March 22, 2015
by Martin Stern
The first round of the South Burnett’s Evolution Solar Football League for 2015 was played in Nanango and Kingaroy on Saturday, and the matches drew good crowds of spectators at both venues.
In Kingaroy, the local derby between Wests and Gunners turned out to be a hard fought battle in all grades, in sultry and then stormy conditions.
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In First Division, Gunners hit the lead in the 9th minute through Callum Cook when the middle of the Wests defence opened up, despite having most of the early possession.
There was not much between the two teams and both had few chances in a midfield battle.
However, a Wests defensive error led to Torren Anderton scoring a timely second goal for Gunners in the 40th minute.
Ten minutes into the second half, the game was halted when Gunners’ Anthony Lindholme injured his knee in a dangerous tackle on Brandon Smith.
An ambulance was called and the game was held up for around 20 minutes as the player could not be moved.
After the match recommenced, Wests started clawing themselves back into the match and were rewarded in the 62nd minute through new signing Brandon Swan.
West kept pushing for a second – which would have been an equaliser – but Gunners held on to win.
Wests will be much stronger with Sheldon Livingstone, Joel Cooper and Ben Mensur returning.
Best on the park for Wests was Mark Denman and for Gunners, Neil Gurnett.
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In the Women’s Division match, both teams were short of players. But it was Wests that dominated proceedings.
However, Wests had difficulty scoring due to poor finishing and some wonderful saves from Gunnettes keeper Rahab Murray.
And on the occasions Gunnettes attacked, they were closed down by the strong Wests defence.
The game looked as though it was heading for a 0-0 draw as the match neared its end, but Natalia Phillips-Petersen finally beat Rahab Murray to sink a ball into the back of the net with just three minutes left to play.
And barely a minute later, Wests scored their second through Courtney Thompson.
Best on the park for Wests was Natalia Phillips-Petersen and for Gunnettes, Rahab Murray.
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In Second Division, both teams blooded several youngsters guided by a couple of older heads.
The game was of a very high standard for the division, taking into consideration it was the first match of the season and many had not played together before.
Gunners defence was breached in the 11th minute when Aidan Penfound scored after a strong run and repelling a couple of defenders.
Both teams held their shape until midway through the second half, where each team squandered chances.
As the game entered time added on, Ike Sililat equalised from a screamer of a shot from outside the box.
It was great to see Ike out there after a life-threatening injury last season against Nanango.
Best on the park for Wests was Russ Hutfield and for Gunners, Sitha Mead
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1st Round Results
In Nanango
- 2nd Division: Nanango 0 Barambah 0
- Women’s Division: Nanango 5 (Raegan Campbell 1st, Tory Rasmussen 69th, Jess Ehrlich 15th, 31st & 39th) Barambah 2 (Sarah Kemp 25th, Taylor Berlin 36th).
- 1st Division: Nanango 4 (Elliott Mangana 24th, Kieran Mangan 39th, Thomas Mangana 65th, 75th) Barambah 0
In Kingaroy
- 2nd Division: Wests 1 (Aiden Penfound 12th) Gunners 1 (Ike Silalat 82nd)
- Women Division: Wests 2 (Natalia Philips-Petersen 67th, Courtney Thompson 68th) Gunnettes 0
- 1st Division: Gunners 2 (Callum Cook 9th, Torren Anderton 40th – Wests 1 (Brandon Swan 62nd)
Next Week’s Matches
- Barambah v Gunners in Wondai – 2nd Div 12.30pm; Women’s 2.00pm; 1st Div 3.15pm
- Wests v Nanango in Kingaroy – 2nd Div 2.00pm; Women’s 3.30pm; 1st Div 5.00pm
