It’s been as good a return to men’s soccer that the Junee Jaguars could’ve hoped for. The third-grade men have burst back onto the Blake Trophy scene recording another impressive win which sits them third on the ladder in what has been a Cinderella-esque return.
Though statistically the men don’t jump off the sheet, having the fourth best attack (22) and the third best defence (11) the team has gained a reputation for their well structured play and their kindred team spirit.
Last week’s victims of the Jaguars hot streak was fifth-placed Leeton United who couldn’t contain the Jaggies rapid attack falling 3-1 at the fortress of Burns Park.
President of the Jaguars Matthew Stubbs is ecstatic with the Club’s form and hope it will continue post long weekend.
“They’ve been playing out of their skin since the start, we grabbed an early 2-0 lead against Leeton and after that it always felt we were in full control so it was a solid win that we can head into the bye week with our heads held high after it,” Stubbs said.
“Ben Cook who has been around the Club for years and has been a key contributor all season made a fantastic save on a penalty when we were up 2-0 and that kept us in a good spot, after that we went up 3-0 before the first half break which was huge because they were like a different team in the second half and made it really hard to get the ball, when you have a keeper as good as ours though it’s a lot more stress free.
“It’s looking really positive, we’ve only lost one game so far out of seven in their first year back so it’s all tracking really well.”
The Jaguars along with having their third grade men back also welcomed back a second grade mens side into the Gardiner Shield.
The Gardiner Shield men, whilst not having the same fantastic start as their Blake Trophy colleagues have begun to find a bit of form in recent weeks, being unbeaten in the last three weeks (2W-1D) and find themselves climbing up the ladder.
Stubbs is proud with how the Gardiner Shield have responded to adversity and gotten their season back on track.
“We had around eight injuries to begin the season so with that we were having players play out of position and having to play the full game when some weren’t used to that and it was definitely a hard start. The teams we played at the beginning of the season were also towards the top of the ladder whereas now we’re starting to play against sides who are more towards the bottom which obviously helps.
“I have to give a mention to our young goalkeeper Gus Goodyer who came over from Wagga to play for us this year, Gus started playing for the third-grade men and was so impressive that he got called up to second grade where he’s been equally impressive, we likely lose the game last Saturday if not for his efforts.”
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