MATCH OF THE ROUND
Terrigal 2 – Killarney 2
A flurry of 4 first-half goals saw Terrigal and Killarney take a share of the spoils in your BPL Round 9 Match of the Round on Saturday afternoon at Pluim Park.
Current league leaders Terrigal would find the first goal of the game after just 6 minutes when some neat passing down the left flank allowed Anthony Pace to get in behind the Killarney defence to pull back to Ben Flakus who riffled the ball home with a great strike to give the O’lads a 1-0 lead. Killarney responded just 5 minutes later after a loose Terrigal pass found its way to Blake Silvers whose shot from just inside Terrigal’s half looped over the Terrigal goalkeeper Riley Battle and found the top corner to take the game level at 1-1. A high foot challenge on 35 minutes gave Terrigal an indirect free kick on the penalty spot, a quick pass by Jacob Melling allowed Stuart Adams to poke home at the back post to restore Terrigal’s lead. Once again Killarney fought back after a sweeping move down the right-hand side saw Harry Fountain find Matt Hall who rose the highest at the back stick to head Killarney level at halftime.
The second half of the contest saw both sides created chances but were unable to breach each other’s defences. Killarney did extremely well in closing Terrigal down all over the park for the majority of the second half as neither side was able to get the winner and the game finished 2-2. Terrigal remains unbeaten after the 1st half of the season but drop their first points of the year at the hands of Killarney.
Terrigal’s Martyn Griffiths stated his team did not play to their abilities, but they will be back stronger. “It was our toughest game of the season so far and to be fair to Killarney, they closed us down all over the park and well deserved the draw. We didn’t get going today and were a bit slow in the possession and passing. We’ll rectify that”
“All in all, 2-2 was a fair indication of the match. I was very pleased with the fighting qualities of my side to come back twice against a side that hadn’t dropped a point this season. It will give our boys a big lift going into the 2nd round of competition,” commented Killarney’s Chris Ackerley.
Avoca 1 – Berkeley Vale 1
Avoca and Berkeley Vale also shared the spoils on Saturday afternoon at Pluim Park as neither side could find that elusive match-winning goal.
In a very open game, which saw both sides create several chances in the first half, both teams were struggling in front of goals when it mattered the most. Berkeley Vale would open the scoring through Jakeb Brownlow who put the Wombats ahead with his second goal in his opening two games for Mark Pratt’s team. Avoca once again conceded first as they have on many occasions this year and entered the break 1-0 down.
The second 45 minutes was similar to the first as both teams continued to make opportunities for themselves but struggled when it came to finding the back of the net. Being a goal down and chasing a result from the fixture, the substitute of Jackson Carr would reward Avoca coach Neal Hide as Jackson found himself on the end of a cross that he was able to convert and put his side on level terms at 1-1. Berkeley had easily the best opportunities to regain their lead but failed to take what they had created and ultimately miss out on the opportunity to get closer to Terrigal and put a gap between the other clubs chasing them.
“Avoca have a young team that could prove a surprise or two for this year and if they stay together, they could be a force in BPL in the years to come,” mentioned Mark Pratt post-match.
“It was a good game where both teams had several chances. We once again conceded the first goal of the game, something that happens far too often for my liking!” voiced Neal Hide when reflecting on the game.
Kariong 0 – Wyoming 3
Kariong remains without a first-grade win after the first half of the competition after falling to Wyoming 3-0 at home in round 9.
Wyoming controlled the majority of the first half but struggled in breaking down Kariong’s defence who defended extremely well. Wyoming’s first goal came from winning the ball in the middle of the park which then found Darren Cooper who slipped a lovely ball through Tim Hopkins who broke the net with his effort. Wyoming got their second not long after when they were rewarded an indirect free-kick after a Kariong pack bass. Ian McAndrew played a cheeky back-stick ball to teammate Darren Copper who tapped home for their second goal, The Tigers would enter halftime holding their 2-0 lead.
Kariong came out with plenty of intensity in the second half as they looked to get themselves back into the contest with an early second-half goal. Kariong were persistent in the first 10 minutes but could not break down Wyoming as they weathered the attacking storm of Kariong and started to take back control of the game. It was Tim Hopkins and Darren Cooper once again linking up for Wyoming’s third goal, this time Hopkins turning provider for Cooper who found himself on the scoresheet for the second time in the game. Being 3-0 up, Wyoming still took it to the Kariong side in hope of scoring more goals, but Kariong finished strong, and the final score remained 3-0.
Ian McAndrew and his team have now picked up their second win of the season and will look to carry the momentum from this win into the second half of the year, starting next week. “Hopefully we can build on this result and performance for next week.”
Woongarrah 4 – The Entrance 1
Woongarrah picks up an extremely valuable 3 points in front of a home crowd over The Entrance after coming back from 1-0 down to win 4-1.
