An Active groove for the Tillies

Our beloved Matildas, the darlings of Australian sport, wrapped up the 2023 Cup of Nations with a trio of worldies to give the whole country hope for a good showing at this year’s Women’s World Cup. A far from convincing first-half was interrupted by a Mini Gorry super-strike, and a half-time pep talk brought theContinue reading “An Active groove for the Tillies”

Ravens’ reality check at the Bean

Northern Tigers 3 Gladesville Ravens 0 Fresh from the Proctor Cup in Bathurst and with high-tempo training sessions midweek, Gladesville Ravens Girls Youth League Division One Under 16s went into a pre-season fixture with Northern Tigers beginning to understand the step up required from Division Two. The Ravens were comprehensively outplayed by their high-achieving opponentsContinue reading “Ravens’ reality check at the Bean”

Ravens burn brightly in balmy Bathurst

The Gladesville Ravens Girls Youth League Division 1 Under 16s team for 2023 gave a positive account of themselves in the Proctor Cup this weekend, a pre-season tournament in Bathurst where youth teams test their pre-season credentials against each other in preparation for the new season. Ravens boasted a strong squad, and paired with fellowContinue reading “Ravens burn brightly in balmy Bathurst”

A warm welcome to 2023 for Ravens

Gladesville Ravens NPL1 Under 16s made their first appearance of the year in a trial game against two different opponents at Majors Bay on Sunday. Inter Lions and a touring South Melbourne team played two 30-minute halves each in beaming conditions, the hosts wilting in the sun and dispatched for six, while South Melbourne keptContinue reading “A warm welcome to 2023 for Ravens”

Cove cavalry inspire Sky Blues to win

According to Scottish folklore, the first person to enter your house on New Year’s Day is the bringer of good fortune for the coming year and also brings gifts for the household. Sydney FC were meant to carry out that first-footing tradition at McDonald Jones Stadium, but the script was torn up as the SkyContinue reading “Cove cavalry inspire Sky Blues to win”

2022 : A year in football pictures

The footballing year has come to an end, here’s a brief look back on the year in a few slideshows of photos from my phone. The number of these photos taken in wild weather is testament to the crazy conditions we’ve faced as supporters, players and referees this year. I’ve attended a 30-game season ofContinue reading “2022 : A year in football pictures”

Sat 03/12/2022 : Argentina given a fright by battling Aussies

There was no way that our first, and probably only, meal of the day was going to be labelled as a breakfast. No one was surfacing at any time that resembled breakfast time, and rightly so after another night that extended into the early hours. This was it, the final game of our World CupContinue reading “Sat 03/12/2022 : Argentina given a fright by battling Aussies”

Fri 02/12/2022 : Uruguay on their knees, angry Serbs undone by Swiss

We arrived at the final day of the group stage games with a lot on our minds. We had managed to get our flights changed (and free of charge!) so we could attend the Socceroos’ Round of 16 game against Argentina. We didn’t yet have match tickets though, but there had been an expression ofContinue reading “Fri 02/12/2022 : Uruguay on their knees, angry Serbs undone by Swiss”

Thu 01/12/2022 : Morocco magic, Japan keep Spain sweating

The Socceroos were through. We had a big night that night, and the knowledge that Australia were up against the might of Argentina in the next game was beginning to sink in. This was a very lazy morning, where I typed up the match report for the Denmark game and uploaded all the photos toContinue reading “Thu 01/12/2022 : Morocco magic, Japan keep Spain sweating”

Wed 30/11/2022 : Danish delight for Socceroos and Argentina do enough

By the time we had got out of bed, got showered and ready and got our hearty breakfast of faken (that’s fake bacon) and eggs on the stove, it was already afternoon. We had been tucking into the Heinekens and the vodka and Irn Bru was flowing. We met down at the entrance to theContinue reading “Wed 30/11/2022 : Danish delight for Socceroos and Argentina do enough”