Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Undefeated United Weekend

What a weekend for the Whitsunday United Football club with success against top level opponents across all age groups.

The juniors started the ball rolling with the U14 Div playing Rangers at home. A little rusty after six weeks without a game, they were still dominant against Rangers with Reef Hansen-Harden and Billy Hinton scoring great goals to give the team a 2-1 victory and keeping them undefeated and tied top of the table.

U14 Premiers were on fire – tearing apart the Lions team who are also one of the top three in the comp. From the opening exchanges, the Whitsunday team looked sharp and hungry and after a tight first half, dominated the second to win 6-3, only conceding a couple of late goals through concentration lapses. Jacob Logan was the star of the show with a hat trick of goals to his credit.

The U16 Premier side faced a huge task against the undefeated and in form Lions U16's – especially fielding a patched together team due to injury and illness. They brought their A game and despite conceding a goal in the first half looked the equal of Lions. In what is becoming a bit of a trademark, the Whitsunday youth through sheer determination and grit wore down the Lions and were dominant in the second half, narrowly missing a few opportunities. Tyler Jankowski brought the house down scoring a lofted long distance goal to equalise in the final 30 seconds.

The senior teams travelled to Mackay to take on City Brothers with equally solid results. The Premier Women were lucky to put together a side with many of the girls attending representative comps, however the players available were keen to keep the side in the top three and took an early lead with a cracker from Keely Salter. From there it was a tussle with the Whitsunday side on top, however a late equaliser from City Brothers snatched the win from their grasp to end it 1-1.

The Men's teams were dominant against the City Brother's sides with the U23/Reserve side running in a solid 3-2 win. Stefan Tarne scoring a double, the team now sits mid table.

The Men's Premier side dispatched their opponents with a flurry of goals form Harry Hodgen. Hodgen scored a hat trick in a dominant display from the wing, turning his marker inside and out. 4-0 was the final score, but doesn’t paint the full picture in a possession filled game for the travelling team. It could have likely been more, having previously beaten Brothers 10-2 at home.

The defensive pairing of Declan Durrant and Sam Blake was a sight for sore eyes, with this the first time the starting centre backs have been able to combine. Martyn Goody put in one of his standard excellent performances, although the backline wasn’t particularly tested on the weekend. The quartet – which included Kurt Ashley – was able to keep Brothers to no shots on target.

The win takes the Whitsunday team to third on the ladder but with a few games in hand.

Luca Miller menacing the defence for the U14 Prems. Photo Penny Grossi

The Premier Women finished their game up 1-1 in a fantastic effort

In other news