Match of the Round
Woongarrah v East Gosford
Woongarrah made history this past weekend, collecting their first MPL silverware and cementing themselves as the only club to be crowned MPL First Grade League Champions a year after being promoted.
Early on both teams were adjusting to the heat and strong winds at Hamlyn Terrace. Woongarrah started on the front foot applying plenty of pressure. In the 8th minute, the Rams had a defensive error where the keeper misjudged the wind on a throw and the ball went straight to James Stiffle.
Stiffle cut back onto his left foot and riffled a shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty box.
East Gosford started to settle into the game now and enjoyed some possession of their own before a beautifully played ball in behind the defensive line found Ridge Mapu out wide who took the ball to the line and cut back across the goal to AJ Henderson at the back post who poked the ball in in the 30th minute.
East Gosford would have their first of the day and halve the deficit four minutes later when Matias Paz found himself free with the ball about 30 meters out from goal.
Paz took a shot, and the ball bounced right in front of the opposition keeper who misread the flight of the ball, dropping to his knees only for the ball to land short and bounce up over him.
Woongarrah would have their two-goal lead restored when a mix-up at the back between a defender and the keeper would gift Jacob Melling an open goal to dribble the ball into to take the game to 3-1 at the break.
The second half started fairly evenly until the 56th minute when Woongarrah got a corner. The ball was played in, and Myles Donnelly rose above the pack to head the ball in for Woongarrah’s fourth goal.
A handball in the box would see Jacob Melling step up and secure the home side’s fifth goal. East Gosford were awarded a penalty of their own and Matt Zucconi was successful from the spot to make it 5-2.
With the game all but done, Josh Rose dazzled between three defenders in the 82nd minute, beating the keeper and tucking the ball in from an acute angle for the final goal of the game.
“East Gosford made it hard for us and never gave up,” voiced Luke Rogers. “Congratulations to Troy and East Gosford for avoiding relegation.”
“Really pleased with my boys securing League Champions at home in front of all our supporters. It was a great day for everyone involved.”
“Congratulations to Woongarrah. They were just too good today and we made some little errors that both resulted in goals,” reflected Troy Ward.
“You can’t do that against teams of this calibre as they will put the sword to you as they did. I wish them all the best in the finals.”
“For us, we did what we needed to do today and take maximum points in reserve grade to ensure we stayed up.”
“Once that was done it was like we could relax, and we seemed to play that way. Take away our defensive errors and the contentious penalty and it’s a 3-2 game which would’ve more reflected the game but ultimately you can’t and that’s football. We will look to build on this year and come back stronger and wiser next season.”
Match Official – Trent Dickeson
Terrigal 1 – 4 Kanwal
Kanwal were one of three teams who all could have finished on top of the ladder at the end of the final round but despite getting the result necessary, the Bulls ended their fantastic year in third place and the Club Championship award to show for it.
It was a history-making day for Kanwal with a win in 1st Grade securing a first-ever Premier League Club Championship for the Bulls.
Kanwal started the game strong with a number of chances, but it took until the 25th minute for the opening goal with Callum Dunkerley meeting a corner at the near post and glancing his header into the bottom corner.
A few minutes later Logan Moore would double the lead with a well-taken finish, securing his 16th goal of the season to secure the Golden Boot for a second consecutive year.
Rory Rizzi would give Kanwal an unassailable 3-0 lead right on half time after dribbling into the box and placing the ball into the bottom corner.
A Jason Cozens free kick was the only goal for Kanwal in the second half with Terrigal getting a consolation goal. Kanwal running out convincing 4-1 winners.
Ryan Walker was happy with the performance and spoke on the year as a whole. “The boys were good today with everyone doing their job.”
“Nice to have four different goal scores. Congratulations to my whole squad who achieved history today by being the first Kanwal Premier League Squad to win a Club Championship.”
“Thank you to all the people behind the scenes who manage and support the Squad without all your help we wouldn’t be where we are today with all three teams in the semi-finals.”
Match Official – Damien Bury
Southern & Ettalong 1 – 2 Killarney
With the last spot in the top four wrapped up by Southern the week prior and Killarney’s chances of making Finals unattainable after their loss to Woongarrah the previous weekend, these two sides met with no stakes on the line as Killarney ended their year with a come from behind victory.
The game was a very even, hard-fought contest. After a back-and-forth opening, the deadlock was broken mid-way through the first half after a fifty-fifty in the middle of the park between a Killarney defender and Southern attacker saw the Terrier’s defensive line come exposed.
A tremendous through ball from Preston Daniel saw Brock Van Aalderen beat the offside trap of Killarney to go one-on-one with the Killarney keeper. Brock kept his cool and calmly chipped the ball over an oncoming Declan Drake to give Southern a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Despite being down, the opening 45 minutes saw Killarney play well and create multiple chances as they were denied by good goalkeeping or good defending.
