June 6, 2017
If the President’s Cup on May 27 demonstrated that the top teams in this year’s South Burnett soccer competition are closely matched, last Saturday’s Round 7 games did little to clarify matters.
Panthers played Barambah on Nanango’s home ground at the Burnett Street sports fields, and Wests played Gunners at their shared home ground in Kingaroy.
In Nanango, the Bears dished out a thrashing to Panthers in 2nd Division, but the big cats clawed back with wins of their own in the other two games.
And in Kingaroy the results were similar: Wests downed Gunners in 2nd Division, but the remaining matches resulted in draws.
Most of the games were exciting for spectators to watch, but none of them have provided a clear answer about which is the better team.
* * *
In the 2nd Division clash in Nanango, Barambah’s older and more experienced side faced up to the much younger Panthers and quickly demonstrated that age and experience will beat youth and a bad haircut any day of the week.
In the first half, the Panthers tried to pursue the same attacking style that has proven so successful for Nanango’s other two divisions, but they quickly came unstuck against the Bears’ greater depth of experience.
The northerners were able to easily deflect the Panthers’ attacks, and the Bears managed to find the back of Nanango’s nets twice before half time, thanks to two rockets from Daure Moses.
In the second half, the Panthers came onto the park determined to redouble their efforts, but it proved to be in vain.
The Bears pressed them hard and most of the action soon wound up being in Nanango’s half of the park, with Panthers goal keeper Blake Stevenson kept busy deflecting the northerners’ attacks.
Things changed slightly towards the middle of the half, though, when veteran Panthers player David Ashby took to the field.
Ashby, who was part of the Panthers’ all-conquering 1st Division squad in 2016, quickly proved to be a lethal weapon for the young side and Barambah’s dominance of possession began to falter.
But as soon as he was taken off the field, the tide turned in the Bear’s favour again.
A last-minute fumble by Panthers’ goal keeper towards the end of the match saw the Bears improve their half-time score to 3; and a head-butted goal not long afterwards wrapped things up at 4-nil.
After the match, Nanango’s coach said he was happy with the result, all things considered.
The Panthers side have clearly improved over the season, he said, and they were playing against a Bears side that also plays 1st Division.
Barambah were happy, too. The match was an improvement over their narrow 1-0 loss to Wests in the President’s Cup, and it keeps them in contention for a slot in this year’s Grand Finals.
* * *
In the Women’s Division, Barambah took to the park with 11 players while the lady Panthers brought along 13.
It was only a small difference in numbers, but it proved to be crucial on the day, allowing the Panthers to spell players while the lady Bears had no respite.
As usual, the Panthers showed their claws early and took the attack up to the Bears from the get-go, making two attempts on the Bears’ nets in the first five minutes, then sinking their first goal straight over the Barambah goal keeper’s head in the 13th, courtesy of Alex Parsons.
This shocked the lady Bears and caused them to harden their defences – quite successfully, as it turned out – but they were unable to convert their possessions into a goal of their own, going into half-time 1-nil down.
In the second half, the small but deadly lady Panthers repeated their first-half performance, with Bree Pogany finding the back of the lady Bears’ nets in the 53rd minute.
Again, Barambah solidified their defence.
But they were unable to find any opportunities to shoot a goal of their own before the final whistle, finishing the day with a 2-nil loss.
* * *
In the 1st Division match, tired Bears players who’d done so well in the 2nd Division game took to the park against the fresh Panthers 1st Division side.
For spectators watching the match, the outcome was pretty much a foregone conclusion before the kick-off.
But it was still interesting to watch.
The Bears valiantly tried to stave off their almost inevitable defeat, and considering they were playing the best team in the league they acquitted themselves very well.
They were able to hold the Panthers down to just four goals – which came from Anuwat Silat, Kieran Mangan (twice) and Damien Copas – and even score one of their own courtesy of the in-form Daure Moses, who’d sunk three in the 2nd Division clash earlier the same day.
* * *
Meanwhile – at Kingaroy’s Tom Alford Oval – home teams Wests and Gunners played a different style of football where the differences between the Women’s Division and 1st Division sides proved to be wafer-thin.
