Tuncurry-Forster Football Club

Round 1

Tuncurry Forster Football Club

Bella Bellisimo YD1 Tigers Vs Hawks

The Tigers battled out a tough 2-2 draw with their club mate Hawks. The Hawks were down on player numbers for the season opener, but this wasn’t apparent from the sideline as their enthusiastic running kept the Tigers busy for the 80 minutes.

The Tigers scored the opener after a lovely 1-2 between Luke Arnold and Brad Murray saw Brad slot a clinical finish past Nathan Bonnici. The Hawks responded very quickly after a strong shot skidded off the slippery surface and caught goalkeeper Dan Murray by surprise to level the scores. The Hawks then proceeded to exploit some lazy marking by the Tigers and before long had grabbed a 2-1 lead, which they took to the half time break.

The second half was dominated by the Tigers as their numerical advantage began to wear the Hawks down. Again, it was a lovely interchange of passing between Paul Chipperfield and Jack Mugiven that saw Jack drive an unstoppable shot past the diving Bonnici, to level the scores at 2-2. Shortly afterwards Chipperfield created space for himself and drove a powerful curving long range shot that was headed for the top right corner before Bonnici flung himself acrobatically and deflected it over the bar.

The Tigers were well served by defenders James Jenkins, Mitch Schubert, Nick Murray and Sean Ireland with Jenkins having an outstanding game in the centre of defence. Scott Fantini put in a nonstop performance as did Luke Arnold. The Hawks had the opportunity to steal the win, when Dale Jux stepped up to take a direct penalty, he was denied by a brilliant diving save from Dan Murray to ensure the game finished level.

 The players’ player award was shared by James Jenkins and Paul Chipperfield while the Bella Bellisimo Coach’s award went to James Jenkins.

Round 4

Tuncurry Forster Football Club

Bella Bellisimo YD1 Tigers Vs Wingham Raiders

It was an early start for the Tigers as they hit the road for a 9am kick off at Wingham against the undefeated competition leaders. In a tough, even match, the Tuncurry boys had to settle for a 2-2 draw despite leading the match twice.

Wingham started strongly and applied a lot of early pressure forcing Dan Murray to make a number of quality saves. The backline was solid with Jenko Jenkins and Mitch Schubert locking up the middle of the park, while Nick Murray and Sean Ireland cut off numerous attacking raids down the flanks. Gradually the flow of the game changed with the midfield of Brad Murray, Luke Arnold, Juck Mugiven and Brock Mitchell taking control providing some great service to the forwards who peppered the Wingham goals with shots hitting the cross bar and various body parts of the Raiders keeper. Special mention must go to Steve Mallia from the under 15s who filled in for a couple of boys who were grooving in the moo and played an outstanding game, looking like he’d been part of the team for years. Brad Murray opened the scoring after he latched onto a delightful free kick from Jenkins. Wingham equalised when a cross into the crowded penalty area, bounced from the shoulder of a defender past Murray and into the top corner.

The Tigers had the better of the second half, but the hard sloping surface took its toll with blisters and knocks making the bench a popular place. Adam Christensen must have felt like he had a target on his back as he was forced to the sideline after physical challenges left him with shoulder, knee and finally, a nasty ankle injury. Sean Davies looked composed as he slotted into the sweeper role in the second half and will be a definite asset to the team. The Tigers regained the lead after an early throw from keeper Murray allowed Paul Chipperfield to outpace his marker and slot home a wonderful finish. The Tigers probably felt they had done enough to win, when in the final minutes they stood back and allowed a Wingham player to stride into the box past 3 defenders and watch as her finish could only be parried into the goal.

The players’ player award went to Jack Mugiven while the Bella Bellisimo Coach’s award went to Brad Murray.

Round 9

Tuncurry Forster Football Club

Bella Bellisimo YD1 Tigers Vs Club Taree Leopards

The Tigers travelled to Taree to take on the Leopards after 2 weeks without play due to the wet weather and came away with a 4-0 win.

The first half was extremely tight, with the Tigers finding it difficult to play their passing game on the hard, uneven surface. However, once they adapted to the conditions and used the full width of the field they started to look more threatening. Isaac Fish opened the scoring when he got on the end of a Paul Chipperfield cross and slammed it into the back of the net. On the stroke of half time Adam Christensen finished a determined run with a lovely cross to Luke Arnold who struck a sweet shot into the top corner.

