Bendigo-based League One clubs outclassed by Goulburn Valley rivals

The three Goulburn Valley-based clubs - Shepparton South, Tatura and Shepparton United - had a combined scoreline of 22-1 over three Bendigo-based clubs Epsom, Strathdale and Spring Gully.

The GV clubs' ability to attract quality recruits compared to the traditional amateur clubs in Bendigo has been a sore point for some time and the weekend's results showed the gap between the groups is only getting bigger.

After a confidence-boosting 3-0 win over Spring Gully in round one, Epsom copped a severe reality check when it lost 10-0 to a Shepparton South side that Scorpions' coach Peter Raeburn described as classes above anything in Bendigo.

"They're a very, very talented team,'' Raeburn said of Shepparton South.

"They're a class-and-a-half above us. You could whinge and whine about the payment of players, but that would be sour grapes. I'm not sure what the answer is. They were just too good for us in every aspect of the game.

"10-0 is not acceptable... we were found out by a side that was far too good.

"Realistically, we don't have the depth to go with a team that has that much talent.

"Some of the Shepparton South players are that good they could be playing State League One - that's how good they are."

South had two goals on the board in the first eight minutes and five within 33 minutes. The Scorpions battled hard to stay in the game, but defensive errors proved costly. South stars Joel Aitken and Sean Grant scored nine goals between them.

Raeburn said Epsom had three golden opportunities to score, but failed to capitalise.

"Yes, we made some mistakes at the back, but some of Shepparton South's goals were of the highest quality,'' Raeburn said.

"Their skill level was well above ours and they were hitting goals from everywhere."

It was a similar story for Spring Gully, who lost 7-1 to Shepparton United.

The home side scored four times in the first half before the Reds scored their only goal via the boot of Ewan Dawson.

Ryan Brooks scored four of United's seven goals.

Strathdale ran into a Tatura side on the rebound from a defeat to Shepparton South.

The Blues had no answer to Tatura's firepower up front, with the Ibises winning 5-0.

Strathdale held Tatura to one goal in the first half, but Tatura's class took over in the second 45 minutes.

The only Bendigo-based League One Men club to taste success on the weekend was FC Eaglehawk.

The Borough opened its 2023 account with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Strathfieldsaye Colts United in testing conditions at Truscott Reserve.

"Colts have definitely improved from last year,'' Eaglehawk president and League One centre-back Brent Hamblin said.

"They've added some good players and Alfie (Longano) coming on as coach has made a difference as well.

"It was a really tough night to play because of all the rain and the game became a scrap. We had five or six chances, but we couldn't put them away."

Eaglehawk's best attacking player - Jesse Matthews - started on the bench because of a tight hamstring.

With the scores 0-0 at the break, the Hawks turned to Matthews and he made an almost immediate impact by scoring the only goal of the match.

"Jesse is comfortably in the best five or six players in the competition,'' hamblin said.

"We were a bit worried about him because of his hamstring... but he did the job for us. He's a class player.

"It was good to get away with the win and get our season rolling."

A new-look Spring Gully side made a winning start to its 2023 campaign.

After having the bye in round one, the Reds scored an impressive 4-1 away victory over Shepparton United on Saturday.

Letesha Bawden, Bella Goggin, Izzy Monotti and Layla Bartolo all found the back of the net for Gully.

"We've basically got a completely new team this year," Gully coach Simon Smith said.

"I think we have three senior players left from last year and we've introduced a lot of youth to the team.

"We had two 14-year-olds play in the senior team on the weekend.

"It was a really good win because Shepparton United has a number of good players.

"It was a really good team effort. We're building new partnerships through the side, so we're only going to get better."

The team the Reds are chasing is reigning premiers Strathfieldsaye Colts United.

Colts cruised to a 4-0 win over FC Eaglehawk on Saturday to take their season record to 2-0.

Maddie Ridsdale scored twice for Colts, while Rebecca Berry and Louise McColl added the other two goals.

