul will introduce State 6 and State 7 levels of competition while making every tier of the State Leagues structure regionalised into North-West and South-East divisions. There’s no promotion from State 5 this year and the top two in the league will remain in the new State 5 South-East in 2026.Mount Eliza currently has the whip hand…
SOCCER LANGWARRIN made it three wins in a row with Saturday’s 2-1 home success over Manningham United Blues. The result cemented the local side’s grip of the all-important 11th position in VPL1 with the three bottom sides in the 14-team competition relegated at season’s end. But over the closing eight rounds of the season pitfalls remain with the Lawton Park lads facing three top-six sides and 10th-placed Eastern Lions who closed to within two points of Langy with Sunday’s 6-2 mauling of fellow struggler Moreland City. The outcome of the 26 July Gardiner’s Creek Reserve shootout with Lions could turn…
SOCCER KYLE Eichenberger’s signing could be Baxter’s saviour as it heads into the second half of the season with renewed hope that it can maintain its State 4 South status. To do so would mean a top six finish for Billy Armour’s side given the effects of the upcoming league restructure which severely impacts State 4 and State 5 levels and creates new State 6 and State 7 divisions.Enticing Eichenberger to Baxter Park is one of the marquee moves of the season and hopes are high that he will provide the finishing touch so desperately needed. Eichenberger joined Peninsula Strikers…
SOCCER SEAFORD United is on target for a top six finish in State 5 South with Saturday’s 2-1 win over Aspendale. This game was broken open by three second-half goals in contrast to the sometimes scrappy first-half that preceded it.Despite losing top scorer Dylan Waugh to injury at half-time Seaford struck just four minutes after the break. A deep free-kick from Conor Mcfall found Tristen Stass heading back across goal and Zain Ahmad’s deft touch made it 1-0. A defensive error cost Aspendale dearly in the 58th minute allowing Ahmad to square the ball from the right to Blake Hicks…
SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines’ senior men’s program is in disarray after reports emerged last week that Jason Grieve had resigned for the second time in five months. Neither Grieve nor Pines president Liz Diaz would respond to multiple attempts to make contact and director of football Ross Evans would only offer a terse “no comment” when asked who was the senior coach of the beleaguered club.At Saturday’s 7-0 thumping from Baxter the match started with Evans and reserves coach Cal Peacock in the Pines dugout and the official teamsheet listed Evans as coach and Peacock as his assistant. Baxter recorded its…
SOCCER JAMIE Skelly and Gus Macleod are in the news for different reasons as Langwarrin fights to avoid relegation while Chelsea strives for promotion. Skelly’s Langwarrin was convincingly beaten 5-0 away to Caroline Springs George Cross in their VPL1 clash last weekend while Macleod’s Chelsea closed to within a point of top spot in State 4 South.n Langy is in the midst of a relegation battle with three teams facing the drop at season’s end.There was no stopping George Cross striker Saif-Eddine Sakhi on Saturday and his hat-trick underpinned a commanding display by the home side with Brad Blumenthal’s 76th-minute…
SOCCER THE revolving door through which senior coaches at Frankston Pines have been passing is spinning once more. Jason Grieve is the “new” Pines senior coach, the fifth man to grab that poisoned chalice in six months. However this is Grieve’s second stint in the role taking over from Donn Delaney late last year after the latter joined the committee and most of the senior players in the largest mass exodus from a local club this century. Grieve didn’t last long though and quit in January so what prompted this change of heart? “I always kept in touch with the…
SOCCER ARCHIE Macphee was the toast of Lawton Park on Saturday evening after a stunning late goal spree underpinned a remarkable 3-2 win for Langwarrin over high-flying Western United. No-one saw this coming least of all the visitors who were left shell-shocked after being in cruise control with a two-goal lead and just three minutes of normal time remaining.A Tobias Servin lay-off in the 30th minute was lashed home by James York and when Jake Najdovski had the luxury of a free header from a 40th minute corner Langy seemed certain to remain at the foot of the VPL1 table.…
SOCCER SKYE United’s 2-1 home win over St Kilda on Saturday was its fourth success in five games and lifted it into second spot in State 2 South-East. The local side’s start to the season is remarkable given the tumultuous pre-season overseen by head coach Phil McGuinness who had to rebuild his squad after losing many experienced player. McGuinness methodically sifted through a large group of triallists by playing more pre-season friendlies than any other side on the peninsula and the outcome so far has been stunning. “It’s almost a new squad with a lot of young lads in there…
