Round seven proved one of stabilisation for the top competitors in both the Grace Martin Trophy and Bill Brackenbury Cup.
Words by Liam Cook
Grace Martin Trophy
Leichhardt Saints B 3-2 Hurlstone Park Wanderers
Saints B’s crucial victory over Hurlstone Park keeps them in touching distance of top spot on the ladder.
Coming out firing, the hosts added three unanswered goals for the half.
Maya Robertson doggedly attacked a loose ball for the first while the Sergeant’s tireless work rate was rewarded with a goal each.
Two consolation goals through Grace Byron-Smith and Stephanie Kontakos ensured a nervous final 10 minutes, but Leichhardt ultimately hung on to win.
Marrickville Red Devils A 9-1 LFC Sports
Marrickville A ran riot against the struggling LFC Sports to claim their third win of 2023.
Raining on nine goals for the match, including four doubles, the blistering opening goal from Besa Biba left her as the only Devil on the scoresheet to score once.
Six to nothing at the major interval, Marian Braga and Ellie Sheppard secured two apiece in a half built on solid defence from Chelsea Freeman and Lara Smith.
Zoe Moran-Baker and Daniella Merenda cashed in during second half proceedings, and Gabriela Lima Evangelista finally put LFC on the board.
Balmain DFC A 5-1 Marrickville Red Devils B
Balmain A’s third straight win featured another stellar Elise Crimmins performance.
Scoring twice in the first half via penalties, Elise combined with sister Annie for her hattrick effort.
Masie Tanner also struck a mighty blow from a Megan Parker pass outside the box for Balmian’s fourth score, while Crimmins’ attempt at a fourth paved the way for Holly Davine to execute.
Balmain DFC B 6-2 Cooks River Titans
Recording their third victory of the season, Balmain B’s Bridget Walker and Aisling Carolan did the damage for the home side.
While Isabella Bogatai’s early score was equalized by the Titans’ Melissa Irwin to make it 1-1 at halftime, the second stanza belonged to Balmain.
Doubles from Walker and Carolan separated the two teams, although the Titans secured a late consolation prize thanks to Sarah Watson.
Concord JSC 6-0 Russell Lea Women’s SC
Despite the match starting late and being shortened by a full ten minutes, Concord started with penetrating short passes through the midfield, including one for Chelsea Johnson who scored in the first minute.
This set the tone of the game with Concord working hard to control the ball on the lumpy ground and making numerous attacks on goal. Isadora Sabbouh potting a long range shot from well outside of the box to beat the keeper then scored again 10 minutes later.
Russell Lea did their best to find feet in the midfield but all too often were forced to play long, which proved to be difficult in the windy conditions.
The visitors were running into the strong wind in the second stanza and found themselves defending from within their half for long periods.
Johnson and Sabbouh scored their second for Concord, while Alana Angelis also added a double in the second half for Concord.
Bill Brackenbury Cup
APIA Leichhardt JFC 0-6 Balmain DFC
Four consecutive wins belong to Balmain after a clinical display against APIA at a glacial Rudd Park.
Alexander ‘Barndoor’ Barnstone was the star of the show, casually knocking through five of six Balmain goals and grabbing his hattrick inside 13 minutes of play.
Barndoor added his fifth in the 35th minute when he finished cheekily from a tight angle to befuddle APIA goalkeeper John Soulios.
With all scores coming in the first half, including a Nicholas Jackson goal, Balmain were content to put the cue in the rack in the second stanza amidst a more resolute APIA defense.
Marrickville Red Devils 2-3 Hurlstone Park Wanderers
Another one goal win sees Hurlstone Park maintain their standing at the peak of the Bill Brackenbury Cup table.
A more than fast start helped Hurlstone achieve the early ascendancy, goals coming through Angus Brown and the proficient Christopher Arditti.
Michele Majavacchi hit back for Marrickville to leave things poised at 1-2 on halftime.
Hurlstone pushed their lead back out to two goals thanks to Steven Georgiou, before Rohan Sriram ran home Marrickville’s second penalty conversion in the dying minutes.
LFC Sports 1-4 Enfield Rovers
Despite losing, LFC Sports produced their most competitive display of the 2023 season against a raging Enfield side.
Proceedings couldn’t have began much worse though for the hosts, conceding an own goal and a Gabriel Ghajar attempt within six minutes for a 2-0 scoreline.
Stabilizing for the middle period of the contest, LFC’s Aman Hadid kept his team in the game with a 73rd minute strike.
Enfield’s top tier credentials were on show in the closing chapter of the match as Anthony Foti and Nathan Scicchitano rammed home the win.
Image credit: Photographed with Love
