LAURIE WILLIAMS and JOHN CARDONA
SOCCER
LVSL
By LAURIE WILLIAMS
IN a weekend where five matches were played, Sale caused an upset by defeating Newborough/Yallourn while Tyers put up a fight against Monash but went down 3-0.
Further wins to Moe, Fortuna and Pegasus in Round 16 action of the Latrobe Valley Soccer League.
Monash v Tyers
MONASH made the winners circle again with a hard earned victory over Tyers.
Their previous game against the Lightning was a big blow-out with an 11-goal victory, but this time around Tyers made a much better account for themselves that brought about a more competitive fixture.
Monash took control early with some clever play, but Tyers were equal to the task not allowing the Wolves to stamp their authority on the game.
The synthetic pitch at Morwell caused a few headaches with the bounce of the ball which left players unbalanced at times throughout the match.
Monash ran out 3-0 winners with Adam Semple, Ethan Lawrence and Mark Krznaric all scoring for the Wolves.
The win sees them jump to fifth position on the ladder.
Pegasus v Olympians
PEGASUS bounced back after their previous week’s loss to record another win, with a 3-0 victory over Olympians.
The Horsemen were under constant pressure as Olympians threw everything at their opposition. Pegasus started scoring at two minutes in and further goals at 15 and 28 minutes gave the Horsemen a good lead to halftime.
Although down on the scoreboard, the Traralgon side didn’t stop putting pressure on the Horsemen, and were successful in keeping them from scoring in the second half.
Fortuna v Churchill
FORTUNA, on Saturday night, were too good for the Rams who again buckled under pressure from their long-time rivals.
The Lions amassed their biggest-ever score over the Rams, coming after a massive 12-0 victory.
Starting at two minutes in, the Lions were relentless and kept attacking for most of the match.
Jake Budija stepped up to the plate with four handy goals and leading goal-scorer Jordan Campbell added a hat-trick to his collection to take the lead in the golden boot award.
Although missing some of their better players, the Lions had adequate replacements to do the job on Churchill.
Newborough/Yallourn v Sale
SALE pulled the biggest surprise of the round with a 3-1 win over Newborough/Yallourn, which has all but sealed the Combine’s fate in achieving league title success in season 2023.
Mark Fairbrother put the away side in front at nine minutes after a penalty, but that would be their only moment of positivity as Sale responded at 43 minutes when Isaak Jondahl beat the keeper for an equaliser.
He got into the action again in the second half with a brace at 52 minutes and the sealer on the hour to give the Swans an unbelievable 3-1 victory, their first against Newborough/Yallourn since 2014.
By JOHN CARDONA
Moe United v Falcons 2000
MOE UNITED secured arguably their best win of the season at the weekend, defeating top-side Falcons.
Under lights at Olympic Park, the Red Devils dominated most of the first half, creating plenty of openings in the Falcons defence, but could not find the clinical touch to convert scoring opportunities.
Moe eventually got the vital lead over Falcons when fullback Chad Shelley made an attacking run through the central midfield position to open the scoring from 25 metres out with a cracking left foot drive on the run.
Moe went 2-0 up late in the first half when Connor O’Hanlon made a run from the right then cut back inside the Falcons defence and unleashed a low powerful drive from 20 metres out.
After the break, Riley Winkleman came close to scoring when he made a run to the back post, but was denied by Charles Simon with a great save from close range.
Falcons made it 2-1 just after halftime when Jim Mills finished off a great build up.
Moe had numerous chances to put the issue beyond doubt but failed to convert their many chances mainly due to poor decision making in front of goals.
Falcons did plenty of attacking in the second half, but were continually thwarted by the impressive return to form of Lachie ‘Swags’ McKenzie at centre back.
McKenzie was best on ground for the winners, and received good support from Tanner Pyle, Shelley and Brenden Ruddell.
