Laurie Williams
NEWBOROUGH-YALLOURN United overcame Sale United 1-0 following a tight tussle in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League on Sunday.
Adam Semple was responsible for the home side’s win, but there were some anxious moments as Sale came close to scoring on numerous occasions.
The lone goal at 15 minutes was enough to give NYU the win and keep it within spitting distance of league leader Falcons and Moe United.
FORTUNA defeated Olympians 7-2 in Traralgon. Jordan Campbell had his team fired up, with Damon Scott drawing first blood when he beat the keeper only four minutes in. It became a procession of goals as Fortuna kept attacking, putting Olympians under the pump.
Although Stefan Sbaglia levelled the scores for Olympians, Hayden Tanti broke the deadlock only two minutes later. There had been three goals in the first 11 minutes.
Olympians had no answer to the speed of Fortuna, which was placing the ball well.
Campbell, Oliver Spiteri and Joel Palermo played close, not giving Olympians any real chance of scoring.
Players settled down for a while until Scott broke Olympians’ spirit with a good run and goal approaching the half-hour mark.
There was a possession of goals for Fortuna in the second half, with Campbell, Spiteri, Tanti and Palermo adding their names to the list.
Tony Pardo got one back for Olympians, but it was too late to make much difference as Fortuna recorded its biggest win over Olympians since 2014.
MOE United defeated East Gippsland 7-0 in Bairnsdale.
Luke Bathgate was on fire from the start and he latched onto a goal square fumble from the East’s keeper to open the scoring five minutes in.
Riley Winkelman and Bailey Somerville combined well for Moe’s second goal.
Winkelman scored his first goal seven minutes later. Nick Fogerty crossed to Connor O’Hanlon, who belted the ball into the net. Two minutes later, Winkelman scored his second with a a good volley.
East Gippsland had no answer to Moe’s speed and positional play. Noah Kane was given space in the second half and he wrapped up the match with a spot kick goal.
MONASH came back onto the winners’ list with a 4-1 victory over Churchill United.
The Rams were well into the game before Monash drew first blood when Kyle Jennings scored in the 23rd minute. This paved the way for Chad Shelley, who scored only a few minutes later.
Lachlan Huizer got one back for the Rams just after the break, but Monash steadied, kept possession and finished off with goals from Josh Sandy and Kamal Gbric.
FALCONS continue its reign at the top of the table with another solid win on Saturday night, this time over Traralgon City, 3-1.
All four goals were scored during a frenzied first half.
Defender Elias Yousif scored Falcons’ first goal with only two minutes on the clock.
There was plenty of activity on field as Falcons revved up with some fancy play, which was rewarded when Jamie Pistrin score his 15th goal for the season.
Traralgon City was trying hard with Jack Lester and Ryan McCluskey getting plenty of the ball, but the Roosters were unable to crack the tight defence.
Consistent scorer Jake Budija got City on the board with three minutes left to half time, only for Nonda Lazaris to pierce the Roosters’ defence right on half-time to give Falcons a 3-1 lead at the break.
Neither team could score in the second stanza but City was out-played, giving way to good positional moves by Falcons.
MORWELL Pegasus had the bye.
