MATCH OF THE ROUND
Southern Ettalong v Berkeley Vale
With only one point currently separating these two teams, the round 2 match of the round between the Lions and the Wombats could see massive implications on who we see in the top four at the end of the season.
Southern enters this weekend coming off their best performance of the season. Last weekend the Lions travelled to Wadalba Sports Complex to battle second-place Kanwal and walked away with a crucial three points after defeating the Bulls 5-0. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that Dale Eggleton’s squad were backing up from a Thursday night meeting with Wyoming where they also scored five goals in a 5-2 win over the Tigers. As Southern set their sights on the top four, they seem to be entering the back end of the season with full momentum and this has reflected on the scoreline as they have scored 16 goals in their last 4 games, with one of those games being a 1-0 loss to the undefeated Killarney. One of the main factors of this exceptional goal-scoring record as of late is because of their main striker, The Almighty Keith Gumbs. After going the opening 11 fixtures without a goal, Gumbs has now recorded 8 goals in the past three weeks as the prolific goal scorer will remain a big factor in his team’s success this season. A win this weekend will see Southern pounce into the top four above their opposition.
Dale Eggleton mentioned how important this weekend’s contest is as the opposition is always a tough outfit. “This weekend’s games set up as important as we have had all season. We know what it means to our chances of playing in the finals and the challenge that Berkely Vale will bring. They are an experienced side that doesn’t offer you too many chances, so we have to be prepared to take our opportunities and restrict theirs. Our home record has been good this season and we plan to make it better.”
After coming off what seemed to be one of their most dominant wins of the season, The Wombats thought they had finally found a standard and a consistency that would carry them into the finals. Unfortunately, Berkeley Vale was not able to repeat this performance last weekend as they travelled to Hamlyn Terrace to take on a desperate Woongarrah side. After dominating early proceedings once again a host of missed opportunities would come back and hurt this side as they conceded late to share the points in a 1-1 draw. Berkeley Vale does boast a 2-1 win over Southern when they met in the reverse fixture at Pluim Park and Mark Pratt will be hopeful his side can duplicate that performance away from home and claim three points against Southern again. The 2022 Association Cup winners looked like the team to beat in pre-season but multiple injuries, lack of training venues and much more has seen this side not live up to their expectations. If Berkeley Vale is a true contender this season, they will need to show it this weekend.
Mark Pratt states his side must be at their very best if they wish to pick up points against their in-form opposition. “Southern Ettalong is the current form team outside Killarney only and we will need to be at our very best to take points off them. Looking forward as usual to the challenge that Dale, Ollie and the team will present to us.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – Trent Dickeson
Killarney v The Entrance
Coming off a very important win, the Reddies will travel to Edsacc Oval to face local rivals Killarney as the newly crowned league champions look to finish their season with a perfect record.
It was all up for grabs for Killarney last weekend as Chris Ackerley’s men travelled to Kariong Oval with one simple goal in mind, win and claim the title of 2022 BPL League Champions and what an emphatic win it was. From the moment the two sides kicked off Killarney were on the front foot, and it stayed that way for the majority of the match as the Terriers secured an 11-1 victory to claim their sixth straight BPL First Grade competition. Elderly striker Adam “The Pensioner” Woodbine found his name on the scoresheet five times to elevate himself to the top of the golden boot standing with 12 competition goals to his name.
After securing the crown of League Champions, Killarney will now have its eyes set on becoming the first team since Budgewoi in the ‘70s to win all of their competition games. Killarney currently boasts a perfect record of 15 wins from 15 games and ends their season against The Entrance, Terrigal, and Avoca. Killarney defeated their rivals 4-0 earlier in the year away from home and will be looking to execute a similar performance in front of a home crowd this weekend.
The Entrance will be feeling the highs of their very important 2-1 victory over third-place Terrigal last weekend. Two goals to their veteran Zan Anastas saw the Reddies claim just their third win of the season. The Reddies also managed a win in third grade to pick up 15 club championship points at their home ground and go 19 points clear of the relegation zone on the club championship ladder. The Entrance is now unbeaten in their last three as the Reddies look to carry this form into the end of the year and remain in BPL for the 2023 season.
This young Reddies side will be determined to keep this form heading into Edsacc Oval this weekend as they look to upset their rivals and put an end to their perfect season. After a terrible month of results and performances, it seems the Entrance has finally turned things around but will be tested to the max in their final runs of games when they face Killarney, Berkeley Vale and finish with Woongarrah which could decide who stays up and who goes down.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Hugo Fonseca
Woongarrah v Avoca
Woongarrah will be ready for another big day this Sunday as the Wildcats look to repeat last weekend’s performances and pick up crucial points in all three grades.
