A win and a loss in rescheduled soccer round
Southern and Ettalong United defeated East Gosford 7-2 and Avoca defeated Woy Woy 2-0 in the rescheduled first round of Central Coast Men's Premier League soccer played on Sunday, July 14.
Heading into their clash with the Rams after suffering two straight defeats, The Lions bounced back to win over East Gosford.
The first goal of the afternoon came 10 minutes into the contest when Southern and Ettalong received a free kick.
Jack Ellwood stepped up for the Lions and his effort left the opposition keeper no chance, giving his side a 1-0 lead.
One became two for the Lions 20 minutes later when a well-worked play down the right flank saw a dangerous ball delivered into the box.
The East Gosford defence failed to clear and the ball fell nicely for an unmarked Sam Webb who found the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
Down but far from out, East Gosford got one back two minutes after conceding their second as Oliver Vanderslot was played down the right-hand side.
Vanderslot headed directly towards the goal and decided to go himself rather than play the ball across the face of the goal and found the back of the net from an acute angle to give East Gosford hope.
As the half-time whistle loomed, East Gosford had one last attack as Ciaran Simmons converted into the back of the net with his first-time effort to take the score level at 2-2 to conclude the opening period.
Unhappy letting their two-goal lead slip, Southern came out in the second stanza determined to get back in front on the scoreline.
It took Matt Page's men just three minutes after the second-half whistle sounded.
After a cheap turnover of possession by the Rams, Southern quickly advanced the ball forward to Nathan Baker who picked out Brock Van Aalderen who made no mistake of his one-on-one and calmly slotted the ball to the keeper's left.
The next 30 minutes the game was cagey as both teams searched for the next important goal.
Southern's keeper made a fantastic save to deny the Rams going back on level terms as the visitors quickly counter-attacked.
The swift counterattack led to Nathan Baker being placed on one goal with only the keeper left in his way.
Baker was able to place the ball into the bottom corner and extend Southern's lead to 4-2.
From the kick-off, another cheap turnover in the middle of the park from East Gosford saw Southern away on goal as Jack Ellwood finished the attack to secure his second of the evening.
With the full-time whistle just minutes away, a long throw-in from Southern's captain Todd Balneaves found the head of Jack Ellwood who flicked the ball into the back stick which eventually found the goal for his well-deserved hat-trick.
Even further into injury time, Nathan Baker was brought down in the box as Southern were awarded a penalty and an opportunity to take the score to 7-2.
Baker stepped up and stoked the ball past the opposition goalie for the game's final goal of the day.
Match official was Alexander Robinson.
In their 2-0 win against Woy Woy, Avoca ended their seven-game winless streak.
The game could prove to be season-changing for the Sharks who look to avoid relegation in 2024.
Not only did the game mark Avoca's second win of the year, but it was also their second clean sheet as the Sharks backline was able to keep Woy Woy at bay for the entire 90 minutes despite Woy Woy having the home-ground advantage.
Match official was Miles Allen-Scott.
SOURCE:
Website, 15 Jul 2024
Central Coast Football