Manjimup’s mixed bag

Manjimup Soccer Club had a mixed bag of results at the weekend in round 10 of the South West Soccer Association. The men’s team completed an easy 8-0 win over Harvey Hawks, while the women’s team fell 5-0 to Australind. From the start, the men’s team was all over the Hawks, with key passes and some very near misses showing the Rovers wanted the win. Manjimup Rover Tom Anstey broke the deadlock after he picked up the ball on the edge of the box and hit a shot low and hard at the bottom corner, striking the back of the net for 1-0. Immediately following the goal the Harvey Hawks pressed the Rovers as they tried to get back into the game. But a second goal for the Rovers, coming from a Tack Burns header, broke the Hawks resistance and cleared the path for the home team to run away with the game. The half ended 2-0 but Manjimup were not content and still wanted to keep scoring. After the restart a couple more goals were put away by the Rovers who began to run rings around the hapless Hawks. Manjimup’s Miah Manoula looked to be unplayable as he bossed the midfield making constant runs, passes and shots which threatened the Hawks defence. Rover’s striker Burns and midfielder Anstey must have had their shooting boots on as they both grabbed hat-tricks in the game. A goal apiece for Manoula and Lance Vivian completed the scoring. The Rovers women played away at Australind and suffered a bitter 5-0 loss to the Blues’ reserve side. In a physical game from the outset, the Rovers did their best to try to hang in as long as they could against the more technical team.