Women
A very intense affair on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon saw the Mitchell Rangers Women give everything they had against a technical Birrarung Football Club at home.
With the conditions muddy and difficult to read, the team did well to show such intensity in closing down the opposition and winning the ball. Some great chances were created with plenty of shots on goal, and amazing runs down the wing from Romany Faulknor put constant pressure on the team’s defence.
An incredible effort in goal from keeper Olivia Cachia made plenty of game-changing saves, and a great penalty scored by Tessa Perry slotted into the bottom corner in rough conditions with confidence.
Kane De Battista said the team’s loss was ‘unfortunate’, but overall, the game supplied much food for thought.
“Unfortunate not to get the win, but plenty to take from the game,” he said.
Juniors
On a cold, wet, and early Sunday morning, the Mitchell Rangers U12s Gold, coached by Duncan Freemantle and Ryan Coleman, travelled to Princess Park to take on Birrarung.
The goals came early for the Rangers as Henry belted in a close-range shot.
Lewis then wiggled his way past Birrarung’s defence to make it 2-0 within the first 12 minutes. Ethan soon finished a well-earned shot two minutes later to make it 3-0. The boys executed a perfect training drill corner to have Hunter score from distance, making it 4-0 at half time.
The Rangers weren’t done, and coming out firing they added to the score line with Eli from the back line making it 5-0. Lewis went on to earn a brace with his second making it 6-0.
The Rangers dropped the ball conceding two goals in close succession, but the boys made amends, addressed their mistakes, and finished strongly.
De Battista said Kalle was ‘absolutely non-stop the whole game’, and finally got his well-deserved goal to bring the score to 7-2, with a total of 17 shots on goal.
“It really was a pot of goals at the end of the rainbow,” he said.
