MATCH OF THE ROUND
The Entrance 1 – Terrigal 2
BPL Round 1 Match of the Round between The Entrance and Terrigal was what you would expect of a game between two strong teams. It was a closely fought encounter at Pat Morley where the 2020 Premiers Terrigal United came out on top 2-1.
Terrigal started brightly with more of the possession which led to some half chances, but The Entrance outfit defended well as a unit. The Entrance struggled to maintain ball possession for long periods but were unlucky not to convert from some dangerous corners in the first half.
The deadlock was broken close to half time when a great run from Terrigal left-back Mark Partridge saw him get in behind the defence. The Entrance goalkeeper Steven Grimmitt came out to smother the attacking run from Partridge but instead, Terrigal was awarded a penalty as Grimmitt misjudged the play and took out Partridge. Cameron Wilkinson stepped up for Terrigal as he sent Grimmitt the wrong way to calmly convert the spot-kick and sent his side 1-0 up at the half.
Terrigal started the second half where they left off in the first, but The Entrance side was slowly warming into the game. In a tightly contested midfield battle with both sides looking sharp on the break, both teams had chances to score but wayward finishing kept the score close.
The introduction of Anthony Pace to the game injected Terrigal with life. Pace arrived at the far post from a Stuart Adams ball to strike his side into a 2-goal lead. Rather than wilting, The Entrance pegged one back through Jameson Flynn after some good lead up play from the Reds.
Terrigal had a number of chances to put the game to bed, but The Entrance almost snatched an equaliser with a flurry of late corners, but in the end the game finished 2-1.
“Despite the strong finish, Terrigal probably deserved the result on the balance of play” stated The Entrance’s Matt Page.
Avoca 3 – Woongarrah 1
Avoca got their season off to a perfect start claiming 3 points over Luke Rogers Woongarrah squad.
The first half at Erina High School saw a very close battle on what was labelled as “bumpy terrain”. Both sides had chances to open the scoring, but it looked like Woongarrah would take the lead when they scored first, only for the player to be deemed offside and the goal to be ruled out. The first half remained scoreless.
Neal Hide’s Avoca side came out more determined in the second half and would get on the front foot with 2 quick goals in short succession. Avoca would then go on to get a third goal to put the Sharks 3-0 up and all but seal the 3 points. Nathan Baker, Roan Brown & Oliver Chippendale, all finding themselves on the scoresheet for Avoca. A stunning strike from Jayden Rogers 20 yards out would give Woongarrah a late consolation goal.
“Very disappointed in our second half and I know the boys are too, we are looking forward to improving our performance over a full 90 minutes in round 2. Avoca were the better side on the day,” said Rogers.
“Both sides showed signs of a disrupted pre-season, I expect Woongarrah to improve as the season progresses,” said Hide after his team’s win.
Berkeley Vale 4 – Wyoming 2
Both Berkeley Vale and Wyoming entered their round 1 clash short on first-team regulars.
In a very back and forth match, both teams had good periods of play but either side lacked consistency for the entire match.
Berkeley Vale opened the scoring early in the match after a defensive mistake from Wyoming saw Jack Graham give his side the lead. That would be the only goal for the first 45 as half time saw Berkeley Vale with a 1-0 lead.
Berkeley’s lead would not last long as the second half commenced. A goal each from Wyoming’s Jared Mcnee & Josh Smith gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead. However, despite going down Berkeley Vale would not give up as they would go on to score 3 unanswered goals (Jack Graham, Bailey Garland & John Griffin) that would give the Wombats the victory.
John Griffin was labelled as “the difference in the game” by opposition coach Ian McAndrew. “Getting four first-graders back next week will help immensely” stated McAndrew as Wyoming prepare for Avoca in Round 2.
Southern & Ettalong 8 – Kariong 1
Kariong’s first game in BPL did not go to plan as they were handed an 8-1 loss on the club’s historic day.
Southern started the game as they needed to, coming out with high intensity against a side playing their first BPL game at home. Southern introduced Kariong to the league with an empathic 6 goals in the first 45 minutes, Kariong however were able to get a goal of their own through a Nick Trengrove penalty.
The challenge for Southern coach Dale and his side was to replicate the first-half performance for the final 45 minutes. Southern were able to add another 2 goals as Keith Gumbs (3), Michael Tawyer (2), Jack Ellwood (1), Matt Caisley (1) and Jeremy Phillips (1) all put their names on Southern’s scoresheet. Credit must be given to Kariong who never stopped trying to challenge and play.
“While it was a good first-up performance from us, I must give credit to Kariong as they continued to try and play structured football and I feel like as they adjust to the pace and consistency of Premier League they will improve” Dale added when reflecting on the game.
“A few lessons to be learnt for Kariong in round 1, we look forward to bouncing back next week,” said Kariong coach Mark Owen.
Killarney 4 – Kanwal 3
There was a lot of uncertainty about Kanwal come round 1 as they were the only team in BPL that did not enter in the Mate Association Cup. As for Killarney, the 5-time League Champions would look to make it 6 this year and get their season off on the right track.
It was a cautious start from both teams but as you can expect it would be Killarney who opened the scoring first with a goal from Harrison Fountain. Kanwal slowly started to work themselves into the game and after some great build-up play, they were awarded a penalty that was calmly converted by Callum Dunkerley to make the game 1-1. Unfortunately for the Bulls, Kanwal was reduced to 10 men just before the whistle sounded for half time.
Being a player down, Ryan Walker knew his side needed a big second half if they had any hope of taking points away from Edsaac Oval. Kanwal did exactly that as a great through ball from Mason Lavery saw Joey Liddle through on goal as he converted the chance to mark his first goal back at Kanwal and give his team a 2-1 lead. A quick counterattack not long after saw the ball played out to Dunkerley who delivered a pinpoint cross for Bailey Appo to slot nicely in the bottom corner, making it 3-1 to Kanwal.
With 8 minutes to go, 2020 BPL Golden Boot Daniel Rodger open his account for the season with a volley to take the game to 3-2. Substitute Matt Hall then grabbed the equaliser for Killarney after his header found the back of the net. It would once again be Matt Hall who would get his side the winner after a shot from 14 yards out rattled the roof of the net giving Killarney a 4-3 win.
“It was a very hard game which we were happy to come away with the points, I’m very proud of the fighting spirit we showed,” said Killarney’s coach Chris Ackerley.
Credit to a very gallant Kanwal side who finished the match with 9 men, Coach Ryan Walker was very happy with how his side played being a man down for the majority of the match. “if we keep that level of effort and intensity up, should be competitive for the remainder of the season” he added.
Written By Adam Blunden