The second half saw the Terriers keep knocking on Southern’s door, chipping away at their defence to find an equaliser.
Tremendous hold-up play on the left wing saw Tim Knight break free and float a dangerous ball into the box. Ryan Gibson was able to outmuscle Todd Balneaves to head home into an open net after Alex Wardle failed to swipe the ball to safety.
With the game in the balance, Nathan Baker was shown a straight red card as the home side were forced to finish the game a man down.
With time running out, debutant Rohan McCarthy was on hand to slot home the winner into the bottom corner off the bench making it a debut to remember.
“With the result not meaning much, the match was a bit more subdued than it normally would be, but the game was still played at a good level.” Voiced Matt Page.
“Both teams played well in the tricky conditions and Killarney managed to edge it on the scoreboard. I was happy with the attitude and application from my guys, and it was good to take the opportunity to rest a few blokes with niggling injuries. Now our focus turns to Kanwal this week, which should be a cracking game.”
“A hard-fought game which we were happy to win to end the season one point outside the finals for the first time in many years,” spoke Chris Ackerley.
“Pleased with our second round of the competition only losing one game, but the start we had to the season ended up costing us a semi-final place, hopefully, everyone returns next year as we will be keen to make amends.”
“Now our focus goes to our Reserves and 21s who are both in semi-finals next week. All the best to the teams that qualified for the semis in the MPL I’m sure it will be an interesting time.”
Match Official – Preston Lorusso
Berkeley Vale 4 – 0 Avoca
These two sides met for the final round at Mingara Oval which was an emotional day for both teams for two very different reasons.
Berkeley knew a win and other results going their way would see them crowned 2024 MPL First Grade League Champions.
Avoca knew that their season was over, and relegation was inevitable prior to the start of the game, but full credit must go to the Sharks who gave everything they could.
Avoca’s James Tyne was exceptional in goal for the Sharks in the opening stages of the contest, keeping the game level as Berkeley Vale dominated the early proceedings but struggled to find the back of the net.
On the half-hour mark, Conor Fitzpatrick stole the ball from the Avoca defence and rounded the keeper to calmly slide the ball into the back of the net for Berkeley’s first of the day.
With Avoca now chasing the game, Berkeley Vale were confident there was only going to be one result after the ninety minutes.
Halftime came and went and the score stayed at 1-0, but the introduction of substitution Jakeb Brownlow during the break saw him come on and make an immediate impact with good early possession in the box but was fouled prior to getting a shot away leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty.
Kyle Harvey stepped up and duly converted from the spot to double the advantage for the Wombats. Minutes later, Fitzpatrick fired in his second of the day and a third for Berkeley Vale.
The game became quite a sloppy affair, Berkeley Vale were awarded a late free-kick which was put on target only to be saved by Avoca’s Tyne, however, Scott McGinley was first to the ball to convert a tap-in for the game’s fourth and final goal.
“We move on to next week to take on the Minor Premiers and the obvious competition favourites that have beaten twice this year,” stated Pratt.
“It will be a huge challenge for us after a couple of weeks of not being tested but we will see how we go and give it our best shot.”
Match Official – Hugo Fonseca
Budgewoi 4 – 1 Woy Woy
Knowing their fate had already been determined and they would be facing relegation this season, Woy Woy travelled north for their final Men’s Premier League fixture as the hosts Budgewoi looked to finish their inaugural year back in the competition on a high.
Fresh off suspension, Josh Swadling was first to open the scoring, finding the back of the net inside the opening twenty minutes.
Ten minutes later Bayley Appo made it two for his side, taking his tally for the season to four goals in his first season back at Budgewoi.
Budgewoi dominated for the majority of the opening period but struggled to take their multiple chances when presented as the scoreline stayed at just 2-0 after the opening half.
As the second period commenced, Budgewoi resumed where they left off, taking control of the match and it was Swadling again who made his mark early in the contest, scoring his brace with a goal in the 53rd minute.
Ty Warby also got on the scoresheet for the home side, taking the game to 4-0 65 minutes in.
A late consolation goal in the 80th minute from Matthew Jacobsen would give the away fans something to cheer for, but in the end, Budgewoi deservedly claimed all three points as their lower grades look for silverware come Finals.
Match Official – Michael Tohme
Golden Boot Standings –
| 16 | Logan Moore (Kanwal) |
| 14 | Ryan Gibson (Killarney) |
| 13 | Jacob Lepre (Southern & Ettalong), Ashley Henderson (Woongarrah) |
| 10 | Jack Ellwood (Southern & Ettalong), Jakeb Brownlow (Berkeley Vale), Josh Cairelli (Berkeley Vale), Josh Swadling (Budgewoi), Ty Warby (Budgewoi) |
| 9 | Jacob Melling (Woongarrah) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
Division 1
Round 18 Results –
Points Table –
Club Championship –
