Woongarrah 3 – 2 Berkeley Vale
Berkeley Vale will be kicking themselves after recording their first loss of 2024 as the Wombats failed to hold onto a 2-0 lead as Woongarrah clawed their way back into the contest and were rewarded with a late winner to claim their third win of the season.
The first half was an arm wrestle for dominance between both sides, but early on Berkeley would have the better share of possession and chances.
Woongarrah would create some opportunities on goal as well but as the half wore on Berkeley looked like the side most likely to take the lead but neither side was able to provide a clinical finish in the initial 45 minutes.
A determined Berkeley Vale took to the pitch in the second half and dominated the opposition for the opening 35 minutes where they were able to convert on two of many opportunities to give themselves a 2-0 lead.
After failing to clear a corner properly, a scramble inside Woongarrah’s box fell to Matthias Palmqvist on the edge of the 18-yard box who fired into the side netting for the game’s first goal.
Six minutes later Berkeley extended their lead to 2-0 as Conor Fitzpatrick expertly evaded his defender on the edge of the box and found the oncoming run of Shane Littlehales who did extremely well to control the ball and fire down low past the Woongarrah keeper.
Down but not out, Woongarrah responded almost instantly as they made their way down the field from kick-off and were awarded a corner.
James Stiffle would find an unmarked Dylan Holz who threw his body at the chance and was able to turn the ball into the net to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Not to be deterred, Berkeley Vale looked to reinstate their 2-goal load as they continued to create multiple goalscoring opportunities and were extremely unlucky not to find another goal after being denied by the post, woodwork, plus some quality defensive efforts from Woongarrah.
These missed chances would come back to haunt Berkeley Vale. With time running out, Dylan Holz got into the box and found Jacob Melling who made no mistake firing the ball past the Berkeley defenders and keeper to level the score with under 5 minutes left of normal time to play.
But the Wildcats weren’t done there and got their winner two minutes into injury time when a free kick made its way to the back stick and was kept in play and headed across the goal by Alex Govorcin who found an unmarked Ashely Henderson who headed home to record Woongarrah’s 3-2 victory over the Wombats.
Luke Rogers admitted the opposition played better for the majority of the match but was ecstatic with the way his team fought together until the final whistle. “Berkeley were the better side for most of the match.”
“Really pleased with my guy’s defensive display when we were behind on the scoreboard and in the attacking third they stood up in the big moments to ensure victory. The win was a massive team effort.”
Mark Pratt also commented after Berkeley’s inaugural loss of 2024. “A tough day at the office again with us dominating possession but failing to take enough chances to put Woongarrah to bed which left the door open. Congratulations to Luke and the boys on their win and I’m sure the return game in a few weeks will be just as frantic.”
“A shout out to young Aiden Ellis on making his first-grade debut from the bench, first of hopefully many games for him.”
Match Official – Luke Dunkerley
Terrigal 1 – 2 Budgewoi
Budgewoi hand former league leaders Terrigal their initial loss of the season, snapping their four-game winless run to claim a vital three points in round 10.
With Duffy’s Oval heavily affected by the rain, turning Terrigal’s home ground into a swimming pool, both sides headed to Pluim Park for a clash between high-flying Terrigal and a very skilful Budgewoi side.
Despite losing their home-ground advantage, Terrigal had a fantastic chance to take the lead early in the contest with Haydn Harris just slicing his volley wide from a James Lee cross.
It was a tense midfield battle as Budgewoi started to gain a slight edge, holding and providing better which led to the opening goal when attacker Josh Swadling found himself with just enough space to turn and shoot that skidded past Williams Turner in goals to take the lead.
The rest of the half was a very tense midfield battle with Terrigal spending the last 5 minutes in Budgewoi’s half, and an off-the-line clearance seeing Budgewoi maintain their 1-0 lead into the half-time break.
The start of the second half was more of the same with Budge again holding the ball better in midfield, and their defence holding strong.
60 minutes in and Budgewoi doubled their lead from a corner as prolific goal scorer Ty Warby was able to get himself free to head home their second.
Some changes were needed to try and spark the game with Terrigal introducing Mahkye Brownlie and shortly after Jay Land and Kassidy Lalor and the game started to open up for the O’lads
A beautiful run from Haydn Harris down the line and into the box created a great chance but the Budgewoi defence was able to scramble well once again and managed to clear the ball to safety.
Swadling almost produced his second of the day as his spectacular shot just skimmed the crossbar.
As the game was nearing the final whistle, the O’lads pushed forward in numbers and in the 94th minute finally got their goal through a Max Vegter header off a Haydn Harris corner.
However, it would prove too little too late as a determined Budgewoi got their season back on track with a great win over a tough outfit.
A proud Haydn Appo spoke on his team’s victory. “Today we played with the effort and attitude required to get the win. I am proud of our boys who got the job done against a well-structured Terrigal outfit.”
“Budgie we’re up for it today, they were extremely active and committed to the win,” voiced Ryan Pearce.
“Credit has to go to them for how they played. We definitely weren’t at our best unfortunately. We tried hard but trying hard isn’t good enough against a sharp outfit who also worked their socks off. We need to be better, and we will be.”
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
Southern & Ettalong 5 – 0 East Gosford
A dominant 5-goal victory sees Southern & Ettalong claim their fifth consecutive win as the Lions propel themselves to the top of the ladder to end round 10.
East Gosford started the game on the front foot, playing some tremendous football and enjoying the majority of possession to start the contest.
