Round 5
After a weekend off, our teams were fired up and ready to play! With only a light drizzle in Margs, the weather was kind to us this week and everyone had a great Saturday at the pitch.
U7 Falcons
A beautiful Winter’s day for a spot of soccer! Margaret River’s U7 Falcons embraced the sunshine and put up a good fight against the Vasse Rattlesnakes on their home-ground! Both pitches saw a great deal of agility, moving the ball up the pitch with some skilled dribbling and big kicks. Rattlesnakes held strong and proved to be a good match for our Falcons. Overall effort was clear to see. Some stand-out mentions include Marco and Winston being hot on the ball, Zephyr and Finn making some strong attacks and a hardcore goal block courtesy of Owen’s chest. Our players of the match were well deserved with Mathew proving a persistent challenge and Archie applying firm pressure and kicking a quality goal! Thank you to our awesome sponsors Scoops and Sons of Naples! A fun morning was had by all with happy players and dry supporters!
U7 Ninja’s
The Ninjas arrived in Busselton one player down but full of energy and momentum, bringing a strong start to the game. However, by half-time, it was clear that our usual morning fire had dulled slightly — so we reignited it with a quick energising run and some fresh oranges to refuel!
Busselton’s side were short a few players, and in true Ninja spirit, our team stepped up and generously offered players to help balance the teams. This incredible display of sportsmanship set the tone for the rest of the match.
The pitchers were perfect — smooth, dry, and ideal for fast, skillful play. The Ninjas used the opportunity to work alongside the Minion teams, turning the game into a valuable learning experience. At times, our players pulled back to let the Minions go for goal, setting up play sequences that encouraged leadership, strategy, and on-field communication from the younger players.
This selfless style of play allowed the newer Ninjas to take control and grow into their roles, while the older Ninjas watched closely, guiding and supporting from behind. It was a beautiful example of teamwork, mentorship, and trust in action.
Standout Players:
🌟 Aston stood out with his incredible setups and smart support play — a real asset on the field.
🌟 Leo Fucci was the definition of sportsmanship today, earning the honorary title of Sportsmanship Captain of the Ninjas.
U8 Messi Kids
This morning's Messi Kids game against the GMAS Wolves at Churchill Playing Fields in Busselton was fantastic!
The team displayed wonderful teamwork, passing the ball effectively and showing great energy and commitment throughout the entire match.
There were plenty of exciting moments, including goals, well-executed slide tackles, and impressive kicks. It was a closely contested game right down to the wire, with the GMAS ultimately winning by a single goal, 4 to 3.
Some notable highlights included Max's excellent header, Ezra's brilliant goal, and an exceptional performance from Sonny.
Sonny was deservedly recognised as player of the match and received a Witchy Pie Voucher. Great Work Messi Kids ! ⚽
U8 Magic
After a two-week break, the U8 Magic were back on the road for Round 5, taking on the Socceroonies (McKillop United) under fine conditions at Churchill Park.
Remi started the game off with a bang, scoring within seconds of kick-off and later netting two goals that soared over the goalie.
Savvie stood her ground in goals during the first half, staying cool under pressure and making some great stops. Mitchell, this week’s captain, was quick on the field and found the back of the net with a great finish, then backed it up with a fearless second half as goalie.
New recruit Oleg made a fantastic debut with agile movement, smart passing and some cracking left foot strikes.
Elbi battled through multiple defenders to sneak in two great goals for the team, while Mason was a force - chasing down opponents and breaking up attacks.
Zephyr never stopped running - chasing down the ball, making sharp passes, and snuffing out attacks. Charlie consistently booted the ball clear from the back and finished with an end-to-end run down the wing delivering a great pass into the goal square.
Lucas, was our well deserved Player of the Day. He was everywhere - intercepting, passing, and driving the team forward with calm and clever play.
Great teamwork all round! Thanks to the Socceroonies for a great game and to our Magic families for their support. Bring on Round 6 - Go Magic!
U9 Legends XI
In a game defined by defensive grit, the Vasse Mulgas hosted the Margaret River Legends 11 in a thrilling U9 football showdown.
The match began with the Legends asserting dominance in possession, stringing together multiple attacking phases and registering several shots on goal. However, the Mulgas' defensive line stood tall, absorbing pressure and frustrating the Margaret River attack.
With the scores even heading into halftime, both teams returned to the pitch hungry for the breakthrough. It was Vasse who struck first — and against the run of play — with a superbly taken goal that broke the deadlock.
