June 21, 2016
Football fans got to witness one of two things on Saturday, depending on where they went to watch Round 10 matches.
If they went to Tom Alford Oval in Kingaroy they got to watch three very tight contests between Gunners and Wests which showed both teams are now very evenly matched.
And if they went to the Wondai Soccer Fields, they got to watch the Panthers chew their way through the Bears’ under-strength men’s side in short order, a bloodbath that was interrupted by a game of women’s football which showed the genuine talent the Bears have in their ladies division.
With the season now over the half-way mark, the strengths and weaknesses of all the teams are starting to become apparent, and coaches are working extra hard to iron out the creases.
For some coaches – and teams – the weekend’s games generated rewards for all their hard efforts.
And for others, they generated a few surprises.
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Gunners got the shock of their lives on Saturday when Wests sank their first goal with just three kicks barely a minute after the 2nd Division match got underway.
Wests’ missile into the back of the net clearly surprised Gunners, but it was a great start to a contest between the two sides which showed there is now barely a hairsbreadth of difference between them.
To their credit, Gunners refused to let Wests early victory make them drop their heads.
While they had gone into Saturday’s match as underdogs, Gunners knew a single victory would put them level pegging with their arch rivals.
So they weren’t about to throw in the towel.
Spectators watched the ball shunted repeatedly from one end of the field to the other, and the score see-saw from one side to the other, over the succeeding 90 minutes as both teams battled it out.
And in the end, it was Gunners who prevailed on the day with a narrow 3-2 victory.
This result means there are now three 2nd Division squads (Barambah, Wests and Gunners) tied in equal second place against the Panthers.
Which one will wind up facing Nanango in this year’s Grand Final – barring any sudden form reversal in the southerners’ 2nd Division side – will be decided over the coming nine weeks.
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Gunnettes enjoyed a bittersweet moment on Saturday when they took on Wests’ women in what some thought would be a walk-over for Wests.
Going into the game, the Gunnettes had yet to win a single point this season.
Wests, by contrast, were sitting at third place in the Women’s Division competition after securing a respectable tally of wins and draws from the previous nine rounds.
A big factor in the Gunnettes’ lack of success is that this year the side have been fielding a squad containing many younger players who have moved up from cadets to the senior competition.
This is a big leap for any football player, and the Gunnettes have had to pay the price of nine successive defeats to learn their fieldcraft.
But on Saturday, the Gunnettes were finally rewarded with their first point of the season when they hung on against Wests to secure a nil-all draw.
This result is a small boost – but a very well-deserved boost nonetheless – for this hard-working and courageous young team.
Look for more from the lady purple and golds as the weeks draw on …
* * *
Wests and Gunners turned in the second draw of the day at Tom Alford Oval in the First Division clash that rounded out the afternoon’s football.
Spectators can argue about who had the greatest form reversal in this match – Wests, who went from a win in their last game down to a draw, or Gunners who negated their last match loss by moving up to a draw.
Either way, both teams walked off the park with points under their belts.
* * *
In Wondai, the Panthers played Barambah and gave the Bears an almighty clawing in both the men’s games.
In 2nd Division, Barambah’s usually strong side found they were no match for Nanango, who dealt the Bears a merciless 6-nil drubbing.
The Bears have won their last two 2nd Division matches, so their sudden loss of form on Saturday was a surprise.
But it should also be said Panthers’ own 2nd Division squad have improved steadily as the season has progressed.
Lesson? The Panthers should never be underestimated.
* * *
It was the Bears’ women who rescued northern honour, though, when they held the rampaging Panthers women’s side to a one-all draw.
The lady Panthers are every bit as formidable as their menfolk, and currently occupy the top spot in the Women’s Division.
But Barambah’s ladies have enormous depth of talent, too, and are currently chasing the Panthers from second spot on the totem pole with just a handful of points separating both teams.
On Saturday, Barambah and the Panthers locked horns yet again, and neither could get the upper hand over their opponents for very long.
There were missed opportunities on both sides, as well as several close calls that had supporters on the edge of their chairs.
But at the end of the day both teams shared the points.
* * *
The Panthers were back to their deadly best in the First Division match, though, compounding the 6-nil thrashing they’d delivered the Bears in the earlier 2nd Division clash with a 12-1 thumping in the 1st Division game.
The under-strength Bears – many exhausted from the earlier game – had no answer for the Panthers, who peppered their goal mouth with strikes that found the back of the net all too frequently.
For the Panthers’ 1st Division squad, Saturday’s clash marked their tenth straight victory in a row – a perfect score.
But for the Bears – who have struggled stoically against overwhelming odds all season – Saturday’s game marked their tenth straight loss in what has turned out to be a very, very bad year.
Fans can only hope there are better days ahead for this brave band of football warriors.
* * *
Results Round 10:
Barambah v Nanango (in Wondai)
- First Division: Nanango 12 – Barambah 1
- Women’s Division: Barambah 1 – Nanango 1
- Second Division: Nanango 6 – Barambah 0
Gunners v Wests (in Kingaroy)
- First Division: West 1 – Gunners 1
- Women’s Division: Wests 0 – Gunnettes 0
- Second Division: Gunners 3 – Wests 2
* * *
Next Week, Saturday June 25
There’ll be a slight departure from the season’s schedule this week, with Saturday’s games in Nanango kicking off a little earlier than usual.
Nanango v Wests (in Nanango)
- Second Division: 12:00 noon
- Women’s Division: 1:30pm
- First Division: 3:00pm
Gunners v Barambah (in Kingaroy)
- Second Division: 2:00pm
- Women’s Division: 3:30pm
- First Division: 5:00pm
After Saturday’s matches, the 2016 competition will be taking a week’s break for the school holidays.
When the competition resumes on July 9 (Round 12), the matches between Gunners and Nanango which were originally scheduled for Tom Alford Oval in Kingaroy will now be played at the Burnett Street soccer fields in Nanango.