Tatura continued its bright start to the season when it edged out Strathdale in an eight-goal thriller.

The Ibises, who defeated Shepparton South 6-0 in the season-opener, fended off a gallant Blues' outfit 5-3.

After leading 3-2 at half-time, Tatura put the game away with two goals in the opening 14 minutes of the second half.

Golden City took the first step to what it hopes is a return to the top division when it defeated Shepparton 6-1 in its first match of the League Two Men season.

Relegated from League One in the off-season, the Rams responded strongly by producing a blistering opening at Shadforth Park.

The home side had two goals on the board inside six minutes and four goals within 17 minutes as a shell shocked Shepparton didn't know what hit it.

It was 5-1 by half-time before the visitors evened up general play in the second half. The highlight for Golden City was a hat-trick to Lue Wah.

La Trobe University Red - the club's number one team in the League Two - defeated Shepparton Jaguars 3-1 to retain top spot on the table ahead of clubmates La Trobe University Black.

La Trobe Uni Black scored a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Golden City Rams, which is Golden City's reserves squad.

In the other game played on Sunday, the Border Raiders and Deniliquin Wanderers played out a 2-2 draw.

There were goals galore in round two of the League Two Women competition.

Kyneton thrashed Golden City 19-1, with Minter scoring five goals and Hooppell four goals.

It was only 6-1 at half-time, but Kyneton poured in 13 goals in the second half.

Castlemaine put six goals past Swan Hill. The visitors had six individual scorers in a confidence-boosting performance.

In the final game of the round, La Trobe Uni proved too strong for Epsom 3-0 thanks largely to two goals from Dahl.

Shepparton United 7 (R. Brooks 4, T. Azhar 2, E. Marku) d Spring Gully United 1 (E. Dawson).

FC Eaglehawk 1 (J. Matthews) d Strathfieldsaye Colts United 0.

Shepparton South 10 (J. Aitken 5, S. Grant 4, N. Mori) d Epsom 0.

Tatura 5 (C. Corso, T. Zito, Z. Ferlauto, C. Sellwood, T. Leech) d Strathdale 0.

Shepparton United 1 (O. Saron) lt Spring Gully United 4 (I. Monotti, L. Bartolo, B. Goggin, L. Bawden).

FC Eaglehawk 0 lt Strathfieldsaye Colts United 4 (M. Ridsdale 2, R. Berry, L. McColl, M. Ridsdale).

Tatura 5 (N. Minicozzi 2, D. Trask, C. Ruijters, A. Rosella) d Strathdale 3 (M. McGrory 2, S. Mcdonald).

La Trobe Uni Red 3 (S. Bish 2, D. Bish) d Shepparton Jaguars 1 (J. Junior).

Border Raiders 2 dr Deniliquin 2.

Golden City Rams v La Trobe Uni Black N/A

Golden City 6 (N. Lue Wah 3, E. Poe, T. Dooley, W. Boe) d Shepparton 1 (M. Al Fatelawi).

La Trobe Uni 3 (S. Dahl 2, Z. Plant) d Epsom 0.

Golden City 1 (C. Jones) lt Kyneton 19 (E. Minter 5, S. Hooppell 4, I. Morris-Perrott 3, E. Tricarico 2, M. O'Toole 2, B. Randle 2, L. Nelson)

Swan Hill 0 lt Castlemaine 6 (S. Abicare 2, K. Sparks, J. Howard, C. Grainger.

Shepparton United 4 (T. Newbound 2, F. Azizi, A. Algazaly) d Spring Gully United 3 (W. Harding 2, N. Kelly).

Tatura 2 (A. Resul) dr Strathdale 2 (E. Basilewsky, R. Fleming).

Shepparton South 3 (A. Alhilfi, C. O'Brien, T. Rachele) dr Epsom 3 (L. Hromenko, H. Poe, B. Jackson).