SOCCER THIS weekend’s reboot of the State League season following the Easter hiatus is highlighted by Saturday’s derby showdown between Mount Eliza and Mount Martha at Emil Madsen Reserve. League clashes between these State 5 South rivals are for the Mental Health Safety Net Cup which aims to raise awareness of this important health issue. Although Mount Martha entered State League for the 2020 season the pandemic only allowed them to complete three full seasons, one more than Mount Eliza. They have met four times in the league for two wins each with last year’s round 4 result the biggest…
SOCCER JAMES Stinson’s five-goal haul underpinned Chelsea’s 9-1 mauling of Frankston Pines at Monterey Reserve on Saturday. The result leaves these sides at different ends of the State 4 South ladder with Gus Macleod’s Chelsea flying high while Pines are last with no respite in sight. Pines remain the only local side to have played at the highest level in Victoria but right now its senior men’s program is in disarray and doubts have surfaced about the club seeing out the 2025 season.But on Sunday president Liz Diaz hit back at the critics. “We had a chat with all players…
SOCCER CHELSEA’S winning start to its State 4 league campaign continued with a 3-0 derby win over Baxter at Baxter Park on Saturday. The result leaves Gus Macleod’s men on top of the league with three straight victories. It took just three minutes for Chelsea to find a way through the Baxter defence.A long free-kick from Adam Dunsford wasn’t properly cleared and from just outside the area Dylan Scott’s sweetly struck shot gave Baxter keeper Suliman Fazel no chance. Goal ace James Stinson seemed certain to put the visitors further ahead in the 25th minute when he rounded Fazel and…
SOCCER SKYE United made its best start to a league season since 2017 with a gutsy 2-1 away win against Noble Park United on Friday night. The locals have won their opening two games away from home and don’t play their first home match until their round 4 clash with Casey Comets. Skye went behind in the 18th minute when Shane Tagliaferro’s strike from the edge of the box found the bottom corner. However the visitors hit back 10 minutes later when Mitch Blake broke free and squared a ball for Tapiwa Kufakurowa to stab home. The second half was…
Soccer ARCHIE Macphee’s goal two minutes into the second half on Friday night gave Langwarrin its first win of the season and lifted the local side off the bottom of the VPL1 ladder. Langy had travelled to John Cain Reserve to face Northcote City with the weight of a winless start to the season on its shoulders and a mounting goals against record. It also was undermanned with Dante Avian still out injured, Cooper Legrand and Barath Suresh on international duty and Jeremy Min Fa unavailable. Langy started well against Northcote and was in control in the first half without…
SOCCERTHREE local derbies highlight this weekend’s kick-off to the 2025 State League season.Chelsea and Mentone go head-to-head on Friday night, Seaford United and Mount Martha clash on Saturday afternoon and Rosebud hosts Frankston Pines in a Saturday evening showdown at Olympic Park.Get used to derbies stealing the limelight in State 4 South where six local clubs are in the same league, unprecedented in the modern era. To add even more interest to these games local clubs in State 4 and State 5 are fighting tooth and nail to maintain their league status given the major restructure Football Victoria is implementing…
SOCCER THIS is a year of reckoning for Somerville Eagles. Since winning the State 5 South championship in 2019 the Eagles have clung on tenaciously to their State 4 South status but now face a challenge like never before. As previously mentioned in this round-up State 4 and 5 clubs must finish in the top six of their respective leagues to at least maintain their status. A major reconstruction for 2026 will create State Leagues 6 and 7 and standardise the competition into North-West and South-East divisions at every league level. Clubs finishing from seventh to 10th positions in State…
SOCCER LANGWARRIN, Mornington, Skye United and Aspendale will fly the flag for local soccer in the next round of the 2025 Australia Cup. And they could be joined by Somerville Eagles who were due to play their Cup tie with North Caulfield last night (Monday).Third-round preliminary ties in the national knockout competition are scheduled for a fortnight’s time, a week before the start of the State League season Langwarrin enters the Cup after the third preliminary round.A young Mornington squad backed up by senior players James Clark, Jacob Brito, Jack McDonald and Halil Reki overcame the challenge of Rosebud 2-0…
