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MATCH OF THE ROUND

The Entrance v Killarney

The local derby between the Reddies and the Terriers is your Round 11 Match of the Round as the entrance look to cause an upset and hand Killarney their first loss of the year.

For the majority of this new Entrance side, it will be their first local derby in the red and the white. This is a day that means a lot to the club and their supporters so you can expect these youngsters and the new coaching staff to treat this fixture very seriously.  The Entrance will enter this Match of the Round fixture coming off their biggest defeat of the season. The Reddies conceded a season-high seven goals against Terrigal last week and now face the tough challenge of overcoming that performance against an unbeaten Killarney side.

The last time the Entrance saw a defeat this big was only back in round 8 when Avoca handed the Reddies a 6-1 loss. To their credit, Patrick Zwaanswijk and his team were able to overcome that loss and come together the following week for the second win of the year, defeating Wyoming 1-0. The Entrance will be hoping for similar fortune this weekend when they welcome league leaders Killarney to Pat Morley Oval.

Head coach Patrick Zwaanswijk commented on the fixture ahead of the weekend. “I know that Killarney is the benchmark in the competition and have a lot of experienced players. They’re very competitive and with their team and individual class they will be hard to beat on the weekend.”

“The Entrance need to be positive and learn from their mistakes. It’s a slow process but one with ups and downs and we are looking for the next up, against Killarney will be a perfect time.”

Not much can be said about Killarney that hasn’t been said already. The Terriers lead the competition as the only unbeaten team as they boast a perfect record of eight wins and zero losses. Despite missing key players in their round 10 clash with Kariong, Killarney was still able to score three past the Cougar’s defence to keep their perfect record intact. In all eight fixtures so far, Killarney has only conceded in three of them as the defensive backline marshalled by Sam Kirk continues to remain impenetrable.

Chris Ackerley will welcome back key attackers Adam Woodbine and Ethan Hall along with keeper Declan Drake who all missed last weekend due to injuries and holidays. Adam “The Pensioner” Woodbine will be hoping to keep his tremendous form in front of goal going as he continues to set the standard for players well beyond their prime.

Chris Ackerley is anticipating a very close contest come Sunday. “Always a hard tough game as any local derby is. This derby is always close no matter where both sides are sitting on the table, so we are not expecting anything different come Sunday. I’m Expecting them to try and bounce back after the defeat to Terrigal.

“From my side, we have three players returning who missed last week which will make the selection process that little bit harder Hopefully we can continue our good start to the season, but we are under no illusions about how hard the game will be,” said Ackerley.

MATCH OFFICIAL – Luke Dunkerley

Wyoming v Terrigal

Fresh off their first win of the year, Wyoming will look to make it two in a row as they welcome Terrigal to Alan Davidson Oval.

Confidence will be very high in the Wyoming camp after their impressive win on Wednesday night over Southern & Ettalong where the Tigers came out 2-1 victors. In that fixture, Wyoming opened the scoring midway through the first half thanks to Timothy Hopkins before conceding an equaliser in the second half. However, Wyoming was awarded a penalty late and their captain Matt Hall stepped up for his side and delivered the three points to secure their opening win of the season.

It did not take long for their skipper Matt Hall to make his mark on the squad, and he will continue to be a vital part of Wyoming’s battle to stay out of relegation. That win sees Wyoming climb out of the relegation zone for the first time this season. Ian McAndrew and his squad will be hoping they can repeat that performance come Sunday, but the surface of Alan Davidson, compared to Pluim Park, may play a big part in how the game evolves.

Terrigal enters round 11 coming off the biggest win in the competition so far as the O’lads defeated The Entrance 7-1 last weekend. That win catapulted Martyn Griffith’s side into third place. Stuart Adams was able to find the back of the net late in that fixture which saw him climb to the top of the golden boot standings with a total of 6 goals for the year. Mahkye Brownlie, Ben Flakus, Daniel Bird, Erik Riquelme, and Jonah Walker also recorded goals to their name in that round 10 win.

Despite the impressive win, Terrigal still managed to leak one goal as their quest for a clean sheet still continues. Terrigal has conceded the greatest number of goals (16) compared to any other team in the top six. Griffiths and his men will be out to reconcile this as they face the worse goal-scoring team in the competition. Terrigal despite their defensive statistics will remain confident of the task ahead as they look to further cement their spot in the top four.

MATCH OFFICIAL – Hugo Fonseca

Berkeley Vale v Southern & Ettalong

Both Berkeley Vale and Southern & Ettalong suffered disappointing losses mid-week as they look to put that behind them and focus on this important fixture come Sunday.

A win on Wednesday night would have seen the Wombats jump into second place but Mark Pratt’s side conceded late to fall 1-0 against Kanwal. This Berkeley side continues to struggle with playing consistent football and taking their chances when presented which has come back to hurt them multiple times already this season. Last weekend Berkeley Vale was able to secure their first win in a matter of weeks thanks to Bailey Garland who scored three on that day against Woongarrah.