The Entrance started the game well, putting together nice attacking sequences as they battle Woongarrah for control of the game in the opening minutes. The pressure paid off for the Reddies after 15 minutes when a long ball from Brad Thoseby over the Woongarrah backline saw Wildcat’s defender softly header the ball back to goal that was intercepted by Matt Page who finished past the oncoming goalkeeper. 10 minutes later, Woongarrah were handed an opportunity back into the game when The Entrance goalkeeper Steven Grimmitt was adjudged to have held the ball for longer than 6 seconds, and Woongarrah were awarded a free-kick just inside the penalty area. Karl Gavin picked out the bottom corner with a precise strike that got the game back on level terms. Woongarrah was forced to make a substitution due to injury that would see Lachlan Jones take the field. Woongarrah got their go-ahead goal not long after the equalizer through some nice interplay between Karl Gavin and Jamie Bartlett on the edge of the area, saw Bartlett get in behind the defence. A rushing Grimmitt saved the first attempt, but the ball was rebounded to substitute Lachlan Jones who would score from a tight angle into an open net, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 lead at halftime.
After the halftime break, the momentum shift that began at the end of the first half was now well and truly with Woongarrah. The Entrance struggled to get any decent spells of possession and Woongarrah started to dominate the play and their pressure would pay off as they were awarded a spot kick with Lachlan Jones stepping up and bagging his second goal of the game to give Woongarrah a 2-goal lead. At 3-1, the game was end-to-end action as The Entrance searched for goals that would get them back into the game. A mistake in the Reddies at halfway allowed a ball to be played through to Karl Gavin who would seal the win with his 2nd goal of the game.
“All credit to Woongarrah, they out enthused and outplayed us today. A disappointing performance from us. It’s a massive challenge for us now to try and turn things around against a fired-up Terrigal side next week,” voiced The Entrance coach Matt Page when looking back on the game.
Woongarrah’s Luke Rogers was delighted with his team’s performance. “It was great to finally get back home in front of our supporters and this was our best team performance of the season. We still got areas of our game that we need to improve on, but it was a step in the right direction.”
Southern & Ettalong 3 – Kanwal 2
Southern & Ettalong cement their spot in the top 3 after being the only side in the top 6 to get a win this weekend as they now sit only 2 points behind 2nd place.
Kanwal entered the match in a great run of form having not lost in 3 weeks, but Ryan Walker and his side knew it’s always a tough trip to play SEU at James Browne Oval. It was an even contest in the early parts of the game. Southern welcomed back Jacob Lepre from injury as he played a big role in successfully finding a way through Kanwal’s defensive system. Southern opened the scoring when an attack down the right-hand side with James Steer and Jacob Lepre combining and then bouncing the ball off striker Keith Gumbs for Jacob Lepre to put Southern 1-0 up. The second goal became just before the half-time break when Southern once gain penetrated down the right, this time with Michael Tawyer who put Jacob Lepre through 1-on-1 with the Kanwal keeper as Jacob made it 2-0 with a composed finish.
The second half saw both teams create chances, very similar to the first half but the game was turned on its head 15 minutes in when Southern’s very important attacker Michael Tawyer was adjudged to have fouled for his second yellow card which resulted in him shown a red card and having to miss the rest of the match. Kanwal got a goal back thanks to a corner set-piece that was converted by Kyle Price. Being down by 1 goal and having an extra man advantage, the Bulls would take full advantage off another set-piece as Jason Cozens headed home from a free-kick to level the score at 2-2. With the comeback in full momentum, Kanwal themselves would be reduced to 10 men after Ryan Oehm also was shown red after receiving his second yellow card. This opened the game up massively as both teams searched for a winner. As he has done for many years, Keith Gumbs would latch onto a through ball and calmly chip the advancing Kanwal keeper, giving Southern a 3-2 lead. Kanwal would throw everything at the opposition and had a number of chances late in injury time but the desperate defence of Southern kept them at bay and would deny Kanwal of another unlikely comeback in the game.
SEU’s Dale Eggleton states his teams need to be better when it comes to finishing the game with 11 men. “As a coach, I am puzzled by the fact 3 of the 9 games we have finished with 10 men and I know we aren’t a physical or rule-breaking team however we still need to work on how we can make sure this isn’t a regular in the second round of the season.”
BPL Leading Goal Scorers –
| 8 | Ethan Hall (Killarney), Stuart Adams (Terrigal) |
| 7 | Daniel Bird (Terrigal), Keith Gumbs (Southern) |
| 6 | Michael Tawyer (Southern) |
| 5 | Bailey Garland (Berkeley Vale), Jesse Parnell (Avoca) |
BPL Points Table –
BPL Club Championship –
Round 10 Fixtures –
Division 1
Round 9 Results –
Division 1 Points Table –
Division 1 Club Championship –
Written by Adam Blunden.