Football Matters with Cyclops

Not a good weekend for the Panthers. They played four matches, all of them away, and winning just one. On Sunday, away to MA Olympic the Premiers lost 0-1 and the Reserves lost 1-3. On Friday night the Colts defeated MA Olympic 2-0 and on Thursday the Division 2 lost 0-5 to Saints Eagles Souths. The Division 1 match against Saints was forfeited.

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This week, four teams are at home with just the Colts away, in the last round of fixtures. On Saturday, Ladies Day, the Premiers and Reserves play Saints Eagles Souths at 7.00 and 5.00 and on Friday, the Division1 and Division 2 play Wulguru at 8.30 and 6.30. The Colts are away to Brothers at 6.30.

Ladies Day tickets went on sale and sold out within hours. Did not get a ticket? You can still join in on all the fun at International Park on Saturday 22nd August!’

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Night Soccer kicks off for the 48th season on Tuesday 8th September. Start getting your team organised now! Nomination Forms are now at Delta Cleaners, Intersport and Sportfirst. Forms must be returned by Friday 28 August.

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Premiers – Ayr Anzac Club

With hopes of a top two finish still alive, the Panthers went into a tough clash against MA Olympic knowing how important the three points would be. Burdekin started the game well and looked the better of the two sides throughout much of the opening half. Strong winds made conditions difficult and contributed to a scrappy contest, but the Panthers were still able to create several promising opportunities. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the finishing touch to turn the good play into a lead, with the sides going into half time locked at 0–0.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Burdekin continuing to compete well and searching for the breakthrough. However, it was Olympic who found the opening goal. A quickly taken short corner caught the Panthers switched off, with Olympic capitalising to take a 1–0 lead. From there, the Panthers pushed hard for an equaliser and continued to create opportunities but couldn’t find the back of the net. Olympic held firm to secure a 1–0 victory, a frustrating result for the Panthers after a performance where they had their chances but simply couldn’t make them count.

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Reserves – Burdekin Tyre Service

Another Sunday game away and the conditions were very, very windy. The strength of wind made it a difficult and very scrappy game. A strong squad took to the field with confidence, and the first ten minutes went well with an early goal to Jonte Grazioli. Unfortunately, from then the good patches of play were few and the standard of the game dropped. Despite making some very good chances in the first half, the Panthers wasted the opportunities and kept MA Olympic in the game. After twenty-five minutes Olympic pounced on a loss of possession to equalise. Neither team could hold sway on the game, and the ball was often out of play due to the conditions and the lack of ball control. Fifteen minutes into the second half Olympic scored again, from a quick long ball. The frustrations for the Panthers grew and despite their best efforts and intentions the result could not be changed. Putting insult to injury a late goal made the result a 1-3 defeat. A disappointing loss but at least this could help to give the players fuel to focus on their run through the finals.

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Colts – Astute Finance

Burdekin started strongly, peppering the Olympic goalkeeper with long range shots range. The breakthrough eventually came when a short corner from Charlie Shears found Oscar Licciardello on the edge of the circle who made no mistake, smashing the ball into the top right corner to give Burdekin a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 at halftime, although it should be noted that the Panthers created countless opportunities throughout the opening half. Charlie Shears was causing havoc down the left flank, delivering several dangerous crosses, but despite their dominance the Panthers were unable to add to the scoreline. The second half began much the same as the first, with Burdekin continuing to control the match. A strong run from Cooper Kross led tothe ball falling to Brayden Card following a deflection, and he forced it over the line to extend the lead to 2-0. That is how the score remained at full-time, with Burdekin securing another important victory and moving one step closer to claiming the minor premiership. This week the boys take on Brothers, a draw or a win seals them as undefeated minor premiers

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Juniors

The Under 15 Panthers played Wulguru in Townsville. After coming off two losses, the young Panthers had to lift to get themselves back on top of the leader board. Annan Power opened the scoring with a very good header from an Emmanuel Mio cross in the sixth minute. Emmanuel followed up with a goal after eleven minutes and then Linc Innes found the back of the net in the seven minutes later. Wulguru got on the score board just before half time for the Panthers to be leading 3-1at half time.

Getting off to a quick start in the second half, Levi Cremona scored after two minutes to take the score to 4-1. The Panthers had many chances in the second half but could not increase their score. This win puts the Panthers back on top of the leader board going into the final round thisweekend. This weekend’s match at home will be a nail-biter as both Burdekin and Olympic will be fighting it out for the minor premiership.

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Quote the of the Week is from Terry Venables about China in the 2002 World Cup: “You would think that if any team could put up a decent wall it would be China”.

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