Match of the Round
Southern & Ettalong 4 – 1 Avoca
SEUFC once again started as per their opening fixture, jumping out of the blocks in their first home game of the 2023 season. Lions coach Dale Eggleton opted to give First Grade debuts to long-term Southern juniors Jack Wilson and Ryan Brown whilst keeping the experienced and quality of Keith Gumbs and James Steer at his disposal off the bench.
It didn’t take long for SEUFC to open their account for the afternoon. After just 8 minutes, Matt Caisley drove into the box, beating his defender and placing his shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Southern went up another gear, applying pressure on the Avoca defence and were unlucky not to double their lead in the 21st minute when debutant Ryan Brown almost secured his first MPL goal with a powerful strike that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced out.
However, Southern did get their second just movements later when Matt Caisley once again picked up a loose ball, rifling his powerful shot into the far top corner of the Avoca goal, giving his side a 2-0 lead.
All momentum was with the Lions as they had countless attacking raids on the Shark’s defence. On the half-hour mark, set piece specialist Jacob Lepre curled his corner into the far post netting to increase the lead to 3-0 and mark his second goal of the season.
After a dominating half, Southern headed to the sheds with a deserved 3-0 lead.
The second half saw Neil Hide’s Avoca team play with an increased determination and the Sharks started to grind their way back into the game, creating a number of chances.
64 minutes into the contest, Avoca were rewarded when Tyler Wade pounced on a loose ball to get the final touch which found the back of the net to bring the score back to 3-1.
After grabbing their first goal, Avoca started to gain more momentum, applying further pressure on the Lion’s defence.
As the Sharks threw players forward in the hope of getting a second goal, they were susceptible to the counterattack as Southern’s Keith Gumbs released Jacob Lepre who carried the ball into the Avoca box before clinically sealing the game for the Lions.
“It was a totally deserved win for SEU. If they keep the majority of their squad injury-free they have a real chance of having major success this year. Avoca will have gained some real hope with their second-half performance, but they were second-best today. Congratulations to Southern for an excellent performance,” voiced a gracious Neal Hide when reflecting on the game.
Dale Eggleton also had nothing but praise for the opposition who conducted themselves in an excellent manner all day. “Today’s first-half performance is where we want to be”.
“Congratulations must go out to the Avoca Sharks and the match day officials, all three games today saw intense competition played in the spirit of the game that all games should be, we look forward to our return fixture later in the year.”
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
Berkeley Vale 3 – 1 Woy Woy
Up against one of the competition heavyweights and away from home in their first outing back in the topflight competition, Woy Woy was prepared for the challenge even though they hadn’t played in over three weeks.
This contest did not disappoint as it was played with high intensity and quality throughout the entire 90 minutes.
Berkeley Vale started the game off well, controlling the majority of possession for the opening 20 minutes before Woy Woy worked their way into the match and made the contest a real arm wrestle between both sides.
Although the two sides were evenly matched, Berkeley had the better of the chances but struggled to convert these opportunities into goals.
Finally, the Wombats were able to break the deadlock after a well-worked play from out wide saw their new star striker Kane Woolston come through and covert to put his side 1-0 up and open his goalscoring account for 2023.
Berkeley was able to quickly double their lead after Jacob Brownlow found the back of the net after pouncing on a shot that rebounded off the post.
Looking to get back into the game, Woy Woy were awarded a lifeline when they received a penalty which was coolly converted by Matt Jacobsen as the Roosters went into the sheds 2-1 down at the break.
After a very positive chat at halftime from Woy Woy coach Neal Morris, his side came out in the second period firing with a new-found determination which saw them create multiple chances but just could not convert.
Woy Woy forced Berkeley to defend for the majority of the second half as the Wombats looked for their third goal on the counterattack, allowing chances at both ends as the next goal would be a crucial one.
Woy Woy continued to hold the ball for long periods of time but could not find the equaliser, this would come back to hurt them as Berkeley Vale were able to eventually seal the game through a Mitch Landini goal.
