MATCH OF THE ROUND
Killarney 4 – Wyoming 2
BPL Round 4 Match of the Round saw Killarney keep pressure on the top of the table with a 4-2 victory over Wyoming in front of a home crowd.
The first half between the two sides was a very even contest with both teams attacking and holding their own defensively. Killarney would find themselves on the scoresheet first as Ethan Hall made a break and converted well to find the back of the net to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Wyoming would hit back with a goal of their own after an absolute screamer of a free-kick by Jared Mcnee blasted past the Killarney keeper and into the goal. The score would remain level at 1-1 heading into the second half.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Wyoming came out a different team in the second half and the Killarney side came out firing. Killarney’s Jordan Preston took control of the middle of the park as Wyoming allowed him to dictate the game along with brothers Matt and Ethan Hall who made the difference in the second half. Ethan was able to find himself on the scoresheet 3 more times in the second half as he walked away from the game with a second-half hat-trick and all 4 of Killarney’s goals. A late red card to Killarney’s goalkeeper Declan Drake saw Killarney forced to finish the game with just 10 men. Wyoming was able to get a consolation goal back through Jack Brewster. But in the end, Killarney would be too good on the day as the game finished 4-2.
Killarney assistant coach Michael Finch was impressed with the squad attitude and how they were able to get back to winning ways after last weekend’s loss. “It was a good response after last round’s loss to Berkeley along with a fine first grade starting debut to young 18-year-old Nic Batarseh.”
The Entrance 0 – Berkeley Vale 3
A very strong Berkeley performance saw them keep The Entrance scoreless as they took all 3 points in a 3-0 win.
Under the bright lights at Pluim Park on Saturday night, the first 10 minutes saw both teams start well, moving the ball around quickly and getting to some advantageous positions. Berkeley would find themselves in front early after a great in-swinging corner found the head of Alex Burrell who rose above his marker and delivered a powerful header into the Entrance net. Berkeley continued to look very dangerous from set-pieces and almost doubled their lead through Burrell who once again rose for a powerful header that rattled the frame of the goal. The rest of the half was played at a good pace, Berkeley’s Bailey Garland came closest to adding the game’s next goal after narrowly missing the top left-hand corner with his strike from the edge of the box. Berkeley entered half time deservingly holding their 1-0 lead.
The start of the second half began as the Entrance started to get a larger share of possession and enjoying some success down the flanks, but Berkeley was always dangerous on the counterattack. Berkeley got their second goal of the night after the ball fell to Reece Caira from a corner, after having his initial shot blocked the ball fell back to him as he was able to place the ball in the top left-hand corner with a precise finish. Despite being 2 goals down, The Entrance still looked to play great football as they searched for a goal and pushed players forward but were exposed at the back due to another Berkeley counterattack which saw Bailey Garland poke home the sealing goal after the ball, fortunately, landed at his feet after a ricochet off Entrance keeper Steve Grimmitt. Berkeley walked away 3-0 winners as they managed to keep their first clean sheet of the year.
“Berkeley Vale were deserving winners tonight. We struggled to contain them at set-pieces, and they were quite dangerous all night. The challenge for us will be to try and get back to winning ways next week,” expressed Entrance coach Matt Page as he looks forward to an important game next weekend. “Wyoming will be a tough task, they’ve got a young, willing squad and I’ve got no doubt Macca will have his guys pumped to try and turn around their result from last week.”
Berkeley Vale coach Mark Pratt was extremely impressed with his squad’s performance from U21’s up to First Grade. “It was a good performance against a competitive Entrance team. The whole of our squad is evolving into a solid group of players with young to experience players all looking at a common goal. It was probably first grade’s best performance of the year with very solid defending to keep our first clean sheet. We still have a lot of improvement left in us and for the first time since I’ve been at the Wombats, there’s a sense of consistency from the training pitch to the field.”
Kanwal 0 – Terrigal 3
Terrigal maintains their perfect start to the season in all 3 grades after picking up another 3-0 win, over Kanwal.
Due to several injuries to the Kanwal side, a change of tactics took place for their game against Terrigal. The Bulls set out to frustrate Terrigal defending deep and their tactics were working well until the 30th minute when the game saw its first goal. A corner saw Terrigal’s Daniel Bird pounce on the ball at the back post to prod home the opening goal. Another corner saw Anthony Pace riffle his effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the area to give Terrigal a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break. This is the 3rd week in a row where Kanwal have entered half time being 2 goals down.
