SOCCER
LVSL
By LAURIE WILLIAMS, JOHN CARDONA and ALLAN ROBETS
ROUND 4 of Latrobe Valley Soccer League saw wins go the way of Newborough/Yallourn, Monash, Olympians, Fortuna and Moe United.
Fortuna and Moe remain the only two undefeated sides, while Monash has climbed into the top three at the expense of Falcons.
Newborough/Yallourn United 4 def Churchill United 1
NEWBOROUGH/Yallourn brought Churchill’s run of two wins to a halt, with a 4-1 victory over the Rams.
After a tough start to season 2024 with a lack of player available, this was seen as a danger game for the Combine.
Churchill on the other hand have already made vast improvements to their performances from last season, and came into the match expecting to give a reasonable account of themselves.
However, it was the former that eventuated, as Newborough/Yallourn took full advantage at home.
The Rams were down to 10 men just before halftime, and coincidentally, it was former United player Marc McHallam who scored Churchill’s only goal of the game as a mere consolation.
It was Churchill’s 12th successive defeat at the hands of Newborough/Yallourn.
Monash Wolves 8 def Tyers Lightning 0
MONASH relished the chance to gain points at the expense of Tyers.
It was a demolition derby in the first half at Monash Reserve, with the home side belting in six goals.
Marcus Krnzaric was in top form. The rugged forward already had six goals to his credit heading into the game, but busted open the Tyers defence to add another five to his tally, taking his season total to 11 goals in just four matches.
Tyers managed to put some brakes on Monash and restricted the Knights to only two second half goals.
Brayden Paulett, Jared Baldacchino and Ethan Lawrence added pain to Tyers with further goals.
Traralgon Olympians 2 def East Gippsland 1
EAST Gippsland struck early against Olympians at West Bairnsdale, which made the Traralgon-based team take notice.
It was Andre Antonopoulos who pulled Olympians out of the fire by equalising after a penalty, and both teams were tied up at halftime 1-all.
After the break, Olympians pushed harder, and it was Antonopoulos again who scored to break the deadlock and give Olympians a 2-1 victory.
It was Olympians seventh straight victory over East Gippsland.
Moe United 4 def Sale United 3
MOE United had to fight right to the end to hold equal top position with Fortuna on the Latrobe Valley Soccer League ladder, after clawing out a 4-3 win over a fired up and determined Sale United side on Saturday night.
The Round 4 match, played under lights at Olympic Park, opened with two great chances from Riley Winkleman and Bayden Heusmann for the home side, but they were denied by two top saves by Sale keeper Ben Sly.
United was then stung by Sale after four minutes, when a cross by Luke Wilson found Kieran Horgan, who shot the ball home from an acute angle.
The Red Devils were quickly on the offensive, but three great saves by Sly from shots by Connor O’Hanlon, Oscar Sceney and Winkleman denied Moe an opening goal.
Moe’s pressure eventually paid off, after a well-timed through ball from Heusmann sent Winkleman clear and he made no mistake, placing the ball past the advancing Sly to level scores.
Straight from the kick off, Moe grabbed possession, and after a few one touch passes, O’Hanlon found space out on the right wing. His pinpoint pass picked out Connor Dastey, and he gave the home side a 2-1 lead.
Matt Shearing came close to increasing the lead, but Sly again denied Moe United a goal.
Moe continued to push forward and O’Hanlon was again on the end of a through ball. His pass found Winkleman, and his return pass saw O’Hanlon’s strike saved again by Sly.
Minutes later, a Kieran Horgan corner kick saw Sale’s Charlie Cockell head home the goal, giving Moe keeper Peter Albanese no chance.
With only minutes remaining in the first half, Winkleman broke clear, and his well flighted cross was headed home by the ever dangerous O’Hanlon to give the home side an unconvincing 3-2 lead at the break.
The second half saw end-to-end play, with Horgan and Garner working hard for Sale, while O’Hanlon, Sceney and Dastey always looking creative for Moe.
The opening goal of the second half came after 50 minutes of play from the penalty spot, when a clumsy challenge from Mace Irvine on Winkleman saw a spot kick awarded. The ever reliable O’Hanlon stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way.
Shots from O’Hanlon and Sceney went narrowly wide, but the Swans were not heading home wondering, and a superbly struck shot by Horgan from 25 metres out gave them their third goal.
Moe United was not sitting back in defence, and a great piece of play by Sceney created a chance for Luke Bathgate, but his shot just went wide of the target.
In a tense final few minutes, Moe retained possession to hold onto their 4-3 lead until the final whistle.
Sale United deserved full credit on an outstanding performance against one of the top three contenders for the league title.
Best for Moe were Sceney, Dastey, O’Hanlon and Winkleman.
Horgan, new signing Tom Garner and keeper Sly stood out for Sale.
Fortuna 3 def Falcons 0
IN what was anticipated to be a cracker of a match to open Round 4 of the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, it was great to see expectation live up to reality in front of one of the biggest Morwell derby crowds in many a year at Latrobe City Sports Stadium last Saturday night.
As if fighting for top spot on the ladder wasn’t enough, Falcons and Fortuna were also fighting it out for the Italian Australian Club Cups.
While the two clubs are only separated geographically by the distance of a solid 7 Iron, the Crinigan Road co-tenants might as well be separated by the ‘Ice Wall of the North’ from Game of Thrones, as there is no love lost between the two local rivals – especially when it comes to derby day.
Both teams had it all to play for. A win meant the hosts would gain an early season ladder buffer, and on the flip side, a win for the visitors would see them jump back to the top of the table.
With lots of history at play, in particular Falcons 2000 having the memory of watching and seeing the LVSL League Championship Cup presented to Fortuna ’60 on their home turf last year, and the Lions having memories of lots of close losses at Falcons Park in previous seasons.
The game kicked-off and it did not fail to deliver, with hard and attacking football for the first 30 minutes.
The visitors had the run of play for the majority of this time, but the home team had a couple of opportunities to score.
Falcons 2000 duo Moni Eliaser and Kuku Mahmoud were working hard to impose themselves on the game, but the latter was effectively shut out of the match by a defensive masterclass from Jack Lester.
It took a brilliant individual effort from the Orangeman’s Joel Palermo to break the deadlock, after he put in a decisive run down the right side and slotted the ball into the top left corner from a near impossible angle.
Fortuna struck again in the 48th minute via enigmatic striker Hayden Tanti, who put a decisive ball past the Falcons keeper.
This goal saw the visiting team head into the halftime break with a confident, but equally cautious 2-nil lead.
The second half was a carbon copy of the first, with both teams throwing themselves into the game to gain the vital ascendency and match winning moment.
Falcons 2000 would see one of their players end up in the sin bin, and shortly after in the 66th minute, the dangerous Tommy D’Alia for the Falcons would pick up his second yellow of the game and head off the pitch for an early shower.
Unbelievably, in the 70th minute, Falcons 2000 talisman Kevin Carcellar received his second yellow card and left the pitch to join D’Alia.
The resulting send offs saw the hosts down to eight players on the pitch, but to the Falcons’ credit, they continued to show the tenacity and fight that has won them numerous trophies over the course of the club’s history.
Weight of numbers however took their toll on Falcons, and Fortuna scored again in the 71st minute from midfielder Daniel Cooper, giving the visitors a game wining lead.
The last 20 minutes saw the Lions control and slow the game down and hold onto their 3-nil lead until the final whistle.
The result sent Fortuna ’60 back to the top of the table. Lester received best-on-ground honours, presented by Frank Debono from the Italian Australian Club, Morwell after the game in a packed Falcons clubrooms.
