Match of the Round
East Gosford 3 – 3 Avoca
With both teams facing the possibility of relegation, Sunday marked a major day for East Gosford and Avoca who split the points thanks to an incredible late equaliser from the Rams.
With so much to play for, both teams started well from the opening whistle. In the 6th minute, Billy Auton made a run down the left and crossed the ball in, the ball travelled through every one to find Dave McKellar at the back post who placed the ball back across the keeper to score the opener for East Gosford.
Their lead was all but short-lived as Avoca from the kick-off played a long through ball to find Roan Brown who made a great run, he took a first-time strike back across the advancing keeper to score for the visitors.
In the 15th minute, a ball was crossed in from the left by the Avoca winger which evaded everyone but found Roan Brown beyond the far post. Brown then cut back onto his left foot and placed the ball between the keeper and the near post for his and Avoca’s second goal.
East Gosford lifted looking for an equaliser again and enjoying the bulk of the possession. In the 32nd minute, a ball was played in form out wide to Matias Paz who received the ball on his left foot.
Paz faked a shot fooling the defender and cut it back onto his right foot and sized up the situation, seeing the keeper slightly off his line he chipped the ball perfectly placing the ball over the keeper and under the crossbar, bringing East Gosford back on level terms at the half time break.
The second half started the same way with both teams coming out strong. Most of this half was just a battle with end-to-end football being played.
In the 83rd minute, the referee awarded a penalty to Avoca. Dylan Watson for Avoca stepped up and made no mistake placing the ball to the left of the keeper and sending Avoca into the lead with only minutes of regulation time to be played.
Avoca threw everyone back in an attempt to park the bus and hold out the onslaught. The Rams threw attack after attack before being awarded a freekick in the 92nd just outside the penalty area and slightly left of the goal.
Up stepped the ever-cool and reliable Charlie Entwistle. On the referee’s whistle, he casually approached the ball and placed his shot into the top left corner of the goal beating the wall and keeper and erupting the home crowd into full voice.
Avoca sat back for the final moments holding on for a draw as East Gosford pushed more attacks forward looking for the winning goal but the game ended all tied at 3-3.
“That was a battle for the ages,” announced Troy Ward. “Two teams desperate for survival just throwing everything at each other. A bittersweet feeling for both sides at the end there.”
“Both clubs have so much respect for each other and it’s a shame that either one of us find ourselves in the positions we do. But that showcases the strength of the competition this year that you can have a good squad and still find yourself down the bottom end fighting for survival. I wish the Avoca boys and Joel all the best for the last two games.”
“For my boys, it was another game in that we had huge amounts of possession and scored three goals but only a point to show for it. The one thing I know about my lads though is they will fight till the very last game and never give up as seen today coming back twice to get the result we did.”
Match Official – Luke Dunkerley
Berkeley Vale 4 – 4 Killarney
On a special night for the Berkeley Vale club celebrating their 50th anniversary, spectators were treated to an absolute goal fest in a match that both sides were desperate to claim the win.
Berkeley took the lead with a well-constructed goal just after six minutes of play but that was only short-lived as the Terriers hit back when Tim Knight was brought down in the box as the visitors were awarded a penalty.
Goal-scoring machine Ryan Gibson stepped up and converted to take the game to 1-1. Five minutes after finding the equaliser, Jayden Radford finished a nice move to delicately dink the ball over the oncoming keeper to make it 2-1.
A disappointed Killarney then went on to concede two goals in two minutes, one from a corner that should have been dealt with by the Terrier’s defence, and another from a nice finish from the reliable Jakeb Brownlow who recorded a hat-trick on Saturday night.
But once again Killarney replied almost instantly as a great header from Gibson marked his second of the night and the sixth goal of the game inside the opening 30 minutes to take the score level at 3-3 which it stayed for the remainder of the half.
The second half was much more like the anticipated game, an arm wrestle of both teams creating half chances but none were converted until 15 minutes in with Berkeley taking the lead once again and gaining more control of the game.