The Tigers played some enterprising soccer in the second half but let themselves down too often with crude, unnecessary tackles. Scott Fantini put in a non stop effort while Brock Mitchell had his best game since joining the team. Paul Chipperfield caused problems for the defence whenever he had the ball and produced two fine crosses, the first was met by Christenesen who placed the shot beyond a diving keeper, while Luke Arnold struck a curling left footer to round out the scoring. Brad Murray had another dominant game in central midfield, in fact it was another terrific effort from all players.

The players’ player award went to Scott Fantini while the Bella Bellisimo Coach’s award went to Brock Mitchell.

Round 2

Tuncurry Forster Football Club

Bella Bellisimo YD1 Tigers Vs Taree Leopards

The Tigers hosted the Leopards, in what was a replay of the 2009 U15 final, and won by a score of 7-1 which did not accurately reflect the closeness of the contest. The game went from end to end for the first 25 minutes with both teams creating good scoring chances, Dan Murray made a number of crucial saves during this period and was dominant in dealing with crosses and corners. The Tigers broke the deadlock with an outstanding interchange of passing from Scott Fantini to Luke Arnold, to Paul Chipperfield who slid a perfect pass onto Adam Christensen who gave the keeper no chance. The second goal came when Chipperfield drove a free kick into the defensive wall and then somehow managed to squeeze the rebound through a mass of players and into the goals. Luke Arnold finished off an incisive run with an accurate pass to Chipperfield who finished clinically sending the Tigers to half time with a 3 goal advantage.

Taree came at the Tigers straight after the break and were able to capitalise on a defensive error to peg the score back to 3-1. The Tigers, however, dug in defensively to weather this storm and finished the game strongly. The goal that broke the Leopards spirit started when keeper Murray released a throw quickly to Arnold who ran at the defence before slipping the ball through to Chipperfield who rounded the keeper and found the net. Brock Mitchell celebrated his first game with the Tigers by sending in a perfect cross to Chipperfield whose shot was deflected to James Jenkins, who, despite enormous pressure from the defence stayed calm and struck a classic into the top right corner. Paul Chipperfield capped off a splendid performance with 2 more goals to finish with 5.

The players’ player award was shared by Scott Fantini and Paul Chipperfield while the Bella Bellisimo Coach’s award was also shared between Chipperfield and Dan Murray.

Round 5

Tuncurry Forster Football Club

Bella Bellisimo YD1 Tigers Vs Great Lakes Vikings

The Tigers played cross town rivals, the Great Lakes Vikings and came away with a convincing 8-0 victory. The Tigers played extremely well as a team and provided the spectators with an entertaining display of passing football and solid defence. It’s difficult to highlight individual performances in such a fine team effort, but Luke Arnold turned in his best performance of the season while Mitch Schubert was outstanding in the middle of defence with his passing game setting up numerous attacking raids. The goal scorers were Paul Chipperfield with 4, Arnold with 2 while Zac Reekie and Isaac Fish scored 1 each. To their credit, the Vikings never gave in and will improve as the season continues.

The players’ player award went to Isaac Fish while the Bella Bellisimo Coach’s award was shared by Mitch Schubert and Luke Arnold.

Round 6

Tuncurry Forster Football Club

Bella Bellisimo YD1 Tigers Vs Club Taree Jaguars

The Tigers travelled to Taree to take on the Jaguars on a slippery uneven playing surface and came away with a 1-1 draw. The Jaguars looked more determined in the first half, winning most of the ball in midfield and keeping the Tigers on the back foot. Once the Tigers settled and started to play the ball wide they caused plenty of concern for their opposition. A charging run down the left wing by Isaac Fish who delivered a great cross to Adam Christensen, who was able to hold off a number of defenders and slam the ball into the net to give the Tigers the lead. Taree equalised just before the half time break despite the best efforts of Dan Murray who was playing well between the sticks.

The second half was a tough, uncompromising 40 minutes with both teams creating good opportunities only to be denied by strong defence or wayward shooting. Paul Chipperfield played strongly a sweeper, cutting off numerous attacking raids, while Nick Murray was exceptional at the back as well. The game went from end to end until the final whistle, with a draw being a fair indication of the flow of the game, although the Tigers looked a much better team in the second half.

The players’ player award went to Paul Chipperfield while the Bella Bellisimo Coach’s award went to Adam Christensen.