July 12, 2015
by Martin Stern
Football in the South Burnett returned on Saturday after a week off.
Barambah travelled to Kingaroy to take on Gunners in all three grades. Earlier in the week it was decided to play the Division 1 game first as this gave the Bears, who double-up with most players, an opportunity to be fresh for the main game.
In the First Division game, a depleted Gunners took on a fresh Barambah which promised to be a close match.
For the first 20 minutes Barambah took it to Gunners through some hard work in the midfield from Joel and Ryan Sommerfeld, supported by Ash Burns in defence.
However, it was Gunners that got on the scoresheet first in the 25th minute when Joe Copas scored after a few touches from a through ball.
Gunners started controlling the midfield with Luke Vandenberg giving his forwards plenty of ball to work with.
Just before half-time, Callum Cook scored from a shot parried by the Barambah keeper to give his side a 2-0 lead.
Six minutes into the second half, Torren Anderton had a shot saved by the Barambah keeper but again Callum Cook was there to take advantage of the crumbs to score his brace and give Gunners a 3-0 lead.
Gunners seemed a little complacent and Barambah pressed with a workman-like effort from Ash Burns in defence who gave his forwards a fighting chance to create a goal.
That goal came in the 70th from Joel Sommerfeld, who turned and shot from just outside the Gunners’ penalty box. The ball found the top righthand corner to make it 3-1.
Barambah continued to press but the Gunners’ defence held strong and they also created opportunities to score on the counter attack. In the end it was 3-1 to Gunners who hold onto second place with a four-point margin.
* * *
In the Women’s game, both teams were short a couple of players so this made for an open game of football.
Gunnettes were without their custodian Rahab Murray so were always going to be vulnerable without a specialist goal keeper.
Both teams pushed the ball around well, but some great passing from the Barambah girls saw Taylah Berlin score in the 10th and 12th minute of the match.
To their credit, and after some words of inspiration from their captain Elouise Mashford, Gunnettes did not let their heads drop and Kiara Wright made no mistake when she found herself one-on-one with the Barambah keeper. However the comeback was short-lived when Berlin got her hat trick in the 28th minute scoring a brilliant goal from an acute angle.
In the second half, Barambah went further ahead and once again it was Taylah Berlin who scored her fourth a minute into the second half. Three minutes later Christie Sippel scored her team’s fifth when she took a chance just inside the penalty area.
In the end, it was a comfortable win to the Barambah girls, but Gunnettes are showing a lot of improvement and just maybe will cause some heartache to the others come semi final time.
* * *
The Second Division game promised to be a close encounter with both teams vying for outright second position on the table.
The match was played at Division One pace and both teams had opportunities early on.
In the 12th minute, Barambah was awarded a penalty for a late tackle, but Joel Sommerfeld’s shot went low to the Gunners’ keeper Jacob Copas who still had to make an effort to save the shot.
In the 20th minute, Hayden Mashford played a long ball to Sitha Mead that caught the Barambah defence off guard. Mead used his pace and beat the Barambah keeper to give Gunners the lead.
Gunners pushed forward with some rampaging runs from Adrian Di Marco but there were to be no more goals in the first half.
Gunners started the second half where they left off but were thwarted by the offside trap and some magnificent defence from Ash Burns.
Towards the latter part of the game, Barambah pushed hard to find an equaliser while at the other end Jordane Saunders found the Barambah cross bar.
In the end it was a 1-0 win to Gunners in an open and exciting encounter that would rival many First Division matches this year.
All matches were played in the spirit of the game and no cards were issued throughout the day. It was great to see players, coaches and referees all showing respect to each other.
* * *
Nanango v Wests
In Nanango, the Second Division game went to Wests who held their place on top of the ladder with a hard fought 1-0 win.
In the Women’s game, Nanango were pushed all the way by a resurgent Wests winning 2-1.
In First Division. the Nanango machine rolled on against an undermanned Wests winning 3-1.
On a sadder note, West’s young striker Ryan Jacobs suffered a serious injury going up for a high ball.
He was taken to Kingaroy Hospital and later airlifted to Brisbane with a suspected spinal injury.
He will be reassessed on Monday morning.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Ryan for a full recovery.
* * *
Full Results:
Gunners v Barambah (in Kingaroy)
- Division 1: Gunners 3 (Joseph Copas 35th, Callum Cook 45th, 51st) – Barambah 1 (Joel Sommerfeld 73rd)
- Division 2: Gunners 1 (Sitha Mead 20th) – Barambah 0
- Women’s: Barambah 5 (Taylah Berlin 10th, 12th, 28th, 36th; Christie Sippel 39th) – Gunnettes 1 (Kiara Wright 20th)
Nanango v Wests (in Nanango)
- Division 1: Nanango 3 (Kieran Askin 4th, Kieran Mangan 22nd, Sam Graley 46th) – Wests 1 (J Tunstall 20th)
- Division 2: Wests 1 (L Cotter 44th) – Nanango 0
- Women’s: Nanango 2 (Maxine Evans 32nd, Jess Ehrlich 61st) – Wests 1 (Tammy Rose 66th)
