Craig Lairds weekly write up 28-6-15

[pecker]

MATCH OF THE DAY
PARAFIELD GARDENS (2) ELIZABETH GROVE (1)
PARAFIELD Gardens have moved six points clear of the 3rd placed Elizabeth Grove after a come from behind 2-1 win at Bradman Oval.
Gardens came into the game sitting four points behind league leaders Ingle Farm while the 3rd placed Elizabeth Grove were looking for a win to draw level on points with Gardens.
On two minutes the visitors had a good opportunity when a Ryan Brennan cross found Kahman Greig who’s effort was scuffed just wide.
Both sides looked to be positive in possession but both defences held firm until on 37 minutes Gardens striker Shane Pearce was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded.
Pearce’s spot kick was brilliantly saved by Pecker keeper Andrew Rowe and six minutes later Rowe needed to be at his best to deny Angelo Arambatzis who’s goal bound shot was tipped just wide of the post as the sides went to the break locked at 0-0.
After the break Rowe was again called into action when he made a fine save from a rasping Arambatzis shot from distance.
The Peckers started to come into the game and a fine ball from Sean Brennan played in Greig who then slid his shot just inches wide.
The game was now going from end to end with Gardens Mat Marczuk hitting the side netting on the hour while new Pecker recruit Ben De Bono hit the outside of the post on 63 minutes.
De Bono, who came on as a substitute, then opened the scoring on 69 minutes when a Greig back heel played him in before finishing in style from 18 yards.
It looked like De Bono had doubled the visitor’s advantage on 73 minutes when he found the net only to be ruled out for offside.
On 76 minutes Pearce was taken down by experienced defender Gerrard Ambassa who was sent off due to a 2nd yellow card and Arambatzis then stepped up to fire home the penalty and square the ledger at 1-1.
Two minutes later Gardens had the lead when a Scott Weidenbach cross from the right found Brendan McConnell who gave Rowe no chance with a fine headed goal.
Pearce was sent off for Gardens on 82 minutes and in a final twist a stoppage time Brad Docherty penalty awarded for the visitors was reversed for an offside decision.
Gardens coach Duane Gray “I was disappointed with the goal we gave away. I thought we deserved the win in the end, the boys showed some character to come back.”
Grove coach Shane Golder “I think we can take plenty of positives from the game. We have shown we can match it with the big boys and we look forward to the challenge of Ingle Farm next week.”

INGLE FARM (2) PARA HILLS WEST (0)
INGLE Farm remain four points clear at the top of the table after a solid 2-0 victory over Para Hills West at Walkleys Park.
Farm came into the game keen to extend their run of four wins on the bounce while Westies were looking to get back on the winners list after losing in round 8 to Parafield Gardens.
It took only five minutes for the league leaders to strike when a Dave Ennis cross from the right hand side was met at the back post by Sonny Murrell who gave Westies keeper Dave Brook no chance with a bullet header.
Para Hills West to their credit worked their socks off to stay in the game and Farm had to wait until 88 minutes to seal the win when a ball cut back from Musti Ipekdal found substitute and new signing Luke Vouloudos who made no mistake from close range.
Farm dropped points in both games against Westies in 2014 so coach Paul Simpson was pleased with the win “We managed to do what we couldn’t last season which is pleasing. Credit to Para Hills West who battled hard but in the end we took our chances which is pleasing”.

ELIZABETH DOWNS (0) FULHAM (2)
FULHAM has moved into the top half of the table after a 2-0 win over Elizabeth Downs at Argana Park.
Fulham have been a little inconsistent in 2015 but travelled to Elizabeth hopeful of getting a result against a Downs outfit that have dropped points in their last two league games.
The visiting Fulham got off to a dream start on five minutes when a ball was played into the box found Lumi Adisa who fired across the keeper into the far corner to make it 1-0.
The maroons were pushing hard for an equalizer in the 2nd half but on 80 minutes the game was sealed when Paul Bearzotti picked the ball up through the middle before working his way into the box and finishing his chance from 15 yards to the delight of the travelling Fulham support.
The win lifts Fulham to 5th on the table while the defending Champions Elizabeth Downs winless run extends to three games dropping them to 6th on the table.
Fulham Coach John Christopoulos “We were a little undisciplined last week so I was really happy with the response from the boys today”.

SOUTHERN KNIGHTS (0) ELIZABETH VALE (3)
ELIZABETH Vale has moved to 4th on the table after a convincing 3-0 win over Southern Knights at Southern Knights Oval.
The Vale travelled down south knowing that a win would put an 11 point gap between themselves and the drop zone while Knights were hopeful of kick starting a season that has seen only one win in the opening eight rounds.
It took only five minutes for the Vale to open the scoring when Mark Burbridge was played through before finishing smartly from 18 yards.
The Vale went to the break 2-0 up thanks to a fine goal from youngster James Greaves who hammered the ball home after cutting in from the right hand side.
Burbridge got on the score sheet again to seal the win which moves the Vale on to 15 points after nine rounds, the same amount of points they collected in the whole of the 2014 campaign.
Late in the game Vale keeper Steve Doolan saved a penalty to round off a good day for the visitors.
Team Manager Sean Westall “The boys are tracking really well at the moment. If we had our shooting boots on today it could have been more but it was still a good performance.”

WEST BEACH (0) SALISBURY INTER (2)
SALISBURY Inter have made it two wins in a row thanks to a hard fought 2-0 win over west Beach at Lockleys Oval.
Inter came into the game looking to extend the gap between themselves and the bottom placed West Beach who were looking to break a six game losing streak.
On 15 minutes Salisbury took the lead when a corner led to a goal mouth scramble before the ball fell to Michael Marchioro who slotted the ball into the net.
The game was all but sealed on 65 minutes when Simon Ielasai released Peter Yusuf who picked the ball up on half way before carving through the Beach defence and beating the West Beach keeper with a fine chip shot.
Inter coach Steve Cook was pleased with his sides performance “I think we definitely deserved the win. We were a little wasteful in front of goal but credit to West Beach who made us work very hard for our win.”