Played Queens Park AFC in Invercargill
WIN 0 - 2

1. Tom Stevens.2. Michael Sannum. 3. Ben Sinnott. 5. Luke Williams. 6. Sam Mepham. 7. Shay Thom. (C) 9. Sam Cosgrove. 10. Finn Bielski-Cook. 12. Jack McFarlane. 14. Nathan Wilkie. 17. Harley Rodeka. 18. Josh Lucas.19. Luke Clissold. 20. Terry Boylan.

Our second away game in the last two weeks makes it an interesting time for us, to say this week was a challenging one is an understatement. Players standing down through being a positive test with Covid or being a household contact, then along with this flu virus that is going around, it definitely had a bearing on match day squad selections. Our main aim this season is to make sure that all three senior Men's teams are challenging for their respective league titles. Hence our squad selections this week were on the air of caution for our Fletcher Cup side who in the end more than got the job done!

We meet at the hub at Ellis Park and go over the starting line-up also going over tactics along the way. The game plan is simple our shape, our tactics, then their shape and more to the point finding a way to get three points from an away tie. Travel down to Invercargill is horrendous the weather not making it easy to drive in, we arrive to probably some of the worst conditions to play football in at the ILT Turf. The wind, the rain was absolutely terrible.

We quickly adjust by getting out early to warm up and adjust to the conditions. We kick off and within two minutes we are handed an own goal through some great pressure up top, Josh Lucas plays a long direct ball out to our right hand side, the ball is crossed into the box by Sam Cosgrove and with pressure being applied by both Nathan Wilkie and Finn Bielski-Cook their two centre backs get in each other's way and head the ball over their own goal keeper. The rest of the first half is played with neither team dominating possession through the conditions.
Just before half time we score a second goal from a corner through Sam Mepham his half volley is excellent to say the least the technique required to hit this on an angle on the edge of the 18-yard box was breath taking. Half time is literally called once we score.

The second half is much better for us, we dominate and just get the job done, a couple of close strikes on goal are the talking points of the second half. Today's game was about managing the conditions and whomever did that the best was going to win. A well earned three points on the road leaves us with a big challenge this coming week with a derby game against our old foes Northern AFC. The Blair Davidson and the Stumpy memorial are up for grabs.

All players who travelled were an asset on and off the pitch, big ups to Luke Clissold for coming down knowing that he has been very sick shows how much this team means to him. Michael Sannum carried on his usual consistent self, Josh Lucas did well on his return to 1st team football, the midfield three of Sam Mepham and Jack McFarlane plus Shay Thom were good. Man of the Match was Shay Thom his all-round running and pressing and breaking up attacks was excellent.

Regards
Terry
 

Played Northern AFC at Ellis Park
WIN 6 - 1

Squad: 1. Kate Hannay, 2. Saffron Hare, 3. Sophie Wylie, 4. Jemma Wilson, 5. Francesca Traini, 6. Holly White, 7. Amelia Newlands, 8. Alex Maffey, 9. Jasmine Prince, 10. Emma Black, 11. Sam Grey, 12. Kate Watson, 13. Zara Pratley, 14. Beth Fitchett, 15. Abbey Neilson, 17. Rebecca Johnstone
Goalscorers - Jasmine Prince x4, Emma Black, Holly White

Our first game this season with a full bench of Prem players allowed the players on the field to not feel too stressed as we had strong players available to come on. We took the lead early with a goal from Jas straight off of kick off which gave us a big confidence boost. The wind made it difficult for us to play over the top of Northerns back line so we had to stick to keeping it on the deck which worked in our favour as we were able to string a lot of good passes together. We had many great through balls and attacking runs which lead to heaps of shots at goal but unfortunately due to the wind they didn’t quite manage to go in. Northern managed to get a goal by intercepting one of our passes out from the back bringing the score up to 1-1. 

Half time we went straight inside to try to avoid the rain and had a positive chat and had a main focus on scoring goals. Second half the weather died down and we had the wind with us. We were focusing on attacking and were mainly in Northerns half for the rest of the game and had a lot of good runs made from the wingers and midfielders. 3 more goals were scored by Jas one even being assisted from our goalie Kate. Emma came onto the field and made a great attacking run down the field and slipped the ball in behind the goalie. Holly also scored after dancing around all the Northern players as usual. Abbey, Beth, RJ and Zara came onto the field. All performing great and trying hard to contribute to more goals for the team. Our full backs and wingers Amelia, Alex, Saffie and Jemma made great runs all throughout the game leading to many shots on goals. Our centre backs Sam and Kate worked hard to track back and prevent Northern from scoring. Our Midfield Frankie, Holly and Sophie all worked hard to get themselves on the ball and make passes and try to get the ball to Jas who was a firework like always. End of the game we won 6-1 and we’re pretty happy with how many shots at goal we had and how nice and crisp our passes were.

