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Peninsula Power 2:3 Redlands United
(Hornby ’33; ’38) (Meredith ’30; Barbarouses ’45; Fyfe ’85)
A late Graham Fyfe penalty has handed Redlands all three points on the road at Power to break away from the fourth-placed Kippa-Ring outfit and keep the pressure on the top two.
Redlands looked comfortable early-on and a storming run and cross by Fyfe was expertly met by Rhys Meredith for the game’s opener. The hosts, lacking impetus up until that point, responded immediately through a well taken goal by Matt Hornby. Out of nowhere, Power took the lead within five minutes of their equaliser, Hornby again slotting home a precision header with his side’s second shot of the match. But a seemingly shocked Redlands refused to buckle down and restored parity on the stroke of half time - George Barbarouses slamming home after Peninsula failed to clear their lines. The second half saw an even distribution of chances, with Fyfe disallowed a goal through offside. However the Devils front-man was not to be denied, as he stepped up with five minutes remaining to convert a winning penalty after a blatant push on Stephen Homer.
Redlands will be pleased to get back to winning ways after last week’s draw with Easts pegged their streak, while Peninsula need to lift from a form slump that sees them winless in four games.
North Pine 0:4 Wolves FC
(Aoci ’53; Clulow ’55, ‘87; Bowden ’82)
Wolves FC closed the gap with Rochedale to just four points at the top of the table with a comfortable win at strugglers North Pine.
The Gorillas came into the match on the back of a first win for the season and their confidence was evident as they held Sam Saif’s men scoreless at half-time. But the defensive frailties that have caused them so dearly this year returned in the second period, as Wolves bagged four unanswered goals. Kado Aoci got on the act first within ten minutes of the restart. Trent Clulow doubled the advantage barely two minutes later, before Shaun Bowden sealed a comprehensive result late on. There was even enough time for Clulow to add a second to his tally, rounding off a scoreline many predicted prior to kick-off.
Wolves keep plucking away at the gap opened up by Rovers at the top, while North Pine will take a lot of optimism from a solid first half performance ahead of another difficult clash with Redlands next week.
