July 8, 2012
By Martin Stern
Football South Burnett
A stoic Barambah put on a great defensive display to hold Wests to a hard fought 0-0 draw in the First Division match played in Murgon on Saturday.
A 10-man Barambah stonewalled Wests who despite having at least 75 per cent of the possession could not find the back of the net.
In the first half Wests had no answer to Barambah’s offside trap and were caught eight times.
Barambah welcomed back Craig Cluff, who made a huge difference and put some much-needed starch into the back line.
In the second half, Wests managed several shots; many were wayward and – from a distance – born out of frustration. And those on target were saved by the Barambah keeper Damien Sippel.
Both teams earned themselves a point but Wests will be wondering how they couldn’t find the back of the net.
Best for Barambah were their defenders: Craig Cluff, Chris O’Laughlin and Brad Vanderkolk, while Damien Sippel was magnificent in goals.
Best for Wests were Marty Perrett, Aidan Maher, Chris Boyes and Harry Sterling.
The much-awaited Women’s President Cup was finally played on Saturday.
Wests were slight favourites to win this game after some ordinary performances from Barambah. However Barambah attacked from the kick-off and it was Elle Mollenhauer who put Barambah ahead in the second minute of the game with her 11th goal of the season, completely stunning Wests.
Throughout the game Barambah spent most of the time boxing the West women into their own half.
Barambah continued waves of attack and could have gone ahead on several occasions if it had not been for some very determined defence from Wests captain Danielle Maudsley.
In the final minutes of the game, Reneau McBride had a chance to put the game into extra time but her shot glanced over the crossbar.
In fairness Wests were missing their top strikers Tara Montgomery and Michelle Hunter, but all-in-all, a well-deserved win for the Barambah girls who were overjoyed by the win.
Best for Barambah were Elle Mollenhauer and Megan Sippel, while Danielle Maudsley and Mina Black were the stand out for Wests.
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In Second Division, Wests upset top-of-the-table Barambah 3-0 in a spritely performance by the veterans.
Leading comfortably at half-time, they went on with it with goals from father and son Shane and Sam Gray and one to Hamish Walker.
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In the other games, Nanango won all three grades against Gunners: Second Division won 1-0 while their Woman and 1st Division sides won 3-0.
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Full results of Round 10 of the Evolution Solar Football League played in Kingaroy and Nanango on Saturday:
In Murgon
1st Division – Barambah 0, Wests 0
2nd Division – Wests 3 (Sam Gray, Hamish Walker, Shane Gray), Barambah 0
Women’s – (President’s Cup) Barambah 1 (Elle Mollenhauer), Wests 0
In Kingaroy
1st Division – Nanango 3 (Kieran Mangan 2, Justin Mangan), Gunners 0
2nd Division – Nanango 1 (Trevor Adams), Gunners 0
Women’s – Nanango 3 (Kerrie Thompson 2, Lauren Hume), Gunnettes 0
Next Week’s Games
Saturday July 14
In Kingaroy – Gunners v Barambah
In Nanango – Nanango v Wests
Junior Soccer will resume next week with all games played in Kingaroy.
UPDATE July 13: All junior soccer games scheduled for July 14 have been cancelled due to the wet weather.
