Football Matters with Cyclops

Local

Last weekend the Burdekin Panthers had four games, winning one, drawing one and losing two. On Friday the Division 1 met Wulguru Roosters in Townsville and drew 1-1. On Saturday the Premiers, Under 23s and Women Premiers were all at home to estates. The Premiers won 4-2, the Under 23s lost 0-4 and the Women Premiers lost 1-3.

This weekend the Funkies are away to Brothers in Townsville on Friday night and the Premiers and Under 23s are away to Saints eagles Souths on Saturday. The Ladies have a bye.

The Ayr Anzac Club Premiers knew that this was going to be a tough match, having lost last time out against Estates. The game started at a high intensity and Estates took the lead after thirty minutes with a shot that left Jarrod Camer in goal no chance. From there the Panthers came alive and a nice chip from Kai Goodman found Jay Leckenby who scored to make it 1-1. Two minutes later it was Matthew Kolb's turn to finish in a similar fashion giving Burdekin a 2-1 lead at halftime. The Panthers started the second half. with a much more patient, possession oriented style of football. Both teams had their chances but neither could find the back until after 65 minutes, Elliott Dal Santo crossed for Jay Leckenby to finish it making it 3-1. From there Estates kicked into gear creating lots of chances, but with outstanding defensive play from the Panthers backline and Camer in goal Burdekin were able to keep them out until with five minutes to go, Estates scored from a penalty. With a minute to go, Leckenby was fouled in the penalty area and Kolb scored from the spot to make the final score 4-2. Man Of the Match was Jarrod Camer.

The Burdekin Tyre Service Under 23s had the home ground and a good squad playing well but the result did not reflect the pre-game hopes. Burdekin played good football but were up against a quality side so it was a tight contest in the first half. Estates won a free kick midway through the half and it resulted in a goal line scramble and their opening goal. Despite the score Burdekin were confident and positive for a potential win. Unfortunately, bad luck and mistakes contrived to let Estates in for three more goals in a mid-half fifteen minute period and the result was then out of reach. The team fought hard and put in plenty of effort but could not repair the damage.

The Austral Masonry Funkies played Wulguru in Townsville on Friday night. Burdekin fielded a full squad and hoped to build on the draw last week. The beginning of the match was very physical with Wulguru trying to out muscle the young Burdekin team. The Funkies combated this by trying to move the ball around and play around the Wulguru defence. Wulguru managed to score first after fifteen minutes. The Burdekin team kept working after this setback and managed to create a number of chances but could not score. The second half saw both teams have chances as the game opened up. Burdekin levelled the score with five minutes to go with a goal from Alec Contzonis. Both teams came close to snatching a late winner but had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Burdekin travel to Townsville again on Friday night to play Brothers. 

The Ayr Anzac Club Ladies returned to International Park this week with a full bench and eager players, hungry for the first win of the season. The game started off fast with Estates using speed to press the Burdekin defence. Estates took the lead after fifteen minutes and a few minutes later scored from a corner to lead 2-0 half time. The Burdekin Ladies put their heads together at half time to assemble a strong formation. The Ladies new approach to the second half was quickly rewarded with a good goal from Ellyana Mugica. Burdekin continued to push forward, eager to find an equaliser but aim and luck were not on their side. The Burdekin defence worked tirelessly to shut down the Estates strikers. Unfortunately, fatigue hit the young side and Estates scored again with twenty minutes left to win 3-1. A huge improvement from this very young and inexperienced side. The Ladies have a bye this weekend.  

The Under 13 Panthers took on SES at paradise park on Saturday going down 5-0. The team played well especially in the second half creating several good chances but unfortunately couldn’t find the back of the net. A much improved performance by the entire team and a lot of positives to be taken out of the game.

On Sunday the Panthers took on Warriors 5 Stick Consulting at Honeycombes park going down 4-1. In another improved performance the team appears to be heading in the right direction. Brady Wilshere, Hayden Zandonadi and Tanner Cole all had strong games. Zandonadi scored for the Panthers.

The Under 14/15 Panthers – No report.

Juniors

Due to the cancellation of the Ingham carnival on Saturday, no Townsville teams travelled down to Ayr and Burdekin teams played matches between themselves.  A good chance for the kids to match their improved skills against one another!

Multiple Burdekin teams travelled to Townsville on Sunday to compete in the Estates Carnival, with good results again, and with multiple teams winning their competitions or being runners up!  Check out Burdekin FC Facebook for all the results and happy faces!  A big thanks to Estates for a great carnival and accommodating our teams’ late nominations due to cancellation of Ingham.

Back to usual this week with Saturday fixtures against Townsville teams, see you all down at the grounds!

Masters

Another good turn out on Monday, augmented with some young Funkies and some Masters getting ready for the Mooney Cup on 15th June. This week’s match, a replay of the Champions League Final saw Real Madri (Oldies) beat Dortmund (Youngies) 8-4 after leading 2-1 at half time. The Oldies lead ballooned to 8-1 before the Youngies came back late in the game.

The Masters welcome old and new players, Monday nights at International Park, 6.30 kick off.
National and International

The Socceroos have two games coming up in the Asian World Cup qualifiers. They are away to Bangladesh on Thursday, then at home to Palestine, in Perth, next Tuesday.
The Matildas have had two matches against China in the lead up to the Paris Olympics.  In Adelaide last Friday they drew 1-1and in Sydney, on Monday, won 2-0. The Paris Olympics kicks off in late July with Oz up against Germany, Zambia and USA. The Matilda’s have a tough group, USA is ranked 4th, Germany 5th and Zambia 65th. Oz is presently 12th.
In Europe, all the major Leagues have wound up. Real Madrid defeated Dortmund 2-0 in the European Champions League Final at Wembley and Olympiacos beat Fiorentina 1-0 in the Europa League Final.
Euro 2024 kicks off on 15 June. This year there are twenty four teams competing in six groups of four countries. The top two teams in each Group plus four of the best placed teams coming third, progress to the knockout round of sixteen teams. The SLoBs are running a competition. For further details see Burdekin FC Facebook page.

This week’s quote is from QPR and England Star Stan Bowles. “I blew the lot on vodka and tonic, gambling and fags. Looking back, I think I overdid it on the tonic.”

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