SOCCER
LVSL
Round 14 review
Newborough/Yallourn set a record with their 11-0 demolition of East Gippsland in round 14 – it was their highest winning margin ever.
The carnage commenced at five minutes and continued unabated for the next 94 minutes.
Newborough/Yallourn had eight goalscorers, which was another record, with braces going to Alex Van Vliet, Dylan Fairbrother and Marc McHallam.
The big win put them just four points behind league leaders Falcons.
Fortuna v Olympians
In a fiery match between two finals contenders, Olympians (sixth) and Fortuna (fifth), the Olympians held strong to record a 2-1 win.
Midway through the term Fortuna lost keeper Andrew Heyden after a hard clash in the goal mouth and he was replaced by Nick Pridgeon who came under a lot of pressure from the Olympian strikers.
Olympians had the better of Fortuna in the first term with seven corners to two.
Liam Antonelli and Alradi Ali played well for Olympians and Fortuna had good players in Tak Gwara and Heydan Cook.
After a half-time score of 0-0, play became heavy in a tough second term.
Fortuna got the break at 70 minutes with a superb goal.
Olympians fought back with an equaliser at 88 minutes from Alradi Ali following up with another a minute later.
The Lions were down to nine and unable to come back as Olympians ran out winners 2-1 to join three teams on 22 points each.
Sale v Moe
Sale enjoyed a rare victory over Moe in another tight match between the contenders, 2-1.
The Swans scored quickly with Nathi Khamchom breaking the shackles of a tight Moe defence to put them one up after seven minutes.
Moe forced the ball forward after a defensive error by Sale and Sam Gatpan was in position and mopped up to equalise three minutes later.
At the break it was a 1-1 stalemate.
Sale got another goal on the hour from Jeremy Allred who sealed the match for his side.
Traralgon City v Falcons
Traralgon City almost caused a boil-over with an impressive display against league leaders Falcons before the game resulted in a draw at the final whistle.
Within five minutes the Roosters were crowing with a one-goal lead after excellent field work by Alex Leckey.
Jesse Kennedy – back to his best – equalised for Falcons right on half-time but the game leaned Traralgon City’s way as they outplayed the opposition in a tough first half.
Traralgon City went ahead 15 minutes after the break with an excellent goal to Liam Johnson.
It was left to Sam Amaira to show the way and the dogged striker beat the keeper at 89 minutes to give Falcons a share of the points.
Monash v Churchill
The 99th match between Monash and Churchill was decided in the 57th minute when Monash’s Shawn Lawrence scored the only goal of the match.
Monash are now posing a threat to teams above them and with 21 points they are a serious contender for a finals berth.
It took Monash 57 minutes to break the deadlock and for the remainder of the game they came under a lot of pressure from Churchill who were looking for their first victory of the season.
LVSL Women’s
East Gippsland proved big 5-1 winners over Newborough/Yallourn and put themselves into the top six for the first time this season.
League leaders Fortuna picked up vital goal difference with an 8-1 victory over Olympians. Second-placed Traralgon City were pushed hard by fifth-placed Falcons but eventually ran out winners 2-1. Monash almost cemented their place in the finals with a strong 7-0 victory over Churchill.
Pegasus
Pegasus men forced a draw with Eltham Redbacks with Bryson Tanti scoring at 33 minutes after Eltham put on the opening goal.
Eltham jumped ahead in the second term with a 2-1 lead but Hamied Zamani scored a late goal to equalise and share the points, 2-2.
Pegasus women
Pegasus women suffered a rare loss and went down to Glen Waverley 1-0 in a hard clash.
Slippery conditions didn’t help Falcons in their push for victory and a late goal from Bree Jairham secured the victory for Glen Waverley.
Preview
Two Saturday matches highlight round 15 with Churchill hosting Olympians at 4pm while Falcons and Fortuna will have the big game from 7pm.
Always a top clash between Falcons and Fortuna, their last meeting was a 3-1 win to Falcons.
Fortuna are expected to have coach David O’Dowd back in the line-up after his USA stint but are expected to lose at least two players after red cards last week.
Falcons were under pressure from Traralgon City last week but pulled through for a draw.
Churchill v Olympians
It’s been a long, hard road for Churchill who are yet to score any points in what has been a frustrating season.
Olympians will be pushing for lots of goals with strikers Stephan Sbaglia and Alradi Ali the biggest threat to Churchill and if given a free rein they could cause a lot of damage.
Trafalgar v Sale
Sale have been impressive in their last two matches and are currently in fourth position.
They will need to pick up important goal differences if they want to finish in the top six with plenty of pressure coming from Fortuna, Olympians and Monash.
Although Sale won 5-1 against Trafalgar when they last met they can expect the home side to be strong opponents this weekend.
Moe v Monash
Always a tough match between two close rivals ladder positions don’t really play a part when Moe and Monash do battle.
Moe have won 69 of the 109 games played but haven’t beaten Monash since 2015.
Monash were 3-1 victors last time but can expect Moe to be tough.
Traralgon City v Newborough/Yallourn
Almost the match of the round, third-placed Traralgon City take on Newborough/Yallourn in second this weekend.
Only four points separate the teams with Newborough/Yallourn coming back from a record-breaking clash with East Gippsland last week.
The visitors won’t have the same opposition this time around and Traralgon City will make them fight for every goal.
It is a must-win situation for both sides.
Traralgon City have the edge over Newborough/Yallourn with an 18/12 record, but Newborough/Yallourn won their last clash 2-0.
