by Jason Carr

On Saturday the Gazette Under 11 Dragons played Leichhardt at Endeavour Park.  Leichhardt could only muster eight players so the Dragons also fielded eight and had three subs.  

This meant frequent substitutions and added a layer of difficulty for the players trying to find rhythm and cohesion.  Despite this, all the Dragons gave a mighty effort which led to a dominant display and a 5 – 2 win.
 
Curtis White gave his usual master-class in shot-stopping and much-improved distribution.  Zimmy Too and Josh D’arcy were impeccable at the back, dominating their third of the pitch and feeding the ball into attacking zones.  

Once again the midfield showed purpose and vision with all winning the ball and attacking the goal.  The score could have doubled if more had worn their shooting boots.  

Kale Warden fired a number of warning shots across and above their bows – heaven help the team he’s playing against when he finally finds his range!
 
Mitch Budge switched to the left for this game and scored two goals to cap off a skillful display.  Player of the Match, Jake Roemermann, popped up to score two goals at key moments to cement the Dragons dominance.  

Jake hustled in every direction and was in the right place at the right time for much of the game.  Kale scored one from close range.
 
The Dragons season has turned a corner with two wins and a draw from the last three fixtures.  All players are improving technically and teamwork is better by the week.  

Eurotech Douglas Dragons Under 9s continued their winning streak this week with a comfortable 5-1 win over TAS in Cairns.

The Dragons started strongly and some good work by Bailey Morrison saw him score the first goal. TAS fought back but strong defending by Nick Rayner, Lockie Weyand and Connor White stopped the TAS forwards getting any shots on goal.

The young Dragons attacked back with Jack Carr on form to fire two powerful shots into the roof of the net putting Douglas 3-0 up at half-time.

TAS pushed forward in the second half only to be foiled by some great goalkeeping from Mitch Ralston.

The Dragons pushed again with Charlie Dowling showing some neat footwork to beat two defenders and shoot the ball into the bottom corner to make it 4-0.

Jack Carr added a fifth before TAS got a late consolation goal after a defensive mix up to make the final score 5-1. Nick Rayner was the CourtHouse Man of the Match.

Go you Dragons!