The Rams had a game plan, and Troy Ward’s squad were sticking to it well which allowed them to dominate play in the opening period as Southern struggled to make an impact on the game in the early stages.
Against the run of play 25 minutes into the opening half, a set piece from Jacob Lepre was spilled by the East Gosford keeper as Jack Ellwood reacted first in the box and threw his head at the ball to convert from close range to open the scoring.
From here East Gosford fell apart as Southern went on to score two more goals in quick succession to take a healthy 3-0 lead into the break.
Southern’s second of the day came from a spectacular build-up which was finished by Alfie Martin playing a pinpoint ball across the face of the East Gosford goal to an unmarked Jameson Flynn who made no mistake in front of an open net.
Two minutes after scoring their second, Southern were on the scoresheet once again as Nathan Baker made a surging run down the right flank and was able to pick out Jacob Lepre free on the edge of the box who did well to evade an oncoming defender before slotting the ball into the back of the net with his right foot from outside the box.
During the break, East Gosford identified where it all fell apart and came out hoping to correct these things and get back to how we started the game.
That lasted all of eight minutes when Jacob Lepre stepped up to take a Southern free kick just outside the box. Lepre beautifully guided the ball over the wall and into the top corner for Southern’s fourth of the day.
The Lions further extended their lead seven minutes later in the 60th minute as Alfie Martin brilliantly whipped a ball in from out wide finding Baker free at the back post as he made no mistake with his strike for the game’s fifth and final goal.
A change in formation from East Gosford saw the Rams keep Southern at bay for the remaining 30 minutes as they went on to record their fourth straight loss.
“It was a pretty good performance from our boys today. After a slow start, which was caused more by East Gosford’s movement and energy, we managed to get ourselves into the game and slowly take control of things,” said Matt Page.
“Scoring those first three goals in quick succession allowed us some breathing space and I thought the lads took full advantage of the opportunity.”
“It will be very important that my guys put in a good week at training and try and take some form into the game vs Berkeley next week where we hope to turn around the result of that first game of the season.”
Page also added, “Credit to the East Gosford lads too, they never stopped working hard and kept the ball for many periods of the game. Wardy is doing a good job with them, they move the ball well and are a young, quick team who you always have to be wary of. I’m sure their next win is only around the corner.”
Troy Ward commended the opposition post-match. “Southern are a quality side and when you go away from your game plan and switch off and give them that much ball they will punish you as they did. Well done to Pagey and the boys. They deserved the result they got.”
Ward also voiced, “My guys need to pick themselves up and start backing each other up. Games are played for ninety minutes plus, not thirty. We just weren’t good enough today.”
Match Official – Christopher Robinson
Kanwal 3 – 2 Killarney
A hat-trick of penalties saw Kanwal claim a 3-2 win over the defending MPL champions Killarney as the Bulls jump to second on the ladder while the Terriers record their fifth defeat and currently sit eight points away from the top four.
In a fast start to the game for the home side, Logan Moore stole the ball from the Killarney defence in the box and dribbled at goal only to be taken down and earned Kanwal an early penalty.
Moore stepped up and sent the Killarney keeper the wrong way to give Kanwal a 1-0 lead after just 3 minutes.
Kanwal should have made it two in the 10th minute with a long goal kick beating the Killarney defence only for the Kanwal attackers to get in each other’s way and the chance was squandered.
The game then settled down into a battle for the next 30 minutes with neither team able to convert a number of chances. It would be Killarney who were next to score just before the halftime break as Tim Knight finished a well-worked goal from the edge of the box to level the scores at 1-1
The second half was a tight affair as limited chances were created by both sides in the first 10 minutes.
Kanwal having the first real chance with a Rory Rizzi shot hit straight at the keeper. However, it would be Killarney who struck first with a long ball over the top not dealt with and Killarney took advantage and a 2-1 lead thanks to Cameron Brown.
Scores were level again in the 82nd minute with Kanwal awarded a second penalty with Liam Burke being brought down in the box and Logan Moore stepping up again and making no mistake from the spot to level the scores at 2-2.
Some sustained pressure in the last 10 minutes saw Noah Hucker free in the box and he hit a powerful shot into the bottom corner however the goal was ruled out from a close offside call.
A minute later Kanwal were awarded a third penalty of the game when Callum Dunkerley dribbled into the box and was brought down. Again, Logan Moore stepped up to the penalty spot and again sent the Killarney keeper the wrong way to give Kanwal a 3-2 lead.
Kanwal was able to hold strong over the last few minutes for a well-deserved 3-2 victory.
Ryan Walker was pleased after the game. “I thought we deserved the result today. Our quick transition play troubled the Killarney defence, and we were able to take advantage of some of their defensive errors.”
“We capitalised on their errors and made very few errors ourselves which was nice given Killarney have been the benchmark at capitalising on other team’s errors over the last few years,” commented Walker.
“Another game where we drop points late in the game to a highly disputed penalty,” voiced Chris Ackerley.
“Pleased with the effort of the boys today, hopefully, results will start going our way sooner rather than later which I’m sure they will if we keep working hard together. Congratulations to Ryan and his team for the win today.”
Match Official – Trent Dickeson
Golden Boot Standings –
| 9 | Jacob Lepre (Southern & Ettalong) |
| 7 | Ashley Henderson (Woongarrah), Logan Moore (Kanwal) |
| 6 | Jack Ellwood (Southern), Ty Warby (Budgewoi) |
| 5 | Mason Lavery (Kanwal) |
| 4 | Matias Paz (East Gosford), Oliver Vanderslot (East Gosford), |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
Division 1
Round 10 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
