U9s Gala Day

The Gala Day, held at Granville Park on Sunday 28 August, was thoroughly enjoyed by both players and parents alike. The U9 White team performed extremely well, given the hot weather and playing some teams from higher divisions. The day started on a high, with a win over Winston Hills Orange 3-1. The highlight of the game was William Bremner, who is usually the goalie in the U9 Grey team, scoring his first-ever goal. Game 2 against Castle Hill United Orange was tough and but the teams were evenly matched, reflected in the nil-all draw.

Game 3 versus Kellyville Knots was also tough, with goalies on both sides having great games A goal late in the game by Holroyd reduced the deficit to 2-1. Game 4, against Granville Waratah Brown, was very evenly matched. A great goal by Anthony in the second minute got Holroyd off to a strong start. Basel Georges scored two goals in the second half, with the latter taking the score to 3-2. But a goal by Granville in the dying minutes of the game robbed us of our second victory of the day, with a 3-3 result.

The final two games of the day were a ‘pot luck’ draws played after lunch. We drew two teams from higher divisions, Merrylands and Lidcombe. The entire team put in great efforts in both games, which was not reflected in the 0-4 and 1-3 scores.

Basel Georges was the team’s leading goal scorer for the day, with Anthony Elbazi not far behind. Goalie was rotated throughout the day, with a notable performances by Waseem Salim and Sebastian Hashim. Congratulations to all team members for putting in strong performances over a very long day, which also included Kyle Schembri, Alfie Laguzza, Amber Robertson, Saro Sorani and William Bremner.

Focus on Under 9 Greys

The Under 9 Greys are coached by Rodney and managed by Ian and train together with the Under 9 Whites.  Ian as well as Rodney play for our O35/7 team. Ian's son plays in goals for the Greys.

Recently the Greys team needed a few more players.  Both the Grey and White teams took on the challenge and with the help of some colourful flyers produced by Paul Jones from our committee they helped signed up some extra players.

The Greys have a couple of players that are playing above their age in this team with also 2 girls in the team.

They play 7 a side football with smaller fields and modified rules.  There are mainly new players in this team with a few who have played with Holroyd Rangers before.

Rodney is doing a lot of work with them in preparation for next years change to the big field for those moving to Under 10's.

Focus on Under 9 White

The Under 9 White team trains together with our Under 9 Grey team, and both teams are coached by Rodney. U9s play 7-a-side football on smaller fields with modified rules. The White team consists of some players from last years U8s team, as well as some new players to the club.

Rodney's plan for this year is for the players to improve their soccer skills, develop their positional play, and improve their teamwork, with a view towards moving to the U10s and playing on the full field next season.  So far this season the Whites have had 4 wins and 4 losses and are enjoying their soccer.

Rodney has been associated with our club for several years, previously coaching one of our girls teams. His daughter Maddi coaches our U6s team and his daughter Lauren plays in our Ladies div 3 team, and Rodney himself plays in our Over 35 div 7 team. The whole family including Rodney's wife Corinne are committed volunteers at our club. Kyle's dad volunteers to referee most of the home games and Ian is the teams manager. We wish the U9 White team the best of luck for the rest of the 2011 season and look forward to them coming back as part of U10s team on the full field next year.

Look out for a Focus on the Under 9 Grey team coming soon!