SOCCER
A STUNNING eight-minute hat-trick to substitute Blake Hicks lit up North Seaford Reserve on Saturday.
The veteran striker came off the bench against East Bentleigh in the 68th minute and scored in the 72nd, 78th and 80th minutes to end any hopes the visitors had of a comeback.
Seaford had struck first when Jayden LeBron put Zain Ahmad through in the 27th minute and the latter finished from a one-on-one with East Bentleigh keeper Adam Stone.
The home side went 2-0 up in the 35th minute when Matthew Cobb sliced his cross over Stone after a good Seaford build-up on the right.
East Bentleigh hit back in the 64th minute when Kristian Tzamouranis’ header hit the mark setting the stage for Hicks to enter the fray.
His first goal came after he beat a defender then slotted the ball home from a one-on-one with Stone.
Hicks’ second was a rare right-foot finish from a low cross and his third was from another one-on-one set up by another substitute in Dylan Waugh.
This was Hicks’ first ever hat-trick for Seaford in a league or cup match and reinforces his decision to keep playing.
He had given serious thought to retiring after a second calf injury in two months during pre-season.
“I started doing my own fitness stuff away from football so I was still keeping the legs moving,” he said.
“Seeing the boys have a disappointing start to the season and chatting to them made me rethink things.
“A combination of still feeling like I’ve got something to offer and thinking that we might need an extra bit of experience around the group to help turn things around prompted my return.”
It was Seaford’s second win in a row and with both Hicks and Waugh back in action (Waugh had recovered from a hamstring injury) it gives the squad confidence going into this weekend’s clash away to league leader Monash Villareal.
There’s added spice to the clash as Villareal’s assistant coach is Paul Williams who was sacked by Seaford at the end of last season.
Still in State 5 and Somerville Eagles won 4-2 at home to Noble Hurricanes last weekend.
In the 9th minute Tom Pollock’s cross from near the halfway line was fumbled by the Hurricanes keeper and went in.
Koray Yildirim equalised in the 11th minute but a minute later Tom Simmons restored Somerville’s lead after receiving a ball over the top from Tom Hennessy.
Christian Tsianakas levelled from the penalty spot in the 66th minute but new Eagles’ signing Hamish Budgen (ex-Somerville, Rosebud and Kings Domain) made it 3-2 in the 77th minute off his thigh following a Pollock set piece.
Tom Simmons grabbed a brace in the 88th minute when he finished off the rebound from a Xavier Apela shot.
In VPL1 two goals in injury time cost Langwarrin dearly as it went down 3-1 away to Brunswick City.
After a scoreless first half a far post ball in the 57th minute was headed back across goal where Triantafilos Skapetis headed in from point-blank range.
Langy thought it had at least grabbed a point in the 84th minute when Sayed Fatemi’s lethal left foot was put to good use from a free-kick just outside the box.
But in the 91st minute Welsh wizard Dylan Allshorn jinked past two defenders as he cut inside from the right then curled a left-foot strike inside the far corner of goal.
The final nail in the coffin exposed Langwarrin’s defensive frailty and Kosta Emmanuel finished with ease.
Other results didn’t go Langy’s way and it now sits last with the worst goals against record in the league.
But head coach Jamie Skelly struck a positive note when commenting on the club’s current situation.
“We remain positive,” he said.
“Our performances have been competitive and with relegation positions so tight we know that if we continue to work hard and stay true to our principles the results will come.”
In State 1 Mornington’s game against St Kilda on Friday night was cancelled after an injury in the reserves match.
Mornington’s Oliver Nicholls-Easley collided with his goalkeeper Jarrod Nardino following a St Kilda corner.
Nicholls-Easley was knocked out and received first aid treatment from both Mornington and St Kilda staff.
Emergency services were contacted and it was advised that he should not be moved due to possible neck and spinal injury.
An ambulance arrived 90 minutes after the incident and Nicholls-Easley was taken to hospital.
He was later cleared of serious injury and will be back playing after completing a concussion protocol.
Skye United lost 4-2 away to Beaumaris on Saturday.
The visitors got off to a flyer when Marcus Spivey hit a bouncing ball on the swivel from close to 30 metres out to make it 1-0.
However their joy was short lived as James Poole equalised from the spot six minutes later.
Beaumaris then turned this contest on its head with three goals in a five-minute spell enabling it to take a 4-1 lead into the main break.
Skye showed some fight in the second half but could only score once through substitute Shameit Sharma’s unorthodox finish in the 74th minute.
Skye is at home to Old Scotch this Saturday in the club’s annual John Ramsden Memorial Round.
