ZL1 News & Reviews
2020 Zone League Coaches Announced
We are very excited to announce the signings of our Zone League head coach and Reserves coach.
1st Grade: Clint Aspey
Reserve Grade: Aaron Eather
3rd Grade: TBA
Senior Club Trainer/Assistant: Scott Miller
Goalkeeper Coach: Tom Marshall
2018
Maryland Fletcher vs Wallsend
5 August 2018
The local derby, the battle of the west to see who who truly owns 2287.
Third Grade: A starting side of 15 had slipped to 12 by game day due to work commitments and that hurt the boys a little. As did Wallsend stacking their third grade with a number of reserve and first graders. They would have you believe it was because they were short of numbers but this reporter can’t be fooled so easily.
Maryland went ahead with a very contentious penalty call but we will take all that’s given to us. Expertly concerted by Caid Piggott. Unfortunately that’s where the good news ended. A 3-1 loss against Wallsends “mixed” team.
Reserve Grade: A absolutely horrible ground to play on really didn’t suit our style of play. It makes it hard to play an attractive passing style when there’s no grass to be seen and a rock hard cricket pitch in the middle. This instantly put this game into a grind and a slog.
Maryland dominated early but then lost its way as Wallsend played the old long ball kick and chase which was working for them as they finished the half 1-0. Our reserves are a hard working team however and lay down to no team.
The boys game out and dominated the entire 2nd half. The play settled and the boys started hitting feet and knocking the ball around much better. The final 20mins seen Maryland pepper Wallsend hard and a breakthrough equaliser was finally found through Zac Bones Brown. The boys continued to throw everything they had at Wallsend but it wasn’t to be. A 1-1 draw kills the finals chances for this year but the boys remain undefeated in the 2nd round and the aim now is to finish that way with 1 game to go.
First Grade: The banter started even before kick off. Honestly what kind of a club wear red and white, what a horrible colour scheme. Maroon and Gold now that’s a classic combination.
A “worldie” of a goal opened the scoring by none other than the one and only Kalyn Ponga clone Josh Pattison. A poor clearance from Wallsend seen the ball fall to Josh who from half way noticed the goal keeper out of position and slotted it first time in the top corner. Goal of the year contender for sure!!
That straight away set the tone and took off some pressure. Too many times we’ve dominated but struggled to find the breakthrough goal. Today Maryland dominated from start to finish and the floodgates soon ended. Wallsend of course had a few chances that narrowly went wide but today was Maryland’s day.. A special Hatrick to Timmy Mason who bounced into some great form. Also goals chipped in by the also in form Mason Bohakto and Mat Brown. A great day to be a Bulldog and what a way to ruin Wallsend old boys day. It’s been a great season so far for Maryland Fletcher and the boys have really enjoyed the Zone League One. 1 game remaining. Up the doggiesss!!!!
Maryland Fletcher vs Newcastle University
19 June 2018
3rd Grade: Another very windy freezing day up at Kurraka ovals. Far from ideal conditions. Up 2-0 at the break and handling the conditions well, but everyone knows how dangerous of a score line that can be. Unfortunately this was a day that it came back to bite. The wind played havoc and the boys couldn’t stop uni’s momentum once they got on a roll. The game ending with a 3-2 loss
Reserve Grade: Uni is leading the Comp and we knew this was going to be a massive crunch game for us. We deserved points in the 1st round but lost right at the end of the game. But today was a battle. Howling winds made it very hard to play. Most of the game was spent in the middle of the park with not too many chances for either team.
The game opened up in the 2nd half as the boys went searching for a winner but it wasn’t to be. A 0-0 draw was probably fair in this reporters opinion and a strong point for the Resys boys. A big few weeks ahead for the which will define the season.
1st Grade: The first grade table is very tight at the top, and our boys needed to bounce back after last games narrow loss to the top of the table Cooks Hill. The week off was good for the rising injury toll we had as the boys returned to a near full strength line-up minus inspirational captain James Conte who is still injured.
A very tight 1st half where Maryland looked the better team but not too much happening. Just before the half a great finish from our new on-loan player from Weston Kamal Bol. He looked dangerous all game too.
The 2nd half was just as much of a battle and the wind only intensified. Uni had very few chances and Maryland controlled the midfield and created plenty but a 1-0 win was a great result. Keeping the boys in 3rd place with 4th and 5th biting at their ankles. Very tight comp. Up the Doggiesss
Maryland Fletcher vs Cooks Hill
2 June 2018
A wet and windy Saturday game in at Cooks Hill, coming up against a very good side that’s sitting up the top of the table in all 3 grades. We started the week confident of taking some big scalps this week but by the time Saturday hit we were missing 13 players, mostly through injuries.