Killarney equalised after the Berkeley keeper was penalised for holding onto the ball for too long and from the resultant indirect free kick, Gibson completed his hat trick putting the ball into the top corner., forcing the two sides to split the points after an 8-goal thriller.
“An exciting game of football by two teams throwing everything at each other for the first 30 minutes showing the intent that both were looking to put on a show for the crowd that was there for the 50th anniversary celebration,” voiced Mark Pratt after full-time.
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
Southern & Ettalong 1 – 0 Woy Woy
The peninsula derby was only separated by one goal as Southern & Ettalong bested their local rivals to reclaim a spot in the top four.
The first half saw Southern enjoy plenty of free kicks, corners and attacking throw-ins after mounting many attacks. The home side got in behind them quite a bit, but they were desperate in defence and always managed to get a block, tackle or foul which eventuated in the many set pieces.
Woy Woy had a couple of corners and free kicks themselves but rarely troubled Alex Wardle in goal. Woy Woy we’re looking to break up our play by any means necessary, not afraid to give away a foul to stop the momentum of the Lions.
Three minutes before halftime, a long throw-in from Todd Balneaves was half-cleared and fell to Jamo Flynn on the edge of the box. Flynn managed to direct his volley goalward, only for it to be ‘saved’ by a Woy Woy defender who tipped it over the bar. Despite the protests from the Lions players, a corner was awarded and the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
The second period saw Southern continue to mount pressure on the Woy Woy goal immediately, and after ten minutes that pressure eventually paid off when they received a penalty after a foul from a Woy Woy defender.
The normally reliable Jacob Lepre cannoned his penalty onto the underside of the crossbar and rebounded out to safety to keep the scoreline level.
Five minutes later the Rooster’s task became more difficult when Jayke Brown was sent off when lashing out after giving a foul away to reduce them to ten men.
This allowed Southern a bit more space and time on the ball and they continued to look for the go-ahead goal.
On 70mins, Lepre clipped a nice ball in behind the Woy Woy defence where Charlie Polson latched on to the pass and directed his shot with the outside of his foot into the top left-hand corner of the goal, giving Jack Arigho no chance and Southern the lead.
Three minutes later Woy Woy thought they had equalised, only for the offside flag to be raised ruling the goal out.
Southern had the game under their control now, but Woy Woy never stopped trying despite being a man down. Southern though were able to repel all of the attacks and hold on for an important three points.
Matt Page was delighted with his team’s performance. “Today was a physical local derby against a side with nothing to lose and with an obvious aim to put a major dent in our finals aspirations. I’m very proud of my boys, who withstood all that Woy Woy threw at us, to come away with an important three points.”
We still have work to do in finishing off more of the chances we create, but at this time of year it’s more about the result, so I’m happy my guys kept persevering and got the job done.
All the best to Woy Woy in their difficult quest to stay in the top flight.
“Now our attention turns to another crucial clash against Terrigal next Sunday.”
Match Official – Jason Blackwood
Kanwal 3 – 2 Budgewoi
Another northern derby saw Kanwal and Budgewoi do battle at Wadalba on Sunday afternoon as Kanwal were playing to stay entrenched in the top four with Budgewoi out to spoil Kanwal’s hopes of playing finals.
As with the first meeting between these two sides, it would be Kanwal who scored early with Rory Rizzi reacting quickest to a Kanwal miscued shot and placing the ball past the Budgewoi keeper after just eight minutes.
Kanwal would have the better of possession and the better of the chances for most of the first half, but it would be Budgewoi who would hit back in the 40th minute from a Kanwal mistake and both teams heading into the half-time break back on even terms.
It would be Budgewoi this time around who would take an early lead in the second half, a loose goal kick fell to the Budgewoi attacker, and he made no mistake to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
However, Kanwal would bounce back straight away with a corner falling to William Kember and he fired home to level the scores at 2-2.
