STAFF WRITERS
SOCCER
THE inaugural Gippsland Cup begins today.
The three-day soccer tournament will see a representative side from the Latrobe Valley Soccer League battle high calibre opponents from Eastern Lions Football Club, Melbourne Victory and Mornington.
LVSL president Allan Roberts said all were looking forward to the opportunities that could arise out of the tournament:
“We have several of the younger guys from the squads moving to Melbourne this year for uni and they want to continue to play football, but were unsure of where to go, these players have received some contacts via this tournament and will be in a position to continue to play,” he said.
“If we can create some contacts and they stay engaged in the game we may see them again in a couple of years if they move back post-uni. We would love to see this tournament create some pathways for local players to continue to play our sport if they leave Gippsland.”
Roberts also hoped the Gippsland Cup would highlight the need to invest in existing infrastructure currently standing around the soccer pitches of the Latrobe Valley.
“It is a given that we need to see the Latrobe City Stadium developed, it is a must if we want to bring bigger games/tournaments to our region. Latrobe City Council need to see that as a football community we are behind this and we will support larger events if they come our way,” he said.
“We see this tournament as a new opportunity to show that as a sport we can bring in a crowd and economic return. We have a couple of the Melbourne teams staying down in local motels, this will lead to spending in local eateries/shops as a by-product.
“It is a reality that local/state and federal government are economically driven, that is they need to see a dollar return for any investment, we have to show that our sport can attract a crowd and bring money into the local economies.
“We really want to see a good turn out from the Gippsland soccer community on both the days and have our supporters get behind this tournament.”
Player and officials will take a moment to remember local soccer icon Don Di Fabrizio, who died last week, at matches on Friday and Saturday.
A number of matches will be live streamed over Friday and Saturday.
Those wanting to access the live stream can do so by visiting https://www.easternlions.com.au/gippsland-cup-2022.
Gippsland Cup 2022 fixture
Round 1, Wednesday, January 26
Venue: Eastern Lions Soccer Club, Gardiner Reserve, Sixth Avenue, Burwood, Melbourne.
Fixture 1, Mornington Soccer Club v LVSL (3pm)
Fixture 2, Eastern Lions v Melbourne Victory (5.30pm)
Round 2, Friday, January 28
Venue: Gippsland Sports & Entertainment Park, Crinigan Road, Morwell Pitch 1
Fixture 1, LVSL v Melbourne Victory (6pm)
Fixture 2, Eastern Lions v Mornington Soccer Club (8pm)
Round 3, Saturday, January 29
Venue: Gippsland Sports & Entertainment Park, Crinigan Road, Morwell Pitch 1
Fixture 1, Eastern Lions v LVSL (1.30pm)
Fixture 2, Melbourne Victory v Mornington Soccer Club (4.30pm)
LVSL SENIOR TEAM
Coaches: Jordan Campbell, Kevin O’Farrell, Mick McAuley
Captains: Connor O’Hanlon, Kev Carcellar
Squad: Charles Simon, Jamie Pistrin, Nonda Lazaris, Tommy Dalia, Kev Carcellar (Falcons 2000), Jordan Campbell, Joel Palermo, Shayne Cassar, Lach Spiteri, Damon Scott, Olly Spiteri (Fortuna 60), Matt Shearing, Lachlan McKenzie, Connor O’Hanlon, Luke Bathgate (Moe United), Kuku Mahmoud (Morwell Pegasus), Alex Bowman, Dylan Fairbrother (Newborough Yallourn United), Jake Richardson (Sale United), Jake Budija (Traralgon City)
LVSL UNDER 21 TEAM
Coaches: Rayvel Whiting, John McQuade
Captains: Connor McAuliffe, Harvey Bates.
Squad: Brad Sands (Churchill United) Connor McAuliffe (East Gippsland United), Logan Troughton (Newborough Yallourn United), Moni Eliaser (Morwell Pegasus), Solomon Nash (Sale United), Dylan Cassar-Cummings (Fortuna 60), Caleb Deluca (Fortuna 60), Lach Frendo (Fortuna 60), Harvey Bates (Fortuna 60), Kyle Jennings (Monash Wolves), Caleb Semple (Monash Wolves), Tristan Donohue (Newborough Yallourn), Cooper Baldacchino (Newborough Yallourn), Riduan Sobari (Fortuna 60), Nick Matsoukas (Fortuna 60), Adam Semple (Monash Wolves), Jesse Buhagiar (Traralgon Olympians), Zeb McLeod (East Gippsland United)Isaak Jondahl (Sale United)
