Laurie Williams
SOCCER
LVSL
Round 17 review
Sale almost secured third place on the table with a strong showing against Traralgon City and came away with an impressive 3-2 victory.
It took just 10 minutes for Sale’s Jeremy Allred to open up Traralgon City’s defence for the first score of the day.
Traralgon City responded through Jake Budija a few minutes later and it was game on.
Sale went one up at 39 minutes from Josh Ryan and they held the lead into the break.
Attempts by both sides to score were thwarted by excellent saves at either end by the keepers.
Traralgon City eventually got the break when Jake Budija scored his second to equalise.
With pressure mounting, Sale rallied and took the win with seven minutes to go through Josh Ryan.
Newborough/Yallourn v Fortuna
In a match where Newborough/Yallourn United finished with nine players and Fortuna 10, the final result was a 1-1 draw.
Neither team could break the shackles in the first half but the second half produced some fireworks.
Fortuna were able to score the opening goal from a penalty by Hayden Scott.
Newborough/Yallourn’s Alex Bowman equalised only three minutes later but lost a player in the process with a red card.
Monash v East Gippsland
Monash blocked out East Gippsland at the weekend to run out winners, 5-2.
The home team got the first break at 21 minutes through Isaac Boulton.
The Wolves were able to equalise from Chris Oulton then followed it up with their second only seven minutes later from Matt Shelley.
Their third came at on the half hour with winger Tom Bramstedt scoring his first.
Monash jumped on an error in defence by East Gippsland just after half-time when Tom Bramstedt scored again.
Bramstedt got on the end of a good ball and scored his first hat-trick of the season before the Eagles fought back with a consolation goal at 84 minutes from Gary Evans.
Trafalgar v Olympians
After consecutive losses, Olympians came back with a strong victory over Trafalgar in a goal fest, 6-3.
With injured players back, Olympians made short work of Trafalgar’s defence and scored their first at 22 minutes through Ali.
Trafalgar’s Chris Tigas scored only a minute later.
Olympians were back on the board on the half hour when Tony Pardo beat a diving Mark Hetherington.
Olympians scored their third through direct play from Alradi Ali again to lead 3-1 at the break.
The last term produced five goals as both teams went in hard.
Olympians hit scoring and converted at 51 minutes (Jaydon Steele), 57 minutes (Bruce Ruthven) and at 63 minutes (Daniel Cooper).
Trafalgar clawed back two goals at 65 minutes to Josh Paredes and 81 minutes to Chris Beasley.
Moe v Churchill
In a determined bid for third place, Moe had their biggest victory over Churchill since 1989, winning 5-0.
Sam Gatpan opened the scoring at 12 minutes then Riley Winkelman-Atkinson made it two for the Reds on the 48-minute mark.
Gatpan was in the action again and scored his brace just after half-time.
Duach Duach got on the sheet at 72 minutes and Andre Antonopoulous scored his first for Moe to give them the win.
LVSL women
Fortuna remained on top of the ladder after their 7-1 victory over Newborough/Yallourn.
Fortuna led at half-time 1-0 but powered up in the second half to score a further six goals.
Traralgon City also were determined to stay with the leader and scored a 2-0 win over Sale.
East Gippsland and Monash played off in a thrilling 3-3 draw while Trafalgar taught the Olympians a soccer lesson winning 12-0 – their biggest score so far.
Trafalgar had six goals on the board within the first 20 minutes and led 8-0 half-time.
Pegasus men division one south east
Pegasus men went down to Beaumaris 0-1 and now face relegation zone back to division two.
Matches over the next few weeks will determine the future of the team in first division. Pegasus will play Richmond at home on Saturday.
Pegasus women south league three south
After scores were locked 0-0 at half-time top team Harrisfield Hurricanes came back with two goals after Pegasus’ Tiana Reddiex opened the scoring in the second half.
Pegasus will play Beaumaris on Sunday at Ronald Reserve at 1pm
Pegasus women south league four south
Pegasus at home played Hampton Park United Sparrows and triumphed with a 2-1 victory with goals from Aliet Bior and Emily Robinson.
Their next match is at Ronald Reserve on Sunday as part of a double-header with south league three at 3pm.
Round 18 preview
This weekend’s match between Fortuna and Moe should be the clash of the round with both teams striving for a top-six finish.
Fortuna still have a catch-up game against Falcons on September 2 which may determine how they finish the season.
Fortuna play hard and Moe will not want to roll over and let them take control.
Sale v Falcons
Another game which will have a bearing on who wins the league championship is this weekend’s battle between Sale and Falcons.
Falcons head the table with a game in hand and have one hand on the trophy but teams like Sale are applying pressure.
Sale have not beaten Falcons since 2015.
Olympians v East Gippsland
Olympians will be full of confidence against bottom team East Gippsland this weekend.
Olympians broke a two-game losing streak last week and are making a defined attempt to get into the six.
Monash v Traralgon
Fourth-placed Monash play Traralgon City this weekend.
Traralgon City have the bragging rights over Monash having won the last two meetings, 2-0 and 2-1.
Trafalgar v Chuchill
This match will determine whether Churchill’s win a fortnight ago against Olympians was more than a fluke.
They have a real chance to make it their second win for the season against Trafalgar.
