Match of the Round
Killarney 4 – 1 Kanwal
Killarney maintains their unbeaten start to the season and holds their spot on top of the ladder after a dominating performance in the round 6 match of the round against title contenders Kanwal.
Kanwal began the game tentatively and were extremely lucky that a number of early mistakes were not punished by Killarney. Killarney would dominate the bulk of the first half, and it would be mistakes and poor decisions that would ultimately lead to Killarney’s first two goals.
Tim Knight grabbed the Terrier’s first goal after delightfully finishing from a cross. Only a minute later Killarney would double their lead through veteran Andy Klijn who took full advantage of a mistake by the opposition goalkeeper to clinically finish into the back of the net.
Kanwal was unable to get a foot in the game and were trying to hold on until the break. With halftime approaching it was again another poor pass from Kanwal which was intercepted by Andy Klijn and Killarney would get their third goal right on halftime and effectively kill off the game.
Some stern words at halftime saw Kanwal come out with some renewed energy and they were unlucky not to score in the opening minutes. In the 1st minute of the secondhalf, a Kanwal cross was cleared over the bar by the Killarney defender and in the 2nd minute a James Scott shot was well saved by the Killarney keeper.
Kanwal were rewarded 13 minutes into the half with Rory Rizzi dribbling past a few players and playing a delightful through ball for James Scott to run onto and round the keeper to make it 3-1, giving Kanwal some hope.
Hope was then increased when Killarney were dealt another blow with Blake Silvers being sent off only a few minutes after conceding.
Kanwal just couldn’t take advantage of this momentum shift and Killarney played themselves back into the game earning themselves a penalty in the 87th minute which was neatly converted by Adam Smith to give them a 4-1 lead.
Another penalty to Killarney in injury time saw Adam Smith step up again, this time Smith fired over the goal as the game would finish 4-1.
“A good win against a very tough Kanwal side,” stated Terriers coach Chris Ackerley.
Kanwal coach Ryan Walker was bitterly disappointed at the end of the game. ‘We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, unless we can correct our poor decision-making and stop making basic mistakes, we won’t be in the race this year. You cannot gift top sides goals and expect to win. It is hard enough to win in the first place. Credit to Killarney, they again gave us a lesson on playing high-tempo, mistake-free football.”
Match Official – Hugo Fonseca
The Entrance 1 – 5 Southern & Ettalong
The message from Dale Eggleton to his Southern side was to back up the 90-minute performance from last week away to Terrigal when the Lions again had to travel this past Sunday to play The Entrance at Pat Morley Oval.
The game couldn’t have started any better for the Lions when Jack Ellwood, Keith Gumbs and Jacob Lepre combined for Jacob to score the opening goal in the 1st minute of the game.
The Entrance then started to settle into their game plan and make it harder for the Southern-Ettalong side to play their natural passing game.
In the 29th minute, left-sided midfielder Calvin Edwards pounced on a defensive lapse and cut inside the Entrance defence, hitting a superb dipping right foot shot over The Entrance keeper to make the score 2-0 in favour of the Lions.
35 minutes into the game Southern-Ettalong stretched their lead to 3-0 when after an attacking raid down the right, Charlie Polson crossed to find Keith Gumbs beyond the far post who in turn found the ever-present Jacob Lepre who again finished with composure in front of the goal.
The second half started well again for the visitors when Josh Lepre and Calvin Edwards combined well down the left-hand side with a cross that found Keith Gumbs who added to his early season goal-scoring form with another to make it 4-0.
On the 70th-minute mark, The Entrance clawed a goal back when the Southern-Ettalong defence didn’t deal with a long throw and were punished by a goal on the near post by Reddies youngster Lachlan Pettitt.
Jacob Lepre opened the scoring in the 1st minute of the game and he finished the scoring in the last minute when he converted a free kick to seal the 5-1 victory and also complete his hat-trick.
“The victory was pleasing as we dropped too many points in our away games last year as opposed to our 3 wins and a draw from our 4 games away so far this season,” voiced Dale Eggleton.
Dale also added, “The Entrance I feel will continue to improve as the season goes on as they get more accustomed to Andrew’s coaching and instructions which is very well respected and they get more and more experience as they have the ability and combined with more time at First Grade level they will benefit.”
Match Official – Russell Kirkland
Berkeley Vale 5 – 1 Avoca
It was a close-to-perfect day out for the Wombats in round 6 who were able to keep their unbeaten start to the season alive while scoring five goals in front of a home crowd against a valiant Avoca side.
Despite showing glimpses of their true ability, Avoca struggled immensely against Berkeley Vale as the Sharks trailed 3-0 at halftime.
Much like their first half, Avoca continued to create and compete well as they battle hard to get something out of the fixture. Their only goal of the day came from Cooper Ebrington who was able to pull one back from the penalty spot.