3rd grade: Down 2-0 early but playing good football. The boys fought back to 2-2 through some well finished Bryce Wood goals, but unfortunately the boys leaked a late goal. The game ended with a 3-2 loss. A nice highlight of the day was our new player Abdul who turned up mid week and asked if he could join. Turning out to be a very good pickup he had s great game and we welcome Abdul to the Bulldogs.
It’s becoming somewhat of a recurring theme that the boys play great football and create plenty but not coming away with the chocolates. Returning players from injuries however will strengthen all grades.
Reserve Grade: A very strong start from the beginning saw Maryland control the game only to concede from a corner. From there the boys bounced back in attack and the legendary Luke Mitchell turned around and whispered watch this as he struck a beautiful flat corner that sailed straight in at the back stick. An absolutely wonderful goal and all the more amazing that he called it! The boys continued to dominate but could not find the elusive goal and once again against the run of play Cooks Hill scored and the game would remain at 2-1 no matter how hard Maryland pushed. Honestly a brave effort considering how many players were missing.
1st Grade: Cooks Hill sitting in 1st position and undefeated but that didn’t intimidate the boys. We have a great bunch of players on deck and a strong squad. 5 regular first graders missing this week and 4 changes just from the week before all through injuries but we knew the players coming in would do a great job. Maryland started very well and on the attack from the start. Our pace up front and out wide causing all sorts of problems for Cooks Hill. Up 1-0 at half time and could have been a few more with the amount of chances. In the 2nd half the tide turned though. It was clear the legs were getting tired but we were holding on. Cooks Hill made the breakthrough but Maryland continued to battle. A draw in this game still would have been a great result but heartbreakingly a penalty was blown with just a few minutes remaining and the boys finished 2-1 down, The Bulldogs fought right to the end but couldn’t find the back of the net again. Too many chances to go home empty handed but that’s football.
The washout week has probably come a week too late but hopefully by the time the next game rolls around we have most players back on deck and firing for a big second round. First grade finishing the first round in 4th spot and our reserves and thirds sitting mid table but expecting plenty in the coming weeks.
Maryland Fletcher vs Wallsend
27 May 2018
This game was billed as the battle for the west. The old rivalry from way back has been revived. There has been many many great battles over the years and Plattsburg may have a new name and a new home ground but there’s still plenty of players that share the old Plattsy passion.
3rd Grade: A great win last week for our boys but a few injuries in higher grades meant a different lineup taking the field this week. Maryland created plenty of chances and played some good football across the entire game but unfortunately leaked some soft goals from set pieces. A very hard fought game and the boys would never give up but not finishing the chances would come back to bite them. A trait unfortunately shared but the reserves today. 3-0 loss but the effort was there, just not the execution today.
Reserve Grade: Reserves started strong and quite easily could have been 1 or 2 up early but then disaster struck. Conceding 1, then another, and then more. Despite playing some very nice football and working hard all over the park the boys were conceding very soft goals from set pieces and looked lost. After a few home truths at half time and a formation change the boys came out firing. Clawing a goal back and working hard there were definitely more goals in this game. Another few chances went begging before a dirty tackle on a Maryland player resulted in some frustration from both teams and players from both sides received a 2nd yellow each. The boys fought on a hot another goal but he game would end 4-2. Some very soft goals were too much to come back from.
1st Grade: With the lower grades playing some good football but coming away empty handed the boys in 1st's knew they had to be the ones the spoil Wallsend’s party. From the outset Maryland dominated. They were rock solid from the back to the front and everywhere in between. The first half ended 2-0 but Wallsend were barely hanging on. The game should have been dead and buried well before the break but no to be. The second half continued on with more of the same and Maryland eventually killed the game off with their 3rd strike. Comfortably collecting the 3 points and first grade is now 5 games unbeaten and sitting nicely in 3rd place. A great achievement so far after being promoted this year.
Maryland Fletcher v Westlakes
20 May 2018
3rd Grade: Opened the day looking to bounce back from a disappointing result the week before and they did exactly that! Grabbing a goal early and taking control of the game from start to finish. Very well played and finished 4-0. A great start to the day for the Dogs.
Reserve Grade: wanted to follow up on some very good form and continue on their winning run. After dominating the early parts of the game they conceded from a free kick. The boys carried on searching for goals and before long the floodgates opened. Controlling the game and enjoying plenty of possession the score finished 4-1. That’s 3 wins in a row now and playing great.
1st Grade:The main event. Already with 3 wins in a row under their belt we looking to cement their position in the top 4. Unfortunately turning the ball over cheaply in the midfield resulted in a goal against the run of play. Maryland responded well by creating numerous chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. A few attacking changes were made at half time and the dogs went on the front foot early but again struggled to finish. With 20 mins left the boys converted a well worked goal. The final 15 or so minutes seen a flurry of chances for both teams but the scores would remain 1-1. A strong showing at the office today across all grades.
