WHILE their division one side may have had a week off, there was still plenty of soccer action at home for Portland in the South West Victoria Football Association.

The Panthers hosted four different clubs across the under-12s, 14s, 17s and division two, with Hamilton, Warrnambool Wolves, Corangamite and Warrnambool Rangers playing in those respective divisions.

The under-12s weren’t able to get over the line against a strong Hamilton outfit, going down 4-2.

Coach Daniel Ponturo said the side still has plenty to work on, but added they were putting in some great performances and showing improvement across the pitch.

“I don’t think we were too bad (on Sunday) … there’s certainly still a bit to work on,” Ponturo said.

“There’s some individual brilliance amongst the group, it’s just about bringing everyone up together.”

He said the fact that the side is in finals contention despite being inexperienced, relative to the rest of their age bracket.

“We only have five or six kids who played last year, the rest are new to it,” he said.

“Still, they’re all pretty determined to get through the season and make a play at finals… I think if things go our way, we can definitely make a good push.”

The under-12s currently sit in fourth place on the ladder and will need to hold on to that spot or improve if they want to be in the mix come finals time.  

It was a very successful weekend in the other grades, with the under-14s defeating the Wolves 4-0, while the under-17s were far too good for Corangamite winning 8-0.

Division two also had a great day out, claiming a 5-2 victory over the Rangers.