It wasn’t long before Kanwal was back in the lead with a long ball from Kanwal keeper Kurtis Mahon finding Rory Rizzi who brought the ball down, beat his defender and fired the ball across the Budgewoi Keeper into the top corner.
Kanwal was able to hold Budgewoi out for the remainder of the game to record a 3-2 win and secure three vital points.
Ryan Walker was pleased with the result and performance. “Budgie have a couple of players who can hurt you when you make mistakes, and they did that to us today. However, I think it was very clear that the better team won the game “
Match Official – Miles Allen-Scott
Woongarrah 7 – 1 Terrigal
In what was an extremely important fixture for both games after Saturday night’s results, Woongarrah prevailed over Terrigal with their biggest win yet to become new league leaders with just two rounds remaining.
The game started with end-to-end action but in the 5th minute, it would be Terrigal who would get the first shot on target, only for a tidy save from Corey Hedges that would deny the opposition forward the opening goal.
On the 13-minute mark, a cross was half-cleared by Terrigal’s defence. Bouncing into the path of Mathew Lewis who half-volleyed it with venom from outside the box to take the lead.
Minutes later the O’lads answered back. Terrigal’s Mitch Allan pounced on the ball from outside the box, taking a touch to set himself up for his own half-volley back over the keeper, and into the top left corner.
The score didn’t stay level for long as James Stiffle turned his defender in the box and made no mistake from close range to restore Woongarrah’s lead.
With five minutes to go before half time, Woongarrah made a break down their left-hand side.
A cutback cross from AJ Henderson went through numerous players and fell into the lap of Jacob Melling, taking a touch with his left and in the same motion volleying it with his right foot back across the keeper to make it 3-1 for the home side.
Minutes later a mistake at the back from Terrigal was taken advantage of quickly by Ridge Mapu, passing it towards the bottom corner and tapped in by Ashley Henderson.
Before the halftime whistle, it was almost 5-1 for the home side when Ashley Henderson had a one-on-one but was denied by the Terrigal keeper.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Aj would return to favour putting Ridge through one-on-one with the keeper, Terrigal’s keeper would save the first shot only for it to rebound off one of his own defenders and land back at the feet of Ridge Mapu to tuck home.
Woongarrah had a free kick 35 yards out. The ball was dinked into the box and met with a Terrigal head. However, some more textbook errors saw the ball fall to two Woongarrah players standing free on the edge of the box. Another volley, another goal, this time from Jamie Witherspoon.
Myles Donnelly would then be on the receiving end of a Jamie Witherspoon corner to power home his header and finish off the scoring for the day, 7-1 the full-time score in favour of the Wildcats.
“I wish Terrigal all the best for the remainder of the regular season,” spoke Luke Rogers. “Pleased with the fact we got seven goals today and had seven different goal scorers. A real team effort in attack and defence.”
Ryan Pearce also spoke on behalf of Terrigal, “Woongarrah were great today and credit to them. They are on a great win streak and will be hard to beat.”
“I thought the first 30 minutes we were really competitive, but we lost control of the game too quickly. A number of key players unavailable made it tough to match them physically today.”
“We are beginning to show our lack of experience in key stages of games. It’s not due to a lack of trying, the boys work hard and with our young squad that’s what I ask. We will continue to learn and grow, recognise these key stages in games were momentum is shifting and how we regain control of it.”
Pearce also added, “Every loss is a lesson and today is one big lesson we can’t forget”
Match Official – Preston Lorusso
Golden Boot Standings –
| 14 | Logan Moore (Kanwal) |
| 13 | Jacob Lepre (Southern & Ettalong), Ryan Gibson (Killarney) |
| 12 | Ashley Henderson (Woongarrah) |
| 10 | Jack Ellwood (Southern & Ettalong), Jakeb Brownlow (Berkeley Vale), |
| 9 | Ty Warby (Budgewoi) |
| 8 | Oliver Vanderslot (East Gosford), Mason Lavery (Kanwal), Josh Swadling (Budgewoi) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
Division 1
Round 16 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
