SOCCER
SKYE United and Mornington won important games last weekend to keep the threat of relegation at arm’s length.
Skye went into Friday night’s derby showdown with Peninsula Strikers a pronounced underdog given their respective places on the State 2 South-East ladder.
Skye lost the bedrock of its senior squad during pre-season and has struggled to recover from the setback while Strikers have had their gaze firmly fixed on winning promotion since the start of the current campaign
But that gaze was diverted by two first-half goals for Skye and the visitors to Skye Recreation Reserve went into the break staring down the barrel.
A Charlie Jeffs corner in the 37th minute led to a free header for Skye captain Marcus Collier and he made no mistake. Strikers bossed the ball but to no effect and late in the half paid dearly for a turnover in midfield which ended with a Mark O’Connor volley at the back post that made it 2-0. Strikers had no problem creating chances in the second half but Tom Wood and Campbell Steedman failed to capitalise.
It took the visitors 72 minutes to find a way past man-of-the-match Steven Hadjikakou in the Skye goal. A Cooper Andrews cross from the left was finished by Waye Gordon to make it 2-1. But Hadjikakou had the final say in a gripping finale when deep into time added he made a remarkable reflex save to tip a Wood effort onto the bar and grab a precious three points for the home team.
Mornington’s 5-0 win against State 1 cellar-dweller Casey Comets at Comets Stadium on Saturday avenged its shock home loss to Comets earlier this season.
The visitors led after 26 minutes when Ryan Paczkowski set up Halil Reka from an indirect free-kick on the edge of the box and he struck the ball into the top corner of goal. A bullet header from Luke Burgess in the 43rd minute gave Mornington a 2-0 half-time lead.
In the second half two goals in a minute ended any Comets resistance. A well-worked team move gave Joe O’Brien a tap-in in the 71st minute then Jack Kimber finished off a superb crossfield ball from David Stirton with a shot from a tight angle on the right. Burgess got his foot to the ball from a corner in the 89th minute to complete the rout.
In VPL1 Langwarrin lost 2-1 at Lawton Park against Western United on Saturday. Both sides were severely depleted, Langwarrin due to injury and suspension while Western had a significant number of first-team starters on Young Socceroos duty. The home team was on the back foot within two minutes when poor handling from goalkeeper James Burgess gifted Western’s Michael Ruhs with the opener.
Langwarrin forward Tom Youngs was a constant menace and hit back in the 30th minute when he cut inside and struck a low shot which went in off Western keeper Michael Vonja. Langwarrin had the upper hand after Abel Walatee dragged back Dante Avian in the 70th minute and earned a second caution and automatic send-off. But 11 minutes later the home team fell to a sucker punch as Western hit it on the break and Nicholas Koek struck a low shot across the despairing dive from Burgess and inside the far post for the winner.
In State 3 South-East Frankston Pines defeated Ashburton United 1-0 at Monterey Reserve on Friday night.
Shamiet Sharma’s first-half goal was enough to give Pines a second win of the season.
The big news in State 4 was Chelsea’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over fellow title contender Monash University at Edithvale Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
The home side got off to a great start when Adam Bartosy let fly from outside the box in the fifth minute but two goals in seven minutes from Jasper Guthrie and Sam Wait gave the visitors a 2-1 half-time lead. Four minutes after the break Daniel Vella levelled when he took on a defender then slotted the ball past Monash keeper James Lamson.
The pivotal moment in this crucial clash came in the 75th minute when Chelsea captain Luke D’Alessandro made the visitors pay for not clearing effectively from a corner. D’Alessandro unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that was the exclamation mark on a second-half fightback from Chelsea and pitched Gus Macleod’s men into second place on the ladder.
At Baxter Park once again Anish Khem was the home side’s get-out-of-jail card in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Lyndale United. The prolific Fijian striker scored his seventh goal in six appearances when he took full advantage of a fine Dylan Murchie lay-off to cut inside a defender then slot home the winner in the 89th minute.
Baxter had led at half-time through Italian midfielder Davide Sbalchierro who was on target in the 36th minute with a low dipping shot from just outside the area but the home side would have been further in front if not for Daniel Taylor’s failed penalty conversion. Jackson Whiteside showed Taylor how it’s done in the 56th minute after Jack Elliott’s attempted passback became stuck in the mud leading to Baxter keeper Jarrod Nardino bringing down an opponent. That set up the match-winning scenario and Khem played his part to perfection.
Mentone added to Keysborough’s relegation anxiety with a comfortable 3-0 away win on Saturday. Luke Vella, Marcus Spivey and an own goal entrenched the home side deep in the drop zone.
