August 19, 2016
Nanango could repeat their 2012 clean sweep of the trophies after all three of the Panthers’ divisions won their semi-final matches in Murgon last Sunday.
This weekend the Panthers will be able to put their feet up while Wests, Barambah and Gunners fight it out to see who’ll be facing off against them in the season’s Grand Final on August 27.
The major and minor semi-finals were contested at the Murgon soccer grounds in a marathon 12-hour day of football that began at 9:00am and ran through until well after dark.
Nanango went into Sunday’s matches as the first place holder in all three divisions on the local league table, and came out as winners on the day.
Best of the rest was Wests, who repeated the same feat, though a bit further down the ladder.
Wests will now play the teams that lost to the Panthers to see who’ll secure the remaining three berths in this year’s Grand Final.
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In 2nd Division, Wests played Gunners in the minor semi-final while Nanango played Barambah in the major semi-final.
The match between Wests and Gunners was particularly interesting.
Wests were playing at what was probably their best standard so far this season, and Gunners were not all that far behind them.
By half time, Wests led Gunners 2-nil and the team went into the second half clearly confident they could extend their lead even further.
But Gunners had decided to redouble their efforts during the break, and ramped up the pressure instead.
When Anthony Clifford finally found the back of the net for Gunners in the second half after a complex scramble near Wests’ goal mouth, the air visibly went out of Wests’ sails.
But they soldiered on, determined not the let Gunners find an equaliser, and succeeded by focussing on defence and drawing things out.
When the full-time whistle sounded, Wests had managed to hold on against Gunners 2-1.
And spectators got to enjoy a very good 2nd division match indeed.
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Surprisingly, after the frenetic pace of the day’s first game, the contest between the Panthers and Barambah in the major semi proved not quite as exciting.
While the Bears went onto their home ground quietly confident they could whip Nanango’s big cats, things didn’t go their way.
The Nanango team, who have steadily improved all season, managed to penetrate the Bears’ defences and slip a strike into the back of the net by half time.
And when they repeated the same feat in the second half, it was soon clear who was the better team on the day.
Barambah found they had no answer to their opponents’ fleet footwork, and were unable to score any goals of their own.
The results of the matches were that Nanango have now secured their place in the 2nd Division Grand Final, while Wests will line up against Barambah this Saturday to see who’ll take the other Grand Final berth on August 27.
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The Women’s Division games played in the afternoon were almost a mirror of the morning’s matches, with Wests facing off against Gunnettes in the minor semi-final and Nanango playing the lady Bears in the major semi.
In the Wests v Gunnettes clash, the money was Wests from the get-go.
Gunnettes have had a soul-destroyingly bad season this year, earning just one point on the league table, while Wests went into the match with a respectable 18 points under their belt.
But if spectators thought Wests were in for a walk-over they were badly mistaken.
Gunnettes goalkeeper Rahab Murray proved she is arguably the best goalkeeper in this year’s league by blocking more than twenty attempts by Wests to find the back of the net.
In the end, Wests came away with a narrow 2-nil win over the plucky Gunnettes.
And they really had to work for it.
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In the Nanango versus Barambah clash, the situation was not so clear.
Barely five points separated the two rivals on the league table going into the match, and both teams could boast some very formidable players in their line-ups.
As things turned out, the teams were so evenly matched that by the time the final whistle sounded, the score was tied at 0-0 and the match had to be pushed into extra time to find a winner.
In the end, the Panthers scraped across the line when Glenda Thompson found the back of the Bears net near the half-way mark of extra time.
The win gave the Lady Panthers their own spot in the Grand Finals on August 27.
But Barambah will have another chance this weekend when they face off against Wests in the preliminary final.
It should be a match well worth watching.
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In 1st Division, Wests faced off against Barambah in the minor semi-final, and the Panthers faced Gunners in the major semi.
Once again, the smart money was on Wests to take out the Bears, who have been fielding a 1st Division team made up of many players drawn from their 2nd Division squad all season due to a lack of numbers.
This strategy of fielding exhausted footballers hasn’t worked well for the side, with the Bears having just 1 point on the league table against 15 for Wests.
All the same, Barambah surprised everyone – including their opponents – when they opened their account before Wests.
But Wests responded quickly, finishing the first half one up on the Bears.
In the second half, Barambah refused to let their heads drop and tried to maintain their attack.
But Wests were able to find the back of the net two more times to finish the match with a 4-1 win.
While the match marked the end of Barambah’s 1st Division campaign this season, it’s probably a good thing.
They should be able to field a stronger side in this weekend’s 2nd Division game, and that means the brave northerners are still in with a chance for Grand Finals glory.
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In the major semi, arch-rivals Panthers and Gunners took to the park for a contest that both teams have seen many times before.
This year the Panthers have enjoyed a perfect season – 15 wins from 15 games – and seem an odds-on bet to secure their fifth 1st Division Grand Final win in a row.
But Gunners are a team never to be under-estimated, and they approached the match determined to make things as tough for the Panthers as possible.
As usual, Nanango played an attacking game and – as usual – it paid off for them in the form of a 3-nil win against Gunners, who were unable to capitalise on several chances that came their way.
The 1st Division win gave the Panthers their third Grand Final slot, while Wests will play Gunners this Saturday to determine who’ll be facing the big cats on August 27.
Again, it should prove to be a very interesting and entertaining match.
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2016 Semi-Final Results
Minor Semi-Finals
- First Division: Wests 4 (Callum Tucker, Aiden Penfound, Hayden Steene 2) – Barambah 1 (Chris O’Loughlin)
- Women’s Division: Wests 2 (Hayley Hunter, Lauren Sims) – Gunnettes 0
- Second Division: Wests 2 (Ryan Jacobs 2) – Gunners 1 (Anthony Clifford)
Major Semi-Finals
- First Division: Nanango 3 (Kieran Mangan, Elliott Mangan, Harry Sterling) – Gunners 0
- Women’s Division: Nanango 1 (Glenda Thompson) – Barambah 0
- Second Division: Nanango 2 (Ty Flevill, Nick Frohloff) – Barambah 0
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2016 Preliminary Finals
To be played at the Nanango Soccer Grounds in Burnett Street on Saturday, August 20:
- Second Division: Wests v Barambah (12:30pm)
- Women’s Division: Wests v Barambah (1:00pm)
- First Division: Wests v Gunners (3:00pm)
