April 26, 2017
Gunners walked away with most of the points on Saturday when they took on Nanango’s Panthers at Tom Alford Oval in Kingaroy.
The match was the third round of the season, and the first time the two sides have met on the park this year.
A smaller than usual crowd who braved the unseasonally cold weather got witness three good games.
They also got to see a few surprise upsets.
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In the 2nd Division competition, the Panthers are fielding a lot of incoming cadets this season, and on Saturday they were up against the much more seasoned (and senior) Gunners.
So while the Panthers may have youth on their side, Gunners have the experience.
And as the match progressed, Gunners proved the old adage that age and experience will usually beat youth and a bad haircut most days of the week.
In the first half of the match, the two teams carefully felt each other out in a tightly-fought tussle, alternately attacking and defending as the ball quickly moved from one end of the field to the other, then back again.
During this testing phase Gunners also managed to find the back of the net, ensuring they went into the half-time break with a narrow 1-nil lead.
Not far into the second half, though, Gunners significantly improved their chances when they exploited holes they’d found in the Panthers’ defence.
Two sizzling goals kicked in quick succession from the upper end of the field – one passing straight over the Panthers’ goalkeeper’s head – gave them a convincing lead.
To their credit, the younger Panthers didn’t let their heads drop.
But they were unable to prevent Gunners going on to score twice more before the full time whistle, giving them a 5-0 drubbing into the bargain.
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In the Women’s Division, both sides are fielding nine new players this year, and they seemed much more evenly matched.
The Gunnettes have retained the popular Rahab Murray, who’s been joined this year by her sister Deidre, and several other good players.
The Panthers, for their part, have lost former captain Cassie Kelly – who has taken on the role of manager because she is expecting a child mid-way through the season – but have retained Raegan Campbell.
In Saturday’s game, the two teams battled it out with one another without either side seeming to gain a clear advantage.
Nanango eventually took the points by winning the match 2-1, but it was a narrow victory compared to the 6-0 thumping the lady Panthers had delivered to Barambah in the first round of the competition.
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In 1st Division, Gunners are fielding five new players this season, while the Panthers have only retained five players from last year’s premiership-winning squad.
Both teams are fierce rivals in the 1st Division competition.
Panthers have had an unbroken five year winning streak in the premiership, and Gunners have been runners-up for most of those years.
So while the Panthers’ retentions are all acknowledged as high quality players, it became apparent fairly early in Saturday’s match that Gunners’ more seasoned team had the advantage on the day.
Panthers were the first to score, but Gunners fired back not long afterwards to see both sides going into half time locked in a 1-all draw.
But in the second half, Gunners managed to sink two more into the back of the net while Panthers were held down to just one.
This left Gunners holding the points, much to the delight of their captain Joseph Copas who’d hoped for an early win against the big cats this season.
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Meanwhile, Wests battled it out with Barambah when both teams met at the Wondai Soccer Grounds, also for the first time this season.
Wests proved dominant in 1st and 2nd division, but shared the points with the Bears in the Women’s Division clash.
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Round 3 Results:
In Wondai
- 2nd Division: Wests 2 (A Musch 61, J Wilson 71) – Barambah 1 (P Clegg 50th)
- Women’s Division: Wests 1 (K Wright 45th) – Barambah 1 (E Mollenhauer 4th)
- 1st Division: Wests 3 (R McCabe 12th, R Nozaki 3rd, E Schultz 16th – Barambah 1 (R Sommerfeld)
In Kingaroy
- 2nd Division: Gunners 5 – Nanango 0
- Women’s Division: Nanango 2 – Gunnettes 1
- 1st Division: Gunners 3 – Nanango 2
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Next Matches
Catch-up games for Round 2’s “Super Saturday” on April 1, which was cancelled at the last minute because of ex-Cyclone Debbie, are still being held.
On Wednesday night, April 26 – unless cancelled due to rain – Wests’ women’s side will be playing the lady Panthers at Kingaroy’s Tom Alford Oval at 6:30pm.
And on Saturday, April 29 Barambah’s men will play Gunners at the same venue, with 2nd Division taking to the park at 2:00pm and 1st Division at 4:00pm.
The next formal round – Round 4 – will be played the following Saturday, May 6 in Nanango and Kingaroy.
In Nanango, the home side will play Barambah at the Burnett Street soccer fields, with 2nd Division hitting the park at 12:30pm, Women’s Division at 2:00pm and 1st Division at 3:15pm.
In Kingaroy, home teams Gunners and Wests will battle it out.
2nd Division will put toes to the turf at 2:00pm, Women’s Division at 3:30pm and 1st Division at 5:00pm.
