SENIOR SUMMER STATE LEAGUE - ROUND 6

WSL2  Report by Torben Fink-Jensen

Essendon were without Emmy and Josie, which meant a call-up for Amber. We were able to play with 3 reserves which was pretty similar to NYP. Essendon were in control from the start and steadily pushed for goals. NYP were struggling to put their sets together and it wasn't long before Alex popped a shot home. Olivia was next and Alex received a penalty which she had no trouble converting... and at this point I arrived (late) to the game so everything before this is completely made up. As a bonus for my arrival, Mietta opened up her account to make it 4-0 for the quarter.

Essendon started the second half a bit casually and although the ball went forward and backward our passes were a bit slow and loopy, and we weren't really working the goalmouth very well in Extra Man, so there weren't many goals. NYP rediscovered their historical lobbing ability and that allowed them to beat Kate twice in this quarter. This did spur Essendon into action however and we slotted 4 quick goals through Emily, Alex and a penalty to Mietta to make it 8-2.

In the third quarter, we were again taking it a bit easy. NYP were being a bit sticky in defence making it hard to find space and get shots away. We lapsed a bit in defence too as we let them throw to unmarked players and score another two goals for 8-4. We finally got moving and when Amber received a clean pass at the wing, she made no mistake to hit her first SL2 goal making it 11-5. Kate was also having to keep out plenty of other shots in goal which spared our blushes a little.

We remained a bit languid in the final quarter. Gen picked up her 3rd foul and was rolled, but Mietta and Alex scored a few more goals and Lara got on target for her first.

A comfortable win in the end, with NYP probably feeling that they had done a good job to draw the 2nd half after being well behind for the first.

Essendon defeated the NYP Dragons : 15 - 9

Goals : Alex 5, Mietta 4, Emily 3, Amber 1, Lara 1

Below : Our WSL2 team in action this week (photos courtesy of Torben Fink-Jensen, see more on our FB page)

WSL3  Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

It was back to the top of the fixture this week, as we faced Northcote for the second time. We scored a 2 goal win in Round 1, but this time were without Sher and Josie. With Darren at the helm, there was solid direction and the girls went in keen. It took awhile to settle, with play going back and forth and Northcote taking the first goal. We wasted some good attacking chances not getting the ball up quick enough while Northcote found some defensive holes to score their second. Maddy got us in the book before the quarter finished with a nice goal. Down 1-2, we started the second term strongly with Georgia slotting in a goal. Northcote continued to make the best of their chances bagging 2, before Sally rounded out the quarter with a solid shot from the wing to make it 3-4 at halftime. Darren pointed out that our only scores were coming after we played the ball into centre forward. Simple. Play the damn ball into CF as a first option! So out we went with that in mind. He wasn't wrong. We scored another 2 goals, with Maddy getting her second and Kerrie putting away a penalty from a CF exclusion. But we had another 3-4 chances that quater, with players on breaks or in space, and unable to get the ball. Northcote continued to hurt us with another 3. So we went into the final quarter down 5-7. Darren's final message... get the ball up quickly from the keeper to the CF! With just a single sub, we were beginning to tire and there was still plenty of swimming to be had. Turnovers were costly, and our shots not good enough. Northcote scored one more before the final whistle.

Essendon were defeated by Northcote : 5 - 8

Goals : Madeleine 2, Georgia 1, Sally 1, Kerrie 1

MSL4  (No report)

Essendon Vs Melbourne Surge Obsidian

Result not known

OSL5  (Editor)

A night off for our SL5 squad with a scheduled bye this week. They will come up against the MC Chiefs next week.

JUNIOR WINTER COMPETITION - ROUND 4

12&U Mixed  (No report)

Northcote/Essendon defeated Footscray : 12 - 1

Goals : Milly 3, Lilly 3, Zach 2, Charlie 2, Isabel 1, Hamish 1

14&U Girls  (No report)

Northcote/Essendon were defeated by Richmond : 0 - 14

14&U Boys  Report by Sheridan Mom

The deck was buzzing before the game with the usual pre-match chirping and friendly sledging among mates, with everyone giving the shooters a hard time about their accuracy and laughing about who’d be gasping for air first. Once the caps were tied, though, it was straight into a tight, grinding opening quarter. Northcote set up really well in defense, making it tough to get a clean look at the cage, which left us locked at 2 all by the first break. Realising our static offense was playing right into their hands, we adjusted the game plan to find more space and move the ball better. We locked things down with a suffocating full press to shut down their shooters and starve them of goals, while shifting the ball cleanly around the perimeter to stretch their defense. Once the lanes opened up, our strong swimming down the pool and great team play took over, and we completely ran away with it.

DVE/Essendon defeated Northcote : 16 - 5

Goals : Vishnu 4, Panagiotis 3, Xavier 2, Julius 2, Lewis 2, Dean 1, LucasS 1, LucasT 1

16&U Girls  Report by Kate Simnett

Sunday morning saw an early start for the girls at MSAC.  A quick conversation about who was prepared to go into goals against MC in the absence of Isla before the warm up and off they went. An early goal from Arly made it seem like they were going to be ok... spoiler alert, they weren't. Their passing was sloppy, they shot at the goalkeeper and they were lack-lustre in defence. 

The highlight of the second half of the game was Audrey's absolutely superb goal.

Probably best to put that one behind us - onwards and upwards!

Essendon/DVE/Marlins were defeated by Melbourne Collegians : 2 - 7

Goals : Arly 1, Audrey 1

16&U Boys  Report by Bec Romano

The Essendon boys are learning their teammates strengths and their roles in this dynamic 5 club combo team. This week they took on the undefeated MC Blue.

It was an early start and the temperature hadn't reached double figures yet, so with steam rising off the pool, the boys jumped in and got Krakken🐙!

They started well, defending strongly but conceded 4 goals in the first quarter.

Some defensive magic, but unfortunately they hesitated on the attack and the shot clock had them beat a few times throughout the game.

They found the back of the net in the third quarter, but unfortunately MC Blue did too.

The boys finished with a great effort in the 4th, but it wasn't enough to worry this strong MC side.

Northcote/Essendon/Footscray/DVE/NYP were defeated by MC Blue : 1 - 14

Goals : Angus 1