Kincumber 2 – 3 Toukley
This week’s match of the round featured the two remaining Men’s Division 1 teams still hunting for a spot in the promotion play-offs: the Toukley Gorokan Gunners and the Kincumber Roos.
Fourth spot on the ladder, the final qualifying spot for the play-offs, is currently held by Woy Woy on 26 points, with the Gunners coming into the round on 19 and the Roos with 22. So,both teams knew what they had to do: win out their final three games and hope Woy Woy lose, and in the case of the Gunners, fate might be in their hands as they face the Roosters in a tantalising final round clash.
As a result, a gloomy Frost Reserve played host to a fiercely contested match in which both sides knew exactly what was on the line.
It began with the home team showcasing their fantastic wing play that they would push all game long.
The first chance this earned came within two minutes when Darcy Hamilton, down Kincumber’s left wing, got played into space as he drove towards the byline. Hamilton shifted closer to the box and cut the ball back across where Jaimie Birchall had arrived from midfield, but he just missed the ball with his strike, and the chance faded.
Toukley would then have their own shot at the opening goal when Owen Church sent in a low corner from the right towards Zach Hewitt, who shot from inside the box but sent it just wide right of goal.
Both chances came in the early feeling-out stages of the contest, but before this could end, Toukley would find themselves in the lead with a goal from nowhere.
The opening goal of the afternoon was a sublime strike by Gunners’ captain Dean Pepper, who received the ball slightly on the right side of the field just on the edge of the final third.
The midfielder got the ball in space after the Roos’ attack had broken down before it could leave their half. With a single glance at the goal, Pepper didn’t bother getting any closer; he shot a powerful shot at goal that flew into the top of the net for 1-0.
However, the Roos weren’t phased by this, and they would ramp up their onslaught down the wings in search of an equaliser.
Their next opportunity began with Birchall playing a classy pass out to the right wing, where Tarran Cooper was running clear. Once on the ball, Cooper put in a brilliant cross right in the danger zone along the edge of the 6-yard box. His striker, Christopher Archer, ran onto it there and attempted to flick it on into the far side of the net, but he didn’t get enough on it, and Robert Ryan, in goal for Toukley, made the save, his first of many crucial stops throughout the match.
A very similar chance would come their way only moments later when Joseph Groom, overlapping from right back, put in another cross towards Archer that he stuck a foot out to, but again Ryan is there to save.
This dominance would continue until around the 20th minute when Toukley would create some chances of their own.
Some nice work from Church down the right wing ended with Pepper sending a shot over the bar, and moments after that, a deep right-side freekick sent into the box by centre-back Benjamin Corbett, led to an open header for Jarrod Bowman, who put it out for a goal kick. Unfortunately for the hosts, disaster would strike from the resumption of the game with this goal kick.
A mistake at the back after Kincumber keeper Kaden Sakovits resumed play allowed the Gunners to pounce onto the ball, and ultimately Hewitt sent it right back at goal and into the net for 2-0.
This was a disaster for the hosts that compounded for the remaining 20 minutes of the half as the Toukley defence sharpened up and took the game to halftime with great composure.
At the break, the score read 2-0, and Kincumber knew they had it all to do, and they played accordingly.
From the resumption, it was all-out attack from the hosts as they did everything they could to turn the game around.
Their first chance arrived early when Hamilton was played through the line down the left. He was so clear that he was able to drive into the box from the flank, shooting once he got a better angle on goal, but Ryan made another save as he spread himself out and protected his near post.
A few minutes later, a game-changing substitution happened when Charles Reed came on for Archer, and his impact was instant.
Moments after coming on, Reed was called to the penalty spot after Birchall was fouled in the box.
Reed took a moment and sent the ball low to the right, but Ryan’s goalkeeping heroics continued as he got down and made the stop.
Yet in a remarkable moment, what felt like only seconds later, Reed was again at the penalty spot, this time earning it himself when Corbett fouled him from behind in the box.
Some teams would change it up after a missed penalty, but the Roos stood by their super sub and he made no mistake at the second time of asking, putting it to Ryan’s left, and although the keeper got fingertips to it, he couldn’t keep it out, and the score became 2-1 in the 58th minute.
Suddenly, the composed Toukley team that ended the first half began to crack, and the outstanding Kincumber performance was finally paying dividends.
Soon enough, the game would be back on level terms, with Reed again at the forefront.
The equaliser arrived from a left-sided corner taken quickly by Edan Thompson, who laid it off short to Reed, rushing the Toukley defence in the process. Reed had time and space, as no one followed him out, and he produced a perfect ball, looping over the Gunners straight onto the head of Birchall, who nodded it home to level things up at 2-2.
At this moment in the contest, it seemed like Kincumber were coming home with a wet sail and that nothing could stop them, but Toukley’s own midfield maestro would have one more contribution to make and the Gunners would retake the lead not long after losing it.
In what was almost a carbon copy of the Kincumber goal, Church would play it short to Pepper from a left-sided corner. Just like at the other end, the Roos’ defence was now rushed, and Pepper had time to cross the ball in, and he did. His cross went to the back post, where Dane Carroll leapt above the pack and headed it into the net to make it 3-2 in a stunning twist to keep their season alive.
The closing stages were especially tense as Kincumber rushed to keep the ball in play as long as they could, creating numerous chances.
Lachlan Murray seized a chance by running up to the ball in the Toukley half and initiating a counterattack. He then delivered a lovely pass across the field to Hamilton, but the left winger was once again thwarted by Ryan, who refused to be beaten by the pacy wide man.
It was an outstanding display of goalkeeping from Ryan throughout the match, and he would add one final highlight to his repertoire of saves right before full-time.
A left side free kick just on the edge of the Toukley box was struck towards goal by Kevin Robertson. It was a high and spinning strike that looked like it was about to loop into the far top corner of the goal before Ryan emerged to tip it away and cement himself as the hero on the day when full-time was called and Toukley won a thriller 3-2.
Speaking to Toukley coach Peter Ward after the match, he was happy his side got the result after a difficult period without training due to the wet weather, and he looked forward to the two remaining massive clashes of the regular season.
“I think we’ve been playing well over the last month, even though we haven’t got the results”, Ward began.
“We came out a bit flat in the second half, but obviously a good win that keeps us still in the hunt for top four with Gosford and Woy Woy to play.
“We haven’t trained for probably a month on the field, so I’m happy with where we’re at, to be honest.
“Gosford away next week, so that’s obviously a must-win again and Woy Woy in the last game of the season, which, potentially, if we win next week, is a grand final for us”.
While the Kincumber coach Philip Batey lamented his side’s missed chances but praised them for the progress they’ve made after a difficult 2024 season.
“For this game, I thought we dominated the game everywhere except where it counted – in the two penalty areas and on the scoreboard”, Batey said.
“In the first half, we had more possession and better chances but didn’t take them, then conceded soft goals to be down at the break.
“In the second half, we dominated possession even more and deserved to get back to 2-2. At that point, I was confident that we would go on to win the game, but unfortunately, letting in another soft goal from a set piece cost us after all the hard work we had done to that point.
“Despite that, we threw everything at Toukley and should have scored again. The Toukley keeper pulled off a number of excellent saves.
“For the season, I think we have done extremely well to lift the club from the bottom of the table where we were at the end of last season to the point where we are fighting for a top 4 finish now.
“We have played some excellent football this year and need to continue building on this for the rest of this year and into next season”.
Both teams are now tied on 22 points and remain in the hunt for the play-offs after Woy Woy’s 2-1 loss to Gosford.
Written by Mark Goodyear
All Round 20 Results –
