by Martin Stern
August 24, 2014
All three grades battled it out in the Preliminary Finals of the Evolution Solar Football League on Saturday.
The winners booked their dates in next weekend’s Grand Final in Nanango, while the losers farewelled the 2014 season.
It was a cold, wet and windy afternoon.
But despite the rain, the Kingaroy pitch was in good condition, and it was good to see a big crowd in attendance.
What was even better was that they were from all teams, and they’d come out to support our local game.
And by happy circumstance, every club will be represented at the 2014 Evolution Solar Football League Grand Final Day.
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Gunners Shoot Down Barambah
In Saturday’s 2nd Division contest, Gunners were out to keep their undefeated run on a roll after last week’s 4-0 drubbing of Wests, while Barambah wanted to make amends for last week’s loss against Nanango.
Gunners went on the attack from the outset with plenty of options up front, and scored early when Jack McBlane blasted his team in front from a nicely timed through ball from Matthew Major in the 7th minute.
In the 10th minute, John Shaw came close to pulling one back for Barambah but his shot hit the post.
Fifteen minutes into the match, Jack McBlane scored his second with a spectacular shot from well outside the box which floated over the Barambah keeper into the back of the net.
Five minutes after this, Brendan Kelly powered on to a through ball, slotting home a goal for Barambah.
But in the 23rd minute, Gunners extended their lead back to two goals when Gary Honhold squeezed a shot just inside the far post from a diagonal cross.
Both teams had chances,
John Shaw missed a cross from Brendan Kelly, while Matt Major had the ball plucked from his feet going one on one with Barambah keeper, Ryan Nicholson.
Both teams had chances in the second half too, but no one seemed able to capitalise on them.
With just seconds left, Barambah found the back of the net but the goal was deemed to be offside.
It was an overall good performance by Gunners and next week’s Grand Final match against Nanango should be a cracker.
Barambah will be disappointed – particularly after the promise they showed early on in the season.
But they should be even better next year with some promising new youngsters coming through Cadets and a year of experience for the ones that came up this season.
Best for Gunners was Jack McBlane and for Barambah, Matt Donaldson.
2nd Div Preliminary Final: Gunners 3 (Jack McBlane 7th, 15th, Gary Honhold 23rd) – Barambah 1 (Brendan Kelly 20th)
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Nanango Girls Cruise Into Grand Final
After last week’s narrow loss to Wests, Nanango easily accounted for Gunnettes with a splendid performance.
Nanango hit the front straight away with a 5th minute goal from Riley Campbell, but despite plenty of possession they had to wait until just before half time to get their second through a narrow angle strike from Raegan Campbell.
Gunnettes did have a few forays into Nanango territory, too, but rarely troubled them.
Three minutes into the second half, Jacqui Downie struck to make it 3-0.
Nanango were stringing lots of passes together and ran rampant out wide, feeding crosses into their strikers.
Nanango scored three more times with Raegan Campbell earning a well-deserved hat trick.
Gunnettes defended well, but had trouble moving forward.
Gunnettes will come back next season better off from the experiences from this season. The team has improved vastly over the course of the season, which is testament to their coach Tracey Clegg.
Next week’s Grand Final looks like it will be a close one, and it will be down to who plays the best on the day.
Best on the park for Nanango was Jacqui Downie and for Gunnettes, Stephanie Mumford.
Women’s Preliminary Final: Nanango 6 (Riley Campbell 5th Raegan Campbell 30th, 54th, 67th, Jacqui Downie 38th, Cassie Kelly 50th) – Gunnettes 0
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Barambah Blow Off Wests In First Division
Barambah were disappointed at their score in last week’s match against Nanango, as it wasn’t a true reflection of the game.
Wests came through by winning the penalty shootout after a dogfight with Gunners.
Wests had only beaten Barambah once this season, but had found some form coming into the semi-finals.
The early part of this week’s match turned into a midfield tussle with both teams making breaks out wide.
In the 13th minute, Richard Boles made what is becoming a trademark run, down the left flank before finishing with a magnificent shot which gave the Wests’ keeper no chance.
Then in the 24th minute, Daniel Kelly tried a shot from the left, well outside the box.
It deflected off a Wests’ player into the goal to make it 2-0 to Barambah.
Wests did not let their heads drop, though, and marshalled their own raids deep into Barambah’s half.
In the 37th minute, Joel Cooper latched onto a through ball to give Wests some hope.
However two minutes later Chris O’Loughlin put Barambah back on track, and that was further extended when they were awarded a penalty for a foul in the box, which was taken by Sheldon Livingstone.
The 4-1 score at half-time didn’t look good for Wests, but they came out in the second half and threw everything they had at Barambah.
Barambah responded. The game opened up and both teams had several opportunities to score.
In the 70th minute, O’Loughlin found space out wide on the left and found he only had the keeper to beat, which he did with a rocket of a shot.
Then in the 81st minute, Wests were awarded as Barambah’s keeper got a little over-zealous with a challenge.
Tom Carroll buried the dot shot but it was too little, too late for a very tired Wests side.
It was a great win for Barambah and an entertaining match with some fabulous goals.
The win keeps Barambah’s hopes alive and they will not die wondering in next week’s Grand Final.
It was a brave shot by Wests, too, who have been dogged with consistency issues all year.
Hopefully, they will strengthen in key positions in 2015.
Best on the field for Barambah was Sheldon Livingston and for Wests, Gary Favier.
Just as a side note, next week will be the first time in at least a decade that a Kingaroy side has not been involved in a 1st Division Grand Final.
1st Div Preliminary Final: Barambah 5 (Richard Boles 13th, Daniel Kelly 24th, Chris O’Loughlin 39th, 70th, Sheldon Livingston 41st) – Wests 2 (Joel Cooper 37th, Thomas Carroll 81st)
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Next Week’s Grand Finals will be held at Fred Kassulke Oval in Nanango on Saturday, August 30:
- Second Division: Nanango v Gunners – 2:00pm
- Women’s Division: Nanango v Wests – 4:00pm
- First Division: Nanango v Barambah – 6:00pm
