SOCCER
PENINSULA Strikers left no doubt about their promotion credentials when they comfortably accounted for neighbouring Skye United 4-0 in Saturday’s derby showdown at Centenary Park. Eleven minutes in and a Taylan Geylan cross was steered home by Tom Wood at the near post. Veteran striker Wayne Gordon’s solo run came to an end when he was tripped in the 24th minute and Skye’s hopes probably ended there too. Gordon’s neatly curled free-kick left Skye keeper Callum Hope grasping at thin air. The killer blow came seconds after an audacious long-range effort from Ethan Goulding had beaten Hope only to strike a post and bounce out. Jaiden Madafferi had bossed the midfield and in the 40th minute he chested the ball down then unleashed a dipping volley that rocketed past Hope and into the top far corner.
Skye huffed and puffed in the second half as Strikers’ foot came off the pedal but the home team was too well marshalled at the back. The final goal in the 73rd minute came via the boot of Skye defender Daniel Walsh who found himself forced into a split-second reaction as a superb Madafferi cross was sent at pace in behind Skye’s defensive line.
Strikers are now one of four sides that have emerged from the State 2 promotion pack and can take an important step towards cutting that number to three this Saturday at home to fourth-placed Berwick City. Strikers head coach Scott Morrison is confident that his squad has the talent and depth to continue its challenge. “Berwick are a very good side, however if you want to be successful you’ve got to beat the teams at the top,” Morrison said. “Our depth is excellent this year and we expect Jamie Davidson and Campbell Steedman back this week while Hamraz Zenoozi isn’t far away.
“We’ve also got Deniz (Karabadzak) and Josh Botha back to the club in the last fortnight and we have so many quality youngsters ready to step up so we are in a really good spot at the moment.”
For Skye there is little positive news as it wallows in the bottom four and faces a crucial away game on Friday evening against second-bottom Doncaster Rovers.
In VPL1 Langwarrin had to settle for a 2-2 draw at home to Northcote City on Saturday. Langy led after 26 minutes when Northcote didn’t deal with a Tom Youngs cross from the left and Brad Blumenthal was at the far post to make the visitors pay dearly with a close-range shot. Youngster Owen Murphy was making his full senior debut and acquitted himself in style pitted against one of the league’s top players in Northcote star Trent Skapetis.
Langy took what seemed like a firm grasp of all three points when Archie Macphee gave it a two-goal cushion in the 78th minute. Luke Goulding robbed a defender wide right then squared the ball to the unmarked Macphee who had no trouble slotting it home. A minute later it was 2-1 when a pinpoint pass was controlled by Alun Webb before a slick turn and neat finish gave Langy keeper Griffin Bambach no chance.
In the 82nd minute Blumenthal went close to giving Langy breathing space with a shot from just outside the area that struck the post and in the final minute of normal time the visitors’ comeback was complete. Yuki Uchida cut in from the left skipping past a number of opponents before slamming the ball past Bambach from 20 metres.
In State 1 Mornington’s season went from bad to worse with Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Casey Comets.
No-one envisaged the Seagulls being closer to relegation than promotion after round six but that’s the stark reality of the club’s league position.
Twenty-year-old debutant Jack Allan came off the bench in the second half and scored Mornington’s goal.
In State 3 Frankston Pines lost 2-0 away to Ashburton United. Pines have appointed a co-coach to work alongside Donn Delaney with the senior squad and has signed some new players but the club is yet to release their names.
In State 4 Mentone took another step towards consolidating its status after last year’s promotion when it defeated visitor Keysborough 3-0 last weekend. It was Mentone’s first home win of the season. After a goalless first half Mentone went in front in the 51st minute when new signing Peter Varsamis fired home the rebound after his initial shot was saved by Keysborough keeper Austin Kearney.
The game remained in the balance until the 92nd minute when Luka Varga was fouled inside the area and Dean Gerszonovicz made no mistake from the spot. Varsamis put the game beyond doubt two minutes later when he broke through to finish low past Kearney.
Baxter got back to winning ways with a convincing 4-1 scoreline away to Lyndale United on Saturday.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 5th minute through skipper Aleks Dukic who was on hand to stab home from close range following fine work on the right from Noah Green.
Baxter doubled its lead through a Jack Elliott header in the 21st minute after Keegan Myatt won possession high up the pitch and played a delightful cross into the box. Lyndale halved the deficit shortly after with a fine Ali Ulum free-kick which struck the underside of the bar before crossing the line.
In the second half Baxter made sure of the points with goals from set pieces. Aiden McKenna powered home a header from a Dukic corner in the 71st minute and in injury time Daniel Taylor volleyed home from another Djukic corner.
Somerville Eagles surprised Hampton Park United when they forced the title challenger to share the points in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at KM Reedy Reserve. Somerville opened the scoring early when a Nick Simmons strike took a deflection and found the back of the net.
Hampton Park pressed hard and threatened on the counter eventually being rewarded when a long ball over the top was squared to Naseem Rasekh for an easy tap-in. But Somerville captain Conor Mcfall put the visitors back in front with the last kick of the half when his free-kick clipped the underside of the crossbar before finding the net for a 2-1 half time lead.