Somerville Eagles lost 2-1 at home to Hampton Park United last weekend but not before giving the league leader a fright. All the goals came in the first half. Mo Chehimi put Hampton Park ahead following a goalmouth scramble but Somerville kept pressing and Conor Mcfall finished Marcus Anastasiou’s back heel with a long-range strike that left Hampton keeper Michael Almeida clutching at thin air. Not long after Hampton Park’s star striker Naseem Rasekh was at the back post to finish off a slick counter-attack and restore the visitors’ lead.
Despite Somerville continuing to press throughout the second half it couldn’t claw back the margin. It was confirmed after the match that Somerville’s Joe Simmons who was forced off in the first half has a broken collarbone and will miss the remainder of the season.
In State 5 Rosebud and Mount Martha had huge wins. The table-topping ’Buds bounced back from the previous week’s reversal with a 6-0 drubbing of Barton United at Olympic Park on Saturday evening. Dougie Cunnison and Jacob Bigg returned to the backline providing a solid platform for the team to build on with Ethan Hunt partnering Cunnison at the heart of defence.
Hunt was composed throughout and did not miss a tackle in one of his best games of the season along with veteran midfielder Stef Papaluca who was first to every ball in a dominant first-half display. The scoring was opened in the 12th minute after a great ball from Bigg saw Barney Johnson skip past a defender then calmly slot the ball past the keeper from a tight angle.
Eight minutes later Ethan Sanderson’s senior debut for Rosebud ended abruptly when a quad strain forced him to be replaced by evergreen goal machine Dave Greening. Johnson showed his value as he turned provider in the 31st minute with a cross whipped in from the right that was expertly finished first time by Andy Jerez.
But the goal of the day came just three minutes later when Caleb Davies picked up a poor clearance after excellent pressing and curled one into the top corner from outside the area. Rosebud continued with a high press in the second half and Greening’s second-half hat-trick completed a comprehensive win for the league leader.
Mount Martha thrashed Pakenham United 7-0 at Civic Reserve on Saturday. Dan Bancroft opened the scoring with a shot from inside the box following a good build-up on the left and Davey Jones got the last touch following a corner in the 30th minute to make it 2-0.
Five minutes later a deliberate handball inside the area earned Pakenham’s Gio Tognoni a second caution and although Marcus Pode failed from the spot the visitors were left with a near hopeless task. The second half was one-way traffic with Jones completing a hat-trick, Bancroft nabbing a second and Tom Oswell and Sam Griffiths getting in on the act.
Seaford United has Cory Osorio to thank for keeping its promotion hopes alive after Saturday’s hard-earned 2-1 win over Endeavour Hills Fire at North Seaford Reserve. Jonathan Theodore’s successful penalty conversion gave the visitors a 1-0 half-time lead but early in the second half a handball inside the area allowed Osorio to level from the spot albeit from the rebound after his first attempt was blocked. Minutes later it was 2-1.
A long throw-in from Blake Hicks caught out the Endeavour Hills defence sending Backy Barakzoi down the right and his cutback was finished in style by Osorio with a smart one-touch strike. Aspendale maintained its promotion momentum with a three-goal second half and a man-of-the-match performance from hat-trick hero Koray Yildirim.
Gregor Macnab’s outfit proved too strong for Casey Panthers winning 4-1 on Saturday at Prospect Hill Reserve. Star midfielder Matthew Bruce also scored for Aspendale.
Mount Eliza had a comfortable 4-1 home win over Cleeland United last weekend. Amish Chandra opened the scoring after been sent through by Nickel Chand in the 19th minute and late in the half took advantage of Ray Amiri’s challenge on the Cleeland keeper to find the unguarded goal with a long-range effort.
Amiri made it 3-0 in the 61st minute when he got clear on the end of a Chand through ball and an own goal from the Cleeland keeper in the 75th minute made it 4-0. The visitors hit back in the 87th minute when Abu Lemi took advantage of a defensive mistake to complete the scoreline.
Next weekend is a catch-up round throughout the State Leagues with most local clubs inactive. Skye faces another crucial contest when it squares up to Berwick City on Friday. The clash between Barton United and Mount Eliza was expected to go ahead at Barton Recreation Reserve on Saturday but Football Victoria had not confirmed this catch-up fixture as we went to press so please check social media.
NEXT WEEK’S GAME
Friday 2 August, 8.30pm:
Berwick City v Skye Utd, Jack Thomas Reserve
Saturday 3 August, 3.30pm:
Barton Utd v Mount Eliza, Barton Recreation Reserve