Legends responded with urgency, continuing to dominate possession and creating several chances, but the final touch eluded them despite their efforts.
The entire team played brilliantly in the nail-biting encounter, but Harper earned "Player of the Day" for her exceptional tackling, composure under pressure, and ball control.
U9 Raptors
The MR Raptors brought great energy right from the kickoff in their exciting match against Vasse on their home deck. With a strong focus on spacing and passing, the Raptors worked together as a team, moving the ball well and finding open teammates. Coe and Bodhi were standout players, showing great skill and determination – both earning Player of the Game honors for their efforts, thanks to Yahava and Witchy Pies for their support. After a fast and focused first half, the Raptors held strong against a determined Vasse side who pushed hard in the second half. It was a great team performance full of effort, teamwork, and fun!
U9 Mavericks
It was an early start for the Mavericks on Saturday with a 09:00 kick off in Capel. The Sun was shining and it a beaut game against the Capel Cubs. Chase Gardner a very deserving recipient of the POD!
U10 Strikers
Under sunny skies the Strikers took on the (aptly named, today anyway) MUSC Glory. The Strikers began with a blitzkrieg in the first 10 minutes, culminating in a fine goal to Chase. Unfortunately it was a battle for the Margs team from there and we put the scorecard quietly to one side. In a losing effort; Josh, Archer and Arlo D all were relentless in defence and attack. After a great run of wins to start the year, many were saying this was a helpful loss at this point in the season.
U10 Dragons
The Dragons played away again this week, up against the Vasse Taipans. The break last week appeared to have revived the kids and they were in top form today.
A standout was the Dragons’ impressive passing game, moving with confidence and accuracy. There were a lot of moments where several clever passes were strung together and the Dragons moved their way quickly down the pitch. The Dragons showed excellent teamwork, notably holding their positions and supporting one another across the pitch.
Their shape stayed strong throughout both halves, allowing them to stay organised in defence and strong in attack. It was fantastic to see players making smart choices about where to be and when, giving the team great structure and they were rewarded with many goals. It’s evident to see how their strategic game is improving.
Our player of the day today absolutely had to be Jake. His consistent effort on the pitch week in and week out is to be commended. Jake relentlessly chases the ball, putting pressure on our opponents and is always a great team player. Congratulations, Jake! Thanks to Witchy Pies for the voucher.
U10 Serpents
An absolutely incredible game for the Serpents in Vasse, showcasing brilliant teamwork and determination.
With Coach Benji guiding the team, the Serpents played with confidence and skill. Louis and Noah were on fire, hammering goals past the opposition with precision and power. Elsie with her footwork and sharp skills, played a key role in setting up plays and keeping the attack flowing.
In goal, Raya stood strong, making crucial saves to keep the Serpents ahead. POD was awarded to Noah and Raya. Many thanks to Witchy Pies and Scoops Farm for sponsoring the team through POD vouchers!
A fantastic performance from the entire team—this victory is a huge confidence boost as the Serpents continue to build momentum!
U12 Breakers
The Breakers brought their best game to the match with the GMAS Titans. Marshall booted an epic goal from way outside the goalie box to earn POD along with Drayke who mesmerised the opposition with an incredible show of goalie skills.
U12 Stars
A great show of football in the Derby from two equally matched teams in the first half.
A close game initially with good defence from both sides. The Stars hit the woodwork a few times, but the FMR Jettz superior finishing made the difference. A great advert for Margaret River Football.
Taj Cawse earned player of the day as he worked so hard throughout the game until the final whistle. He will enjoy a treat from Two Cracks Cafe in Cowaramup.
U12 Jettz
An exciting game to watch today with the Jettz winning 4-0 over the Stars on home pitch,
The Jettz started off the first half strong and determined with some great early attempts on goal. Some great ball movement, use of the field and passing kept the game moving at a quick pace and eventually led to an exciting goal by Mason early on. Good strong defence by the team kept the Stars from getting many opportunities on goal along with stellar goal keeping by Wyatt and Ronan in the first half.
Strong defence, hustle and great teamwork in the second half led to an impressive goal by Reef (his first goal of the season). The Jettz were an unstoppable force using impressive ball control and use of the entire field to keep the ball mostly in our possession. Mason had a great goal in the second half using some fancy footwork and speed to whizz past the defensive line and score his second goal of the game bringing the score to 3-0.
