Balgownie Rangers 2 (Sebastian Dallas 25’ Christopher Hollingshead PENALTY 59’) Berkeley Sports 1 (James Walker 71’)
Balgownie picked up their second win in their past three games, edging a persistent Berkeley side 2-1 at Judy Masters Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides came into the game off losses with the Rangers going down to Fernhill and Berkeley falling to the Hearts.
It was the home side getting on the scoresheet first when Sebastian Dallas netted in the 22nd minute.
The contest didn’t get any better for the Goats after the break, with goalkeeper Tye White sent from the field following two bookable offences.
Christopher Hollingshead made no mistake from the spot, powering home to give the Rangers a two-goal cushion going into the final half-hour.
Berkeley wouldn’t bow out there, however, as James Walker’s strike in the 73rd minute set up a frantic final 15 minutes.
Balgownie hung on for a 2-1 win pushing them up to eighth spot with a game in hand whereas Berkeley fell to 11th following Picton’s win over Kiama.
It’s a tough ask for both sides next weekend as Balgownie travel to Shell Cove and Berkeley host Warilla.
In the earlier grades, Balgownie proved too strong in second grade, winning 5-0 and the youth grade fixture saw it finish three-all.
Kiama 1 (Chris Christodoulou 77′) Picton 3 (Dayne Morley 24′, Brandon Lee 71′ 74′)
Picton picked up their second win of the season with a two-goal victory against winless Kiama.
Dayne Morley put the Rangers ahead in the first half, before the advantage was trebled midway through the second period through a double from Brandon Lee.
Chris Christodoulou pulled a consolation goal back for the Quarriers with a little more than 10 minutes remaining.
Picton face northern rivals Helensburgh next weekend while Kiama, who are five points adrift of second-last Berkeley, will play Thirroul.
Helensburgh Thistle 3 (Brad Watts 26’, Liam Unicomb 82’ Kade Kinsella 83’) University 0
Helensburgh handed University their second defeat of the season with a 3-0 win at Rex Jackson Park on Saturday.
Both teams enjoyed the weekend off following wet weather and the Thistle got the better start out of the two sides with Brad Watts scoring inside the opening half-hour.
Goals were a few for the majority of the game until the Thistle blew the game away in the final 10 minutes.
In the 82nd minute, Liam Unicomb’s strike put the home side up by two before Kade Kinsella added a third just 60 seconds later to secure the three points.
The Burgh keep pace with league leaders Shell Cove and Unanderra with still two games in hand.
Round nine action sees them travel to Picton on Saturday before playing Unanderra in a round one catch-up game on Tuesday night at Ian McLennan Park.
University continued their inconsistent start to the campaign and will also play two games in a matter of days, hosting the Hearts at Kooloobong Oval on Saturday before playing Kiama at UOW Oval 1 on Tuesday night.
It was a clean sweep for the Thistle on the day as they won 1-0 in youth grade and 3-2 in second grade.
Thirroul Thunder 1 (Stuart Ferguson 86’) Fernhill Foxes 1 (Scott Muilwyk 60’)
The Thunder and the Foxes played out an entertaining one-all draw at Thomas Gibson Park.
Thirroul were coming off a 3-1 win over Picton last time out as Fernhill went down to Warilla 2-0 at home.
It was a scoreless opening 45 minutes with both defensive lines holding out any attack from the opposing front third.
Scott Muilwyk’s strike right on the hour mark edged the visitors in front and Dale White’s men looked to be walking away with the three points.
But it was a late goal to Thirroul’s Stuart Ferguson that saw the points shared on the day.
Thirroul picked up their eighth point in the last five games which sees them ninth on the competition ladder.
The Foxes have won just one of their last five, sitting three points ahead of the Thunder in seventh.
Thirroul will go into the next match full of confidence away to Kiama who have only picked up one point in the competition.
Fernhill’s next match-up is another tough one, hosting reigning Premiers Oak Flats.
There were three stalemates on the day as both youth grade and second grade fixtures ended goalless.
Warilla Wanderers 2 (Adrian Montalbano 46’, Jason Goldsmith OWN GOAL 61’) Oak Flats Falcons 3 (Bojan Caric 8’, Lee Gilroy 59’, Daniel Munilla 75’)
The Falcons’ front three were on target at King Mickey Park leading the side to a 3-2 victory over Warilla.
The Wanderers came into the game on the back of consecutive wins over Thirroul and Fernhill.
Oak Flats were looking to turn their recent poor form around after back-to-back losses and they got off to the best possible start with Bojan Caric netting inside eight minutes.
The second 45 came out with a bang as Adrian Montalbano levelled the scores just minutes into the new half.
Lee Gilroy put the visitors back in front before an own goal to Jason Goldsmith gifted the home side their second goal of the day just two minutes later.
Daniel Minulla scored what turned out to be the winner in the 75th minute with his first goal since last year’s grand final; ultimately giving the Falcons their first win since round four.
Following the result, both sides remain inside the top five after both University and Fernhill dropped points.
Warilla will fancy their chances to get back to the winner’s circle next weekend when they play Berkeley, who are on a three-game losing streak.
Oak Flats are another side to back up next weekend’s fixture with a catch-up game on Tuesday night. They play both games at Keith Bond Oval against Fernhill and Balgownie.
It was the trifecta for the Falcons with 3-1 and 2-0 wins in second and youth grades.
Shell Cove 2 (Mimi Yaldo PENALTY 22’, Tommy Markovski 69’) Unanderra Hearts 2 (Mark Picciolini 35’ 48’)
The match of the round played out at Barrack Heights Sportsfield with two of the most in-form teams playing out a two-all draw.
Marksman Mark Picciolini guided the Hearts to a convincing win over Berkeley last weekend whereas Shell Cove had their fixture against Helensburgh washed out following five wins on the trot.
Mimi Yaldo continued his goal-scoring form, slotting his penalty kick to give the hosts the lead in the 22nd minute.
Picciolini didn’t want Yaldo to have all the fun in front of goal, turning the game on its head with a goal either side of half time to take his goal tally out to nine in three games.
In the 69th minute, Tommy Markovski also got into the goal-scoring action, netting his 10th of the season to make it two a-piece.
The two-all result didn’t change the standings on the competition ladder as both sides still have catch-up games against third-placed Helensburgh.
Shell Cove play again next Sunday at home to Balgownie and the Hearts travel to University before battling Helensburgh on Tuesday night.
The Hearts won both games earlier in the day coming away as 3-2 winners in second grade and 5-3 winners in youth.
Round Review by Nathan Turner, on Twitter @nathanturner23_
Photo by Robert Bosevski