In the 55th minute Hampton Park again drew level through a free header inside the box by Mo Chehimi.
It was end-to-end football for the remainder of an entertaining contest with neither side able to break the deadlock.
Chelsea lost 3-0 away to Monash University on Saturday. The league leader was well organised, disciplined and too strong for Gus Macleod’s outfit.
In State 5 both frontrunners slipped up last weekend with Seaford United drawing 2-2 away to Endeavour Hills Fire while Rosebud drew 1-1 away to Barton United. Seaford was 2-0 up after 31 minutes with both goals coming from Sam Luxford penalties awarded after handling inside the area. It should have increased its lead but Naseer Mohammad missed from a one-on-one with Endeavour keeper Josh Permal.
The home side hit back just before the interval through Jonathan Florent who slid down and got a vital touch to a shot following a corner to the back post. Backy Barakzoi and Mohammad both went close in the second half before Loic Calambe’s superb left-foot shot from just outside the area gave Seaford keeper Hayden Hicks no chance.
Permal denied Luxford his hat-trick with a remarkable reaction save from a back post header and the match ended on a contentious note when the referee chalked off Mikey Turney’s curling strike into the top far corner ruling that a defender was pushed.
Rosebud drew 1-1 away to Barton United on Saturday. In the 35th minute Ben Symonds split the Barton defence with an excellent ball for the hard working Nathan Yole. Referee Farhad Sharif was left with the easiest of penalty decisions when Yole was scythed down going around the keeper at pace. Dougie Cunnison stepped up to confidently put Rosebud ahead from the spot. Barton right winger Arif Askari equalised early in the second half when he cut inside and finished well with a low strike into the corner of goal. An entertaining and sometimes frantic last half-hour ensued and a combination of wayward finishing and desperate defending from Rosebud meant that its perfect record had been blemished.
Aspendale had a convincing 4-1 home win over Casey Panthers last week.
The home side hit the front just before half-time when Jared Kilmartin broke free in the box to square the ball to Taylan Yildirim for a close-range finish. Aspendale continued to dominate play after the break and Dom Paul made it 2-0 in the 55th minute after forcing a turnover then striking his shot past Panthers keeper Daniel Santoro with the outside of his right foot.
Casey captain Mathew Kaligianis brought his side back into the contest when he made the most of a defensive mix-up in the 63rd minute but five minutes later it was 3-1. Substitute Koray Yildirim pounced on a loose ball in the box and made no mistake. The final goal of this contest came when great work on the left by Paul saw him drive the ball across goal for a Koray Yildirim tap-in.
Mount Eliza has parted company with head coach Alex Halikias in the fallout from the previous week’s abandoned game against Barton. Halikias was sent off late in the first half and is adamant that claims made against him in the referee’s report are unsubstantiated and will be vigorously challenged. One of the spectators was Football Victoria CEO Chris Pehlivanis who had been invited to the match by Halikias and may be called as a witness at the upcoming tribunal hearing.
Mount Eliza technical director Gary Talbot and reserves coach Graeme Ferguson were caretaker coaches for last weekend’s 6-0 away win over Cleeland United. Jordan Vacouftsis reports that Mount Eliza had the best chance of the opening exchanges and in the 22nd minute a Mujtaba Sakhi cross was volleyed onto the bar and over by James Liddle.
In the 39th minute a poor clearance from Cleeland keeper Oboj Akokonei fell to Fraser Keon whose touch and chipped finish opened the scoring. Seven minutes into the second half Sakhi went past two defenders and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to double the lead. It was 3-0 when Keon set up Austin Mcewen in the 65th minute and when youngster Jamie Powell crossed for Amish Chandra to head home in the 78th minute there was no way back for the home team. Powell’s second assist enabled substitute Cohan King to make it 5-0 before Keon rounded off the scoreline in the 89th minute.
Pakenham United won its first points of the season pushing Mount Martha into second bottom with a 5-2 home win over the Mariners last weekend. Mount Martha conceded three goals in the first 13 minutes and although Daniel Bancroft made it 3-1 in the 17th minute the visitors had given themselves a mountain too high to climb.
Mount Martha created chances in the second half but had to wait until deep into injury time for substitute David Jones to complete the scoreline.
NEXT WEEK’S GAMES
Friday 10 May, 8.30pm:
Preston Lions v Langwarrin, BT Connor Reserve
Doncaster Rovers v Skye Utd, Anderson Park
Frankston Pines v Noble Park Utd, Monterey Reserve
Chelsea v Mentone, Edithvale Recreation Reserve
Mount Eliza v Endeavour Hills Fire, Emil Madsen Reserve
Saturday 11 May, 3pm:
Mornington v Old Scotch, Dallas Brooks Park
Peninsula Strikers v Berwick City, Centenary Park
Somerville Eagles v Endeavour Utd, Westernport Secondary College
Brighton v Baxter, Dendy Park
Seaford Utd v Aspendale, North Seaford Reserve
Mount Martha v Bunyip District, Civic Reserve
Saturday 11 May, 6pm:
Rosebud v Casey Panthers, Olympic Park
