SOCKS … SHORTS … SHIN GUARDS … etc
Have you pre-purchased these and not yet collected?
Do you need to buy new ones?
These can be purchased/collected 8:00 am-noon on 11 July and 8:30-11:00 am on 12 July. Come to the shipping containers.
Please note: we are out-of-stock of (men’s size) Medium shorts and will not be in stock again until next year; (men’s size) Large socks are back in stock this weekend.
BMFC AM.4: 1
vs
Wentworth Falls FC: 0
BMFC Goal Scorers: Marty
Player of the Match: Knapsack Park grass cover
Match Report: The smell of freshly cut grass and Dencorub, the sound of strapping tape being vigorously applied, the sight of bloodshot eyes from the previous night’s bender – football was back!
Twas a glorious winter’s afternoon that greeted the lads at Knapsack – arguably the only winner from COVID with a cover of grass not seen since… ever. And now almost 100% asbestos-free after the removal of the old clubhouse, the air was electric.
The off-season transfer window was a busy time for the AA4s (nee 35.1 Whites) – with only 8 incumbents remaining and some youthful up and coming talent recruited, only one question remained unanswered – Did the gaffer get the mix of old and new right, or would this season be as fruitless as Spurs trying to win Europe?
Still short of a full-time keeper after the loss of Stevie Buffon to El Presidente’s David Smith’s squad (pending investigation into reports of brown paper bag payments), Lachy found an old pair of gloves last used to keep a clean sheet in 1987, and coupled with his debilitating shagger’s back injury from mid-week, he nominated to stand between the sticks.
And only missing Kris as his medical didn’t pass cut-off in time and Slash (I missed 90% of last season on a 14 week holiday) away on holiday, 4 on the bench gave us plenty of legs.
Wenty Falls were happy to knock the ball around and play out from the back, and we absorbed some early pressure, Kyle more than once clearing out danger in the box and Lachy making a couple of nice stops. We began getting the upper hand, Rod making plenty of probing runs from deep causing problems and a few testing shots from the forwards from outside the box as we tried to find our range.
The best chance of the half came when Matty whipped in a quick free-kick of his left boot and found Ads on the far post where he went for the dramatic swan-dive header when a simple tap-in volley would have probably done the job, the ball sailing harmlessly over the crossbar. Ghost stepped up for another free-kick just outside the box, but decided he would rather see just how high he could kick the Mitre, rather than attempt a shot on target, all and sundry agreeing that he can indeed kick the ball very, very high.
Half time, nil all.
Disregarding the numerous complaints from last season, Dre held the halftime sermon outside the women’s toilet block again, and was positively glowing over the first half performance while clearly starting to develop a few man-crushes over some of the new recruits.
And in true leadership fashion just to remind us to keep the intensity up, Dre received the back pass off the kick-off and gifted it straight to the oncoming striker, keeping the entire backline on their toes for the rest of the half. Crisis averted.
We picked up where we left off and arguably had all the running, creating plenty of chances and stifling the opposition when they had the ball, or catching them offside on plenty of occasions. The breakthrough finally came when Rod found space on the flank and picked out Marty with his cross, whose pre-season routine of beer and pizza paid dividends, controlling the ball with his magnificent guts before sticking his toe out and lobbing into the far post netting. Marty’s first goal since 2018 saw his management immediately start negotiating a goal bonus amendment to his contract.
Tails were up and we were moving the ball freely, and everyone wanted to get on the scoresheet – Rusty, Felts and Matty happy to shoot at will, Zac coming closest with a bolt that crashed into the crossbar, and Joe hitting a pure speculator form 35 yards out, stamping his arrival as a challenger to Dre’s cultured lobs.
Felts stepped up for a free-kick outside of the box that favoured his left hoof, but his ego wouldn’t allow Ghost to win the highest kick of the day award, sending it into the stratosphere and would have landed on the clubhouse roof if it was still standing. Golf claps all-round.
