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MATCH OF THE ROUND

Killarney 2 – 0 Avoca

Killarney continues their surge for a sixth straight title after another impressive win over strong competition Avoca in the Round 5 BPL Match of the Round.

The already dominant Killarney would welcome back from Newcastle NPL, the valuable midfielder Jordan Preston who found himself back at his former club and on the team sheet ahead of their Round 5 fixture with Avoca. Avoca looked well organised and enthusiastic to start the game as they battled for their initial points in 2022. After some back and forth between both teams, Killarney would find a breakthrough after a corner was not cleared properly by the Sharks defence and Andy Klijn would capitalise and volley home from 6-yards to open his goal-scoring account for 2022. The score would remain at 1-0 at the break.

Trailing by a goal, Avoca once again came out with renewed energy as they searched hard for an equaliser. Unfortunately for Avoca, it would not be, in the 65th minute Killarney would double their lead after some great passing movement in the middle of the park may its way to Andy Klijn who would slot home from 12-yards out to grab his second of the match. Now chasing two goals, Avoca pushed forward in hope of sparking some sort of comeback attempt. This allowed Killarney to counterattack will pace as the Terriers looked to grab more goals but were unfortunate not to turn any of their multiple chances into goals as the final whistle sounded and Killarney walked away 2-0 winners in their first home match of the season.

Neal Hide had nothing but acclamation for his opponents as he voiced how tough of a challenge this Killarney side is. “We worked really hard, but Killarney deserved the win. Full credit to Killarney, they’re a tough team that will give any side problems.”

Chris Ackerley was immensely happy with how his team performed as they now set their sights on another undefeated team in Kanwal. “I’m happy with the performance, especially keeping a second clean sheet in a row. Looking forward to next week’s game against Kanwal who have also started the season well, it will be a good test to see where we are at.”

Woongarrah 2 – 2 The Entrance

The points were shared between Woongarrah and The Entrance as the Reddies missed a golden opportunity late in the game to take their first win of the year.

Woongarrah looked to start their round 5 fixture picking up where they left off the preceding week when they picked up a win at Hamlyn Terrace. The first 10 minutes were played at a very high pace with Woongarrah having better field position whilst Patrick Zwaanswijk’s side struggled to get into any rhythm early on in the match. Woongarrah took the lead midway through the first half when a corner found its way to Bailey Koopman who managed to put the ball into the back of the net with a clean strike from just inside the opposition box. The Entrance would finally start to wake up after going a goal down, The Reddies started to enjoy some more possession which allowed them to create chances of their own. Both teams would have their fair share of chances on goals, Woongarrah’s multiple opportunities would not cause the Reddies goalkeeper much harm after some wayward shooting. The Entrance was awarded a penalty and the chance to level the score heading into halftime. Jack O’Callaghan stepped up for his side as he calmly slotted to take the game to 1-1.

Once again, very similar to the first half, The Entrance started slow, and this allowed Woongarrah to get off on the front foot and at a high tempo as they chased for a goal to regain their lead. Jayden Rogers would take a great first touch to evade his defender and ultimately cruise the ball into the bottom corner from outside the 18-yard box to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. With 25 minutes to go, Jayden Rogers was shown his second yellow card which forced his side to finish the game with only 10 men, this caused the game to take a massive swing as The Entrance looked to restore the deficit. The Entrance was able to find their equaliser after Jakob Ham’s effort on goal found the back of the net. The Entrance were not done here as they continued to push hard and in the 90th minute were awarded a penalty and golden opportunity to take the lead and all three points away from Woongarrah and Hamlyn Terrace. Jack O’Callaghan stepped up once again, but this time goalkeeper Josh Masters was able to guess the right way and pull off a quality save to allow Woongarrah to take a valuable point away from the match.

Luke Rogers had high praise for the young opposition who he thinks will get their opening win for the 2022 season in no time. “They are a quality young side who are well coached, I can see plenty of wins ahead for this side. Unfortunately, a lot of tough calls went against us that would cost us the three points.”

Berkeley Vale 5 – 0 Wyoming

Wyoming was no match for BPL favourites Berkeley Vale who put on a 5-goal clinic at Chittaway Oval.

Berkeley Vale started their round 5 clash against Wyoming in a very dominant matter, controlling the majority of possession and dictating the play. Wyoming was without a few of their big-name players in Tommy Coventry, Mitch Meredith and also Benji Gossen who pulled out late to leave the Tigers with a bare fresh 11 to start the game. Nineteen-year-old goalkeeper Joshua Byrnes made his debut for Wyoming and was exceptional in goals for the Tigers as he made a string of outstanding saves to keep Berkeley Vale at bay in the opening half. The breakthrough finally came from a Berkeley Vale set piece that was headed home strong by Michael Dalton who gave his side the lead. The weight of possession was taking its toll on an extremely young Wyoming side, but Ian McAndrews youngsters held strong to see out the remainder of the half.

The second half saw Berkeley Vale come out of the sheds with a gritty demeanour as they looked to put the game to bed early in the second half. The Wombats continued to dominate the possession and the chances started to become more frequent. Bailey Garland, for the second week in a row, grabbed his side’s 2nd goal of the game as Berkeley Vale doubled their lead. The unlikely goal scorer Michael Dalton found himself with another great opportunity as he headed his second for the game to give Berkeley Vale their third. In what has been labelled a goal of the year contender, Alex Arbelo scored an extraordinary goal to take the score to 4-0 and substitute Troy Mumford finished well late in the game to seal the game for the Wombats.