The second half saw Kanwal produce several half chances as they looked to get their foot into the game, but this also allowed the game to open up more and for Terrigal to continue to dominate possession in the second 45. Kanwal’s defence remained solid and especially their goalkeeper who pulled off some outstanding saves for the Bulls. Kanwal managed to keep Terrigal out until the 90th minute when the O’lads got their third and Pace’s second when he was at hand to tap into an empty net after the ball fell to his feet after another fine save from the Kanwal stopper.
Kanwal coach Ryan Walker was happy with the defensive effort throughout the game but was once again frustrated at conceding through set-pieces. “Terrigal are the benchmark for 2021 and have some quality players, but to concede at set-pieces once again is just not good enough. We need to show more desperation in these situations. It’s been a difficult start to the season, against some of the heavyweights of the competition, but in patches, we have shown we are capable of playing some good football.”
Kariong 2 – Woongarrah 3
Woongarrah has now won back-to-back games beating Kariong 3-2 who are yet to get their first win of the year.
Coming off their first win of the year over their local rivals in the previous round, Woongarrah looked to gain on that performance as they started their match against Kariong dominating possession early. Woongarrah would find the lead through their striker Jamie Bartlett who found the back of the net after a fine finish inside the box off a header. Not long after the Wildcats would double their lead as Myles Donnelly would smash home a goal from just inside the 18-yard box after the initial Woongarrah shot was saved. Woongarrah would carry this 2-0 lead into half time.
The Second 45 minutes mirrored the first as Woongarrah once again controlled possession and Kariong not taking a backward step. Great lead up play from Izaac Hucker would result in Jamie Bartlett getting his second as Woongarrah took a 3-0 lead. Despite being 3 goals to the good, Woongarrah would look to further add to their lead creating plenty of chances but were not clinical enough in front of goal. Against the run of play, Kariong would be awarded a penalty as Keiran Montaser stepped up and took his chance well to put the score to 3-1. Once again, poor finishing from Woongarrah would result in a nervous 4 minutes of injury time for the Wildcats as Kariong got another goal in the 90th minute after a scramble inside Woongarrah’s box saw the Cougars their second goal of the match. However, Woongarrah would hold on to the lead as the match finished 3-2.
Woongarrah coach Luke Rogers was thrilled with his team picking up another win but knows there is still room to improve. “I’m very happy with the way we controlled the play in the first half, but poor execution made the game tighter than it had to be. Kariong never gave up and pushed us all the way, I reckon their first win of the year isn’t far away.”
Southern & Ettalong 5 – Avoca 0
Southern get back to winning ways in round 4 after a very impressive 5-0 win over Avoca sees the Sharks now scoreless in their last 2 games.
Southern & Ettalong turned in their most complete performance of the season so far to defeat the young Avoca outfit. Southern’s first goal of the day was a fine effort by Michael Tawyer from an acute angle which opening the scoring for his side midway through the first half. Southern continued to ask questions of the Avoca defence all through the first half but Avoca was strong and determined in their efforts to keep the scoreline at 1-0. Unfortunately, the Sharks couldn’t hold out to half-time as Southern dealt two telling blows in the closing minutes before the break. The first was a back post header by Josh Fletcher of a well-executed corner and the second was a quality finish by the mercurial Keith Gumbs after great lead up play, Southern entered half-time with a 3-0 lead.
Southern continued their outstanding ball movement and purposeful lead up play in the second half. Midway through the last 45 minutes, Jacob Lepre made it 4-0 with a composed finish. Sam Webb bursting out of the midfield with several bounce passes, and clean dribbling completed Southern’s 5 goals as Webb finished into the corner of the net with a shot that gave the opposition goalkeeper zero chance.
“The challenge now for Southern is to show their consistency in their performances and we will certainly have to do that with Killarney coming to the peninsula next Sunday.” Stated SEU coach Dale Eggleton.
Avoca head coach Neal Hide says his side will learn from this result and will look to come back stronger. “We gave our worst performance of the season, especially in the first half. We have learnt a lot from the last two weekends, and we will improve.”
BPL Leading Goal Scorers –
| 6 | Ethan Hall (Killarney) |
| 4 | Keith Gumbs (Southern), Jesse Parnell (Avoca) |
| 3 | Stuart Adams (Terrigal), Daniel Rodger (Killarney), Antonino Pace (Terrigal), Michael Tawyer (Southern), Jamie Bartlett (Woongarrah) Bailey Garland (Berkeley Vale) |
BPL Points Table –
BPL Club Championship –
Division 1
Round 4 Results –
Division 1 Points Table –
Division 1 Club Championship –
Written by Adam Blunden.