SOCCER
BAXTER and Chelsea face a day of reckoning when these State 4 rivals clash at Baxter Park on Saturday.
It’s a do-or-die derby and one that will go some way to deciding their respective outcomes this season.
The home side’s recent form is abysmal losing its last five games as it slowly but surely has been dragged into a relegation dogfight.
Baxter’s matchday squad contains players who have played at a much higher level and the club is at a loss to explain why they are underperforming right now.
As the players are inching closer to the relegation abyss their cause received a bodyblow during Saturday’s 3-0 away loss to fellow struggler Ashburton United when Baxter captain and defensive lynchpin Aiden McKenna was sent off in the 86th minute.
Not that Chelsea has been on a great run recently. Quite the opposite.
Gus Macleod’s men have chalked up just one win in their last five games and their promotion push was dealt another blow with a 2-1 at home to Ringwood City on Friday night.
It was a bitter pill for Chelsea to swallow given that it led from the 27th minute until injury time.
Victor Cruz De Faria scored for Chelsea when he completed a good move involving Harry Parker and James Stinson by beating a defender then striking a low shot past Ringwood keeper Mark Naumowicz.
Just when Chelsea thought it had earned three points it twice failed to clear from corners and paid a high price with Ringwood’s Will Coard and Daniel Primerano scoring in the 91st and 94th minutes.
The result puts Chelsea nine points behind second-placed Ringwood City but Chelsea only has four games remaining this season as it has a bye in round 19.
A feature of Saturday’s derby showdown will be the coaching battle between Baxter head coach Billy Armour and his Chelsea counterpart Macleod.
During Armour’s illustrious playing career he was coached by Macleod at Langwarrin and won Player of the Year honours there but Baxter Park this Saturday is no place for sentiment and you can bet they will be trying their hardest to outdo each other.
Still in State 4 and Rosebud had a resounding 6-1 home win over last-placed Greater Dandenong on Saturday evening.
But the Budders were on the back foot inside a minute when Mohammad Farzad Haidarian put the visitors ahead.
In time added in the first half Mitch Blake was hauled down inside the box and Barney Johnson converted from the penalty spot to make it 1-1.
The Budders slammed on five second-half goals through Blake (six goals in six games since crossing from Skye), Elliott Craig (13th goal of the season), Marcus Collier, Charlie Gunning and Tommy Wood (first goal for the Budders).
In State 1 Mornington hit another road bump in its attempt to win promotion when going down 2-1 away to Beaumaris last weekend.
The home side opened the scoring in the 21st minute.
A poor clearance from Shaun Kenny fell kindly to Owen Murphy, whose deep cross found James Poole and the striker powered home a superb header leaving Mornington keeper Kane Runge with no chance.
The Seagulls pressed for the equaliser which came courtesy of a Kenny rocket from outside the area in the 68th minute.
Both sides had chances to win but the decisive moment came in the 86th minute when Runje didn’t deal with Poole’s free-kick.
Skye United earned a point with Saturday’s 1-1 away draw against Old Scotch.
It took until the 75th minute for the deadlock to be broken.
Daniel Attard played in Marcus Spivey who made no mistake from a one-on-one with Old Scotch keeper Daniel Briggs.
However Skye was unable to hold on and Old Scotch equalised in the 85th minute when Nabeel Mohammed poked home a loose ball following a long throw.
Skye is now three points from safety with the worst goal difference in the league and it will take a herculean effort to avoid relegation.
In State 2 Peninsula Strikers won 3-1 at home to Casey Comets on Saturday.
Jerome Valadon earned a penalty in the 23rd minute that Strikers captain Riley Anderton converted.
Strikers went further ahead after 47 minutes when Sonny Lindsay played a through ball that Hayden Schreck ran onto and slotted inside the back post.
It was 3-0 in the 68th minute and a double for young Schreck when Comets keeper Kile Kennedy didn’t handle a shot and the ball spilled to Anderton who tried to finish from point blank range only for Schreck to tuck away the rebound.
