Football Matters with Cyclops

Local

Burdekin Panthers had just the Premiers playing at the weekend. They had finished third on the League ladder and were playing in the Elimination Final against Estates at Paradise Park in Townsville. The Premiers won 2-1 and now face Olympic, who lost 0-2 to Brothers, next Saturday at 7.00 pm, for a Place in the Grand Final against Brothers.

The Ayr Anzac Club Premiers were very nervous as they played their first Premier League finals series in ten years. The Panthers knew Estates would come out firing and they did. They were all over the Panthers for the first fifteen minutes and had a goal disallowed for offside in that period. This seemed to spark some life into the Burdekin as they started to find their feet and started to play their game.  The Panthers began to get better field position and won a few free kicks in prime positions. If not for great goalkeeping from Estates, Matthew Kolb could have scored two “goal of the season” contenders. Right before half time, Oliver Gabiola expertly got on the end of a well taken Ryan Scodellaro set piece to head the ball into the back of the net taking the Panthers into the break with a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers knew that Estates would come out firing again to start the second half but this time the Burdekin had no answer and Estates equalised within two minutes of the restart. This buoyed the Townsville team as they continued to dominate as they had in the early parts of the first half. Again, the Panthers started to wrestle back control and started to find space down the wings. A delicate little ball from Jay Leckenby found Luke Maguire inside the box and with his left foot he curled the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-1 with about thirty minutes to play. The Panthers continued to create more chances as Estates chased an equaliser. A couple of crosses from the right found their way across the Burdekin goal mouth but no one could get a final touch on it to put it in the back of the net, setting up a nervy finish. With a last-ditch effort Estates found their way into the penalty area, but Jarrod Camer and Joshua Valle bundled the ball out for a corner. From this corner, Estates had a free header at the back post and could have equalised but fortunately put it wide. From the ensuing goal kick the referee blew the full time whistle and the Panthers were through to the semi-final. 

Masters

Monday Night Masters has finished for the year and will recommence in January 2025.

Night Soccer

Delta Cleaners Night Soccer kicked off its 46th Season on Tuesday with twenty nine Men’s teams and fourteen Women’s Teams. Nomination Forms are at Delta Cleaners, Intersport and Sportfirst. Late entries will be considered

Juniors

Saturday was the last weekend of the year of Townsville teams travelling down to the Burdekin and what a successful year it has been!  Our kids have benefited so much from playing against different opposition.  This Saturday is Junior Breakup day with games, jumping castle, sausage sizzle and a lolly drop!  See you all there for a fun day!

National and International

The A League 2024-5 season kicks off on the weekend of 18 - 20 October. The Premiers, Central Coast Mariners are at home to Melbourne Victory and new team Auckland meet Brisbane Roar.

The Socceroos will be back in action when they begin their AFC World Cup Qualification matches. They start, at home, on the Gold Coast, this Thursday when they play Bahrein. They are then away to Indonesia on 10th September.

In the EPL after three rounds only two teams have maximum points, Manchester City, and Liverpool. Manchester City has scored nine goals and Erling Haaland has netted seven of them. At the foot of the table Southampton and Everton are yet to register a point.

In Serie A Juventus could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Roma and now four top teams, Inter, Juve, Torino and Udinese all have seven points, Como and Venezia are holding up the table with one point each. In Spain’s La Liga, after four rounds, Barcelona top the table with maximum points after marmelising Valladolid 7-0, four points clear of Real Madrid, Atletico and Villareal. Valencia, with a single point, prop up the table.

Ligue 1 in France, and after three rounds it is much the same as usual PSG, are top with nine points and Marseille, Nantes, Lens and Monaco are all two points behind. At the foot of the table Angers and St Etienne look to be in deep trouble. Germany’s Bundesliga has only played two rounds and Heidenheim, Bayern and Leipzig are the only teams with maximum points.  Leverkusen lost for the first time in a very long time.

This week’s quote is from Argentine star Diego Maradona “My mother thinks I am the best. And I was raised to always believe what my mother tells me” 

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The Burdekin Panthers Premier team have qualified for the semi-final against Olympic this week. Photo Credit: Sharon Woodward.

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