SOCCER
THERE are no local sides left in this year’s Dockerty Cup.
The competition doubles as qualification for the prestigious Australia Cup but over Easter the three remaining local outfits were dumped from the knockout competition.
Langwarrin lost 1-0 away to Westvale, Mornington lost 2-1 away to Western United and Skye United was thumped 5-0 at home by Brunswick Juventus.
On the back of a short turnaround Langwarrin made eight changes to its starting line-up and the bench was made up of under-20 and under-23 players.
It was a scrappy contest but an error from young Langy keeper Branten Kindler in the 28th minute allowed Westvale striker Peter Lay to stroke the ball into an empty net.
Langy dominated possession and territory but was unable to get past a desperate Westvale defence.
Langwarrin head coach Jamie Skelly made a number of changes in the second half but while hitting the post and forcing Westvale keeper Marko Jovcevski into a number of saves the visitors were unable to break through.
The return to league action sees Langwarrin facing a difficult away clash against Brunswick Juventus on Friday night.
Zac Bates is back in training so shouldn’t be far off his comeback and Alex Kubenko will be available for the first time.
Noah Holmes is expected to return to training this week after illness but won’t be available to face Brunswick.
“Brunswick are a strong side who have recruited well and gained some good results but if we can continue on from the second half against Melbourne Victory then we’ll give ourselves an opportunity to get a result,” Skelly said.
Langwarrin staged a remarkable comeback from 3-0 down to gain a point in its thrilling 3-3 draw with Victory recently.
Mornington left Tarneit on Saturday frustrated at not taking some of the chances it created.
The Seagulls should have forced this tie into extra time at the very least.
Several changes to the line-up gave younger players an opportunity but the start couldn’t have been worse.
Ethan Goulding went down with a knee injury inside the opening minute forcing an early reshuffle with Ryan Paczkowski injected into the game almost immediately.
Despite Western United controlling possession Mornington’s structure frustrated the home side and the visitors looked dangerous on the counter.
James Kelly broke away on multiple occasions threatening to open the scoring but Western eventually took the lead in the 30th minute via a long ball to the back post finished by captain Mark Leonard and it was 1–0 at the break.
Mornington responded strongly in the second half lifting intensity and gaining control by winning first and second balls.
The equaliser came in the 51st minute through Joe Hunt who capitalised on a clearing header from the back line his shot taking a slight deflection to make it 1–1.
However that response was short-lived.
Western United restored its lead within a minute with a well-worked goal from Ali Al Sheikh in a move that cut through Mornington’s shape to make it 2–1.
The Seagulls pushed hard late but couldn’t find the finish they desperately wanted.
There was no lack of effort but a not enough was done in key moments.
There were plenty of positives though particularly the impact of the younger players stepping up.
Mornington’s focus now returns to State League 1 South-East and Saturday night’s clash with league leader South Springvale.
It’s a home game for the Seagulls at their temporary headquarters at Civic Reserve with an 8pm kick-off.
Rhys Craigie (calf) and Taketo Hosokawa (groin) are unavailable for selection.
Skye United went into Saturday’s clash with Brunswick Juventus as a clear underdog given that the visitors compete in a higher division with a much more expensively assembled senior squad featuring Kenny Athiu and Sean Ellis.
Skye promoted Liam Attard and Brodie Varas from the reserves and all five substitutes from the previous week were in the starting line-up – Artim Baki, Shameit Sharma, Alex Boisseranc, Jack Geddes and Ramish Hussainy.
Nic Millar returned to the club after a spell with Kingston City and played alongside his brother Hamish in a central defensive combination.
Jason Nowakowski and Arash Sadeghi were rested.
In the 21st minute Juve striker Luke Pullen broke through and deftly dinked the ball over Skye keeper Ittetsu Hirai.
It was 2-0 in the 34th minute after Hirai came out to clear the ball and Samuel Dweek chipped him from just over 30 metres.
In the 61st minute Hamish Millar turned the ball into his own net after it had been played across the face of goal and further strikes to Juve’s Sean Ellis and Ethan Pisani rounded off the scoreline.
Skye goes into Saturday’s league clash with Boroondara Eagles without Emmanual Scarlett (hamstring) and Daniel Attard (illness) while Nhan Than is set to miss two months after suffering a grade two MCL tear against Doveton.
It’s a triple-header for Skye with the reserves at 1pm, seniors at 3pm and the senior women hosting Gippsland in their Nike FC Cup clash at 6pm.
NEXT WEEKEND’S GAMES
Friday 10 April, 8.15pm
Berwick City v Peninsula Strikers, Jack Thomas Reserve
Friday 10 April, 8.30pm
Brunswick Juventus v Langwarrin, CB Smith Reserve
Pakenham Utd v Mentone, IYU Reserve
Saturday 11 April, 3pm
Skye Utd v Boroondara Eagles, Skye Recreation Reserve
Greater Dandenong v Baxter, WJ Turner Reserve
Seaford Utd v Lyndale Utd, North Seaford Reserve
Somerville Eagles v Monbulk Rangers, Westernport Secondary College
Knox Utd v Mount Eliza, Carrington Park
Mount Martha v Aspendale, Civic Reserve
Saturday 11 April, 6pm
Rosebud v Chelsea, Olympic Park
Frankston Pines v Bunyip District, Monterey Reserve
Saturday 11 April, 8pm
Mornington v South Springvale, Civic Reserve