Match Report by Sophie Wylie
 

Played Mosgiel AFC at Memorial Park
WIN 0 - 7

The Fletcher Cup squad took on Mosgiel in awful conditions at Memorial Park. The wind/gale made it a difficult day to play football. But from the start Roslyn dominated and started to create a number of good chances. With the wind behind them the team scored 5 quality goals. Zac opened the scoring, Dom added one and Hamish finished the half with a hat-trick. The second half was into a blustery gale but Roslyn played their best football by keeping the ball well and moving it up the pitch with short sharp passing. Further goals to Shamal and Flynn wrapped up the game 7 nil. A great team performance in really difficult conditions. Congratulations to Hamish on his hat-trick. Player of the day was Joe at centre back who was strong and physical and made a couple of superb blocks. 
The Fletcher Cup team finish round one with 5 wins from 5 games. The goal is to train hard and perform each week to a high standard.  
Lance 
Fletcher Cup Coach 

 

Dunedin City Royals FC - DEFAULT
WIN 0 - 3
 

Played Mornington AFC at Ellis Park
WIN 7 - 1

The Brumbies took to the pitch on a wet, windy and chilly Saturday afternoon at the mighty Ellis Park. The first home game of the season, the Brumbies were keen to get a result against their opponents Mornington AFC and continue their unbeaten start to the season.

The conditions resulted in a shaky start to the first half, with chances presenting themselves to both teams to take the lead. However, the team managed to get control of the game and stride into a 2-0 lead at the half. The second half proved to be a far more one sided affair, with the Brumbies piling a further 5 goals onto Mornington, who were unable to cope with the quality of the Brumbies front three. Special mention to Ben Reeve who had a field day in front of goal, bagging 4 goals to bring his tally to 7 for the season, and James Hanlon who continued his fine run of form, notching 3 assists and a goal.
 

RWAFC Mustangs vs Cowboys at Ellis Park
MUSTANGS WIN 3 - 6

Cowboys Version
We played at home again this week, at 12:30. It was a highly competitive game to say the least. We equalised early on, but didn't pull through resulting in a 6-3 loss - our first of the season.

Mustangs Version
Big derby game on Ellis 3. There were a few Cowboys looking to muster up a herd of Mustangs.  But things didn’t quite go to plan on the Roslyn Ranch. Straight from the get go the Mustangs wanted to win this derby.  Coach McCann set the tone by stating how bad it is to lose a derby and its to be the one game to win. With a few motivational words from a few team members, the Mustangs stepped onto the field fired up and hungry for a win!

The game started off well with Ethan smacking the crossbar 1 minute into the game only to bounce off the goal line to keep it in play,  very unlucky.  This only drove the Mustangs as we pressed the Cowboys and pressed well.  Mustangs looking a good outfit, it soon showed,  when a ball crossed in for Mitch to shoot it in opening the scoring to put Mustangs crucially 1-0 up.  Too busy celebrating Mustangs shut off and allowed the Cowboys to immediately have a shot ping of the inside of the post and in the net. 1-1. A little goal wasn’t putting the Mustangs down tho because out of the blue Finn pokes an ambitious shot from outside the box and the keeper struggled to catch it and fumbled it for it to roll on into the net!  We dominated the rest of the half and seeing the score out to 2-1 up at the half.

Mustangs on full charge went out firing on all cylinders and banged in 2 more goals early on to take it to 4-1 up!  Beautiful composed goals from Phoenix and the same from Bailey.  But then came the shut off period.  Cowboys came back at us and can’t back hard.  They got hope when Logan has put in a challenge in the box unfortunately not clean enough to concede a penalty.  Bang 4-2 great pen.  Cowboys smelt the blood and really went for it!  Once again we conceded a silly free kick for the Cowboys to smash from way out and the wind carrying it but unfortunately past the keeper, who could do nothing about it!  Nervous times were setting in and the pendulum had swung,  it was the Mustangs game to lose.  Thankfully the last 10 minutes Mustangs had a break with Ethan getting a shot blocked but was quick to rebound it in the net, giving us a cushion and to settle some nerves!  This was clear to see as Mustangs pressed straight away getting another shot in to be saved and James was quick to rebound it into the net again to see the game 6-3. 

Overall the game was played in good spirits and some great quality football from both sides!  Cowboys were a great team and well mannered and gets us excited for the 2nd round robin game. Cowboys have had a great start to the season and wish the team the best of luck for the season. Big thanks to Ian Adamson for reffing the game,  never an easy job, especially a derby.  You controlled the game and called it perfectly.  Well done mate.
POD - Ken Sprowson
 

Played Queenstown AFC at Brockville
LOSS 2 - 5

The Women's Reserves played Queenstown up at a very cold and windy Brockville Park. The day got off to a bad start with the girls having to wait half an hour in the freezing cold for the DCC to open the changing rooms. Eventually we got kitted up and tried to warm up as best we could. Queenstown started stronger than us and with the gale force winds at their backs scored 2 goals in quick succession within the first 10 minutes. Then we conceded an unlucky penalty which Queenstown converted. To the girls credit they didn't give up and battled hard. Charli scored a screamer for us to close the gap. Unfortunately the visitors scored again before half-time to make it 1 - 4 at the break.

