What do Cobram Roar and Manchester City have in common? They can turn a result on its head in a matter of minutes.
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While comparing the Roar’s 4-3 Division One Men Albury Wodonga Football Association victory with City’s English Premier League exploits might be a stretch, both sides certainly produced impressive come-from-behind wins over the weekend.
While for Manchester this came against Aston Villa, the Roar did it against Albury City with a win that shows the character the men in yellow and black have.
Down 3-1 in Albury, second-half substitute Nathan Thomas scored two goals to level the scores, before an 88th minute Jack Smith goal got the side over the line.
Roar coach Vince Iannucci said two disallowed goals made things more difficult for the Cobram side.
“We didn’t help ourselves, we didn’t hit the target but we should have been three or four nil up,” Iannucci said.
“We were all over them, they had no answer, the first half was played in their final third.”
Unfortunately for the Roar, the side only scored one goal in the first half, with two mistakes leading to Albury goals.
Albury found another in the second half, before Thomas came off the bench, scoring two to level the scores.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the guy (Thomas),” Iannucci said.
“Not only is he a great bloke but for me he’s reached legendary status, just absolute X-factor.
“We just need that experience and leadership on the pitch and that’s what he brings.”
The win builds a nice gap between the third-placed Cobram and fourth-placed Boomers, with the Roar now just two points behind the ladder leading Albury United as they head into the bye.
— Daniel Webb
Division two men
Cobram Roar 1 lost to Albury City 5
The reserves squad had a tough challenge ahead of it this week after having some key players out due to illness and injury, but that didn't stop it from stepping up and being ready for the challenge. Cobram, after going down to a goal in the first half, came back to draw the scores at half-time with an equaliser from Andre Fazio-Castle to slot away a penalty against the City keeper. In the second half Cobram came out strong and kept fighting all the way up until the final whistle blew even though Albury City had scored four more goals. A mad scramble in the box with minutes to go with the Cobram back line putting their bodies on the line and giving it everything to stop the City forward line was a highlight for the Cobram coach knowing his players gave it everything.
Division two women
Cobram Roar 5 defeated Albury City 0
It was a top-of-the-table Roarettes taking on bottom-of-the-table Albury City. Our women made hard work of the game missing countless scoring opportunities, but Marlie Noonan helped our women add a goal on the board to settle the game down. The women played well — Judy Cakebread, Jessica Rayner, Emily Stewart and Angelina Fotia were outstanding in defense. Jenna Mason had her best game of the year who helped our defensive girls and midfielders and attackers. Noonan added a second goal to her name, taking the score to 2-0. Alexia Corso came off the Interchange and her second touch resulted in a goal and the girls lifted their game to another level.
The second half was great to watch, the ball movement and communication between the ladies was exciting. It was a half that Roar could have scored more than 10 goal with countless chances but was not to be. The girls added two more goal through Alyssa Iannucci resulting in a 5-0 victory.
This week the women take on Wodonga Heart at Apex Park — this will be a top-of-the-table clash. We encourage all our supporters to come down and support our women in what will be a great game of football.
Under-16
Cobram Roar 6 defeated Albury City 1
The under-16s headed to Jelbart Park for a match-up with Albury City and were largely outplayed for the first 20 minutes. The boys deservedly fell behind to an early goal but recovered well for a 6-1 win. With some key players injured and missing games in the coming weeks the boys collectively will need to lift their game to stay atop the league.
Goals: Jackson Koopman 3, Luke Goodin 2, George Wiles 1.
Under-14
Cobram Roar 4 defeated Albury City 1
The team played with skill and commitment. With our goal keeper out this week they mixed things up. There was strong leadership through the backline and great teamwork on display.
Goals: Lenny Power 2, Sam Hurlston 2.
Under-14 girls
Cobram Roar 2 lost to Myrtleford 6
It was a tough game against Myrtleford who lead at halftime 3-0. Roar came back with two goals, and despite lots of opportunities in the second half, they couldn’t match Myrtleford’s lead.
The players showed great resilience and fought hard until the last whistle. The final score did not reflect the calibre of the game.
Goals: Luana Mete 2.
Under-13
Cobram Roar 8 defeated Albury City 0
It was an exciting game against Albury City. Roar’s under-13 team were doing some great passing and finding great opportunities to maintain possession of the ball throughout most of the game.
At half-time Roar was up by four, with Sam Osborne and Charlie Keath with two goals each.
A confident side moved the ball easily between players, finding opportunities and working hard to get the ball back from the opposing team when needed. The goals for Roar kept coming and the game ended with a great win, eight to nil.
The coaching team awarded two players at the end of the game: Lachlan Pardy, who communicated with his teammates throughout the game and moved well with the ball; and Lucy Wilkins who showed great determination and maintained possession of the ball every time she had it.
Goals: Sam Osborne 5, Charlie Keath 2, Logan Morley 1.
Under-12
Cobram Roar 4 defeated Wodonga Diamonds 0
The team arrived at Latrobe ready to face Wodonga Diamonds. The first half started with the young Roar boys fired up with some great passes from Jeremy Egan and Henry Watmore connecting well up top. The first goal of the game came from Harvey Boake with great dribbling to finish it in the bottom corner getting the boys 1-0 up. With five minutes left in the half Sam Osborne was quick to snatch a goal and got the boys up 2-0 right before half time break.
As the second half started, the centre back duo of Lachlan Pardy and Will Young defended very well to keep a clean sheet. The boys pushed for a third goal and finally got it through Jeremy Egan smashing it in the bottom corner. With only two minutes left in the game the Cobram Roar boys secured the win with a goal from Sam Osborne to make it a 4-0 win. The boys played quality football and should be very proud. Well done boys.
Daniel is a passionate sports fan and proud Tasmanian.