SOCCER ROSEBUD v Mornington and Peninsula Strikers v Banyule City are the marquee match-ups in this weekend’s second preliminary round of the 2025 Australia Cup. Rosebud and Strikers go in to these sudden-death ties as underdogs but they won’t make life easy for their more-fancied opponents.Many Rosebud players have ties with Mornington having come through the club’s juniors and played in the reserves and in most instances they have moved on in order to gain senior playing time. What an opportunity this clash presents to showcase their talent to their former club. Remarkably 18 of Rosebud’s senior squad have been…
Soccer ALANA Murphy, 19, last week became the second Langwarrin junior to achieve senior national team recognition when called up to the Matildas squad for the looming SheBelievesCup. The event starts later this week and features teams from host nation US, Japan, Colombia and Australia with matches played in Houston, Glendale and San Diego.First featured in these pages over seven years ago when she was 12 her potential to go all the way in the sport was encapsulated by our headline “Is Alana Murphy a Matilda in waiting?” Back then the pre-teen Murphy named Steph Catley and Sam Kerr as…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers added a State 1 scalp to their pre-season haul with an impressive 2-1 win over Old Scotch at Centenary Park on Saturday. Scott Morrison’s men are flying right now. Figuratively and literally. No local side is as quick and precise in transition with an abundance of extreme pace and rapid-fire ball movement that is breathtaking at times.Strikers dominated most of this contest and you had to keep reminding yourself that they were the State 2 side taking on an opponent of higher status. The versatility at Morrison’s disposal – especially in the attacking third – is scary.…
SOCCER LANGWARRIN gets its 2025 VPL1 season underway in Saturday’s Lawton Park clash with Caroline Springs George Cross at 7pm. Last season Langwarrin finished ninth and a season review identified concerns that head coach Jamie Skelly believes have been addressed. “We started well last season but once winter came and we lost a few players through injury or players moving on the depth of the squad was tested,” he said. “We felt for us to improve we had to bring in different types of players and improve right across the squad and we feel that we’ve done that. “We’ve improved…
SOCCER DAVID Stirton, Hayden Taylor, Matt Harrington, Conor Mcfall, Tristen Stass and Daniel Bancroft are some of the names that fell under the local spotlight last week.Stirton and Taylor have joined Mornington’s coaching staff with “Stirts” assisting senior coach Adam Jamieson and “Hados” assisting reserves coach Kyle Johnson. This is Stirton’s first foray into senior coaching ranks after a playing career that took him to A-League youth and senior NPL levels. Recently plagued by injury the 33-year-old reluctantly stepped away from playing and has been considering taking up coaching for some time.Jamieson rang Stirton over a week ago and discussed…
SOCCER LANGWARRIN and Seaford United were the winners on Saturday as the annual Steve Wallace Memorial Day took place at Lawton Park.Host club Langwarrin reached the Wallace Cup final with consecutive wins over Baxter and Mornington in Group B and faced State 2 local Skye United who won a spot in the final on goal difference edging out Peninsula Strikers in Group A. Skye defeated Chelsea 4-0 in its group opener then drew 0-0 with Strikers.As expected VPL1 Langwarrin controlled much of the final against a competitive State 2 Skye but Tom Youngs blew his chance to give the host…
Soccer THE focus of the local game switches to Lawton Park this Saturday and the 12th official staging of the annual Steve Wallace Memorial Day. The event commemorates the life of local soccer icon Stephen William Wallace who was 54 years old when he died on 19 July 2011 and was a former Langwarrin player, coach, president, life member, club council representative and Bayside League referee.COVID-19 rules impacted on the event in 2022 and forced a series of one-off 90-minute games so no winner was declared but the tournament returned to a more familiar format in 2023 with the host…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers have signed attacking midfielder Kyle Eichenberger from Langwarrin.The 20-year captained Langwarrin’s under-23s last season, won the Golden Boot award and was runner-up in the Player’s Player Of The Year voting.He grew up in Langwarrin and with the exception of a short spell at Springvale White Eagles in the junior boys NPL program he has always played for his neighbourhood club.“I started to learn how to take football more seriously in the NPL juniors,” Eichenberger said. “When I went back to Langy (from White Eagles) I played under-15s, 16, 18s and 23s and made around five senior appearances.…