Niall found himself with room on the edge in the dying stages, and with the entire team, opposition, supporters and officials yelling “Shoot” the ball got more lost between his legs than an Irishman in hiding with an expired Visa, he became a bit overwhelmed and decided to have a bit of a lie down instead.
1-0 final score, 3 points in the bag and the fan base believing that this could be a season to remember.
BMFC 17.1: 4
vs
Penrith FC: 1
BMFC Goal Scorers: Ethan 2 (1 pen), Liam, Damo
Players Player of the Match: Liam
Match Report: After the longest pre-season ever known, it was great to finally get the boys on the park for their first game of the season
Two pieces of ‘I can’t believe he did that’ news prior to even the warm-up getting underway kept things interesting
Firstly, a 7.40am call was received from Finn to advise that he had left the keys in the car the night before and woke up to a flat battery and would therefore not be with us til close to kick off. That cemented Finn’s place on the bench for the start of the game!
Secondly, Brayden’s hair. Liam had been handed the clippers the night before and a mullet come arrow had been carved out on top ??. Different. Amazingly Brayden maintained his spot in the starting 11
The game got underway and a goal after about 10 minutes settled the nerves. A move through the centre of midfield – Harry Burns to Liam and slide rule pass for Ethan to run onto and knock past the oncoming keeper
A second goal came a few minutes later, courtesy of a penalty from Ethan after a Penrith FC defender was adjudged to have handled in the box
Ash had a goal disallowed – following up after a shot from Ethan was pushed away by the keeper
Penrith stayed in the contest – a well hit free kick was touched onto the bar by an ever reliable Eli in goal
In the second half, Damo found himself free in the box after a couple of shots were parried and the second one fell to him to pass into the net
In the second half, Ash was matched for pace for once as Adam from the Voice demonstrated his all round talents
Liam placed a free kick perfectly around the wall and into the net to make it four
Penrith then pulled one back with a similar free kick to Liam’s being well placed
Overall a good team performance in our first league game – some great play but certainly a few things to work on at training through the week
TEAM VACANCIES
We have vacancies in our mixed gender U5, U6, U9 & U10 teams.
We need girls aged 17–21 for our IW.1 team.
We need boys for our U13.4, U16.2 and U17/18.2 teams.
Players also needed for our AM.4 team.
All other teams are full.
A big welcome to our newest supporter MATE, an 100% Aussie internet and mobile service provider! MATE has jumped on board to support the Mighty Blueys – it’s time to support them back and get a great internet and mobile deal at the same time!
We have a lot of unknowns going on at the moment, but if you need connection to the nbn – and right now we all need the internet more than ever – make sure you give our Club sponsor, MATE, a call on 13 14 13. They have great deals and are easy to deal with. With the nbn being rolled out across the lower mountains, now is the perfect time to get set up with them.
Enter the promo code BMFC upon sign up and support a business that supports our Club!
https://www.letsbemates.com.au/nbn/ #beourmate #letsbemates @beourmate
Everyone must register on-line, but to determine if you’ll also need to see us in person at a Registration Day, click here to find out more (all Club days/dates, prior to season kick-off, are listed under “Pre-Season Information”, below).
Before clicking on the “Get Started” button at https://registration.playfootball.com.au/common/pages/reg/WelcomeRegPlus.aspx?entityid=74257&save=0, make sure you have the following available:
* Photo – everybody must upload a photo into their account and the photo must be passport-style [i.e. a plain, light-coloured, untextured, background required (e.g. internal wall), head & shoulders only, no caps/hats/sunglasses/glasses (unless sports glasses are worn when playing)]. Avoid taking a photo of a photo.
Have a look at the images in this post for what’s OK and what’s not. If no photo is uploaded, or the uploaded photo is not passport-style, then your registration cannot be approved until this is done. If you encounter any problems when uploading a photo, please send it to playfootball.support@ffa.com.au, together with the player’s full name and ID number, and c.c. in registrar@bmfc.com.au and registrar-assistant@bmfc.com.au, so we can try to keep track of the request.
