LAURIE WILLIAMS
SOCCER
LVSL
By LAURIE WILLIAMS
MOE UNITED’S slim chances of winning the Latrobe Valley Soccer League title were virtually extinguished at the weekend, as the Red Devil’s could only managed a draw against Monash.
The completion of Round 20 narrowed the gap at the top, with Fortuna and Falcons (who each had the bye) now in a race to the finish with two rounds to play.
Newborough/Yallourn def Churchill 11-1
NEWBOROUGH /Yallourn were big winners in their match against Churchill.
As expected, the Combine won, but the margin was a blowout.
Their 11-1 victory was their biggest ever over the Rams in their 47 matches against each other.
Star forward Mark Fairbrother added a further three goals to his tally to stay on top of the LVSL golden boot with 24 goals, while others shared in the spoils such as Ryan McCluskey (two goals), Ash Birrell (2), Adam Batt, Shane Pavich, Cooper Baldacchino and Marc McHallam with singles.
Churchill were on the board early with a goal at six minutes from Hayden Motta, and it took 21 minutes before Newborough/Yallourn equalised.
The Combine scored another two before the break, however after halftime, it was torture for Churchill as the Combine added a further eight.
Pegasus def Sale 2-1
PEGASUS had a tough fight against Sale, escaping with a 2-1 win.
The Horsemen brought up their 50th goal for the season with a penalty at 54 minutes to level the match after Sakhon Khamchom had given Sale the lead after 45 minutes.
Pegasus eventually found their form and were able to retake the lead on the hour, but Sale fought bravely without success to level the game after some exciting saves from Santo Simon for Pegasus.
Olympians def Tyers 5-2
OLYMPIANS claimed bragging rights over Tyers in a hard-fought battle.
Tyers showed glimpses of form that have worried some clubs in the past. The Lightning struck first with Sav Mavrofridis slamming one past the Olympians keeper with only two minutes on the clock.
It was a quick start by Tyers as they hung onto their slender lead. Olympians were stunned by the early goal, but Ollie Saliba made amends by beating the advancing Brad Apled to level the scores at 18 minutes into the half.
After some heavy work upfield, Olympians were on the attack, and an infringement in the box saw them gain a penalty much to the howls of disapproval from Tyers.
Majok Deng made no mistake to give Olympians the lead.
The goal charged Olympians batteries and they fired rockets, with near misses occurring, but Deng was able to latch onto a through ball to see him score his second on the half hour.
Talab Mohamed had a big chance for Olympians to score again in a one-on-one with the keeper, but the alert custodian was able to parry the ball away for a corner.
Tyers tried twice to claw back, but were denied by the Olympians keeper.
Going into halftime with the score 3-1, Olympians looked favourites to take the match from Lightning.
Jaydon Steele, after playing reserves, came on to give Olympians some extra drive, and he was rewarded with a goal on the hour to give them a 4-1 buffer.
Emre Kocaali replied for Tyers at 66 minutes, but it was Steele again who put in the final nail to give Olympians their 5-2 victory.
By JOHN CARDONA
MOE United’s slim hopes of winning the 2023 Latrobe Valley Soccer League championship were distinguished on Sunday at Torres Street Reserve, Newborough, when the Red Devil’s were held to a 1-all draw against Monash in the local derby.
Despite an on-field domination of possession by Moe, as was the case in the earlier season round, Moe United was again denied time after time by Monash keeper Logan Troughton.
Moe United started slowly, as in the previous few weeks, and found themselves a goal down in the first four minutes after a Brayden Paulet run found Jace Paulet wide on the right wing. His cross was slotted home by Marcus Krznaric from close range.
From that point, Moe completely dominated possession of the ball for the first half, but despite this, could not find a way through a determined Monash backline.
A run of corner kicks by Moe United created many scoring chances. The first came from Brendan Ruddell, which was headed goalwards by Connor O’Hanlon, but a reflex save from Troughton denied the Red Devil’s. The resultant clearance saw a Tanner Pyle header cleared safely off the line.
Another corner minutes later by Noah Kane saw O’Hanlon again connect with the crossbar.
The second half was a continuation of the first half play, with Moe United holding control of play but finding it difficult to crack open the Monash defence.
O’Hanlon was dominant up front and was involved soon again in the play when his right from the right saw his cross met by Riley Winkleman, but his shot was again saved by Troughton.
