This weekend was all about the Grace Martin Trophy with the Bill Brackenbury Cup essentially having a week off.
Only a single match was played in the men’s competition while there was some big movement in the women’s league.
Grace Martin Trophy
The league table has been thrown wide open after this weekend’s games with the Premiership looking to go down to the wire.
Leichhardt Saints B 2-3 Hurlstone Park Wanderers
It was quite a hot afternoon at Rudd Park as both teams were looking for three points to take them clear of last place on the table.
Leichhardt Saints entered the match with only ten players but both sides created several opportunities in a goalless first half.
Hurlstone Park took the ascendency in the second stanza, with Sienna Haigh and Lorna Arkell putting the Wanderers up 2-0 with just 20 minutes to go.
Leichhardt dug deep though, and clawed one back when Lilli Taranto’s smart finish finished off a fantastic dribbling display by Zoe Lindhout.
Seven minutes later and Saints were back on even terms, with Lindhout the scorer this time.
In the dying minutes the match looked to be heading towards a draw, but a long pass by Keanah Scholes found Anneke Dykgraaff up front who made no mistake: slotting the ball past Sophie Graham in goals to take the three points.
Strathfield FC 2-1 Concord A
A mid-afternoon kick-off at Strathfield Park saw two highly competitive teams gunning for a confidence boost ahead of the finals.
From the whistle, Concord would set the tone and show why they are top of the table: pressing hard and high and creating several chances.
Concord’s high-tempo start paid dividends 16 minutes in when a delicate chip from April Hunter beat the Strathfield keeper to take a 1-0 lead.
It would take another 20 minutes after that before Strathfield would find their form and equalise through Elle Kazantzis who was first to react after a Dani Fierro shot.
The second half was a see-saw game with opportunities for both squads and it was Strathfield that would turn the heat up as the game was hanging in the balance.
With just nine minutes remaining, Sonja Caraian got on the end of an Alexandra Georgopoulos set piece to deliver Concord their first loss of the season.
Leichhardt Saints A 3-0 Strathfield FC
It was less than 24 hours after both team has come off a victory the previous day, and it turned into a game of attrition to see who could see out the 90 minutes in better shape.
Fatigue was already on show in the first half with Leichhardt edging a goalless first 45 minutes: Leichhardt proving to all why they are consistent premiers and showing the better form.
Coming out from the break, Strathfield would succumb to the pressure from Leichhardt and control was handed to them and they diligently provided three fine goals through an Emily Farrington double and Maya Robertson.
Leichhardt Saints A 2-0 Concord B
Neither club was able to supply match information in time for publication.
Bill Brackenbury Cup
Only one match was played in the Bill Brackenbury Cup and it went down to the wire.
Cooks River Titans 3-4 Balmain DFC
Balmain came into the game looking to leapfrog Inter Lions into second place, knowing that three more wins for the season would secure that position. Cooks River Titans on the other hand, sat firmly planted in the bottom half of the table, with their main season objective to avoid the wooden spoon.
Anything but a win for Balmain would be seen as a disappointment.
The match started in fiery fashion with Balmain trying to control possession and Cooks River bringing their usual armoury of intensity. It was Balmain who started the brighter: opening the scoring in the 17th minute off a corner as Bunny Radford’s cushioned header found its way to Dominic Bicego’s feet, who roofed a volley into the top of the net.
Balmain doubled their lead late in the second half when Liam Denvir’s swirling effort miraculously made its way to the top left corner despite several deflections off Cooks River defenders.
Cooks River brought one back early in the second half through a bullet free kick from Dimitri Aronis.
Soon after however, a calamitous error from Cooks River just inside the halfway line gifted possession to Balmain. Shay Spitz punished the mistake with a deft chip to make it 3-1.
A beautiful piece of sustained Balmain possession, containing at least five consecutive passes, led to Shay Spitz slipping in Jack Griffiths for Balmain’s fourth
Cooks River quickly brought one back through Christos Tomaras off an incisive counterattack and in the 86th minute, Balmain captain Will Thackway generously gifted the ball to Cooks River striker Aronis, who’s glove stinging shot sailed into the top left corner.
It set up a frenetic finish, with Cooks River upping the intensity in search of an equaliser. In the last minute, a Cooks River free kick from 30 yards out seemed destined to find the top corner but for a fingertip save onto the crossbar from Balmain keeper Griffin Taylor. The match finished 4-3 Balmain.
Feature image credit: Photographed with Love