Woongarrah entered last weekend’s clash with Berkeley Vale not having picked up a single club championship point in their last three rounds. Desperate for points, Woongarrah rallied together in front of a home crowd to secure points in all three grades. Woongarrah however still find themselves in the relegation zone on the club championship, but the Wildcats have a favourable run of fixtures to finish the season which you would expect to see them pick enough points up to avoid relegation.
Woongarrah is scheduled to take on Avoca at home this weekend, a side Woongarrah already claimed a 4-3 victory over this season, back in round 11. Woongarrah then finishes their season on the road, facing both Kariong and The Entrance away. Luke Rogers’s side enjoys the luxury of playing the two teams they are battling against in the final rounds of the competition so it will be up to them to get the results as they don’t have to depend on any other teams.
Recent weeks have not been easy for Neal Hide’s side who have struggled immensely with consistency in their performances and results. Four weeks ago, Avoca was on the wrong end of a 10-2 thumping against Kanwal but overcame that result the following week, picking up their fourth win of the season with a 3-2 victory over The Entrance. Since then, they have only picked up 1 point from 2 games as the Sharks claim only 1 win in their last 7 fixtures.
Despite only facing Woongarrah once, Avoca travels to Hamlyn Terrace, a field the Sharks have already played at twice this season which will have this side well prepared for the conditions the oval has to offer. The last team these two sides met they were on the wrong end of a 7-goal thriller as Woongarrah are only one of three teams to score 4 or more goals past Avoca this year. Expect another close battle between these two sides come Sunday.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Luke Dunkerley
Terrigal v Wyoming
After a lacklustre showing last weekend at Pat Morley, Terrigal returns to Duffy’s Oval this weekend as the O’lads welcome a hungry Wyoming outfit.
Terrigal will rejoice in the opportunity of playing at their home ground Duffy’s Oval as this Sunday will mark just the third time this season the O’lads will lace up their boots on their home soil. Terrigal records win in both fixtures they have played at Duffy’s this year, with an impressive combined scoreline of 10-2. This scoreline indicates how much the players enjoy playing here and Terrigal will be determined to further improve this when they host Wyoming.
Terrigal enters their match against Wyoming, coming off an extremely disappointing 2-1 defeat to The Entrance. After conceding two goals in the second half, Terrigal found a late consolation goal thanks to a Stuart Adams penalty, but it would be too late for a comeback as the boys in orange would leave Pat Morley feeling let down by their performances. A win last weekend could have almost guaranteed a finals spot but with their tough run of fixtures ahead, a win this weekend is a must for the O’lads.
Wyoming also left their game last weekend feeling disappointed after letting a 2-goal lead slip against Avoca who come back to share the points with the Tigers. In that fixture, Wyoming unfortunately lost their captain Matt Hall to a straight red card. Hall, since his return from injury, has been instrumental in Wyoming’s success of late and just seems to be finding his true form adding two more goals to his tally in last week’s catch-up game against Southern.
Wyoming will now need their younger players to step up even more as they continue to further distance themselves from the relegation zone that they found themselves in for the majority of the season. Having lost all three grades to Terrigal in their reverse fixtures, Wyoming faces a tough run of fixtures to end their season so picking up as many points as possible will go a long way for their hopes of playing BPL football in 2023.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Anthony Kabbout
Kariong v Kanwal
Both coming off their biggest defeats of the season, Kariong and Kanwal will both be determined to get back to winning ways when the two sides meet at Kariong Oval this Sunday.
An understrength Kariong side felt the wrath of Killarney last weekend as the Cougars recorded the biggest defeat in the BPL season, going down 11 goals to 1. Kariong had multiple players away including their coach which did not make things any easier when they welcomed a determined Terrier’s side to Kariong Oval. Kariong now finds themselves 29 points behind The Entrance on the club championship ladder and with only three rounds left it is going to take an extraordinary effort from this Cougars squad to save their season.
Although it’s improbable, staying up is not impossible and Kariong has shown this year they can cause upsets and pick up points against teams at the top of the competition. Less than two months ago Kariong was able to record their first 9-point Sunday against a tough Berkley Vale squad. Kariong will need a similar performance this weekend as they face a resolute Kanwal side looking to bounce back to winning ways.
For only the second time this season the Bulls were unable to score in their match as they recorded their biggest defeat, losing 5-0 to Southern. Southern has now been able to keep two clean sheets against Kanwal as the Bulls have failed to score one goal in 180 minutes against the Lions. Despite their loss, Kanwal still sits in second place with five points over Terrigal who remain in third. A win this weekend can almost guarantee Kanwal a top-two finish.
Finishing inside the top two will give Kanwal the luxury of having two attempts to make the grand final as the Bulls will be determined to finish their magnificent season with a trophy. When these two sides met earlier in the year, it was a close contest that saw Kanwal just prevail 3 goals to 2. With their opposition having plenty to play for you can expect another close contest this Sunday at Kariong Oval.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Sean Lacy