* Active Kids voucher details.
* Working With Children (WWC) details (applicable to all coaches & managers, except those in “Over” teams).
* Linked Account for all family members, to take advantage of BMFC’s Sibling discount.
Minimum Age to register – turning 5 this year.
Default age group to play in (for junior players) – the age the player is turning this year (e.g. a child who is 7, as at 31 December, will play in Under 7s).
Our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BlueMountainsFC/) will post reminders/tips – please look/like/follow.
Team Achievements
15.2 – League Competition Winners, Championship Tournament Final Runners Up
16G.1 – League Competition Runners Up, Championship Tournament Final Winners, Nepean Cup Winners
O35.1B – League Competition Runners Up, Championship Tournament Final Runners-Up
12G.2, 16.1 – League Competition Runners Up
Special Awards – Team
John Costello Award – Most Improved team performance throughout the year – 13.4
Robbie Madden Award – Highest Division/Age competition winner – 15.2
Tony Millington Award – Recognition of a team’s commitment to battle on – 11.6
Dedication Award – For dedication by the team to playing and training the game – 12.4
Special Awards – Individuals
Barry Summers Memorial Award – Club Person of the Year – Sarah Boswell
Brodie Cavanough Memorial Award – Best & Fairest U8 Goalie – Carlyle Magee
Aiken-Semeniuk Encouragement Award – MiniRoos Female Footballer – Gabrielle Sargeant
Connor Ansell Memorial Award – Junior Best & Fairest – Lexy Thorpe
Margaret Wagner Memorial Award – Senior Best & Fairest – Leanne Aiken
10-Year Awards
For players, coaches & managers who have been with the club for 10 years:
Players – Aidan Burns, Lachlan Cassells, Lachlan Collier, Thomas Culver, Daniel Gibbeson, Cohen Haldane, Bailey Heyman, Rhys Higgins, Tamara Jaglica, Caleb Maynard, Kynan Miels, Connor O’Leary, Harrison Walker, Noah Young, Scott Young
Coaches – David Heyman
20-Year Awards
For players who have played for the club for 20 years:
Marty Dunn, Melanie Semeniuk
BMFC O35.1W: 2
vs
Blue Mountains O35.1B: 6
BMFC Goal Scorers: Own Goal, Skinner
Player of the Match: Football
Match Report: Every so often the football gods dish up the most succulent of dishes for the ever hungry public, a dream fixture that has any broadcaster drooling puddles enough to drown a horse – this Sunday saw one of these treats.
It was semi final time, time to step up and take the glory, time to make all those kms from pre season worth it, time to use up one more tube of deep heat.
It was time for the Battle of the Blueys. The Underdogs vs the favourites, the People’s Champions vs the runners up, the Mighty Ducks vs the Russians, Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed, David vs Goliath, Blue Mountains White vs blacks. Winner takes all.
Due to the important nature of the fixture and the expected crowd size, the powers that be made the call to move all other fixtures away from the home of football to allow extra room for stadium expansion, it was going to be a sellout. The extra police on duty for the expected crowd trouble weren’t needed as the white cloaked fanatics were on their best behaviour on the march from the Lappo down to Knapsack “When the Whites, go marching on”.
After the first test of the series didn’t go the Whites way last weekend, Dre called for the heavy rollers to be used all week to remove all possible traces of moisture from the pitch to help favour the Whites pace attack. The curators obliged and we were presented with the beginnings to the first runway for Sydney’s new second airport.
Add 2 tins plum tomatoes, the finely chopped leaves from ¾ small pack basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 1 beef stock cube, 1 deseeded and finely chopped red chilli (if using), 125ml red wine and 6 halved cherry tomatoes. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the plum tomatoes.
The players were met by a wall of noise as they entered the field of play from the tunnel, not because any of the fans truly loved any of them, more so they were cheering the fact that so many of them had made it to the end of the season and were still able to walk. It really is a testament to the fine specimens of the over 35’s that these supreme athletes, nah Adonis’, were still standing after such a long and intense season.
