Football Matters with Cyclops

A not so good weekend for the Panthers, winning just two and losing four of the six matches played. On Saturday, away to Brothers the Premiers won 4-1 but the Reserves lost 0-9. On Friday, in Townsville the Ladies lost 2-3 to Brothers and the Division 1 Men lost 2-5 to Brothers. The Division 2 Funkies lost 1-6 to Saints Eagles Souths. And on Wednesday evening the Ladies beat Wulguru 9-1 at home,

This week the Premiers and Reserves are away to Warriors, the Premiers at 7.30 and the Reserves at 5.30. On Friday, the Division 1 Men and Ladies are at home, the Division 1 Men play Estates at 8.30 and the Ladies are up against Warriors at 6.30.The Division 2 are away to Rebels at 8.30.

Night Soccer kicks off its 46th year on Tuesday 9th September.

Premiers

The Ayr Anzac Club Premiers away to Brothers, produced one of their best performances of the season, storming to a 4-1 win that keeps their top four hopes alive. The Panthers got off to a dream start when Ryan Scodellaro unleashed a strike from outside the box inside five minutes. Just moments later, Elliot Dal Santo tore down the wing and whipped in a brilliant cross for Jay Leckenby, who finished first time to make it 2-0. Brothers, chasing the minor premiership, hit back midway through the half, but Burdekin’s defensive intensity kept them at bay. On the stroke of halftime, Jack Gimson played a superb through ball to Leckenby, who calmly slotted the ball past the keeper to restore the two-goal cushion at 3-1.

The second half saw Burdekin sit in a compact shape, frustrating Brothers while threatening on the break. In the 75th minute, Leckenby completed his hat trick with another clinical finish, sealing the game. The 4-1 victory keeps Burdekin’s finals hopes alive for another week and sends a clear message that they remain serious contenders.

Reserves

Burdekin Tyre Service Reserves travelled to Brothers, short on troops, for an early afternoon game. Expectations were for a good showing and the first half brought that. Despite being under pressure for most of the half, the Reserves were able to put together some passages of good play and create a few half chances. Possession told as Brothers scored a goal twenty minutes in, but Burdekin responded well and were the better force in the last 15 to 20 minutes of the half.

The second half was one to regret and forget. It was a poor start by conceding an opening goal inside the first five minutes. The entire team put in another game full of effort, but poor ball control and passing let us down. Without sustained possession the team was always under pressure and the fatigue really started to show with some playing injured and others having played a full game in Firsts the night before. Brothers picked up their intensity and drove home their advantage in the last quarter of an hour. The match finished at 0-9 to Brothers and was a disappointing result considering the effort and position that had been established by halftime.

Division 1 Men

The Austral Masonry Division 1 Men lost 2-5 away to Brothers.

Division 2 Men

The C.A. Contracting Funkies continued their fight for a finals spot when they battled competition leaders Saints on Friday night. In what can only be described as a disappointing first half, Burdekin conceded four goals. It was a strange half with the Funkies having chances and with the ball mostly in Saints half, but when Saints surged forward, they just continued to score.

The second half started with Saints scoring another two goals to lead 6-0 after 55 minutes and an absolute thrashing was looking likely. The Funkies finally stopped the flow of goals and even got a consolation goal through Brad Wright for a final score, a 6-1 defeat. This Friday is the Funkies biggest game of the season vs Rebels ultimately a play-off between 4th and 5th for the last finals spot.

Ladies

The Ayr Anzac Club Ladies faced Wulguru on Wednesday night at home and came out firing. Zandi Bonanno set the tone early with two quick goals in the 2nd and 6th minutes. Sienna Lago followed up with a double of her own, scoring in the 8th and 42nd minutes to give Burdekin a commanding lead at halftime. After the break, Wulguru managed to pull one back, but Burdekin quickly regained control, an own goal in the 52nd minute, followed by strikes from Kayla Steiner and Brielle Astorquia. Sienna Lago was not done yet, adding two more goals late in the match to seal a 9–1 victory. A dominant performance, well done, girls!

Then on Friday night the Ladies took on Brothers at High Vista Park. Brothers opened the scoring in the 18th minute, but the early setback only fuelled Burdekin’s determination. Brielle Astorquia struck back in the 25th minute, and Zandi Bonanno followed up with a goal in the 40th to give Burdekin a 2-1 the lead heading into halftime. Early in the second half, Brothers were awarded a penalty and converted to level the score. Despite Burdekin dominating possession Brothers managed to sneak through in the 80th minute to score and win 3-2. A tough result, but a performance full of effort and resilience from the Ladies.

Juniors

On Saturday, our local juniors had inter-club matches, with some very competitive and friendly action on the pitch. We hope all the kids and coaches who ventured to Cairns for the final FQ Academy carnival of the year had a great time and gained a lot of valuable experiences!

Masters

Another good turnout on a featured a replay of Sunday's friendly between Udinese and Twente, at the Burdekin's equivalent of De Grolsch Veste Stadium, a tight 2-2 draw was fought out. Udinese started the match full of running and quickly found the back of the net through some crisp passing, started by StePHen Smith at the back and finished with a superb strike from Bryce Davies. Twente were next to score off the right foot of Tobin Stubbs, which saw the score one all at a hastily convened half time, in lieu of waiting for an Udinese defender to retake his feet after a valiant attempt to thwart said goal. Twente started the better in the second half and took the lead following a goal from Chris Achille. It then took Udinese the balance of the half to return to parity following a strike from Fengil which struck the top bar then bounced off the back of a

Twente central defender into goal. Player of the match: Chris Wicks. Monday Nights at 6.30. Be There!

National and International

The EPL kicked off at the weekend with wins for Manchester City, Liverpool, and Spurs. ManU lost at home to Arsenal! Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, and Ligue 1 all kick off this weekend.

The Matildas are playing in the ASEAN Women’s Championship in Vietnam. In their first Group game, last Thursday against Myanmar they lost 1-2 but last Sunday they beat the Philippines 1-0. They then beat Timor-Leste 9-0 to get to the semi-finals where they beat Vietnam 2-1. They now meet Myanmar in the final.

The Socceroos next games are not until September when they play New Zealand in two friendlies home and away, on 5th and 9th of September. They then have friendlies away to Canada and the USA in October.

The Quote of the Week is from former Manchester Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson. “I've never played for a draw in my life.”

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