March 30, 2014
by Martin Stern
Football South Burnett
Senior football returned to Wondai for the first time in well over a decade on the weekend, and it marked a happy occasion for Barambah who pulled off the majority of wins.
Barambah won in both men’s divisions while the women – short of three players – fought gallantly.
After a few days of soaking rain, the pitch was in great condition and the Barambah Club did very well in preparing it.
However the sun came out with a vengeance on Saturday, which meant the games were played in hot, muggy conditions.
In Second Division, Wests fronted with a very young and enthusiastic team, while Barambah also had a few young faces.
But it didn’t take long for Barambah to hit the lead when Peter Janz headed a ball into the path of John Shaw, who buried it into the back of the net.
Then in the 16th minute Andrew Cook scored from a shot that rebounded off the crossbar to equalise for Wests.
Scores were level at half time and it was anyone’s game, with the action running from end to end.
But in the 63rd minute John Shaw scored his second, which put paid to West’s chances.
The game was evenly balanced, but in the end the experience of the Barambah side paid off.
Ryan Nicholson was outstanding for Barambah, along with fellow youngster Sam Kemp and John Shaw.
For Wests, Harry Pratt, Andrew Cook and Aiden Penford had great games.
In the Women’s match, Barambah fronted with only eight players due to other commitments.
Wests started attacking from the start of the game but their finishing and final pass let them down.
Barambah’s dogged defence stood strong, and they held Wests scoreless for the first half.
Six minutes into the second half, Wests finally found their way through the Barambah defence.
They busted the offside trap with Courtney Thompson scoring.
Then in the 59th minute, Kerrie Thompson found her way through the now weary Barambah defence to make it 2-0 to Wests.
Barambah can be proud of the way they played and should do better when they have a full squad.
Best for Wests were Cassie Firman, Minna Black and Courtney Thompson.
Lauren Clarke, Elle Mollenhauer and Sarah Vanderkolk were Barambah’s pick.
Both Wests and Barambah were without key players for the First Division match, but that didn’t stop them putting on a great spectacle.
Barambah hit the lead just four minutes into the game when Brendan Kelly ran on to a deft pass, which surprised the Wests’ defence.
And a minute later Barambah scored again, this time by Chris O’Loughlin from a beautifully weighted cross from Brendan Kelly.
At this stage the Wests’ defence looked shell-shocked as they had trouble containing the two Barambah forwards.
However Wests slowly started clawing their way back into the game and were unlucky not to score through newly promoted Callum Allery.
In the 41st minute, Barambah’s O’Loughlin scored from a corner to give his side a 3-0 lead at halftime.
And a minute after half-time, Wests surprised Barambah when Callum Allery pulled one back, finishing off from a nice pass from Brendan Young.
This gave Wests a boost of confidence and it seemed they were starting to get the upper hand, but some poor finishing let them down.
In the 97th minute, Brendan Kelly completed his brace and put the result beyond doubt after latching onto a cross.
Best for Barambah were Chris O’Loughlin, Brendan Kelly, Dan Kelly and Andrew Jensen.
For Wests, Callum Allery, Gary Favier, Mauro Buzzo and Bryan Phillips-Petersen had good games.
In Kingaroy, Nanango’s Panthers took on Gunners in the 2nd and Women’s Divisions on Saturday.
The First Division match has been rescheduled to Tuesday night because some of Nanango’s First Division players had to attend a social function on Saturday, and the team asked Gunners for a deferral.
Even so, the Panthers continued their winning ways.
2nd Division notched up their first win of the season after last week’s 1-all draw against Barambah; and the formidable Women’s Division had another high-scoring victory.
- 2nd Division: Barambah 2 (John Shaw 5th, 63rd) Wests 1 (Andrew Cook 16th)
- Women: Wests 2 (Courtney Thompson 41st, Kerrie Thompson 59th) Barambah 0
- 1st Division: Barambah 4 (Brendan Kelly 4th, 87th, Chris O’Loughlin 5th, 41st) Wests 1 (Callum Allery 46th)
In Kingaroy:
- 2nd Division: Nanango 1 (Damien Corson 55th) Gunners 0
- Women: Nanango 6 (Raegan Campbell 2, Gage Cooper, Karrie Ashby, Maxine Evans, Own Goal) Gunnettes 0
- 1st Division: Will be played on Tuesday night at 6.30pm in Kingaroy
[UPDATED with correction]