The game started like a Fast and the Furious movie, full of amazing end to end action, some quick witted dialogue, some beautiful looking characters and some villains. This was definitely going to be a game full of goals, it was only a matter of time.
Blacks scored a couple of tap ins.
The game started to simmer like your Nonna’s secret bolognese sauce, tackles were flying in and somehow the intensity lifted again.
With their backs against the wall and their season on the line, the mighty Whites needed to find a way back into the game before halftime, and find a way they did. After some inspirational play in midfield the ball was played through into the box and the defenders knew what to do from there, slotting straight past the helpless keeper. It was back to 2-1, but they weren’t done yet.
With the seconds ticking down, a beautiful ball was played across the park that had the defenders cloud watching and before it was too late the keeper was in no mans land. Rumour has it that the striker could be heard giggling like a school girl as everything fell into place and he calmly lobbed the keeper. The crowd lost their collective heads as the halftime whistle was blown and the score was 2-2.
The moods in the two dressing rooms at halftime couldn’t have been more chalk and cheese. The Whites were full of positivity and at no moment during the season had more bottoms been tapped. Whether from shock from the comeback or fear of the inevitable, some of the blacks wouldn’t return after halftime.
The second half passed without much fanfare apart from a certain defender getting more lost than Tom Hanks in the movie Cast Away, getting tackled by the ball twice, looking for a free kick from it, then almost being yellow carded for defacing the field of play when his shot took out the corner flag, good times.
BMFC O35.1W: 1
vs
BMFC O35.1B: 3
BMFC Goal Scorers: Skinner
Player of the Match: Fate
Match Report: Ah, the drama of last match day! All games today being played at the ungodly hour of 9am, with the heroic O35 Whites sitting 3rd, but a loss and other results could see us 5th and bundled out of the Finals.
And what a more dramatic way than to play in the 2nd leg of the Old Man Bragging Rights Cup (or ‘El Geriatrico’ as the locals and pundits alike now call it) against our evil step-brothers, the BMFC O35 Blacks, currently leading the series by 1.
The team bus arrived covered in snow due to the polar storm/antarctic blast/sharknado, whatever you want to call it, but with all seats filled spirits were high, even Macca decided to turn up 20 minutes early which was a welcome change, but we lost Rusty late again as he is seemingly allergic to pre-midday kick offs.
The question on everyone’s lips – was the weather a sign that it would be a White Winter or would it suit the Blacks cold dead hearts?
An early pitch inspection and Ian Chappell’s key could hardly penetrate the surface – there would be plenty of Knapsack bounce and swing, and after winning the toss the Blacks elected to bowl from the Paddington end.
A real arm-wrestle as always is the case in these games, with our pre-game strategy of ‘marking,’ ‘passing,’ ‘defending’ and ‘attacking’ really paying off, the ball firmly planted down their end of the pitch. Andre also realising after his 4th corner attempt in a row that the ball needs to be at least directed at a teammate and somewhat off the ground – things were looking up.
Blacks scored on a counter.
We continued to apply the pressure with our sub rotation and supreme fitness earned from that 1 training session 3 months ago we all showed up to really coming to the fore. Skinner, Felts, Andy and Anth defending from the front and JB (Thor’s stud marks now barely visible on his face), Macca, Dirty and Crussel mopping up at the back.
Blacks scored on a counter.
Halftime and Dre elected to move us away from the ladies toilet block for his speech this week so as to avoid the Blacks in their change room and due to complaints from previous weeks. “More of the same,” was this weeks instructions.
Second half and we picked up where we left off, creating plenty of chances, but just missing the target or getting denied by post and crossbar (yes, another cultured lob by Dre hitting woodwork and yes we will be hearing about it for a while).
