Kanwal 0 – 4 Terrigal
With the wet weather putting a stop to the majority of our round 1 MPL fixtures, the north of the Central Coast was left unscathed as the Kanwal Bulls welcomed reigning Premiers Terrigal United to Wadalba Sports Complex.
The opening of the match saw both teams looking to play two very different styles. The home side Kanwal was very direct when in control of the ball, playing long balls to try and apply as much pressure on the Terrigal backline as possible
The visitors Terrigal looked to dictate the tempo of the game when in possession however neither side could convert on early opportunities inside the opening 10 minutes. The contest then settled down as both sides looked to gain an advantage and for the next 30 minutes it was the O’lads who would have the better chances. A bit of good luck and good goalkeeping for Kanwal saw the game locked at 0-0 and it looked to remain that way until half time.
However, in the space of five minutes, the game would be turned on its head. In the 43rd minute, Kanwal’s James Scott would be denied by the crossbar with his header bouncing back off the bar to deny him Kanwal’s opening goal of the year. Two minutes later it was Terrigal’s chance to take the lead and they wouldn’t be denied after a great bit of combination play between Kassidy Lalor and Stu Adams finished with a quality ball in the box from Stu who found his opposition winger Ben Flakus at the back post as he made no mistake to fire the O’lads ahead 1-0.
Just before half time, Flakus got played a ball in behind the Bull’s defence, with the keeper coming out, Ben recognised the situation and chipped him from outside the box to give his side a 2-goal lead at the break.
There was not much difference in the play in the second half between these two, Terrigal maintained the majority of the possession and controlled the ball well as Kanwal defended with a deep line. With a number of missed chances by both teams, it was another five-minute period where Terrigal would lift, and their opposition would fail to match their intensity and it would cost the Bulls dearly.
The game was put to bed midway through the second half after Daniel Bird opened his account for 2023 with a well-composed finish. A few moments later Stu Adams got his side’s fourth goal after his hard work was rewarded with the game’s final goal. Terrigal failed to finish the game with 11 men after Ryan Pearce was shown a straight red for a last-man challenge on a Kanwal attacker but still walked away convincing 4-0 winners.
In his first competitive game in charge of Terrigal, Pete Edwards was ecstatic with his side’s performance and the way they conducted themselves on the pitch. “Given the crazy weather south of the Coast, we were shocked the game went ahead but the ground was dry and rightly the game went ahead. Credit to the Kanwal staff. Overall, I was really happy with the boys, as this game shows the confidence in the team from all the hard preseason work they’ve been putting in.”
“You can’t switch off against the top teams. If you give away cheap possession and then switch off from your defensive duties you will be punished, especially by the reigning Premiers. Good luck to Terrigal, they outplayed us today and we can take away some valuable lessons,” stated a disappointed Bulls coach, Ryan Walker.
Match Official – Miles Allen-Scott
Killarney 3 – 3 Southern & Ettalong
SEUFC made the trek north on Sunday, taking on the 2022 undefeated League Champions Killarney District. Leaving the Peninsula, the Southern players encountered minor flooding and heavy rain, with many calls made checking to see if the fixture would proceed.
After two strong team performances from their U21’s and Reserve Grade sides, the Lions had the chance of taking maximum points from the Terriers on their home turf.
SEUFC got things started quickly with a powerful strike from outside the box by the ageless and almighty Keith Gumbs in just the first minute of play. Southern’s early dominance over the reigning League Champions was rewarded with a second goal from a corner, with Keith Gumbs once again finding himself in the right place after drifting into the far post to volley home his second of the game and give his side a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
As to be expected, the Terriers started to find their passing range and slowly started to grind their way back into the contest, trading attacking raids at each end of the field. Around the 20-minute mark, Killarney was awarded a penalty when a cross from close range hit Keith Gumbs in the arm as the official pointed to the spot. 2022 Player of the Year Adam Smith stepped up and wonderfully slotted home to take the score to 2-1.
On the back of the penalty, the Terriers started to get some momentum in their game and finished the half pressuring the Lion’s defence, but the score remained 2-1 to Southern heading into the second period.
The second half saw the Terriers find themselves in unfamiliar territory being a goal down. A determined Killarney side came out firing as they looked to square the ledger. Their pressure on the Lion’s defence was rewarded when Killarney’s Ethan Hall headed home from a corner and equalised for his side on the 60-minute mark. With both teams not content on sharing points, the game remained very attacking with the sides exchanging attacking raids. Killarney was rewarded in the 70th minute when they would receive their second penalty of the day and once again Adam Smith would step up for his side, slotting home to give his side their first lead of the day.
With only 20 minutes left to play, both teams looked to their bench in hopes of getting their desired result from the contest. Southern created a number of chances with Keith Gumbs and Jacob Lepre looking dangerous for an equaliser. Southern was awarded a lifeline in added time when Keith Gumbs was fouled just outside the 18-yard box. Jacob Lepre stepped up and made no mistake directing his free kick into the top corner to once again level the score between these two clubs.
With all of the momentum, the Lions pressed for all three points with young guns Ryan Brown and Jack Wilson creating chances only to be denied by some desperate Terriers defending which saw the two sides share the points.
The SEUFC coaching staff congratulated the Terriers on an entertaining game and their resilience to fight their way back into the game and look forward to our returned fixture back at the Den in June.
Terriers coach Chris Ackerley stated, “I was pleased with the second half but still plenty to work on for our next game.”
Match Official – Trent Dickeson
Golden Boot Standings –
| 2 | Ben Flakus (Terrigal), Adam Smith (Killarney), Keith Gumbs (Southern) |
| 1 | Daniel Bird (Terrigal), Stuart Adams (Terrigal), Ethan Hall (Killarney), Jacob Lepre (Southern) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
DIVISION 1
Round 1 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
