Kanwal v Berkeley Vale
Saturday night at Wadalba Sports Complex will host the headline fixture for round 12 as Kanwal and Berkeley Vale square off for an MPL top-of-the-table clash at the home of the Bulls.
Kanwal’s 4-2 win last weekend away at Hylton Moore Oval against East Gosford saw them overtake Southern & Ettalong on top of the table to claim the throne as their own.
Ryan Walker’s men were able to claw their way back from 2-0 down in the second half and score four unanswered goals to claim all three vital points which also shows the character Walker has instilled in his players to keep fighting until the final whistle.
“We are very happy to be sitting where we are on the ladder however the competition is so tight that a couple losses in a row we could be out of the top four, so it is important to just take it one game at a time,” commented Walker.
“As a group we are building really well as the season progresses, we have really improved our depth and that has been really important to our season so far.”
2023 Golden Boot winner Logan Moore was on point in front of goal again for the Bulls as he recorded a brace against the Rams which marked his ninth goal of his 2024 campaign and his fifth goal in his last two fixtures.
Moore and his teammates have bagged an outstanding 22 goals in just eight games which is the second-best attacking return in the league. However, the last and only time Kanwal were held scoreless this year was in their initial meeting with this weekend’s opposition Berkeley Vale.
In that fixture that ended 1-0 in favour of the Wombats, Kanwal were denied from the penalty spot which saw them record their first loss of the year.
“The last time we met was the first time we had lost to them in a competition game for a long time and what I noticed was the way they adjusted to our style of play and worked a lot harder off the ball defensively and credit to them for that,” reflected Walker.
Their only other loss came against Terrigal in round 9 but the Bulls snapped straight back into winning ways and have since recorded two straight victories.
A win this weekend in front of a home crowd will see the Bulls extend their lead at the top of the table to four points and create some vital breathing room between them and the Wombats.
As for how he thinks Saturday’s game will play out, Walker stated, “In regards to game plans I think both teams have a pretty good idea how the game will play out.”
We will sit deep and try to counter, and they will move the ball side to side to try and break us open, as they like to call it we will play anti-football.”
After throwing away a 2-0 lead and recording their first loss of the season to Woongarrah two weeks ago, Berkeley showed their quality last Saturday night when they took on league leaders at the time Southern & Ettalong and bounced back into the winners column with a 4-2 victory over the Lions.
It was a dream start for the Wombats in that fixture as three goals in the space of 10 minutes saw Mark Pratt’s men lead 3-0 after just 20 minutes of play.
Pratt spoke on how important it was for his side to get back to winning ways “Obviously every win is important and dropping points can become a habit if you let it, so the win was just what we needed with some big games coming up over the following weeks.”
Following a draw and a defeat in their two previous fixtures before last week’s win, Pratt’s men were struggling in front of goals.
On his return match from suspension, Jakeb Brownlow recorded a hat-trick as the co-recipient of the 2023 MPL Player of the Year award played a crucial role in ensuring the Wombats didn’t suffer back-to-back losses.
Pratt commented on his side’s recent struggle to convert chances as well as the boost of having Brownlow back in the squad.
“To be honest we have struggled finding the back of the net all year not just the last few weeks but obviously having Jake back helps to add that little bit of polish and now that he’s up and running let’s hope that he continues with a strong run of form.”
After such a strong showing in pre-season winning the Association Cup and continuing their terrific form in the MPL season, Berkeley have been labelled as this year’s favourites to take out the competition, but Pratt suggests those claims are false.
“Look at how close it is with a new leader of the competition each week, Kanwal are currently leading the competition so I would make them the competition favourites.”
With their attention firmly set now on their clash with Kanwal, the Wombats know exactly what is at stake on Saturday night as a win will see them overtake the Bulls and return to the top of the MPL ladder.
“We learnt from our victory against the Bulls earlier in the season that you would need to take any chances that they offer because you don’t get many.”
“We will need to be up for the challenge and be patient against the competition leaders at home on a rowdy Saturday night.”
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
All Round Fixtures –
