Men’s
Gambier Centrals v International
The Barry Maney Premier League’s opening round kicked off in style on Friday night as Gambier Centrals and International battled it out in a low scoring affair.
Centrals hosted the match at MGA Park, with the home side coming away victorious after a hard fought win.
There was not too much action in the first half as both sides had limited chances at taking the lead with both goal keepers in Centrals’ Alex Hill and Inter’s James Kipping really stepped up in the first half.
Both sides remained scoreless in the first half, but in the second half both coaches made some changes to the side.
Cameron Saint and Jasper Whitehead came on for Pacifique Baraka and Nico Teodoro while Inter just had the one early change with Eh Hsa Poe replacing Sar Hay Moo.
Centrals battled hard in the second half and it paid off as Sam Shoemark found the back of the net in the 57th minute to give Centrals the lead.
The Lions did well to hold off Inter as they looked to fight their way back into the match and come away with some points.
However Centrals ramped up their defence, rebuffing Inter’s attack to close out the victory and come away with the three points on their home deck.
Gambier Centrals defeated Inter 1-0.
Centrals’ head coach Scott Dickson was delighted with the result on Friday night but still believes there is work to be done to improve.
“I’m delighted with the result and the three points and it’s good to bounce back after losing last year’s final against Inter,” he said.
“However, I think we have got a long way to go to be able to play the way we want to play.
“We did not play very well but it’s good that we can still improve and get better through the season.”
Dickson thought the game was patchy and believed his side struggled to play the way they wanted.
“The game was pretty scrappy and we struggled to get it to the way we want to play and there was a lot of end to end balls from both sides and trying to catch each other off guard,” he said.
“I thought we had plenty of chances to score more goals but did not take them so a bit more composure is needed.”
Dickson thought there were a few players who stepped on Friday night.
“I was really happy with Jake Blackwell, as captain he did an outstanding job playing at centre back,” he said.
“I thought that Alex Hill in goals was also very good and Sam Shoemark finished off with a great goal as well.”
Apollo v Blue Lake
Blue Lake got their season off to a strong start with a solid win over Apollo on Sunday afternoon at Webb Street.
Neither side could gain control of the match early, with both sharing time with the ball.
The excitement ramped up in the back end of the first half as Blue Lake’s Gay Nai Hsar found the back of the net to give the Rangers the lead in the 35th minute.
However Blue Lake’s glory did not last long as Apollo responded with a goal from Tobbei Kennett eight minutes later.
With the scores tied and not much time left in the half Hsar found the back of the net again just before the break to regain the lead and securing himself a brace.
Blue Lake continued to push in the second half, while Apollo battled valiantly to tie the game up.
Blue Lake found the back of the net again as Shar Nay Than scored the sealer in the 83rd minute to give his side their first win of the season.
Blue Lake defeated Apollo 3-1
Portland Panthers v Naracoorte United
Portland Panthers came out the blocks firing as they registered their first win of the season when they hosted Naracoorte United.
Portland got away to a good start as Eleazar Meaola scored the first goal of the match after only 11 minutes.
After the early excitement neither side could impact the score board and the Panthers went into half time with a one goal lead.
Portland began to break away from Naracoorte in the second half as Panthers coach Troy Jensen scored two quick goals in the span of just one minute.
The Panthers kept their foot on the pedal as Nathan Adams got his name on the goal list while Jensen scored another to record a hattrick.
Following the barrage of goals from Portland, Naracoorte struggled to respond as the Panthers kept the pressure on.
Portland finished strong as Jensen kicked another goal to help seal a big victory as the Panthers took down Naracoorte by six goals.
Jensen finished the day with four goals.
Portland Panthers defeated Naracoorte United 6-0.
Women’s
Gambier Centrals v Inter
Gambier Centrals got off to a strong start to their 2025 season with a big win over Inter on Friday night at MGA Park.
It did not take long for Centrals to take the lead after dominating possession to begin the match.
In the 12th minute Centrals took the lead following an own goal from Claudia Vorwerk which was shortly followed by a goal from Jasmine Siemon, taking Centrals’ lead to two.
The Lions continued to dominate the game but could not hit the score board, despite numerous chances.
Centrals were able to break through Inter’s defence late in the first half as Patience Taipiha found the back of the net to give her side a three goal lead at half time.
Inter continued to struggle in the second half, unable to get much going and struggled to create scoring chances.
Centrals, on the other hand, continued to dominate the game and kept the score board ticking as Andi Corfield scored in the 52nd minute.
Late in the half Centrals put the finishing touches on a great night with a goal from Alita Huyser to secure the win.
Gambier Centrals defeated Inter 5-0.
Portland Panthers v Naracoorte United
Portland and Naracoorte had a shoot out on Sunday as the two sides battled it out in a high scoring match with the final result ending with the points being shared.
The Panthers took the lead early on in the match as Ebony Butcher found the back of the net in the 13th minute.
Naracoorte responded shortly after with a goal from Tanah Oliver, followed by a goal from Sophie Hole three minutes later.
The goals kept coming as Portland responded a minute later as Laura Kelly hit the score board to tie the game up.
Late in the first half Naracoorte made a big push to take the lead as Hole and Oliver found the back of the net again in very quick manner to take a two goal lead.
Just when it looked like Naracoorte were going into the break with a commanding lead they slipped up as Portland were awarded a penalty.
Imogen Pratt stepped up and slotted it right before the half to bring the Panthers to a one score game heading into the second half.
Naracoorte hit the scoreboard again as Hole scored her hattrick and reduced the lead to two goals.
Portland wasted no time cutting into Naracoorte’s lead as Pratt found the back of the net shortly after United’s goal.
The goal flurry began to slow, while Portland struggled to find the equalising goal.
The Panthers finally broke through late in the match when Pratt found the back of the net for a third time to tie it up in the 81st minute.
Neither side could get another score on the board and the game ended in a 5-5 draw.
Portland’s Imogen Pratt and Naracoorte’s Sophie Hole both had great games, finishing with a hattrick.
Apollo v Blue Lake
Reigning premiers Apollo did not get their 2025 campaign off to the right start on Saturday as they took on Blue Lake at home, which resulted in the sides sharing the points.
There was not much action in the first half as neither side could capitalise on their scoring chances, with a nil-all scoreline at the break.
It was the same story in the second half as both sides’ defences stood strong and did not make many mistakes as the opening goal still eluded them.
At the full time whistle neither side had found the back of the net as the game ended in a 0-0 draw with Blue Lake and Apollo taking a point each to start their seasons.
