By Sarah Bailey
It was super-Saturday for the Reds, with all juniors and the senior women’s team triumphant at home and away
Exceptional play from the U8 Strikers delivered a 7-0 win against Croydon Rangers Red. From kickoff until the final whistle, the boys never gave the opposition a chance. It’s phenomenal to see such a young group of boys working together as a team and passing the ball so confidently.
The U8s Dragons defeated Blackburn 4-1, with 3 goals from Hudson Beams and 1 from Percy Pollard. All the boys worked so well together and built a very strong defensive wall.
The U9 Redbacks sealed a solid 4-2 win away against Maroondah United. With some excellent link-up play from Healesville and impressive goals from Ash and Isaac, Healesville were 2-0 up at half-time. The first goal came from Ash, who’d struck a $10 goal-scoring deal with his mum before the match (over to you, Mum!) The second half saw Maroondah come back strong, but 2 more goals, one from Billy and a blistering left-foot strike from Arlo sealed the win.
A cold, blustery morning and a lack of substitutes didn’t stop the U10 Reds’ first win, featuring terrific passes and play against the Northern Eagles. A great early goal from Alex Prendergast saw the Reds off to a fantastic start. A hat trick to Ryan Horn secured the 4-1 win. Amazing energy was on show from Jono Hart and Ronan Gibson, who didn’t stop running the whole game.
Away against Maroondah, Healesville’s U10 Whites started strong in the first half with some selfless passing that almost looked pre-rehearsed. Ardi broke the 0-0 deadlock with a clever manoeuvre to give Healesville the 1-0 ascendancy.
In the second half, with no subs available, Healesville had great surges forward from Arthur, Flynn F and Will. A disciplined backline of Will, Flynn M, Robbie and Ardi won the ball back from many determined Maroondah attacks.
Austin was superb on his non-preferred left side of the goal, creating many chances and scoring 2. Jonathon shook his determined tag to get 1 into the back of the net. From a good distance out, Arthur scored another 1 with a well-controlled curving strike from his instep that got the biggest cheers of the day.
Second-half keeper Harley was put to the test with 4 goals Maroondah’s way. But he remained engaged and resolute, saving around 4, to see the game end in a 5-4 victory to Healesville.
Healesville U12s played at home to Blackburn Bandicoots. A strong start saw Healesville take the lead through a Mack Beams goal, but a wonderful strike against the run of play meant the teams went into the half-time break at one goal apiece. More dominance from Healesville in the second half paid off with goals from Jake Bouma, Cooper Smith and Theo Archibald. After a great penalty save from Manny Winrow, the game wrapped with a well-deserved 4-1 Healesville win.
The U14 boys surged to a 12-0 victory against Knox U16 Girls Force, keeping the pressure up throughout the game. Against a united Knox team and an able keeper, the Reds converted opportunity after opportunity, with their gritty defence keeping the ball well forward in both halves. Goal scorers Kieran O’Neil, Max Jorgensen, Hamish McKie and Will Watson (who shot an extraordinary 8 goals) kept the excitement high. The Reds are a tight-knit crew and their hard work in training showed in their fast footwork and deft passes.
The senior women’s team returned from their break with a dominant win over Croydon. With most of the game playing out in the opposition’s half, their defenders had their work cut out for them, but any runs from Croydon’s midfield towards Healesville’s goalkeeper were quickly blocked with a terrific defensive effort. Captain Sarah Cunnian continued her strong season this game with 2 unstoppable goals, and a fantastic 3rd from Melita Campbell into the bottom left corner cemented the win at 3-0.
Playing at home against St Pauls, the Healesville Reserves logged their best game in a tough season. Few chances for either team saw a 0-0 half-time score, but Healesville gave themselves hope of a first win of the year when they took the lead through a Lindsay McKie strike. St Pauls hit back to make it 1-1, and then a great chance went begging for Healesville to make it 2-1 to the home side. They would be left to rue the miss as St Pauls scored 2 late goals to end the game 3-1.
Healesville Seniors had a day to forget against a much younger, fitter, stronger and overall better St Pauls team. A double rainbow was the only highlight in a 6-0 home defeat for a depleted Healesville team.