Berkeley Vale’s Mark Pratt stated post-game, “It was a tough opening game to the season.”
As for the away team, Neal Morris was extremely proud of his squad as their focus now shifts to next week’s challenge. “I felt the boys were solid and always in the contest till the end, only to be very unlucky on several occasions. The commitment, effort and discipline that the boys showed was a huge credit to them as they continued their pre-season form, which showed consistency. We take a lot out of that game and get prepared this week for Terrigal, another quality club.”
Match Official – Luke Dunkerley
East Gosford 0 – 1 Killarney
Being their first game back in the Men’s Premier League, it took some time for Ricky Samsom’s East Gosford side to settle into the contest against the reigning league champions Killarney.
The game was played in a fast manner straight from kick-off as Killarney looked for a quicker start in light of their first-round clash with Southern & Ettalong which saw the Terriers go down 2-0 within the first 10 minutes.
Knowing they were against a quality opposition, the Rams to a degree looked a bit star-struck and played on the back foot for a long period of the opening 45 minutes.
Both teams were made to work very hard, and the deadlock could not be broken in the opening half as the score remained locked at 0-0 at the break.
The second half saw both keepers pull off some fantastic saves, but it was a midfield struggle for the Rams as Killarney put East Gosford under pressure for long periods of time.
Granted it was their first match since returning to the topflight competition, East Gosford defended extremely well by holding their shape, but the pressure took its toll in the last five minutes.
A great ball from Adam Smith was headed back across the opposition goal by Tim Knight which allowed Will Hamilton to slide in and finish before the goalkeeper could collect it.
The home side and fans protested for a foul on the keeper, but the goal stood and would be the only difference between these two sides as Killarney secured all three points.
“Overall Killarney are what was expected, very well disciplined and hard to break down with their experience and the game overall was played in good spirits,” voiced Ricky.
“For us, I was pleased with many aspects. I’m proud of how they fought but I think we will also learn a lot from the game regarding the requirements at this level. It is a young squad but once we find out feet, we will surprise many teams,” added Ricky.
Killarney’s head coach Chris Ackerley was happy with the result but stated they still have to improve to be better. “It was a game where with better finishing we could have had more goals. We still have more work to do but pleasing a few players got long minutes after missing a lot of preseason through work and injuries.”
Match Official – Kyle Hockings
The Entrance 2 – 5 Kanwal
It was a day of mixed emotions for Kanwal as the Bulls saw plenty of ups and downs during an entertaining clash at Pat Morley this past Sunday.
Kanwal started the better team and were rewarded for their early domination with a goal from Logan Moore. A delightful through ball from Lachlan Walker found Logan who chipped the on-rushing Entrance goalkeeper for the game’s first goal of the day.
Kanwal would continue to create a pleather of other good chances, but the game was turned on its head in the 23rd minute when Kanwal’s inspirational club captain suffered a season-ending broken leg in a tough challenge with an Entrance attacker.
This halted the contest for a prolonged period while Kyle was treated and transported to the hospital.
Once the fixture resumed, the Entrance hit the ground running as the home side slowly started to build momentum and work themselves into the game.
The Reddies were rewarded 10 minutes before halftime when a shot at the back stick from Harry Bennett hit the crossbar and bounced back into play only to ricochet off a Kanwal defender and into the goal to level the scores at 1-1.
Both sides had chances to grab another goal before the break but resolute goalkeeping at both ends saw the two teams head into halftime level.
As with the first half, Kanwal was the better side at the start of the second period and the Entrance would suffer the same fate and concede from an error at the back.
A cross from Kanwal’s Logan Moore would seem to be claimed by the hands of the Entrance goalie only for him to drop the ball into his own goal two minutes into the second half.
Looking to extend their lead to two, Kanwal would squander a number of good chances before some nice build-up play saw the ball played into Brad Porter who coolly finished to give the Bulls a 3-1 lead.