The girls went out in the second half determined to close the gap. They had the wind this half and put lots of pressure on Queenstown early in every part of the park. Hannah shot from outside the box, clipped the inside of the post and into the back of the net. Within 2 goals and momentum building we continued to have chances to score. Unfortunately it wasn't to be with Queenstown nicking a goal against the run of play to stretch their lead. The girls did not give up however and battled to the final whistle. Finishing 2 - 5.

In terrible conditions the girls did themselves proud battling all the game, only to get a result that flattered the visitors and wasn't really a true reflection of the game or their effort. We look forward to a top of the table clash next week when we take on Uni 2nds on the Turf.
POD goes to EJ. Congrats.
 

Played Otago University AFC Yellow at Ellis Park
WIN 3 - 0
 

Played Al-Huda FC at Brockville
WIN 16 - 0

The Originals were back up above the snowline on Saturday to take on the unknown quantity that is Al-Huda 35s. Unfortunately for the visitors their own numbers were also a bit of a mystery, starting the game with roughly 9 players, their resistance was sort lived in the bitter Brockville conditions, conceding early and frequently meaning the game was effectively over by half-time. Not letting the 10-0 score line breed complacency Clifford the big red Center back demanded we keep our foot on the throat. Seizing his chance to both be a good sort and slip into some light blue, Brownie joined the visitors to bolster their defence, thwarting a few promising attacks. But in the end an all-around clinical display from the Originals had them cleaning up 16-0 winners.

Goal scorers were Damo 3, Andy 3, Fernando 2, Brownie 2, Matt 2, Hayden, Phil, an Own Goal and 'Good Vibrations' himself Morgan with 1 each. Player of the Day going to Steve Brown for scoring the most unusual hat-tirck. Also Thanks to Alan and Rich for refereeing.
 

Played Green Island AFC Legends at Sunnyvale
WIN 0 - 2

What a fabulous day for football, Sunnyvale put on a stunner for our match against the Green Island Legends. We started the game with three subs and finished with no subs, a cracking goal by Steve McCabe within 10mins got us the start we needed, a solid platform at the back from Dennis, Thommo and young Keiryn set up a tremendous passing game channelling through the midfield and linking well with the lads up top. Starting boy Pat toiled industriously until the mysterious third shooter got him again, fortunately just a flesh wound and he re-joined the fray a bit later in the game. RJ and Bazza lead from the front but the goals today were from the midfield maestros, Stevie McCabe and Big Matt Blakeley. The GI legends were top of the league going in to the game  but not now.  Player of the day was given to Stevie at GIs clubrooms and to Wayne Thomson back at the Roslyn base, both had excellent games.

Giddily diddily up the Colts
 

Played Highgate AFC Hobbits at Ellis Park
LOSS 1 - 5

The Trojans took on a skilful Highgate Hobbits outfit at Ellis 4 on Saturday where the conditions were basically awful most of the time.

Like last week we were 1 nil down at half time and by full time there was only one thing different from last weeks 5 nil loss, we scored, but lost 5-1 with a consolation goal to Pierre Rivollet.

POD was the ever dependent Chris Connor.
 

Played Dunedin City Royals FC at Brockville
LOSS 2 - 4

Played G.I. on a windswept Ellis Park, after a pre-match rev up the boys got stuck in with some slick passing moves scoring a couple of well worked goals. After the break they extended the lead to then dig deep to survive a late surge from Green Island, ending up winning 4-2.

Player of the Day going to Jayson for a hard working dominant display.
 

A big thank you to the ever expanding team of committed volunteers who move ahead with our gym floor renovations. The progress is highlighted in this photo which shows half of the gym floor uplifted.

A lot of hard work is being completed with diggers etc so as to sort the drainage issues. This is stage one of our changing sheds renovation planned for September next year.

Like the recent news article about the Alhambra Union changing sheds upgrade our planned changing sheds upgrade will also have separate women's showers too.
 

The 31st of May is the last day to pay before your subs increase by 10%!

• Senior Men and Women - $270.00
• Students and Unwaged - $240.00
• Youth / School - $110.00
• * Social member - $40.00

Payments can be made in instalments or in full. To arrange instalments please contact club Treasurer Ian Sawyer at rwafc.nz@gmail.com

Please pay via direct debit: 03 0883 0020178 000 referencing your name and team.

* Social Members
Just a reminder that for licensing requirements we need all of our supporters to be a social member of the club, similar to an RSA, working mans club etc. The cost of this is $40 per season so please help us out by paying this early on so as we can serve you a beverage.
 

Originally from Ireland, Alan has been a mainstay of the Dunedin music scene since moving to New Zealand in 2008. After completing a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Music at Otago University Alan stayed in Dunedin and gained a reputation for his highly professional and entertaining stage presence.

BOOK HIM FOR YOUR PRIVATE FUNCTION
Alan's repertoire spans across many genres from rock, pop, funk, soul, blues, dance and disco and he can tailor his set to cater to bars, restaurants, clubs, private functions and corporate events. Available as a solo act, 2 piece or up to a 12 piece with full horn section Alan Ned Gray can help you enjoy your night no matter what the size of the function or your budget.
 
Contact Alan:
021 239 3107   |   alannedgray@gmail.com
www.alannedgray.com  |  facebook.com/alannedgraymusic