MATCH OF THE ROUND
Kanwal 3 – 3 Woongarrah
Kanwal could not hold onto their early two-goal lead as their local rivals Woongarrah found a way to claw their way back into the game and split the points in the Round 9 Match of the Round
For both Kanwal and Woongarrah, these local derbies are the best weekends of the year as neither side wants to lose to their nearest neighbour. In front of a home crowd, Kanwal would start the game the better team, coming out firing with a goal in the opening five minutes after a delightful cross by Joey Liddle found teammate Bailey Appo who headed home to give the Bulls the lead. Kanwal continued to pressure the Woongarrah goal and was awarded a freekick just outside the Wildcat’s box. Jason Cozens stepped up and placed the ball into the top corner, leaving the opposition goalkeeper with no chance as he doubled the lead for Kanwal. Two goals within ten minutes had the Kanwal crowd buzzing, but Woongarrah slowly started to get themselves back into the contest and soon Woongarrah were awarded a lifeline when one of their players was brought down in the opposition box. Jayden Rogers stepped up for his side and converted the penalty to send the game to 2-1 at halftime.
The second half began similar to the first, with Kanwal coming out firing and within a few minutes of the start, James Scott would find himself on the scoresheet to restore Kanwal’s two-goal lead. With the second half being played in a very end-to-end fashion, Jamie Witherspoon would riffle his volley into the top of the net for Woongarrah to take the game to 3-2. Just moments later Woongarrah found their equaliser through Myles Donnelly who headed home from a corner to take the game level. After getting on equal terms, Woongarrah pushed hard to find the lead, having a host of chances only for Kanwal’s scrambling defence, goal-line clearances and Kurtis Mahon making a number of saves that would deny them the three points as the final score of the derby remained 3-3. In fairness, either team could have won, and both coaches would be disappointed not to win but also relieved that they didn’t lose.
Luke Rogers stated that his team started well below average but did a tremendous job at turning things around. “At two-nil down and the way Ryan’s boys were playing I thought it was going to be a long day at the office but credit to my boys who played themselves back into the game and probably could have won it at the end.”
Ryan Walker was extremely disappointed with his boys switching off and blowing a two-goal lead. “We have leaked a number of goals in the last three games and it’s something we need to work on during this week. Well done to Luke and his team, they got back into the game not once but twice and made it a difficult day for us.”
Match Official – Trent Dickenson
Wyoming 0 – 1 The Entrance
An Entrance penalty was the only difference in this fixture as Wyoming’s welcome back to Alan Davidson Oval could not provide the Tigers with their first win.
Not only did Alan Davidson welcome back Wyoming, but they also welcomed back their captain Matt Hall who has been sidelined in recent years as he has been dealing with injuries. This addition of Hall would have boosted the spirits of this Wyoming side who were hoping to take away their first three points of the season against an Entrance side coming off their biggest defeat. A young entrance team worked hard and matched the physicality of Wyoming on a very average grass pitch. Both teams had chances in the first half, but the ground didn’t work in favour of the strikers as the score remained locked at 0-0 after the opening 45 minutes.
The second half saw the entrance start the better of the two teams as the Reddies tried to play some football on the better areas of the field. There was great combination play originating from Bailey Hosford, Bailey got sent through on goal only to be brought down in the opposition box and awarded a penalty for his efforts. Mitchell Landini stepped up for The Entrance and slotted a fantastic penalty to send the Reddies 1-0 up. Wyoming threw everything at the opposition and their pressure was continuous, yet the Entrance defence held on with great efforts by their defensive line. Spencer Wharton and Mitch Landini were the rocks as their teammates followed suit. In the dying moments of the game, Wyoming had a free header in front as the crowd thought it was a certain goal only for the ball to fly over the goal and ultimately The Entrance would hold on for a tough 1-0 win.
Ian McAndrew commented on how he thought the game went and how his side just couldn’t find the back of the net. “It was a pretty fair game, and it was a game where we didn’t take our chances and it cost us and the entrance got a penalty and scored. Well done to Pat and his team.”
Match Official – David Richardson
Southern & Ettalong 0 – 3 Killarney
Southern had no response to Killarney’s three goals as the Terriers remain on top of the table with their unbeaten streak still alive.
Killarney started very strong and in the early stages of the game, Ethan Hall almost opened the scoring with his header that hit the crossbar, unfortunately, Hall hurt his groin in doing so and was forced to leave the game early. This early substitution did not seem to disrupt this Killarney side who would find the opening goal inside 6 minutes. Veteran striker Adam Woodbine was able to best and get on the wrong side of his defender Matt Page as Woodbine lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper’s head after a through ball from Darcy Wright. Woodbine was once again on hand to score 10 minutes later after he turned his defender in the box before finishing well into the bottom corner from 15-yards out. Southern would be extremely disappointed conceding two early goals as on both occasions the Lions were attacking and lost possession which resulted in a resilient Killarney to punish their mistakes with two good finishes. Killarney should have entered the halftime break three goals to the good as the Terriers were awarded a penalty. Alex Wardle who has been magnificent for Southern this season saved Andy Klijn’s penalty attempt to keep the score at 2-0. That was the second penalty Andy has missed this season.
