While weather wreaked havoc on the availability of grounds again this weekend, five matches were able to be played in the association’s top competitions: the Grace Martin Trophy and the Bill Brackenbury Cup.

See below for a summary of all the matches that went ahead.

Grace Martin Trophy

The Grace Martin saw some interesting results over the weekend that have given an early indication of where some teams potentially sit in the pecking order. One result even hinted that there could be a new contender in the race to the championship.

Strathfield 0-1 Leichhardt Saints A

The six-time defending champion, Leichhardt Saints, visited Strathfield with both teams coming off opening round wins last week.

It was a frenetic and unpredictable game from the start with Strathfield putting Leichhardt on notice with the first strike on goal only to be denied by the bar and a wayward bounce.

The contest was tight with both teams threating the goal and no clear winner evident until a lapse of concentration at a set piece gave Saints the advantage.

Lucia Gonzalez did well to escape her marker, getting free to head home an Amanda Barrera-Perez corner to score what was ultimately the winner.

After the goal both teams continued to attack with chances falling both ways but with no-one able to convert.

Concord A 7-0 Balmain A

On a hot and wet Sunday afternoon, Concord and Balmain’s A teams met in what was expected to be a tight match.

While it was Concord’s first match of the season, Balmain had gone down narrowly to an impressive Strathfield side last week and was expected to put together another notable performance.

The conditions were not great for football and while there was a shower just before kick-off that took some of the heat away, it further increased the humidity.

Early on it was clear that both teams were committing to a willing contest in the centre of the field but that all changed within the space of 120 seconds.

After picking up a loose ball in midfield, Concord managed to break the deadlock in the 14th minute through Chelsey Johnson. 1-0. But before Balmain could blink they were down 2-0 as April Alexandra Hunter doubled the score just one minute later.

By half time, the game was over as a contest with the scoreboard reading 6-0 at half time. A hat-trick to Alana Angelis plus goals to Lauren Angelis and Mieka Figg saw Concord walk away with a resounding 7-0 victory.

Concord B 0-0 Hurlstone Park

This was the first match of the season for both teams and it turned into a battle of attrition as the conditions were hot, humid, and tough to play good football in.

With no substitutes on the bench and an early injury meaning that Concord was reduced to 10 players early, the home team fell into a defensive style of football in the hopes of holding out for a point against an attacking Hurlstone Park outfit.

The Wanderers created the majority of the chances and for a while looked likely to break through the opposition defence, but Concord held on tightly to earn their clean sheet.

It was a good fight from both teams with the opposing style meaning it was quite a spectacle for those on the sidelines until the heat and exhaustion set-in.

By fulltime both teams were exhausted from a gruelling match with all players grateful for the final whistle.

Leichhardt Saints B 3-1 Russell Lea

Both teams came into their first match of the Grace Martin Trophy season unsure of what to expect. With disrupted preparations neither team had the best lead-in to the season but it was Russel Lea that started off the strongest.

The home team had the best of the opening moment and capitalised when Lana Urquhart opened the scoring in the 12th minute. While Saints attempted to regroup, Russell Lea could have gone further ahead but were unable to convert: allowing Saints back into the game when Annike Lindhout equalised just before half time.

In the second half the game started to shift with Saints securing the momentum and beginning to dominate. They took advantage of their ascendency through goals by Clem Ferrier and Siobhan Musgrave to open their season with a strong second half performance and a well-deserved victory.

Upcoming Games
Canterbury Juniors v Cooks River Titans: 4pm Monday 18 April at Strathfield Park
Concord B v Russell Lea: 5pm Monday 18 April at Majors Bay Reserve
Leichhardt Saints B v Concord A: 7:30pm Monday 18 April at Strathfield Park

Bill Brackenbury Cup

Only two matches were played in the Bill Brackenbury Cup this week

Marrickville 1-5 Balmain

Marrickville came into this match after conceding five goals to Cooks River Titans last week and were looking to improve on that performance.

Unfortunately for the home team, they had another slow start being 1-0 down after just five minutes as Ryan Chomphunut opened the scoring for Balmain. Despite the shock, Marrickville regrouped and equalised only three minutes later through Jose Manuel Acevedo but that’s as good as it got for the Red Devils.

From that moment, Balmain adjusted to the slippery all-weather surface better than Marrickville and stormed out to a 3-1 lead at half time with some impressive counter-attacking.

It was more of the same in the second half with Chomphunut and Alex Barnstone both finishing with a double, and Nicholas Jackson grabbing the fifth and final goal.

Enfield 3-2 APIA

Enfield and APIA opened their season with an entertaining game that could have gone either way up until the final whistle.

APIA took an early lead when a Raphael Pulera cross-cum-shot ended up in the Enfield goal. The lead didn’t last though as Enfield equalised through Marcelo Turdera, scoring against his old team in the first official match for his new club.

The second half started perfectly for the home team with Rodrigo Fernandes powering home a header off a corner before taking a 3-1 lead just five minutes later.

With the ball at the feet of the APIA goalkeeper, he tried to play a risky pass to a teammate that was intercepted by Enfield’s Anthony Foti who finished nicely.

APIA kept fighting the entire match and got their reward with five minutes left through Nathan Scicchitano. It set-up an entertaining and tense final few minutes with Enfield able to hold on and claim the three points.

Upcoming Games
APIA Leichhardt v Inter Lions: 4pm Monday 18 April at Strathfield Park
LFC Sports v Enfield: 5:45pm Monday 18 April at Strathfield Park
Hurlstone Park v Burwood: Monday 18 April at Strathfield Park (time TBC)

Feature image credit: Photographed with Love