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MATCH OF THE ROUND

Killarney District v Wyoming

Round 4 BPL Match of the Round sees Killarney looking to bounce back as they welcome Wyoming to Edsaac on Sunday.

Killarney suffered their first BPL loss of the year in round 3 as they fell short to Berkeley Vale 2-1. Having only lost 1 game in last years shortened season, The Terriers and their coach Chris Ackerley will be hoping to pick up 3 points come Sunday as they look to retain their BPL crown and go back on equal points with Terrigal who remain a perfect 3 from 3, if Terrigal were to lose this weekend. Unfortunately for Ackerley, he picked up a red card last weekend and will not be able to be on the sideline for his side this weekend. 

Ackerley knows this weekend will be no easy test and is anticipating a very confident Wyoming side. “I’m expecting a hard game against a very youthful Wyoming side that will be full of confidence after a big win against Southern. Looking for a positive reaction from my boys after their hard-fought loss against Berkeley.”

Ian McAndrew and his Wyoming side walked away with their opening first-grade points last weekend after a great performance against Southern (3-0). Wyoming faced the League Champions twice last year, in their first match-up Wyoming went down 4-1. In their second meeting in the last round of the year at Alan Davidson, Wyoming were ahead against Killarney and if the result stood Wyoming would have made finals but unfortunately due to the weather & condition of the pitch the game was washed out and played mid-week and the Terriers came out 6-2 victors in the replay. Wyoming will be looking for payback come this weekend.

McAndrew credits Ackerley and what his side has been able to accomplish over the last 5 years. “Killarney is a well-coached team and have been the best team over the last decade and are still the benchmark of this competition. It’s always an enjoyable battle against Ackers and we have had some crackers over the years. I expect a hard physical battle and a well-drilled Killarney who will make it hard for us to break them down. We will be focusing on doing the little things right and backing up last week’s performance.”

The Entrance v Berkeley Vale

BPL will have its first Saturday game for the 2021 season this weekend as The Entrance and Berkeley Vale will meet on the pristine surface of Pluim Park 1.

The Reddies went down 2-1 in their opening match to Terrigal but have turned things around since, beating Kanwal (2-0) and Kariong (2-1) in their last two matchups. In the opening 3 rounds, The Entrance along with Terrigal have conceded the least amount of goals amongst all other teams (3), but The Entrance has only scored 5 goals in total which only Kariong has scored fewer with 4. The Reddies are sure to be up for this matchup as they have 4 former Berkeley Vale first graders from last year’s Wombat side who will be looking to get one over their former club and teammates.

Berkeley Vale will be full of confidence heading into Saturday night’s clash after beating 5-time League Champions Killarney 2-1 last weekend. Mark Pratt’s side got off to a great start to the season beating Wyoming (4-2) but could not back that up away from home as they split the points with Southern in Round 2 (1-1). Berkeley Vale faced The Entrance twice last year as they had a loss (1-0) on the first occasion and a win (2-0) on the second fixture. It is always a close game whenever these two sides meet and you can expect the same come this weekend. 

Kanwal v Terrigal

Kanwal will welcome BPL league leaders Terrigal as they search for their first points of the season against the only side left with a perfect record in the competition.

Kanwal’s biggest challenge to date has been conceding first in all their matches and having to chase the game. Kanwal were able to take points from last year’s Premiers on the only instance the two sides met with that game finishing 1-1. Ryan Walker’s Bulls side will welcome back striker Jason Cozens from suspension. Kanwal have been playing some great football in the opening round but have struggled with making the most of opportunities when presented. Kanwal will look to start strong and fast and try to take it to the very dangerous Terrigal side.

Not many would be surprised to see Terrigal on top of the BPL ladder with a perfect 3 wins from 3 games to start the season. Terrigal knocked off an Avoca side who were sitting 1st in the competition after 2 rounds, a dominant second-half performance saw the O’lads beat the Sharks 3-0. Martyn Griffiths men we able to keep their first clean sheet of the year, something he and his defence have been working hard to make better. Marty and the O’lads squad will be looking to correct last year’s result and keep Terrigal’s 100% record alive with a win come Sunday.

Kariong v Woongarrah

Kariong who narrowly fell in Round 3 will be searching for their first BPL points against a Woongarrah side who look to back up their first win with a result away from home.

Kariong is still searching for their first-ever BPL points in all grades, but Mark Owen and his squad have been improving week to week and building confidence as they get up to scratch will the pace of BPL. Kariong’s first-grade squad fell 1 goal short of picking up a point against The Entrance in front of a home crowd last weekend. Kariong have come a long way in just a few weeks after being handed an 8-1 loss in their opening game against Southern. Unfortunately for the Cougars side, goals have been hard to come by as they have only managed to score 4 goals in the opening 3 games which is the worst in the league. Kariong will take a lot away from almost grabbing points of last year semi-finalist as they look to get one over Woongarrah this Mother’s Day. 

Woongarrah finally got their season up and running beat their rivals Kanwal in a 4-2 win this previous weekend. The 2019 Grand Finalist will look to back up that result and make it in 2 wins in succession. Wildcats coach Luke Rogers has much faith in his squad’s ability and anything less than 3 points this weekend will be looked at like a failure. Woongarrah have been proficient in attack, having scored in each of their 3 games to start the year but their defence has let them down and they will look to keep their first clean sheet of the season and take maximum points away from Kariong Oval.

Southern & Ettalong v Avoca

It’s always a high scoring contest whenever these two sides face as both teams are looking to overcome round 3 defeats and get back to winning ways. 

Neal Hide and his youthful Avoca side took the competition by storm in the opening two rounds having beat Woongarrah (3-1) and then backed that up with 7 goal win over Wyoming (7-1). Unfortunately for Neal’s side, they could not keep their perfect start going as they came undone against Terrigal last week (3-0). Although failing to find themselves on the scoresheet last weekend, Avoca possesses the competitions best attack after 3 rounds having scored a whopping 10 goals in just 3 games. Avoca’s Jesse Parnell sits alone on top of the BPL Golden Boot having scored 4.

In their opening clash last year, Southern beat Avoca (6-4) in a 10-goal thriller and went on to back that up again later in the year with a convincing 3-1 win. Southern opened the year with an 8-1 masterclass over Kariong, since then the Lions have picked up a draw and a loss, results far from ideal for Dale Eggleton and his squad. Wyoming were able to keep Southern scoreless in round 3. The Lions attack including Keith Gumbs and Michael Tawyer, arguably the best strike partners in the competition, will look to find themselves back on the scoresheet and back on winning ways this weekend. 

Written by Adam Blunden.