The second half would serve as a test of character for Southern to take on the challenge of trying to work their way back into the game but to Killarney’s credit, they nullified every attacking raid Southern produced in the second half. Killarney continued with their own attacking pressure and scored a third in the closing stages of the game as Matt Hall made it 3-0 for the Terriers to wrap up a convincing performance and justify why they are undefeated competition leaders.
Dale Eggleton stated he and his squad knew heading into the game the dangers Killarney possessed. “We knew all week this would be our toughest test to date and were aware of Killarney’s ability on the transition from defence to attack. Knowing it and executing against it are always two separate things and it proved that way on Sunday.”
“Our next challenge is working hard at training again this week to take on Kanwal who sit in second on the table and are always a tough opponent but a challenge we will prepare for.”
Chris Ackerley commended his boys and especially the back line who once again kept a clean sheet. “Very pleasing performance with another clean sheet for the boys making that five form seven games. Always a hard place to get points so to come away with the win and continue our good start to the season was extremely pleasing.”
Match Official – Isaac Kastelan
Avoca 1 – 1 Berkeley Vale
Much like their Association Cup fixture, Berkeley Vale could not hold onto their one-goal lead as Avoca scored late to split the points with the Wombats.
Berkeley Vale started the brighter of the two teams, with several tidy combinations in the midfield that would not lead to anything as their passes in the final third would let them down time after time. Avoca would gradually gain possession and territory and build themselves into the match. Both teams had several chances in the first half, but wayward finishing let both sides down. Sunday marked the debut for Scott McGinley who joined the Wombats from Central Coast United. Scott was able to give his new club the lead late in the first half when he pounced on an opportunity that made its way into the back of the net. Avoca started to gain some ascendancy leading into the break, but Berkeley Vale held their one-goal lead at halftime.
The second half was a fairly even contest as the game flowed from end to end. Berkeley Vale had the better of the opportunities but once again their final passes and failing to capitalise on their opportunities would come back to hurt them late in the game. With approximately five minutes to go, Avoca through everything at Berkeley Vale and a shot by Jesse Parnell was parried away by goalkeeper Steven Grimmitt only for the rebound to fall to Josh Menzies who made no mistake of finding the back of the net and levelling the score in the dying stages of the game.
Despite not getting the win, Mark Pratt voiced that he was content with his team’s performance after missing out on a game last weekend. “After no game last weekend and not having trained on a football pitch for the last three weeks, I was happy with how we started and played for most of the match. Overall, it was an improved performance on our last two games and hoping with dry weather being able to continue to improve by getting some proper sessions on a grass pitch.”
Neal Hide stated after the game that his squad was saddened that for the second time this season, they could not grab a win over the Wombats. “They finished the match disappointed that they couldn’t get a win for the second time this season against Berkeley Vale.”
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
Kariong 1 – 3 Terrigal
Terrigal earned a hard-fought win on the road against a hark working Kariong side who found themselves on the scoresheet first.
The fixture started quite evenly as both sides found it difficult to play on the very bobbly and tricky surface. Both sides were guilty of missing a couple of early opportunities, the most memorable one coming from Terrigal’s Ben Flakus who fired high when he found himself in a well-placed area. It was Kariong who opened the scoring when cutting in from the left-wing, Shane Littlehales shot wasn’t held by ex-Kariong goalkeeper Craig James as the ball bounced over into an empty net to give the Cougar’s a one-goal lead. Looking to even the scoreline, Flakus once again fired just wide before the break when one-on-one with the Kariong goalkeeper, but Ben couldn’t execute the shot on the difficult pitch.
Halftime saw Terrigal step up a gear and come out with a newfound determination in the second period. A change of formation saw the Terrigal look extremely dangerous in attack, but it wasn’t until the 70th minute that they made the breakthrough when Daniel Bird released fellow striker Jayden Nahkoul who coolly finished to bring the O’lads level. Terrigal grab their go-ahead goal 10 minutes after getting their first when provider turned goal scorer with Daniel Bird slotting home in the bottom corner after breaking through the Kariong defence. Kariong fought hard for an equaliser, but the three points were sealed in the 90th minute when Stuart Adams was upended in the box and converted from the penalty spot.
Despite a good first half, Kariong coach Ryan Finch stated that their second half let them down, something you can’t do in this competition. “I thought we played well in the first half, but I am disappointed with our performance in the second half which allowed Terrigal to claim a deserved win, you can’t provide that sort of performance and expect to get anything out of the game against any side in the BPL.”
Martyn Griffiths credited the opposition as Martyn’s side moves into a final spot on the ladder. “A hard-fought victory in the end on a difficult pitch to play on. We switched a few things at halftime and how we wanted to play, and it was a pleasing performance in the second period. Fair play to Kariong, they gave us a tough game, but we grew stronger as the game went on and it was good to get the three points and move us into the top four.”
Match Official – Hugo Fonseca
Golden Boot Standings –
| 5 | Jack Elwood (Southern), Stuart Adams (Terrigal) |
| 4 | Andy Klijn (Killarney) Adam Kwasnik (Kanwal), Jack O’Callaghan (The Entrance), James Draper (Kariong), Tyler Wade (Avoca), Adam Woodbine (Killarney), Josh Menzies (Avoca) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
Division 1
Round 9 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
