It was a week of mixed results for the Cobram Roar Division One men’s team, with the side picking up one win and one draw in two different competitions.
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On Wednesday night, the Roar faced tricky conditions as they took on Wangaratta in the Albury Wodonga Football Association Cup semi-final, while on Sunday the side battled St Pat’s in the Division One men’s competition.
The semi-final clash was certainly a tricky task for the Roar, with Wangaratta picking up a 1-0 victory at home.
It took until the 77th minute for the home side to break the deadlock, with a piece of Liam Nash wizardry helping Wangaratta’s Daniel Kelly find the back of the net.
Yet despite the goal, the Roar continued to push, with a number of set pieces in the dying minutes almost providing an equaliser, however it was not to be, with the side bowing out of the cup.
Cobram assistant coach Chris Gash said it was a tough game in rough conditions.
"The pitch didn’t allow us to play a great game of football, we had to be very direct and unfortunately we didn’t take our chances,“ Gash said.
“It was disappointing to bow out of the cup with our second loss of the season.
“The boys were pumped and looking forward to a cup final, but it’s an improvement from last season and we’ll focus on the league now.”
On Sunday, the Roar turned the tables, picking up a win against St Pat’s away from home.
The 5-3 result was an impressive one, with around 20 players, including Jack Smith, Mohd Hizam and Spiros Vourgaslis missing from the senior men’s set-up.
This meant that some of the squad played in both the reserves and seniors games and despite the scores being even at three goals a piece at half-time, the Roar managed to get the win.
“We had a pretty dominant first 20-25 minutes,” Gash said.
“Jack Dovey, Marius Williams and Florian Dambricourt all scored goals early and then just a few little defensive mistakes led to St Pat’s getting back into the game.
“In the second half after a bit of a rev up, Bill Puckett and Jackson Termarkon were able to score two quick goals.”
The senior men’s side will have two weeks off now, with Gash acknowledging it will be a good opportunity for the squad to get over illness, niggles and participate in a mini preseason of sorts.
He emphasised the hard work of both the seniors and reserves on the weekend, with both sides picking up a win despite a large number of outs.
— Daniel Webb
Division two men
An undermanned seniors’ squad due to a range of reasons came up against an experienced St Pats team in tough conditions. A number of players helped out in both division one and division two games.
Cobram adapted to conditions best with a 2-0 win. Goals to Jackson Temarkon and Rocky Perri gave the boys a much-needed 2-0 win.
Under-14
Cobram Roar 5 def Wangaratta 1
The under-14 team played a mid-week evening match last Wednesday as a curtain raiser to the FA Cup semi-final. The team played well in cold conditions and continued their good form.
Under-14 girls
Cobram Roar 0 lost to Albury Hotspurs 14
A really tough game for the girls against a strong opposition at Albury in rainy cold weather. The game started well with our defence solid and attack eager, but Albury Hotspurs were too strong on the day. Our defenders and midfield were consistent throughout the match, making the opposition work hard for their goals. We had some great passages of play but just couldn’t penetrate the opposing defence. Some great takeaways from the game despite the score, with the girls identifying some aspects and game strategies to work on over the next few weeks at training. The girls kept their heads up all match and worked consistently to the final siren. They look forward to training hard before taking on Wodonga Diamonds after the break.
Under-13
Cobram Roar 0 lost to St Pat's 15
The Roar players kept their heads up during a very tough game in wet and windy conditions. Alex Hawke did some great saves throughout the match. There were some great passages of play, but the team could not break St Pat's defences. Ayden Burrows did some great work in defence.
In the second half, as the team began to tire, Mattias Burns was persistent in applying pressure to the opposition and Lenny Power created some great opportunities in the forward line.
As the players started the second half of the season, they demonstrated great improvement in their ball skills and teamwork.
Under-12
Cobram Roar 3 def St Pat’s 1
A solid display from our talented juniors who are improving every week.
Goals: Harvey Boake, Jeremy Egan, Alex Hawke.
Daniel is a passionate sports fan and proud Tasmanian.