Berkeley Vale’s Kane Woolston (2), Shane Littlehales (2), and Jakeb Brownlow (1) all found the back of the net as the Wombats maintain the third spot on the ladder but have a game in hand which would see them leap into first place if they walk away with all three points from that fixture.
“A game dominated by Berkeley for 90 per cent of the game with Avoca showing glimpses of their true ability but always under control and home. Credit to Neal and Avoca for never giving up,” spoke Mark Pratt when reflecting on his side’s win.
“Berkeley Vale were the better team,” stated Avoca’s Neal Hide. “They have many excellent, strong and quick players. They should reach the Finals if they keep playing like this.”
Match Official – Miles Allen-Scott
Woy Woy 3 – 1 Wyoming
After a tremendous display last weekend against Kanwal when Woy Woy picked up their first point since returning to the top-flight competition, they returned home this past Sunday to host Wyoming.
Woy Woy knew this game would be physical and that we had to be right on their game to outmuscle Wyoming off the ball.
A great first half saw the home side create many chances and play some good possession football, only to be denied by some great goalkeeping from Wyoming’s experienced and ever-reliable goalkeeper Tom Coventry.
However, Woy Woy eventually got the breakthrough with a well-finished strike from Brady Holmes who made no mistake of his chance to give his side a 1-0 lead at the break.
Nothing but positivity from Woy Woy’s coach Neal Morris at halftime saw his side start the second half strongly.
Woy Woy worked hard to get on the ball again and plugged away with many chances, only to be denied by Wyoming’s keeper time and time again.
Things for Wyoming soon went from bad to worse after a foul occurred inside their 18-yard box and a red card was shown to key defender Mitch Meredith.
Nathan Baker stepped up and convert the penalty and double the home side’s advantage to 2-0.
Woy Woy continued to control the game and scored a third goal through Brady Holmes who gave his side that bit of breathing space that was needed while grabbing his second of the day.
Wyoming were able to get a late consolation goal through Jack Goncalves but it would not mean much as the Roosters secured all three points in front of a home crowd.
An ecstatic Neal Morris spoke on the win after the game. “Im very pleased with how we backed up performance from the Kanwal game and we got physical and matched them with everything that was thrown at us.”
“We tried our best today, but we were second best again, and Woy Woy taught us a lesson in effort and want,” voiced Tiger’s Ian McAndrew. “They were up for the battle, we had four chances and never took our chances which hurt us. If it wasn’t for the best shot-stopper in the league it could have been a lot more. Tom Coventry pulled off three classy saves.”
Ian also stated, “We will get back to it on Tuesday and get ready for the best team in the comp and get back on track.”
Match Official – Kyle Hockings
East Gosford 1 – 2 Terrigal
After losing two consecutive games, Terrigal needed to get back to winning ways this weekend when they travelled to Hylton Moore Oval to face competition newcomers East Gosford who are desperate for their first points in the competition.
Terrigal started the game much more focused than previous weeks and from the start that was evident as the O’lads created a number of good chances that were eventually wasted.
The opening goal came midway through the first half after some fantastic combination play down the left wing and a great cross delivered to the far post found Daniel Bird who ran onto and volleyed home with a cultured finish.
Looking to double their lead, Terrigal continued to test the East Gosford defence but missed any more good chances as they went into the break with just the 1-0 lead.
The second half was much the same. The Terrigal midfield were pressing well and pinching lots of balls and creating chance after chance, only to miss another four or five clear goalscoring chances.
And then the story you hear so often, East Gosford created one half chance with a cross bouncing off the crossbar and falling to an opportunistic Aydin Ercan who made no mistake with his chance and levelled the score at 1-1.
This seemed to rattle the visiting side as East Gosford look to use that momentum to get another goal and take the lead.
However, Terrigal eventually got back to playing the football they had done for most of the match and finally got their second with a fantastic strike from Aidan Bastick outside the box, that took a deflection off a Ram’s defender and flew into the top left corner which would be the game-winner for Terrigal.
“The relief was clear from us, who couldn’t believe we hadn’t put the game away with so many missed chances earlier in the match,” voiced Pete Edwards.
Pete also mentioned, “Credit to Ricky’s side for never stopping and similar to most their results so far this year they push teams to the end.”
Match Official – Luke Dunkerley
Golden Boot Standings –
| 6 | Keith Gumbs (Southern), Tim Knight (Killarney), Jacob Lepre (Southern) |
| 5 | Andy Klijn (Killarney), Jakeb Brownlow (Berkeley Vale) |
| 4 | Matt Caisley (Southern), Logan Moore (Kanwal), Shane Littlehales (Berkeley Vale), Nathan Baker (Woy Woy), James Scott (Kanwal), Cooper Ebrington (Avoca) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
Division 1
Round 6 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
