It was a weekend of catch-ups, both with family and friends and on the pitch as Easter Monday saw six catch-up games played over the two top football leagues.
Held mostly at Strathfield Park, it was an Easter Monday extravaganza for fans and players in the Bill Brackenbury Cup and the Grace Martin Trophy.
With these extra matches now played, the picture becomes slightly clearer when trying to work out where each team sits in the pecking order.
Bill Brackenbury Cup
With a few teams playing their first match of the season and some others trying to build on their existing results, these three matches gave a good insight into what the rest of the season might hold.
APIA Leichhardt 0-4 Inter Lions
This match had a lot of intrigue to it with APIA coming off a narrow loss to Enfield last week and Inter yet to play a match.
It was the definition of a heated game to start with as high intensity and hard challenges from both teams saw the match played at a quick pace.
After 20 minutes, both teams began to settle into the play with very few challenges created by either side seeing a 0-0 score line at the break.
The second half began much the same way but Inter started to create chances with former Western Sydney Wanderers defender, Adam D’Apuzzo scoring his first of two goals 22 minutes into the second stanza.
Nickolas Paradisis and David D’Apuzzo also scored in the first quarter of the game, giving Inter a fantastic start to their season.
Hurlstone Park Wanderers 1-0 Burwood FC
Both teams entered this match yet to play a game and it was a tense affair for the duration of the match.
Burwood only had 11 players for the whole game and when Frank Calcagno opened the scoring for Hurlstone Park just before half time, it was always going to be tough for Burwood to equalise.
Despite the obstacles, Burwood fought hard until the final whistle and will be motivated by their performance under duress.
LFC Sports 2-4 Enfield
Enfield entered this match full of confidence after their victory over APIA Leichhardt last week, while LFC sports were yet to play a game.
Enfield kept this momentum up early with Michael Papps opening the scoring: tapping-in a rebound after LFC’s keeper made an initial save from a free kick.
Capitalising on the rebounds was a trend that continued when LFC Sports equalised with Mali Kose scoring form the rebound after Enfield’s keeper saved a penalty shot.
Lakemba took the lead 15 minutes into the second half through Pacifique Basheka Pjbi but Enfield equalised barely a minute later with Marcelo Turdera scoring with a nice flick into goal.
From there it was anyone’s game with both teams very solid overall, but Enfield grabbed the win with Turdera and Anthony Foti both scoring in the final nine minutes to seal the three points.
Upcoming Games
Balmain DFC v Inter Lions: 3pm Saturday 23 April At Waterfront Drive
Hurlstone Park Wanderers v Marrickville: 3pm Saturday 23 April at Ewen Park
APIA Leichhardt v Burwood FC: 4pm Saturday 23 April at Ashfield Park
LFC Sports v Cooks River Titans: 5pm Saturday 23 April at Parry Park
Grace Martin Trophy
Some big results and some impressive goal scoring hauls grabbed the attention of Grace Martin Trophy fans this week.
Canterbury Juniors 2-2 Cooks River Titans
It took a while due to the weather but finally the Cooks River Titans and Canterbury Juniors were able to take the field for their rescheduled Round 1 match.
Despite only having 11 players, Cooks River took Canterbury by surprise: scoring a goal in the first minute with with Sarah Watson slotting the ball past the keeper after a well weighted pass from Melissa Irwin.
The Titans veterans continued to hold the play and dominate the first half with some good passing leading to a second goal from Belinda Seers, with Alex Molnar getting the assist.
Feeling confident, the second half started well for Cooks River, however an early injury resulted in a Canterbury goal to Poppy Bournelis just two minutes in and suddenly the Titans were down to ten players.
Just ten minutes later Canterbury equalised through Belinda Seers and things looks even worse for Cooks River when they went down to nine players after losing another player to injury.
Despite this, the Titans defence stood firm and they held on for a well-deserved draw – introducing themselves to the Grace Martin Trophy with a brave performance.
Concord B 5-1 Russell Lea
These two teams took the field with both sides looking to improve on their results from last week. Concord had a scoreless draw with Hurlstone Park while Russell Lea fell 3-1 to Leichhardt Saints B.
It could not have been a more perfect start for Concord with the team scoring in the first minute of play for their opening goal of the season.
Intricate team passing and a perfectly weighted through ball put Rebecca Eldrige in open space to slot in a nice finish from a tight angle. Just eight minutes later and Eldridge was on the scoresheet again: beating two defenders across the penalty box with her nice finish just inside the post.
Russell Lea came back strong and were rewarded for their efforts just five minutes later when Lara Bates made it 2-1 but Concord restored their two goal cushion before halftime when Michaela Bourbous finished from an impressive Amy Falson cross.
In the second half the contest turned into a messy game with injuries and poor ball control meaning it was tough for either team to keep possession, with Concord’s defense working especially hard to ensure Russel Lea could not get back into the game.
There were two more goals for Concord with Ellen Wlodarczyk scoring her first goal for the club after a mazy run through numerous defenders, and Bourbous scored her second after another Falson cross.
Leichhardt Saints B 0-8 Concord A
Concord made a statement to the rest of the league with a dominant first half giving them a 7-0 lead at half time.
Both teams were committed to the contest right from the kick-off with a tight midfield battle for 10 minutes with neither team gaining control, that was until a well-weighted ball found Mieka Figg who slotted a shot past the Leichhardt keeper.
Things turned from bad to worse for Leichhardt just one minute later in a game-changing moment. A long-range shot took a deflection off Annike Lindhout who was unfortunately credited with the own goal.
In the same play the Leichhardt goalkeeper sustained a bad finger injury and while it was no fault of her own and she bravely kept playing, it affected the Saints for the rest of the game.
From that moment on, Concord dominated. Chelsey Johnson scored four goals in 11 minutes while Alyssa Wedd also added another before half time.
Leichhardt rallied in the second half, making some adjustments and finishing the match the strong team spirit – only allowing one more goal in the final 45 minutes (Wedd getting her second).
Upcoming Games
Cooks River Titans v Enfield: 7:45pm Friday 22 April at Tempe Reserve
Leichhardt Saints A v Concord A: 11:30am Sunday 24 April at Edwards Park
Canterbury Juniors v Strathfield: 2:25pm Sunday 24 April at Croydon Park
Enfield v Balmain B: 3:40pm Sunday 24 April at Henley Park
Hurlstone Park v Cooks River Titans: 3:05pm Sunday 24 April at Ewen Park
Leichhardt Saints B v Concord B: 3:15pm Sunday 24 April at King George Park
Balmain A v Russell Lea: 4pm Sunday 24 April at Waterfront Drive
Feature image credit: Photographed with Love