Comets’ sole reply came in the 93rd minute from substitute Kamjoseph Ismail.
In State 5 Somerville Eagles won 2-0 at home to East Bentleigh while Seaford United lost 4-3 at home to league leader Monash City Villareal last weekend.
Tom Simmons gave Somerville the lead in the 42nd minute after beating two opponents then unleashing a left-foot shot from just outside the box.
The sealer came in the 76th minute from a Marcus Anastasiou cross headed in by Corey Riddle.
There was added spice to the clash at North Seaford Reserve with Villareal assistant coach Paul Williams returning to the scene of his sacking last year.
Seaford went 1-0 down after Peter Kartsaklis scored in the 10th minute but hit back seven minutes later when a Conor McFall cross found Zail Ahmad who tapped the ball in.
Kartsaklis restored the visitors’ lead in the 31st minute and they were in cruise control when Vladyslav Kliuiev was on target in the 69th and 70th minutes.
Seaford didn’t give up and a brace from veteran striker Dylan Waugh gave them some hope of a draw but it proved to be too little too late.
In State 6 a frenetic finish saw Frankston Pines and Mount Eliza locked at 2-2 when the final whistle blew at Monterey Reserve on Saturday evening.
The contest was still at stalemate with 15 minutes to go.
That ended when Pines were caught out by a Mount Eliza throw-in which was allowed to bounce inside the area before Josh Luca hammered it in.
Onus Goksu equalised from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after he was brought down inside the box but four minutes later a mix-up in Pines defence restored Mount Eliza’s lead as an Archie Thomas’ attempted back header sailed over Pines keeper Nick Ambor for an own goal.
Pines were worth at least a point for their continued pressure and with the last kick of the game returning captain Jack Carter hit a 35-metre free-kick which took a deflection and beat Mount Eliza keeper Luke Armao.
Mentone lost 3-0 away to Old Melburnians on Saturday.
In State 7 Aspendale continued to push for promotion with a 3-1 away win over Endeavour Hills.
Jason Grieve’s men are now in third place amid talk that three teams will go up to address the imbalance in State 1 South-East and State 4 South-East which only have 11 teams due to clubs dropping out.
After replacing the injured Kailan Smith early in the first half Oscar Carter drove home the opener for Aspendale in the 21st minute following fine combination play.
An own goal in the 61st minute made it 2-0 but a superb Ethan Rosemond volley four minutes later made it 2-1.
There were some anxious moments for the visitors until the 81st minute when Mitch Hodder won the ball on the halfway line before finding Tom Machin who cut inside and finished well from the edge of the box.
Mount Martha celebrated Derren Elliott’s 100th senior game with a 4-1 home win against Croydon Ranges on Saturday.
Elliott is the first Mount Martha player to reach the milestone being an ever-present since the club joined State League ranks in late 2019.
Mount Martha’s goals came from Adam Steele, Harry McLachlan, Reece Crabtree and Tom Brewster.
NEXT WEEKEND’S GAMES
Friday 31 July, 8.30pm
Springvale City v Rosebud, Ross Reserve
Saturday 1 August, 3pm
Langwarrin v Brunswick City, Lawton Park
Banyule City v Mornington, Yallambie Park
Skye Utd v Hampton East Brighton, Skye Recreation Reserve
Gippsland Utd v Peninsula Strikers, Baxter Park (Warragul)
Baxter v Chelsea, Baxter Park
Monash Villareal v Somerville Eagles, Caloola Reserve
Mount Waverley City v Seaford Utd, Tally Ho Reserve
Mount Eliza v Old St Kevins, Emil Madsen Reserve
Knox Utd v Frankston Pines, Carrington Park
Old Ivanhoe v Mentone, La Trobe Multipurpose Field
Aspendale v Keysborough, Aspendale Gardens Sports Ground
Noble Suns v Mount Martha, Norman Luth Reserve