Monash had a forward thrust and were given a chance after a defensive mix-up saw Paulet break clear, but his attempt was denied by advancing United keeper Peter Albanese.
Brendan Ruddell’s thunderbolt volley was destined for goal, only to see Troughton pull off a super save. Within a minute, United again pushed to equalise, but Joe Stewart’s shot was thwarted by the crossbar.
With play now into injury time, and another Monash victory looking likely, a cross from Connor Dastey landed to Riley Winkleman, but a clumsy tackle into Winkleman’s back saw Moe United awarded a penalty.
O’Hanlon stepped up to slam the ball home. Seconds after the restart, the referee blew the final whistle.
Best for Moe was O’Hanlon, Pyle and Ruddell.
By LAURIE WILLIAMS
ROUND 21 PREVIEW
Fortuna v Pegasus (Sunday, 3pm at Morwell)
THE clash of the second-last round will be the Fortuna/Pegasus match, with a lot hinging on the final result.
A win by Pegasus could see Fortuna fighting tooth-and-nail for the league title the following week against Falcons. Pegasus have been competitive all season, and won’t be a walk-over, they’ll be pushing the Lions all the way having defeating them in the first round.
Sale v Falcons (Saturday, 5pm at Sale)
SALE also holds a big key to the league championship.
A surprise victory over Falcons could almost spell doom to Falcons’ championship bid.
Sale have the potential to cause havoc at this end of the season, but Falcons, with the incentive of a league championship in sight should be too good for the Swans.
Churchill v Moe (Sunday 3pm at Morwell FNC synthetic)
MOE would appear to be winners over Churchill, but they are hoping for other results as well.
Upset wins by Pegasus and Sale would give the Red Devils a faint chance to topple Fortuna and Falcons off the leader board.
Olympians v Monash (Sunday 3pm at Traralgon)
MONASH has been the surprise packet of this season, which augers well for next season.
The Wolves have beaten some of the big teams in the competition, and probably deserve to finish higher on the table.
Olympians are a team building, and will improve for next season, but Monash should be too strong in the showdown.
NEWBOROUGH/YALLOURN and Tyers have the bye.
By ZOE ASKEW
LATROBE Valley Soccer League women’s champions were crowned on Sunday, with Morwell Pegasus unable to fend off a strong Sale United outfit.
Pegasus hosted Sale United in Round 20 of the LVSL, a high-stakes encounter for the visiting side, with a win sealing the league title with three games remaining.
With Morwell Pegasus having proven to field one of the strongest defensive lines in the league, conceding just 32 goals throughout the season, Sale knew they were in for a challenge.
The home team struck aggressively from the outset, dominating the game’s opening minutes. Pegasus denied Sale the chance to play their brand of soccer, exercising tenacity through their midfield, speed up front, and a defensive line that is a force to be reckoned with.
Sale began to settle, and in the 11th minute, Hollie Ryan scored the game’s opening goal, putting the Swanettes 1-nil in front.
Anouk Meereboer found the back of the net at 23 minutes to extend Sale’s lead, while a screamer from playing-coach Madeliene Breakspear propelled the Swanettes to a 3-nil at the 30-minute mark.
Pegasus showed relentless spirit, continuing to pressure a far more settled Sale United when teams returned from the break.
However, Meereboer buried the ball in the net in the 51st minute to seal the win for Sale United 4-0.
The win sealed a history-making league championship for Sale United, who had never won an LVSL championship.
Although there is still two rounds to play, the Swans are already mathematically assured of finishing on top.
Moe’s 6-0 win against Monash extended the Red Devils’ undefeated streak to three, following draws against Tyres in Round 19 and Fortuna in Round 18.
Miley Cooper scored a hat-trick for Moe, while Summer Cooper, Brooke Webley and Tylah Armistead put away one each.
Newborough/Yallourn United defeated Churchill United 4-0.
Shayla Vella scored a brace for the Combine, with goals from Gabrielle Fisher-Wolfe and Olivia Brown adding to Newborough/Yallourn’s final score.
Fortuna 60 defeated Traralgon City 5-0, while Falcons defeated East Gippsland United 4-2 in Bairnsdale.
Tyers Lightning had the bye.
This weekend, Falcons take on Sale United in Sale, with the women taking the senior men’s 7pm spot in celebration of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Pegasus meet Fortuna in Round 21, Churchill plays Moe, Newborough/Yallourn hosts East Gippsland United and Tyres Lightning faces Traralgon City.
Monash has the bye.