Ian McAndrew credits his opposition who taught his young side a valuable lesson on Sunday. “We had seven starters under the age of twenty-one today and they were taught a tough but good lesson, that you need to play for the full ninety minutes against one of the best sides in the competition. Credit to Pratty and Berkeley Vale.”

Mark Pratt stated that after recent weeks of subpar performances from his players, this fixture was more of what he wanted to see as a coach. “We were dominant, in particular in the second half with some well-constructed team goals. This was an improved performance compared to our last game.”

Kariong 2 – 1 Southern & Ettalong

Against all odds, Kariong picked up their first BPL win in the history of the club in front of a home crowd this past Sunday.

Southern & Ettalong got a lesson in the importance of hunger and desire when they went down to a 10-man Kariong side in Round 5. The first twenty minutes of the fixture started much of the same as the first two rounds for the Lions, creating multiple chances but not being able to capitalize and turn any of these chances into goals. However, for the third week in a row, a long throw from their captain Todd Balneaves led to Southern’s opening goal when Jack Ellwood headed home for his side to take a 1-0 lead. Five minutes after conceding, Kariong’s Chris Lennon was shown a red card, taking Kariong’s comeback chances to near impossible. A precise ball from Kariong’s captain Nick Trengrove found James Draper who popped up with a neat finish into the bottom corner which allowed the Cougars to draw level heading into the break. 

Southern would start the second have in a very strong manner as they would continue to throw everything at Kariong and their defence. Kariong was determined and committed as they dealt with an impatient Southern attack and looked to capitalise and catch Southern out on the counterattack. Midway through the second half, Kariong would defy the odds and take the lead after a handling error by the Southern keeper allowed James Draper to cooly slot home for his second of the match and give his side the lead. Looking to restore the deficit, Southern continued to attack with everything they had but the 10-men Kariong held strong. In the 90th minute, it looked like Southern would finally find their equaliser through the almighty Keith Gumbs only for him to be denied by a superb clearance off the line by Brad Bowers which ultimately lead to Kariong picking up their first BPL win after a year in the competition.

Dale Eggleton post-game congratulated a determined Kariong side who did everything they could to pick up the win this past Sunday. “We had enough possession and territorial dominance to comfortably win the game. But full credit goes to Kariong for taking their opportunities and desperately wanting the victory more than us. Belief and hunger are two important factors in a side’s desire, and we need to find that in our attitude before we regret it ad realise you consistently need those aspects in your game each week.”

A very pleased Ryan Finch was ecstatic with the way his team performed and was able to get the win against all odds. “From a coach’s point of view, I couldn’t be prouder of each and every Kariong player today who gave absolutely everything until the end. A big shoutout to Southern as well who never gave up and continued to fight until the end and regardless of today’s result will have a successful year.”

Terrigal 0 – 1 Kanwal

Kanwal sent a statement to the rest of the competition as they leave it late again to pick up a win against an out of form Terrigal.

It was a fast start to the game by both sides, with Terrigal gaining a slight advantage in the early parts of the first half. Terrigal looked all the more dangerous whenever going forward, The O’lads welcomed back Daniel Bird to their side who had a great chance to send his team in front but scuffed his shot wide. Stuart Adams was also guilty of missing a golden chance that would have seen Terrigal take the lead. Kanwal who was looking to build into the game would suffer a huge double blow with the loss of their two influential midfielders. Firstly, Mason Lavery couldn’t continue for the Bulls after suffering an early knock, and then Brad Porter would fall to a niggling hamstring injury. This would put Ryan Walker’s side on the back foot for the remainder of the first half as Terrigal dominated possession. Terrigal’s Ben Flakus had the goal at his mercy only to see his header come off the upright and cleared to safety. The score remained locked at 0-0 heading into the second half.

Halftime allowed Kanwal to restructure their formation and the Bulls seemed to grow into the match the longer the fixture went on in the second half. Although both sides looked to attack, neither goalkeeper was truly troubled as both teams struggled to create any clear-cut chances. However, for the second time this year already, Kanwal would score in the last minute to walk away from Pluim Park with the points. A free kick in the late stages of normal time saw a dangerous ball played into the box for Kyle Price who knocked down his header into the path of an un-marked Joey Liddle who converted and sent the Kanwal supporters into celebrations.

Martyn Griffiths, who had never lost all three grades in one day before Sunday stated how their missed chances would be the deciding factor in this match. “A disappointing day of the O’lads going down in all three grades against an improving Kanwal squad playing with plenty of confidence. Our missed opportunities would come back to haunt us.”

Ryan Walker was delighted with the effort and resilience of the team after losing players to injury so early in the game. “The boys are working hard as a team and the reward is paying off. We have been able to stay in games to the end this year and with that bit of luck every team needs, we have been able to come away with another vital win. Praise to Terrigal, they never gave up and to be honest the game could have gone either way.”

Golden Boot Standings –

3Ethan Hall (Killarney), Jack Ellwood (Southern), James Draper (Kariong)

BPL Points Table

BPL Club Championship –

DIVISION 1

Round 5 Results

Div 1 Points Table

Div 1 Club Championship