There were a raft of on- and off-field events held on the day, highlighted by the senior women's clash with Swan Hill in the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League 2.
It was a great day for the home side, picking up a huge 12-0 win in the match.
The Border Raiders scored six in each half to walk away with the win, improving to 3-1 for the year and moving into equal second on the league table with nine points.
“Always happy with a big win, it never hurts that’s for sure, definitely good to build some of the girls’ confidence,” said co-coach Paige Pinson.
“Honestly, I thought it was just a great game, it was really enjoyable. I felt like the other team were still having a good time even though the score probably didn’t reflect what they wanted it to reflect.”
Jessica Pemberton scored four goals for the dominant Border Raiders, while Asha Davies picked up a hat-trick.
Louise O’Callaghan added two goals, while Erika Love and Pinson made up the home side’s dozen with a goal each.
Despite the dominance of the attack, it was also a strong performance for the Border Raiders’ defence, with Pinson giving credit to centre-back Maya Cox for anchoring the defensive line.
“We thought Maya did a really brilliant job in defence back there, she’s recently new to the role and she’s been doing an absolutely cracking job,” Pinson said.
The two sides were treated to a guard of honour as they ran out onto the field by one of the junior Border Raiders sides that had played earlier in the day.
The match was one of seven games that made up the women’s day, with Border Raiders and out-of-town sides competing across various grades.
Off-field entertainment was also a key part of the event, with food and drink stalls and live entertainment after the on-field action was concluded.
“(The day went) absolutely brilliantly,” Pinson said.
“I was pretty lucky. I managed to get around to chat to pretty much all the sponsors and everyone like that and everyone seemed really happy with the outcome of the day.
“Everyone had a good time. The music was fantastic the stalls were brilliant.
“(Club president) Ryan (Quirk) was fantastic just letting us even host that kind of event, it was brilliant.
“Great opportunity for the young girls to come up and hang out with us older girls and for the boys to come get a round in as well.”
In the senior men’s fixture, the Border Raiders battled a Swan Hill side that coach Rish Kothari last week labelled as “one of the strongest sides in the competition”.
The side made a good accounting for itself but was unable to get the win as Swan Hill walked away with the victory 4-2.
Striker Joel Fataolisia continued his early season scoring form, contributing both of the Border Raiders goals, bringing him to seven on the year from three fixtures.
The senior men travel to Deniliquin on Sunday to face Deniliquin Wanderers, and could move up as high as third on the ladder with a win.
The women’s side will be in Epsom on Saturday as it takes on Kyneton District, who is one of four teams, including the Border Raiders, in equal second place on nine points.
The Border Raiders have a game in hand on the other three sides.
“I think it will be a good challenge for the girls,” Pinson said.
“It's always a tough game against Kyneton and they always bring their best and that's one of the reasons we enjoy versing them but just looking forward to it, curious to see which the girls will step up.”
Find more Aidan Briggs photos here
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