All four of Berkeley Vale’s wins so far in the competition have come against the current bottom four clubs on the points ladder. In their other four fixtures against teams outside of the bottom four, Pratt’s side has been unable to pick up a single win as they boast a record of one draw and three losses. This is something Pratt will be looking at and knowing it isn’t good enough as the former competition favourites look to get back to winning ways. The Wombats are scheduled to play their first match of the year at Mingara Oval which is sure to add an extra boost to the squad.

Another disappointing Southern performance against a bottom-seeded team saw Southern drop crucial points as they fell 2 goals to 1 against Wyoming on Wednesday night. Southern has been extremely unlucky with injuries and sickness in their 2022 campaign as Dale Eggleton has been forced to make multiple changes each week with players coming in and out with injuries. Southern’s main man Jack Ellwood looks to be out for some time which is a major blow to the club and also to Ellwood who was enjoying a season-best form before his injury.

Southern has now handed both Kariong and Wyoming their first win of the season whilst having enough chances in both fixtures to turn those results around. The almighty Keith Gumbs finds himself in a goalscoring drought as the prolific striker just can’t seem to find the back of the net. Jamieson Flynn found himself on the scoresheet again this past Wednesday, after missing the previous fixture due to an injury, Flynn came on a scored the equaliser for his side. The partnership of Keith and Jamison will be instrumental this weekend as Southern looks to pick up a win away from home.

MATCH OFFICIAL – Mark Roberts

Kanwal v Kariong

Kanwal, who is coming off an impressive win mid-week over Berkeley Vale will look to keep the momentum going against Kariong this weekend.

Last year when Kanwal faced Kariong, Ryan Walker’s side was winless and facing a relegation battle. A year later and the Bulls have now turned the tables as they find themselves at the other end of the ladder, sitting in second place with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 17 points. Kanwal faced Berkeley Vale on Wednesday night and after a gruelling, close contest, Mason Lavery’s goal late in the second half was enough to give Kanwal all three points.

After conceding zero goals in their first three fixtures, Kanwal went on to concede nine goals in their following three fixtures. However, in their most two recent games, Kanwal has once again shut up shop in their backline as they have kept two clean sheets in four days. A majority of their success this season has come on the road as the Bulls have only won once in three games at Wadalba Sports Complex with that win coming all the way back in Round 3 against The Entrance. Walker and his men will be out to further establish themselves with a win over Kariong and look forward to signing the team song in front of a home crowd.

After Wyoming’s win mid-week, Kariong now finds themselves back in the relegation zone along with Woongarrah. Ryan Finch and his men have faced two of the toughest tests in the competition in recent weeks and will now face another top competitor in Kanwal. Kariong is coming off losses to Terrigal and Killarney as the Cougars went down 3-1 in both fixtures.

James Draper has been Kariong’s main target up top as the attacker records four goals to his name, scoring almost half of Kariong’s total goals this year (10). Kariong captain Nick Trengrove has also been a vital part of his team’s success this year and will continue to be a massive impact on Kariong’s hope of staying in the top competition in 2023. Although coming into this fixture as underdogs, Kariong might surprise many with a gritty performance that could lead to a result come Sunday.

MATCH OFFICIAL – Anthony Kabbout

Avoca v Woongarrah

Avoca will be hoping to claim their first back-to-back wins for the season as they welcome an underperforming Woongarrah side to Fagan Park.

Avoca recorded their third win of the season last weekend as Neal Hide’s side walked away from Alan Davidson with a 2-1 win over Wyoming. That result catapulted Avoca into sixth place as the Sharks currently remain only four points out of the top four. After conceding a total of seven goals after their opening three games, Neal and his squad have done a tremendous job of getting the best out of the defence in recent weeks as the Sharks have only conceded three goals total in their last three games.

At  the other end of the field and finding his goalscoring form in recent weeks is Sharks Attacker Josh Menzies who has recorded his name on the scoresheet five weeks in a row. Menzies is just one goal away from the golden boot leader and will be hoping he can keep this streak going as he comes up against a backline yet to keep a clean sheet. Avoca will be determined to grab another win this weekend and keep within touching distance of playing finals football. 

After failing to collect any point in all three grades last weekend, Woongarrah finds themselves back in the relegation zone of the BPL Club Championship. Woongarrah was faced with a determined Berkeley Vale side in round 10 as the Wombats secured wins in all grades, including a 3-1 win in First Grade. This marked Woongarrah’s fourth loss of the season as the Wildcats sit in eighth place on six points, just edging Kariong on goal difference. Despite sitting on six points, the Wildcats still only boast the one win thus far in the competition when they beat Kariong all the way back in round 4 (2-1).

Luke Rogers, who got this side promoted in 2019 and was able to carry them to the Grand Final in their first year in the BPL competition, will be expecting a lot of his players as he believes he has the squad to turn things around. Mark Harmsworth will be one of the main players Rogers will look for to help the squad overcome their disappointing start. The veteran defender could prove to be an instrumental part for the Wildcats as they search to keep their first clean sheet of the season on the road this Sunday against Avoca.

MATCH OFFICIAL – Damien Bury