This two-goal lead was short-lived as the Reddies hit back almost immediately when a free kick into the box was neatly headed into the Kanwal goal by the Entrance captain Jack Bennett.
However, within two minutes a determined Kanwal side would restore their two-goal advantage after an attacking corner was converted by defender Callum Dunkerley.
Kanwal got their fifth and final goal a few minutes later with another own goal, this time from an Entrance defender heading into the back of his own net as the game finished 5-2.
Bulls coach Ryan Walker had diverse feelings at full-time. “I’m devastated for Kyle, he has been our club captain, inspirational leader, and the backbone of our defence for the last few years. He will be a huge loss.”
“I was pleased with the number of opportunities we created today but we need to be far more clinical in front of goal. Good luck to the Entrance, we had the advantage of already playing in round one and I think that showed today. They will be better and will cause plenty of problems throughout the season.”
Match Official – Trent Dickeson
Wyoming 3 – 2 Terrigal
With five experienced first graders out through injury, Wyoming knew their match against the reigning premiers would be challenging, especially with one of those players pulling out 45 minutes before the fixture started which caused interim coach Scott Snodgrass a further reshuffle.
Wyoming set up with a very defensive mindset and looked to hit Terrigal on the counterattack whenever in possession and also looked to hurt their opponents with set pieces.
Wyoming started well and went ahead via a great through ball to Tom Carbone who got goal side of his defender and shot on goal which took a deflection to beat the Terrigal keeper and put the Tigers 1-0 up.
Terrigal dominated possession in search of finding an equaliser and did so through a clinical finish as Wyoming’s defence switched off momentarily and were punished by competition veteran Stuart Adams.
Wyoming continued to sit deep inside their own half and managed to defend well until a great strike from Daniel Bird outside the 18-yard box beat the outstretched Wyoming goalkeeper which gave the O’lads a 2-1 lead at the break.
The second half of play saw much of the same as Terrigal continued to dominate possession but were unable to break down the Wyoming defence to further extend their lead.
A foul outside the Terrigal box after a counterattack led to a Jared McNee free kick that was placed in the top right corner, giving Terrigal’s Joshua Ferragamo zero chance as Wyoming levelled the score.
Terrigal was denied a late goal as the reliable Tom Coventry made a fantastic save as Wyoming was able to get the ball clear after a goal-mouth scramble.
A few minutes prior to injury time, a Harry Dyer freekick wasn’t dealt with by Terrigal which resulted in a well-placed finish by a 17-year-old substitute and First Grade debutant Jordan Stephen who sent the Den into a frenzy as Wyoming went 3-2 up.
From the kick-off, Terrigal began attacking with long balls and this resulted in a one-on-one where Jack Jenkins was adjudged to have fouled the Terrigal attacker in the 93rd minute.
Stuart Adams stepped up for the reigning Premiers, looking to salvage a point for his side but his effort on goal was well saved by Tom Coventry who ensured Wyoming would take all three points against the O’lads.
“A tough result to take for us, in a game we really threw the three points away. Credit to Wyoming who defended with all players behind the ball and made it hard to break down. Their number nine had an amazing game and was a real difficult player to handle and was the difference on the day,” voiced Terrigal’s head coach Pete Edwards.
Pete also added, “I’m proud of the football we played but needed to be more clinical in front of the goal to put the game away when we had the chances. In the end, it’s a game we will look back on and wonder how we didn’t get all 3 points, but that’s football. Missing a penalty with the last kick of the game sums the game up completely for us. We go again next week against Woy Woy at home.”
Match Official – Mark Roberts
Golden Boot Standings –
| 3 | Jacob Lepre (Southern) |
| 2 | Ben Flakus (Terrigal), Adam Smith (Killarney), Keith Gumbs (Southern), Matt Caisley (Southern), Logan Moore (Kanwal), Daniel Bird (Terrigal) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
DIVISION 1
Round 2 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
