It was the first round of the new-look Grace Martin Trophy following last week’s split of the divisions.

Meanwhile, teams were jostling for points and positions in the Bill Brackenbury Cup.

Grace Martin Trophy

Everyone had eyes on Strathfield FC v Concord B with the two teams only sitting one point apart in the standings. The Leichardt Saints derby was also of interest, with Saints B looking to start collecting enough points to qualify for the top four.

Strathfield FC 5-1 Concord B

It was an early kick off at Strathfield Park on a mild to warm afternoon with a beaming sun ensuring the heat will rise quickly in the newly split Grace Martin Trophy.

Strathfield FC were cautious at the start while Concord B were missing some of their regulars so chose a defensive approach.

Despite this, the home team took an early lead when a perfectly timed header from Angelica Georgopoulos off a Beren Gungor set piece gave Strathfield a 1-0 advantage after just 13 minutes.

Concord may have been short players on the field but were defending admirably and it took until the 40th minute before another set piece off Gungor set piece doubled Strathfield’s lead. Pauline Beard getting on the end of the set piece to give Strathfield a 2-0 advantage going into half time.

The second half resumed and Concord came out seeking to peg one back: catching Strathfield short just nine minutes into the second stanza: earning a penalty which was converted by Ellen Wlodarczyk.

The celebrations and relief for Concord were short-lived as Rachelle Sotirio scored only one minute later to restore Strathfield’s two goal margin.

This quick reply was repeated as Beard got her second goal of the match four minutes later, and earned her first-ever hat-trick for Strathfield in the 81st minute off an Alexandra Georgopoulos assist.

This result leaves Strathfield firmly in third place: now four points above Concord B and

Leichhardt Saints B 2-4 Leichhardt Saints A

The second instalment of a new rivalry in the Grace Martin Trophy kicked-off with Leichhardt Saints B looking to improve on their first-time result: a 6-0 loss to their intra-club opponents.

It was a much tighter contest on this occasion with Saints A taking 1 3-1 lead into half time, scoring off two corners.

Sophie Lewis and Jasmine Saunders opened the scoring for Saints A before Georgia Dunn responded for Saints B. Lucia Gonzalez got the third goal before half time for Saints A.

Saints B rallied in the second half but the match was put out of reach in the 66th minutes when Saunders scored her second goal of the afternoon.

Saints B’s pressure was rewarded when Zoe Lindhout was a penalty which was duly converted by Ruby Bruce, but it was too little too late and Saints A won the Leichhardt derby.

Concord A 5-0 Hurlstone Park Wanderers

It was a clear and warm Sunday afternoon at Majors Bay Reserve: the field was in excellent condition and the full complement of officials were officiating.

The early exchanges saw a hotly-contested midfield battle but Concord began to control more of the play and the times when Hurlstone Park broke clear, they had little time on the ball to construct penetrating plays.

Concord’s control very quickly paid dividends when Chelsey Johnson got on the end of a through ball and opened the scoring in the fourth minute.

She doubled Concord’s lead in the ninth minute and then sealed her first-half hat-trick just before half time to give Concord a 3-0 lead at the break.

Hurlstone Park were given a lifeline early in the second half when one of their players were fouled in the box, but the resultant spot-kick was put wide of the post.

To make matters worse, Hurlstone Park gave away a penalty of their own soon after when Denise Chan was brought down inside the box. Alyssa Wedd converted the resultant penalty.

Johnson scored one more goal to take her match tally to four, and the team total to five.

Bill Brackenbury Cup

The top four is starting to look more and more solid each week in the Bill Brackenbury Cup.

There were some key matches this week in regards to the order of the top four, between teams battling to avoid the wooden spoon, and some teams who are still fighting for finals.

Cooks River Titans 2-6 LFC Sports

Both teams entered this match in mid-table but with LFC Sports looking for a win to keep in touch with the top four.

It’s been a tough season for LFC Sports so far with many injuries leading to a poor start that was below the club’s expectations. With a number of players now returning, they are slowly coming back to full strength.

The revitalised line-up looked comfortable early in this match and their dominant early period saw them go up by two goals.

Aman Hadid his a 30 metre thunderbolt in the 12th minute before Massimo Mascarello doubled LFC Sports’ lead in the 31st minutes.

Despite falling behind, Cooks River kept positive and were rewarded for their attacking when Elias Xanthos finished off an impressive team goal.

Unfortunately for the Titans, their way back into the match was cut short as Hadid restored LFC’s two goal lead with another long-range goal five minutes before half time.

The second half saw LFC really take control of the game, scoring another three goals through Francesco Giannetto, Bradley Sibanda, and Callum McNair.

Cooks River were awarded a penalty with Andrew Theodorou converting the spot-kick.

Burwood 1-2 APIA Leichhardt

Blair Park was again in magnificent shape and the quality football flowed on the flat deck: passing was quick and accurate which made for a fast-flowing game.

The bottom of the table clash was always going to be tough with both teams running short of players and struggling to stop the goals being scored against them match after match. The attacking line-ups for each side have also been struggling to score with just seven goals each this season, so this was a great opportunity for each team to score some goals.

The match started with the BurwoodFC ’s nine players instantly defending backs-to-the-wall with multiple chances to APIA Leichhardt’s forward. In particular, the strong Tyson Kaye was out-jumping defenders at will but was unable to find the target.

Against the run of play – so often the case when you don’t take your chances – Ryan Henderson scored a trademark goal in the 24th minute: picking the ball up on the right, cutting inside and sliding the ball low and hard past the keeper. Another great goal for the Burwood skipper.

Burwood were 1-0 up and trying to hold out APIA with their dominant possession of the ball and constant pressing, which resulted in Burwood conceding a penalty. The Burwood players and coaching staff were not happy with the call and felt like justice was served when the spot-kick was saved by goalkeeper, Luis Astorga.

Despite the save, it felt like an equaliser was inevitable and it finally happened when Kaye took advantage of a gift: slamming a wayward defensive header into the back of the net from point blank range.

Only six minutes later and APIA doubled their lead when John-Pau Foti found a gap and slotted home what turned out to be the winner, just one minute before half time.

Balmain 2-3 Inter Lions

Neither club was able to supply match information in time for publication.

Marrickville 1-4 Hurlstone Park Wanderers

Neither club was able to supply match information in time for publication.

Feature image credit: Photographed with Love