Football Matters with Cyclops

Seniors

A good weekend for the Panthers. They played five matches, four of them at home. winning four of them. This was the last round of fixtures with the finals starting next week. On Saturday, at home to Saints Eagles Souths, the Premiers won 4- 0 to finish third and the Reserves won 3-1to finish second. On Friday night the Colts defeated Brothers 4-1 in Townsville to finish as Minor Premiers. At home The Division 2 Funkies defeated Wulguru 4-0 to finish in fifth place but the Division 1 lost 0-7 to Wulguru and finished in ninth place.

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This week, only the Colts are playing. They meet Warriors in the major Semi-Final at 6.30 in Townsville on Friday night. The Premiers and Reserves play their semi-finals next week.

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Night Soccer kicks off for the 48^th season on Tuesday 8^th 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 third place already secured, there was nothing riding on the final game of the regular season other than building confidence and momentum heading into finals. After several whirlwind encounters with Saints this year, the focus was on producing a more controlled performance. Burdekin started positively, creating a number of chances but were unable to capitalise. Saints remained dangerous on the counter, ensuring the Panthers had to stay switched on defensively. Despite opportunities at both ends, the teams went into half time locked at 0–0. The second half started with a bang. Sean Young opened the scoring after getting on the end of an Elliott Dal Santo cross to give Burdekin a deserved lead. Young soon doubled the advantage with his second of the game as the Panthers began to take control. Jake Siandri then added a third before Matthew Walker rounded out the scoring to make it a 4–0 win. This was a strong way to finish the regular season, with a clean sheet and four second-half goals providing plenty of confidence heading into the finals.

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Reserves – Burdekin Tyre Service

Needing a win to have an opportunity of securing second place, Burdekin hosted Saints Eagles Souths who were on a streak of wins that included league leaders Brothers. It was a tough first half that really hung in the balance. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost Lucas Gabiola early on, which brought Jesse Thomasson into the game. Although, there was plenty of effort the score remained 0-0 at half time. Saints scored early into the second half with a quality finish at the back post from a deep corner. Burdekin responded well, playing some quality football and were rewarded with a back post header by Dom Arrate levelling the scores. Mathew Kolb provided a dangerous output from the bench and scored a second with a great finish to give Burdekin the lead 2-1. Kyle Taylor made it 3-1 with a dangerous free kick that found the back corner of the net. 

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Division 1 – Austral Masonry

Up against third placed Saints, the Panthers, who had not played for two weeks, were always going to struggle. After conceding an early goal the Panthers defended well and were only two goals down at half time. The second half was more of a problem with Saints adding three more goals in the first ten minutes. The Panthers then got back in the game, but Saints added two more late goals to win 7-0. And that is it for the Division1 side.

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Division 2 - RG Customs

Burdekin 2nd Division played their final game of the season on Friday night vs Wulguru. With finals out of reach the Funkies were desperate to finish with a win. Burdekin dominated the start of the game but wasted several chances and a lot of time spending attacking Wulguru’s goal. The end of the half was very frantic with Burdekin really struggling to defend Wulguru’s breakaway attacks on goal. The second half saw the Funkies in full control and score some great goals. Eugene Burelli opened the scoring with a wonder strike from long range. Jared Giardina doubled the lead with a free kick that gave the keeper no chance. Travis Butler made it 3-0 with a left footed strike from outside the box that surprised everyone, before Luke Cathcart slotted a penalty goal to give the Funkies a 4-0 win. Burdekin finish 5th missing out on the finals by 1 point. The squad celebrated the season into the night and is already looking forward to 2027. 

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Colts – Astute Finance

Burdekin started strongly, peppering the Brothers goal with shots from range. The breakthrough eventually came when a strong run from Cooper Kross led to the ball falling kindly to Brayden Card following a deflection, and he forced it over the line to give Burdekin a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 at halftime, although it should be noted that the Colts created countless opportunities throughout the opening half. Caleb Formilan was causing havoc down the left flank, delivering several dangerous crosses, but despite their dominance they  were unable to add to the scoreline. The second half began and the Panthers were caught out off from a free kick and the Brothers striker scored to equalise. However, the Panthers picked it up a notch and ended putting three more past the Brotherskeeper. Goals from Ryley Siandri, Max Kelly, and Xavier Roncato. With the win the Panthers finished top of the table, undefeated Minor Premiers!  The Club is very proud of these boys, they’ve worked hard for each other all year and are reaping the rewards. Now thefocus shifts to the Final’s series. This week is the 1^st vs 2^nd semi-final; Burdekin take on Warriors at Paradise Park.  

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Masters

The Masters numbers were good again and in cool conditions featured Australia v Bangladesh. The Socceroos drew 4-4 after being 0-3 down at half time. Man of the Match was Two Goal Leonardo Danello. The Magic Moments were again exceedingly rare. Masters play every Monday night. All players are welcome, male, and female, useful and hopeless, halt and lame. Be there, International Park for 6.30 Kick Off.  

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Juniors

The final round of fixtures saw the young Panthers take on MA Olympic, knowing that a good result would secure the Under 15 Division 1 Minor Premiership. It was a hard-fought first half, with the game very much anyone’s to take. Unfortunately, Olympic opened the scoring just two minutes before half-time to head into the break with a 0–1 lead. The half-time chat was positive from the coaches, and the Panthers came out fired up for the second half. Annan Power put the Panthers on the scoreboard to level things up at 1–1. Then, a corner from Emmanuel Mio found his brother Xavier Mio, who rose to head the ball home and put the Panthers in front, 2–1. Olympic answered with a penalty to bring the game level once again. The Panthers had plenty of opportunities to find that winning goal but just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. The full-time whistle 2–2 — and that was enough!

BFC Under 15 Panthers are the U15 Division 1 Minor Premiers. What an achievement from this group of boys! Their efforts during the match were outstanding.  The hard work, commitment and determination throughout the season has paid off.  Thank you to the girls who have helped through the year, especially Sari Oar and Maicey Ferguson. Now it’s time for the Final Series.  

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International

The Socceroos have two friendlies against Brazil lined up. The first, on 25 September is in Townsville! And the second in Brisbane. Meanwhile the new season has started in Europe. Shock of the week was newly promoted Hull City beating Manchester Utd 2-0.

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Quote the of the Week is from ex-England Manager Ron Greenwoo. “Football is a simple game. The hard part is making it look simple.”

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