In 2nd Division, Wests showed their dominance over Gunners with a 3-nil victory, though it was hard fought.
Neither side was able to gain any advantage until close to half time, when Mitchell Hunter managed to find the back of Gunners’ nets barely six minutes before half time.
Ten minutes into the second half, he was followed by Caleb Jenkins; and five minutes after this by Aiden Musch.
To their credit, Gunners refused to let their heads drop and played hard until the final whistle, desperately trying to rack up points of their own while keeping Wests from improving their own account.
They failed to achieve one of those aims, but succeeded handsomely with the other.
* * *
In the Women’s Division, the two sides were more evenly matched.
Neither side was able to secure a goal – though not for want of trying – and several players had to be benched after spectacular on-field collisions.
For spectators, the match was a bit of a disappointment after last week’s President’s Cup clash between the Panthers and Wests which saw the big cats just squeak across the line with a 1-nil victory.
But for the plucky Gunnettes, it was a far better result than the same time last year, and clearly demonstrates there has been a solid improvement in the side with the passage of time.
* * *
In the 1st Division game, things were much the same, with both sides sharing the points after the final whistle came out on a 2-all draw.
Gunners took the lead early, with a rocket from Dale Lenkeit allowing them to go into the half-time break 1-nil ahead.
But in the second half, Wests showed their muscle.
Ethan Schultz and James Snape both found the back of Gunners’ nets in quick succession.
And if it hadn’t been for a strike by Gunners captain Joseph Copas with just minutes left to spare, Wests would’ve walked away with all the points.
Gunners appeared to be vulnerable to long balls from Wests, as well as rapid assaults on their defences – two defects coach Debbie Ovens would like to work on improving in weekly training.
Wests, for their part, seem to be continuing to improve as the season progresses.
But which of the two teams will battle it out with the Panthers for this year’s premiership remains to be seen.
* * *
Results – Round 7:
In Kingaroy: Gunners vs Wests
- 2nd Division: Wests 3 (Caleb Jenkins 55th, Aidan Musch 60th, Mitchell Hunter 37th) – Gunners 0
- Women’s Division: Wests 0 – Gunnettes 0
- 1st Division: Wests 2 (Ethan Schultz, James Snape) – Gunners 2 (Joseph Copas, Dale Lenkeit)
In Nanango: Nanango vs Barambah
- 2nd Division: Barambah 4 (Daure Moses 3, Jackson Kelly 1) – Nanango 0
- Women’s Division: Nanango 2 (Alex Parsons 13th, Bree Pogany 53rd) – Barambah 0
- 1st Division: Nanango 4 (Anuwat Silat 1, Kieran Mangan 2, Damien Copas 1) – Barambah 1 (Daure Moses 1)
* * *
Next Week:
There will be a Women’s Division match between Wests and Barambah this Wednesday night at Tom Alford Oval in Kingaroy, starting at 6:00pm, which will be a replacement for their scheduled June 17 match, because some players will be unavailable that day.
This coming Saturday, June 10, Barambah will play Gunners at the Wondai soccer fields north of the Wondai Sports Grounds, with 2nd Division hitting the park at 12:30pm, Women’s Division at 2:00pm and 1st Division at 3:30pm.
Because of the Wondai Sprints running in the nearby industrial estate, entry to the Wondai fields will be via the Wondai Bowls and Golf Course gate.
At Kingaroy’s Tom Alford Oval at the end of Oliver Bond Street, Wests will play Nanango in 2nd Division at 2:00pm, Women’s Division at 3:30pm and 1st Division at 5:00pm.
Canteens will be operating at both venues and spectators are very welcome.
* * *
Junior News
The South Burnett U14 and U16 girls’ teams travelled to Warwick on Sunday, June 4 to play in the SWQ Zone Championships, and both took out the championships.
Results for the day were:
- U16s: SB Stingers defeated Western Force 4-2
- U16s: SB Stingers defeated Toowoomba 3-0
- U14s: SB Stingers defeated Toowoomba 2-0
- U14s: SB Stingers defeated Warwick 4-0
- U14s: SB Stingers defeated Stanthorpe 4-0
These were particularly good results for both teams considering they were short of players on the day.
