May 5, 2014
By Martin Stern
Football South Burnett
Barambah travelled to Kingaroy on Saturday to take on Wests in cool, windy conditions in this year’s fifth round of the South Burnett Evolution Solar Football League competition.
In Second Division, Barambah needed a win to stay top of the table and were expected to prevail comfortably.
However ball control was difficult with the windy conditions.
All the same, Barambah won the match 2-0 with youngster Sam Kemp scoring a brace.
The young Wests side continue to improve and a win is not far away.
Best for Barambah were Sam Kemp, Ryan Sommerfeld and Paul Bull, while for Wests Trent Faunt, Ryan Zeller and Mick Sloan played well.
* * *
In the Women’s Division, Barambah took the field with only seven players, the bare minimum.
However their gutsy performance held Wests until the 15th minute when Cassie Firman scored her first for the day.
Wests led 4-0 at half time with further goals to Katrina Parsons, Cassie Firman and Courtney Thompson.
Wests continued the job in the second half with goals from Courtney Thompson, Hayley Hunter and a late one to Danielle Maudsley.
Despite the score line, Barambah never gave up and will be a different team when they have a full squad turn up.
Best on the park for Wests were Cassie Firman and Danielle Maudsley, while Barambah’s best were Sarah Vanderkolk and Sarah Kemp.
* * *
In First Division, both teams slogged it out evenly for the first fifteen minutes, but it was Barambah that looked more likely to score as they hit the posts on several occasions.
In the 44th Minute, substitute David Eagleson scored in a crowded goal mouth after being on the field for only 20 seconds.
Barambah continued attacking and in the 64th minute Golden Boot candidate Chris O’Loughlin put his side further ahead.
At this stage of the match Barambah looked like they were cruising to victory, especially after Wests lost midfield maestro Marty Perret with a hamstring injury.
But in the 75th minute veteran Rex Parsons pulled a goal back for Wests from a rebound from the Barambah goalkeeper.
The goal seemed to lift Wests, and five minutes later Hayden Francis cut through the previously solid Barambah defence to equalise.
The match looked like it was heading for a draw when Chris O’Loughlin scored his second after receiving the ball from a corner kick.
Joel Cooper missed a last minute equaliser for Wests.
All in all, an exciting game to watch and a good standard overall.
Best on the park for Barambah were Chris O’Loughlin, Andrew Jensen and Andrew Fannell, while for Wests Marty Perret, Skip Litzow and Hayden Francis had great games for Wests.
* * *
Meanwhile in Nanango, the Second Division match ended in a 1-1 draw; the Women continued their winning ways with a 5-0 win over Gunnettes; and Nanango absolutely thumped Gunners 12-2 in First Division.
* * *
Next week’s matches have a huge bearing in who will contest the Presidents Cup in a fortnight’s time.
In Second Division, Barambah are on top with 11 points, followed by Nanango and Gunners who are currently tied on 8, while Wests are out of contention.
In the Women’s Division, the final will be between Nanango and Wests, while in First Division – if Barambah can get a win over Gunners – they will face Nanango in the final.
The President’s Cup will be held in Kingaroy on Saturday, May 17, with no other fixtures being played that weekend.
Last year’s President’s Cup provided quite thrilling football and two upset wins – and if you’d like a memory refresher, you can review the 2013 results here.
* * *
Results:
In Kingaroy:
- First Division: Barambah 3 (Chris O’Loughlin 2, David Eagleson) Wests 2 (Hayden Francis, Rex Parsons)
- Women’s Division: Wests 7 (Courtney Thompson 2, Cassie Firman 2, Hayley Hunter, Katrina Parsons, Danielle Maudsley) Barambah 0
- Second Division: Barambah 2 (Sam Kemp 2) Wests 0
In Nanango:
- First Division: Nanango 12 (Elliot Mangan 4, David Ashby 3 Damien Walters, Thomas Mangan, Rob Turner, Damien Corson, Kieran Mangan) Gunners 2 ( Luke Vandenberg, Kyle Johnson)
- Women’s Division: Nanango 5 (Jacqui Downie 2, Raegan Campbell, Cassie Kelly, Karrie Ashby) Gunnettes 0
- Second Division: Nanango 1 (Jesse Lean) Gunners 1 (Luke Holland)