The Stars fought hard and had a few unlucky goal attempts but with Cohen stopping one and another hitting the crossbar the soccer gods were not in their favor today.
The Jettz didn't slow down in the last minutes of the game powering up the field resulting with a goal by Zoe assisted by Millie.
End result was a 4-0 victory for the Jettz. It was a great game to watch and impressive to see such sportsmanship, determination and persistence today by all the players.
But it was Millie Woods today that stood out as a constant force both offensively and defensively. Always putting pressure on the other team and working hard to keep the ball in our possession that earned her the Player of the match! Great Job today Millie and the entire team on a well deserved win.
Thanks to Ant for coaching and providing our kids with strategy and amazing feedback.
Great job everyone.
U12 Legends
U12 Legends showed us again that they have what it takes to impress and create excitement with another great comeback.
Our ball placement in the second half allowed plenty of run-on opportunities that led to points scored.
It was an exciting match to watch full of everything from nail biting tension, so-close shooting, dramatic plays and goal scoring elation from both sides. Thank you Cornerstone for your game play and great sportsmanship. It was a pleasure. Our players of the week were Noah for his magic in the goals and Ziggy for his line of defence and forward thinking, well done boys.
U13 Stingrays
The Stingrays came up against Dunsborough Glory for another pulsating game of football. Dunsborough started strongly with some wonderful attacking moves in the first half and could have been quite a few goals up if not for goalkeeper Archer Williams, who was again up to the task with several wonderful saves. The Stingrays worked their way back into the game in the second half with some tantalising runs on the right wing from best player Taj McCrickard, and true grit from midfielder Bobby Atkins. Both teams could hold her head high as a full-time whistle blew, with a hard won victory for the Stingrays who remain top of the league.
U13 Wyverns
In a Play-Off to go through to the Cup Quarter Finals next week, the Wyverns met the Vasse Pythons with both teams ready to rumble.
Arturo scored the first goal and Michael the second. Then the Pythons scored which turned up the heat. Towards the end of the second half, Arturo scored again!
The second half started with Michael scoring. Then the Pythons scored twice, taking the score to 5-3. Tommy scored and Michael scored a hat trick. The parents went wild with shouts of Happy Birthday Michael! The Wyverns won 8-3. The boys all played some excellent football.
Player of the match was Ryal who has been tackling hard. Gary said there were too many great plays by all the players to mention! The game was finished with a wee birthday song and cake for Michael. What a birthday!
U14 Rockets
An injured player and no subs made for a hard fought game. POD - Charlie Gray and Archie Stewart.
U14 Warriors
The Warriors had a great tussle with Cornerstone this weekend in what was a close, and well contested match.
A high scoring game on both sides, and a very physical match up with both teams jostling for possession. Savana show great defensive skill, taking the ball out of the air with great touch, stopping many high through balls, while Arlo sent the ball back deep into our forward line on many occasions. Our mids created plenty of forward opportunities, working well and sharing the ball around. CDM, Catto, landed a couple, and Declan and Kal also nailed one each. Luca received player of the match for his outstanding, repeated efforts, pressuring Cornerstones defensive line, causing turnovers which set up counter attacking opportunities.
Well done to Cornerstone for coming out on top.
U15 Sharks
The Sharks put in their bravest effort yet this week. They faced off against the Dunsborough Roar with just 8 players after unanimously deciding against forfeiting the match. Despite being outnumbered there was some excellent passing and solid football. Every team member lifted and attempted to cover the extra ground and extra players as best they could.
Both Benji and Felix put in a valiant effort in goals. Zane and Ziggy were a fast footed combo, looking very impressive together when attacking. Ava made it her personal mission to win possession at every opportunity, playing with fierce determination, and also playing some very nice balls forward after winning possession.
The Sharks took a significant loss, but showed sportsmanship, tenacity, respect for each other and respect toward their opposition. Congratulations to Ava and Ziggy, who were joint players of the match! Thank you Sharks!
YL Blaze
The start of the game was a somber affair, with a minutes silence being held for Jeff Thierfelder who passed away at the end of May. Jeff’s boys, Henry and Hugo played soccer for a number of years, with members of the Wanderers and U15 Sharks attending his funeral Saturday morning.
The Derby was always going to be a good challenge, but we met the Wanderers with 3 players down and only 1 sub, which made it just that bit harder to match them. The Wanderers drew first blood with a goal early in the piece. Scarlett had a shot, but went wide.