Our midfield rotation of Ads, Rod, Marty and Ghost were pushing hard on transitions and their industrious work soon paid off, Ads sneaking in from the blindside to pick Archie’s pocket then slotting Skinner through with his weaker right foot, Skinner overcoming Stage 5 man-flu and fear of coughing up not only a lung but also another team fine for missing a 1-on-1, calmly finding the back of the net. 2-1, game on!
Blacks scored on a counter.
With time running out and no word as yet from the ground announcer over the loudspeaker as to the results of the other matches, our intensity lifted to levels higher than any other moment in our season – so, roughly 7 out of 10. Ads had his tail up and found the ball sitting up nicely on his favoured left hoof at the top of the box, but strategically elected to find touch instead, under the guise of a half-volley shot, his brilliance not unnoticed by teammates and opposition alike.
Dre decided to lead by example soon after, sliding in a little Gascoigne-esque on Zap and what followed can only best be described in canine terms: Zap had a bark and a nip at Dre; Dre submitted and rolled on his back with his paws in the air to let Zap know he would not bite back; Anth saw his pack-mate in a compromising position, so had a bark and a nip back at Zap; Zap’s attention was now on Anth, so Dre crept away with his tail between his legs … luckily the ref was on hand with a few Schmacko’s, and after a few pats on the head we were all let off our leash for the rest of the day.
3-1 final score and still no word from the ground announcer, which was frustrating as we really needed to know whether to start Mad Monday now or not…. then the Whites section of the grandstand erupted upon news the unthinkable had occurred – 4th and 5th place had also lost.
Tickets then proceeded to sell-out immediately for an all Blueys semi final next week – El Geriatrico III – while club owners knew a Blueys team guaranteed a spot in the grand final would surely hurry along the new carpark and grandstand.
BMFC 12.1: 6
vs
Emu Plains FC: 3
BMFC Goal Scorers: Josh x 1, Louis x 2, Jacob x 2, Tom x 1
Player of the Match: Josh
Match Report: The first round of three in the semi finals and we were lucky enough to be at Knapsack vs Emu Plains. The opposition struck early from an unlucky penalty to take the lead 1-0. At the 11th minute the Blues were awarded a penalty on the spot with Josh pushing it past the keeper to level the score 1-1.
One minute later, a through ball finds Louis with incredible pace to outrun the defenders, the goalie gets wrong footed inside the 18-yard box and bang 2-1. At the twenty-two minute mark the run was identical, shouts of offside were ignored by the ref as the run started from our half. Louis again out paces the defenders and deals with the goalie 3-1.
Half time and the message is to remain calm, our passing, skill and patience can be the difference. Through balls, solid passes and teamwork is what got us to half time and needs to continue. Two minutes in and Jacob takes a long run down the right side supported in the centre by Zac and Tom. Jacob takes the shot at a tight angle that gets chipped over the keepers fingers to start the second half 4-1. The eight minute mark the goalathon continues with Emu Plains nailing one off the post to come back 4-2.
Emu Plains are on the march with our boys doing some back-pedalling and being done for pace. Emu made a great run straight through our defence and it was one-on-one, Jackson decided as goalie it was up to him to close the angle. The attacker didn’t expect Jacob’s sheer pace and he closed down the opportunity. A few minutes later Jacob again takes control with another run down the sideline. He heads towards the centre and unleashes his boot for a 5-2 lead. Matthew has been incredible in muscling up at left back, not much got through with him toiling against the attack. Sam, Bodhi, Bailey & Aiden held the back and midfield well with good vision on the play and pushing the ball into gaps that lead to opportunities for our boys up front.
Nine minutes to go and Jacob gets taken down in the box for a penalty on the spot. Jackson runs full length of the field wanting the kick but Tom self appoints to deal with it. 6-2 with cartwheels back to halfway from TC, he will hurt himself one day that boy!
Seven minutes to go and Emu take a corner with a deflection to finish at 6-3. What a great game! Our boys were one of only two teams that had a win in the first week of semis, should be a fun final series with all boys enjoying the experience.