It’s a triple header with the men playing at 1pm and 3pm and the State 3 women hosting Langwarrin at 6pm.
In State 2 Peninsula Strikers drew 2-2 at home to Dandenong South on Saturday.
The visitors went ahead after 19 minutes but Jerome Valadon was fouled inside the box in the 36th minute and Danny Brooks converted from the penalty spot.
Strikers led through a Rayyan Siddiqui goal in the 64th minute and a few minutes later Dandenong’s Erhan Yalaz was shown a straight red for a nasty incident involving Valadon.
The Strikers forward was forced from the pitch with a suspected punctured lung and rib damage.
He was hospitalised overnight and on Sunday the club confirmed that he had suffered a broken rib and was likely to miss around six weeks.
Despite going a man down the visitors weren’t done with yet and when Strikers keeper Jamie Walker lost the race to the ball to former Striker Taylan Gaylan the winger had the simple task of tapping it in to the unguarded goal.
In State 4 all three local clubs won last weekend with Chelsea defeating league leader Springvale City 5-3 at Edithvale Recreation Reserve on Friday night.
Chelsea’s usual suspects James Stinson and Daniel Vella were the men on the mark with Stinson getting yet another hat-trick.
The contest was won in the first half with Chelsea taking a 3-0 lead into the break.
In the 35th minute a precise through ball from Victor Cruz De Faria sent Vella clear and he made no mistake to open the scoring.
Four minutes later Springvale couldn’t cope with Stinson’s pace and sharpness and he repeated the does three minutes from half-time.
Despite hitting back with three second-half goals the league leader couldn’t claw back Chelsea with Stinson completing his hat-trick and Vella grabbing his second.
Rosebud took control early against Monash University at Olympic Park on Saturday evening and ran out a convincing 4-0 winner.
Excellent combination passing in the second minute ended up at the feet of talisman Elliott Craig who lobbed the keeper for an audacious finish.
Monash then made Rosebud work hard but three minutes before half-time Charlie Gunning’s perfectly executed corner found the head of Jack Heseltine who powered home his first goal for the club.
In the second stanza Rosebud dominated with Gunning chipping the keeper from distance for a peach of a goal followed late on by Elisha Davies hammering home a long-range left-foot drive into the top corner of the net to complete a great night for the Budders.
Baxter just edged out East Kew with a 1-0 away win on Saturday.
The decisive moment came in the 56th minute when big Jai Power slid in at the back post to get on the end of a Nicholas Brigo cross from the right.
Off the pitch comes news that Baxter president Bray Hodgkinson will step down later this year.
Hodgkinson is in his seventh year at the helm and has been on Baxter’s executive for 11 years.
He has overseen the greatest changes in the club’s history culminating in last week’s announcement of a $450,00 floodlighting grant jointly funded by the local council and state government.
In State 6 Mount Eliza dropped its first points of the season when going down 3-0 away to Casey Panthers on Friday night.
It was a shock result given that Mount Eliza had won all of its first four games while the Panthers had lost three and won one.
The home side’s goals all came in the second half.
Frankston Pines lost 2-0 at home to Old Ivanhoe on Saturday while Mentone lost 4-1 at home to Bunyip District.
Pines featured debutant Said Uygur who has signed from White Star Dandenong.
Luka Varga scored for Mentone.
In State 7 both Aspendale and Mount Martha lost.
Aspendale went down 2-1 away to Glen Waverley with Ryan Mravljak scoring for the locals while Jacob Howard scored for Mount Martha in its 2-1 home loss to Boronia.
NEXT WEEKEND’S GAMES
Friday 1 May, 8.30pm
Casey Comets v Peninsula Strikers, Comets Stadium
Saturday 2 May, 3pm
Langwarrin v Western Utd, Lawton Park
Mornington v Beaumaris, Civic Reserve
Skye Utd v Old Scotch, Skye Recreation Reserve
Baxter v Ashburton, Baxter Park
Greater Dandenong v Rosebud, WJ Turner Reserve
East Bentleigh v Somerville Eagles, Bailey Reserve
Monash Villareal v Seaford Utd, Caloola Reserve
Mount Eliza v Frankston Pines, Emil Madsen Reserve
Old Melburnians v Mentone, Robert Menzies Reserve
Aspendale v Endeavour Hills, Aspendale Gardens Sports Ground
Saturday 2 May, 3.15pm
Croydon Ranges v Mount Martha, Silcock Reserve
Saturday 2 May, 5.15pm
Ringwood City v Chelsea, Jubilee Park