Henry was commanding in goals. He blocked a shot, but the Wanderers got the rebound and had another shot. Henry blocked that too, but again, the Wanderers got the rebound and were able to get it round him on their third attempt.
A shot by Sid went over. Sonny was brilliant as always in the mid. He is tireless and persistent in his hunt for the ball. Kai, Digby and Charlie were working hard in defence, chasing down the Wanderers and not making it easy for them.
Scarlett and Lisa stood strong making some excellent plays, and Charlotte and Tilly were always on the run chasing the ball down. Poom stepping up in the mid and defence.
In a great passage of play, a free kick from Henry up the pitch was intercepted by a Wanderer wth a header. Kade got the rebound, pass to Sid who drilled it into goals and the Blaze families went wild!
Unfortunately, the Wanderers scored twice more to have the lead at the end of the first half.
The second half started with Kai moving to a forward role and Kade moving to CB. We got another hard won goal thanks to Kai who broke through their defences twice in a great run to pop it in. Then a free kick from Sid across the box gave Kai his second.
Kade played hard all game, putting his body on the line in the fight for the ball. Sid kept making plays to the end also, creating opportunities for us but we couldn’t get them in the nets. To our credit we never gave up with everyone playing right to the final whistle. The score didn’t go our way, but we gave it everything had, and the team can hold their heads high knowing they left it all out on the pitch. We didn’t give up and we didn’t give in.
POD went to Kade who showed great energy fight and drive the whole game through, both up front and in the centre back position. Enjoy your goodies from the Canteen.
YL Wanderers
FMR teams wore black arms in memory of Margaret River Sporting Community Gentleman, Basketball Coach, FMR parent and advocate: Jeff Thierfelder. All players did a circle huddle with a minute silence, paying their respects to Jeff and condolence thoughts to Henry, Hugo and their mum Jo before kick-off.
Ryder managed to acquire a blood nose before the starting whistle in warmups and in the absence of Lucas, Saxon put on the Captain’s armband. Wanderers scored first via a hard run from Stirling with a great cross to Jay for an exciting goal. Noah’s and Zane’s defence was solid, stopping Blaze’s attempts to score.
Blaze’s Centre Sonny was finding free run in a player congested pitch with no space created nor clear set play formations from either side. Jay scored a thriller 2nd goal rebounding 3 times from keeper with great follow ups. Olie, Saxon, Noah, and Zane kept defending well to keep Blaze at 0. Stirling came off a rest with Taj coming on and immediate direct impact in centre.
Blaze’s first score was from Sid via a great pass from Kade. Ryder took on and beat Blaze’s keeper for 3rd goal. Stirling came on for Bobbie and Cohan for Noah. Stirling’s dominance had immediate effect with a shot deflected off goalie to hit the net.
Malik was doing great on the wing and scored a cracker 5th goal in first half for Wanderers. Xavier was doing a respectful fill in job guarding the box and net for Wanderers.. Cohan was solid until taking a good strike to the jewels and needing some bench time to recover. Quite congested pitch in the first half and wasn’t pretty to watch, but nevertheless Wanderers 5:1 in front at halftime, contributing 2 goals was Jay.
Blaze started 2nd half very strong with a structured wide formation having two shots on goal to our 0 in the first 5 minutes. Stirling took the game on scoring his 2nd goal and settled the Wanderers down a little. Blaze scored a great goal by Kai. Shortly after second goal by Blaze was game on and they were winning the second half mid-term through great teamwork and open wide play. Jay provided some entertainment with an unsuccessful attempt of the bicycle, soon followed by Bobbie scoring a nice goal making it 7-3 and countering Blaze’s comeback.
Stirling scored his 3rd goal from great centre clearing from Taj, giving Stirling a hat trick and Wanders some breathing space with score 8-3. Ethan came off replaced by Ryder who had several exciting shots from great play but couldn’t find the net in second half. Blaze continued to challenge but Wanderers had settled the Blaze comeback. Saxon lifted with leadership and gave tough battles with Blaze’s pacey Sonny. Taj continued his signature drives through the centre and Lucas did the 2nd part of final half strong and solid as a rock at CB. 8- 3 final score probably wasn’t reflective of the match as Blaze put up a good challenge.
Well done Wanderer lads and coach on a convincing Derby win and congratulations Jay Grant taking out POD and Stirling for your hat trick.