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Subscriber only RIPLEY Valley will test their depth early in Friday night s local derby against the Ipswich City Bulls. With some injury concerns and player unavailability, head coach Nick Paterson was keen to see how his extended squad fares at Sutton Park in their next game. Ripley Valley and the Bulls will clash in the third round Capital League 1 encounter having both lost their latest matches. But while the Bulls were outclassed in their 6-2 defeat to Moggill on Saturday night, Paterson had mixed feelings about his team s 2-0 loss to Annerley. Bitterly disappointed (not to win) as we played really well, Paterson said.
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Subscriber only HAVING overseen a series of impressive playoff efforts in recent seasons, Bob Maclot knows 2021 could be his most challenging in years. However, the Ipswich Knights under-23 coach hopes the newly-introduced Football Queensland format helps his youth footballers progress rather than struggle. I m not a big fan of it (the under-23 structure) to be honest, Maclot said. I think it s a big step to go from under-18s to under-23s. It all depends how clubs use it. If clubs are using it for giving young kids development then it s good. But for a lot of clubs, all they care about is winning so they ll just put their older boys in and just worry about results for that year.
For the Ipswich City Bulls, it was a chance to show how to handle pressure. Both regional sides did that by recovering from halftime deficits to win their opening SEQ Round 2 FFA Cup matches on Sunday night. Spirit came from 2-0 down against a physical Clairvaux side to win 4-3 at Clairvaux Mackillop College. The Bulls also worked hard to overpower Slacks Creek 3-2 in their clash at Sutton Park. Sam Chesterfield scored a double with Dane Grant also finding the net. Really happy with the result, head coach Norbert Duga said of his side preparing for this year s Capital League 1 season.
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Subscriber only THE Ipswich City Bulls will continue their vital football development role after losing their premiership-winning women s senior side this season. After building a quality combination that won last year s Brisbane Women s Premier League (BWPL) grand final, Bulls officials had to withdraw their top team from the 2021 competition. Bulls club president Todd Zeidler said it was unfortunate to break up a formidable team after such a fantastic season. However, key Bulls representatives were offered higher level opportunities with teams in National Premier Leagues Women s (NPLW) competitions. We didn t get the NPL spot and we lost 14 players and two coaches, Zeidler said.