Cobram has moved to the top of the Albury Wodgona Football Association Men’s Division One ladder with the side producing an impressive 5-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.
After having two weeks off, a refreshed Roar outfit travelled to Melrose Park to take on Melrose FC in an important game for both sides.
The Roar opened the scoring through a Jack Smith header in the first minute, before Spiros Vourgaslis scored the first of his hat-trick in the 33rd.
Vourgaslis scored his second in the 64th, before Tom Corso joined the scorers list four minutes later and Vourgaslis completed his hat-trick in the 91st.
Roar coach Vince Iannucci said it felt good to get the win after two weeks of hard work on the training track.
“We had a couple of byes in a row which probably was a good thing for us, it sort of gave us a bit of a reset,” Iannucci said.
“We scored our first goal in the first 30 seconds so it was better than the last time we played them because we beat them 1-0 in the 90th minute.
“We made a bit of a positional change and a formation change and it worked really well so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season comes along.”
Iannucci outlined that Sunday’s game would be the last for Jack Dovey, with Dovey heading back to England, while the Cobram mentor was impressed with Spiros Vourgaslis’s first full 90 of the season.
The Roar will return to Cobram on Sunday afternoon, with a 3pm kick off against the Albury Hotspurs pencilled in.
A full day of action is on the agenda, with the ladder leading men’s and women’s sides both set to play and the club’s canteen set to be in full swing.
— Daniel Webb
AWFA Men’s Division One Men Ladder
1. Cobram
2. Albury United
3. Wangaratta
4. Myrtleford
5. Boomers
6. Melrose FC
7. Albury City
8. Albury Hotspurs
9. Wodonga Diamonds
10. Twin City
11. St Pats FC
AWFA Division Two Women’s Ladder
1. Cobram
2. Wodonga Heart
3. Wangaratta
4. Wodonga Diamonds
5. Albury United
6. Albury Hotspurs
7. Melrose FC
8. Albury City
9. Boomers
10. Twin City
Division two men
Cobram Roar 1 drew with Melrose 1
The division two men’s match was a hard-fought and tightly contested affair. Taner Tekin scored the only goal for Cobram Roar. Despite their efforts they were unable to break through the Melrose defence to win the match.
Division two women
Cobram Roar 8 def Melrose 0
The division two women continued their winning streak with a 8-0 win over Melrose. Laydah Samani booted five goals, Marlie Noonan added two goals to the total and Jenna Mason with a single.
Under-16
Cobram Roar 6 defeated Melrose 1
The under-16s were backing up from their first loss for the year against a fast and dangerous team in Melrose, they took to the pitch with great determination.
The boys’ pressure was way up on the previous few months and the rewards were there with some great play and goals. The team was rewarded for its efforts with a 6-1 win.
Goals: Jackson Koopman 3, Jake Kalz 1, Luke Goodin 1, Thomas Corso 1.
Under-14
Cobram Roar 3 drew with Melrose 3
The under-14 teams struggled for numbers this week and started the game without any interchanges. They had a strong first half and went into the half-time break with a 3-0 lead. An injury to Sam Hurlston left the team with 10 players on the pitch and despite their valiant effort the opposition managed to level the score at 3-3.
Goals: Sam Hurlston 1, Ted Thomas 1, Ian Dimble 1
Under-14 girls
Cobram Roar 3 defeated Wodonga Diamonds 2
The Cobram under-14 girls played the Wodonga Diamonds at Willow Park. The girls started off a little slow with Wodonga getting a goal in the first few minutes. The muddy grounds proving a challenge for Roar girls, as the first half progressed, the girls began to dominate the field having multiple shots at goals but unable to convert. In the second half the girl dominated most of the play getting three goal in the this half, 1 to Luana Mete and 2 to Gemma Janssens.
Under-13
Cobram Roar 1 lost to Melrose 13
The team of 11 players took to the pitch, after most had already played a game in the Under 12s. Despite the physicality of the game and the struggle to break Melrose's defence, the team remained composed, did some great passing and didn't lose focus.
Blaize Dahlenberg showed some great footwork on the wing, in his debut for the 13s. Alex Hawke was fantastic and agile in goals. Jake Kauta was solid in defence, with Logan Morley and Jack Wood providing speed in the backline. The team's single goal came in the second half, after a great run and through ball from Dante Zito to Wil Hutchinson, who skilfully planted it in the back of the net.
Under-12
Cobram Roar 6 def Melrose 1
A solid performance from the young Roar cubs resulted in a convincing win on Sunday. Strong skills and great passages of play from all players showcased the ever-improving talents of the young team.
*An earlier version of this article contained an error which has been corrected. The Courier apologises for the error.