May 24, 2015
Saturday’s President’s Cup matches – played between the teams coming first and second on the ladder at the midpoint of the Evolution Solar South Burnett Football competition – proves the Panthers will still be the team to beat come finals time.
The Nanango team secured wins in both the divisions they contested – 1sts and Women’s.
In contrast, Wests – who earned spots in all three games and looked to be challenging the Panthers’ dominance this season – came away with just one win, in 2nd Division, and suffered a 5-1 loss in the Women’s game.
A good size crowd turned out to watch the President’s Cup matches at Tom Alford Oval in Kingaroy.
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Last year’s 2nd Division premiers Gunners faced off against Wests in the first match played on Saturday.
Spectators enjoyed a closely fought game in which neither team was able to land a ball in the back of the net during the first half, despite many chances.
But in the second half, Wests finally found their mojo.
Ryan Jacobs was able to pierce Gunners’ defence twice, and the Kingaroy team were unable to muster a reply.
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The Women’s Division game between Panthers and Wests was a re-run of last year’s Grand Final – but this time the match was nowhere near as close as that game which was decided in extra time when Wests unfortunately scored an own goal.
Nanango were out to show their dominance this time around.
Panthers’ captain Cass Kelly showed her team the way forward early in the game, sinking the first goal in the 15th minute.
She was followed soon after by team-mates Brittany Cullen, Maxine Evans, Jess Erlich and Raegan Campbell, who all slipped the ball past Wests’ goalie Toni Schick roughly every 10 minutes of the match.
In reply, Wests’ Reneau Lanham managed to score a single, well-timed goal in the 54th minute.
But this valiant effort wasn’t enough to reverse the Panther’s assault, which saw them clinch the trophy 5-1.
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The 1st Division clash between Panthers and Wests marked a return to the same tight format as the earlier 2nd Division game.
Neither side was able to score until Brandon Smith finally sank a ball into the back of the net for Wests in the 40th minute.
But any elation Wests may have had when they returned to the field for the second half soon evaporated when Panther Steve Johnston delivered an equaliser for his team in the 52nd minute.
Things stayed tight from then until near the end of the game, when a surprise own goal by Wests gave Panthers a narrow 2-1 lead, which they held on to until the final whistle.
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2015 President’s Cup Results:
- 2nd Division: Wests 2 (Ryan Jacobs 50th, 73rd) – Gunners 0
- Women’s Division: Nanango 5 (Cass Kelly 15th, Brittany Cullen 25th, Maxine Evans 34th, Jess Erlich 41st, Raegan Campbell 65th) – Wests 1 (Reneau Lanham 54th)
- 1st Division: Nanango 2 (Steve Johnston 52nd, Own Goal 71st) – Wests 1 (Brandon Smith 40th).
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The regular competition will resume next Saturday, May 30:
In Kingaroy – Wests v Gunners
- 2nd Division: 2:00pm
- Women’s Division: 3:30pm
- 1st Division: 5:00pm
In Nanango – Panthers v Barambah
- 2nd Division: 12:30pm
- Women’s Division: 2:00pm
- 1st Division: 3:15pm
UPDATE May 26: The 2nd Division Wests v Gunners game has been transferred to next Tuesday (June 2) at 6.30pm U12/13s and Cadets will be played in Dalby while other junior games are in Wondai.
