May 9, 2016
Wests proved too strong for Barambah in Saturday’s Round 6 clash at Kingaroy’s Tom Alford Oval … but only in the men’s divisions.
In the Women’s Division, Barambah proved once again that they are still a team to be reckoned with.
In 2nd Division, Wests narrowly beat Barambah in a close 3-2 match that had spectators guessing right up to the final whistle.
While Wests seemed to be the more fleet-footed side on the day, Barambah kept the pressure on throughout the match and things looked set for a draw until the final ten minutes of play.
The situation was reversed in the Women’s Division match, with Barambah’s ladies asserting dominance over Wests early in the match.
An unexpected own goal in the first minute of the match caught Wests off-guard.
And while Lauren Sims was able to find the back of the net for Wests a couple of minutes afterwards, a second goal by Barambah’s Taylor Berlin just a minute later clearly rattled the red-and-blacks.
From that point onwards, both teams put their heads down to battle it out, with Wests struggling forcefully to find an equalizer and Barambah preventing them for doing so just as forcefully.
Another Barambah strike into the nets by CJ Van Oostveen in the second half put the final nail into Wests’ coffin, with the team finishing the day down 3-1.
In First Division, though, Wests had the advantage of a fresh side and delivered a 9-nil drubbing to the Bears, who had to make up their numbers with 2nd Division players already exhausted from their earlier match.
Barambah’s 1st Division side is starved of players this year, and have yet to win – or even draw – a single game.
But they’ve won everyone’s admiration for sticking it out.
* * *
The situation wasn’t much different in Nanango, where the home side Panthers punished Gunners throughout the day.
In 2nd Division, the steadily improving Panthers side clawed a 3-2 victory out of their rivals, all of it down to Aaron Collins who sank all the Panthers’ goals in a brief burst mid-way through the first half.
To their credit, Gunners didn’t let the Panthers find the back of the net throughout the rest of the match.
But the purple-and-golds weren’t able to find the back of their opponents’ net either.
In the Women’s Division, Panthers pounded the luckless Gunnettes with a 7-nil goalfest.
The last time the two teams had met – in Round 3 – Gunnettes had triumphed over the Panthers 1-nil.
But this time, the Panthers’ strike team of Jess Ehrlich, Cass Kelly and Raegan Campbell proved too strong.
And in First Division, the Panthers maintained their undefeated status with a 4-1 victory, a score that was assisted by own goals from both teams.
* * *
Results:
Wests v Barambah (in Kingaroy)
- 2nd Division: (Z Penfound 58th, 70th, Barambah OG) – Barambah 2 (Hayden Rennie 40th, Ben Nicholson 66th)
- Women’s Div: ( CJ Van Oostveen 69th, Taylah Berlin 4th, Wests OG 1st) – Wests 1 (Lauren Sims 3rd)
- 1st Division: Wests 9 (C. Cook 29th, 49th, H. Steene 1st, M. Denham 42nd, R. Francis 55th, 60th, T. Faunt 76th, T Carroll 65th, R Jacobs 78th).
Nanango v Gunners (in Nanango)
- 2nd Division: Nanango 3 (Aaron Collins 25th, 28th, 31st) – Gunners 2 (Du Pham 56th, Lachlan Hurt 70th)
- Women’s Div: (Jess Ehrlich 4, Raegan Campbell 2, Cass Kelly) – Gunnettes 0
- 1st Division: (Harry Sterling 2nd, 51st, Kieran Mangan 53rd, Gunners OG) – Gunners (Nanango OG).
* * *
President’s Cup Promises Great Football
South Burnett football fans are in for a treat next Saturday, May 14.
With the first six rounds of this year’s competition now decided, the top two teams in each Division will battle it out at Tom Alford Oval in Kingaroy for President’s Cup honours.
In 2nd Division, Nanango will play Wests.
The teams are separated by just two points on the league table, and while Panthers are showing continued improvement as the season progresses, Wests have won their last two matches fairly decisively.
So who will prevail on the day is an open question.
Similarly, the Women’s Division match between Barambah and Panthers should also be something to see.
Here the margin between the two teams is even tighter – just one point, 14 to 13.
And while Nanango have a formidable line-up of players including Jess Ehrlich, Raegan Campbell and Cass Kelly, Barambah are no easybeats either.
The return of Elle Mollenhauer to the side seems to have bolstered other talented players, and the team has only lost one match so far, and drawn one other.
In 1st Division, Nanango will be playing as favourites against Gunners.
The Panthers have a perfect score of 18 points from their six wins so far this season against Gunners’ 12 points.
Panthers also know they have prevailed over Gunners in both the matches the two teams have played this season.
But on the flip side, Gunners have had a good chance to assess the Panthers’ form this season and probe for any weaknesses, and it would be a mistake for the Panthers to assume this talented side can be easily dismissed.
The President’s Cup match schedule will be:
- 2nd Division (2:00pm): Nanango v Wests
- Women’s Divosopm (4:00pm): Barambah v Nanango
- 1st Division (6:00pm): Nanango v Gunners
