By David Nagel
Pakenham United has been handed its first taste of defeat since round five after the Cougars lost 2-0 to Casey Panthers in a yellow-card fest at Henry Road on Saturday.
The first half was a typical arm wrestle, with both defensive units on top, with only a glimmer of hope for both teams to hit the score sheet.
The contest was also tight and intense with no team conceding an inch and the tackling of both teams was aggressive and effective.
Three players crossed the line drawn by the referee in the first half with Panther Mat Kaligianis entering the book in the 22nd minute, followed by Cougars Cameron Sayce and Garry Mousaco in the 26th and 32nd minute respectively.
Panther Wise Barakzoi rounded out the naughty-boy list just before half time.
The scores were locked at 0-0 at the break, with the Cougars having made two substitutions with Simon Johnstone-Robertson coming on for Vince Makota and Mousaca making way for Zain Ahmad.
Barakzoi was soon forgiven for his earlier indiscretion when he hit the back of the net in the 53rd minute to give the visitors a one-nil lead.
The Cougars became desperate and pushed the boundaries in the second half, receiving three cards in the space of 12 minutes.
The Cougars potential fightback became even more difficult in the 67th minute when Sayce was given his marching orders, the second red card in two weeks for the Cougars after keeper Josh Green was sent from the field last week.
Albert Mambo and Manny Christopher also had to tread wearily after receiving further cards in the 74th and 76th minutes.
The Panthers then put the contest out of reach after 87 minutes of play when Danny Di Vito…yes Danny Di Vito…gave the Panthers first goal a twin when he buried one to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Pakenham gave it everything in the dying stages and received its fifth yellow card for the match when Dallas McNeill was given a caution in the last minute of regular time.
Despite the loss the Cougars remain in equal fourth-place on the table….just six points behind ladder-leading Mentone.
Bunyip made it a bad day for our local teams when the Strikers gave up an early advantage to eventually go down 4-2 to Knox United.
Ryan Mackie had the Strikers up and about early after a calm conversion in the 30th minute of play before Knox struck back just one minute shy of half time.
Ayub Mohamed and Sean Bakker then gave Knox a 3-1 advantage shortly after the break, before Joel Witherdin gave the Strikers some hope with a classy finish with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Just one goal in arrears – 3-2 down – the Strikers threw everything at Knox in the final minutes, but their efforts would go unrewarded when Max Khalaf sealed the deal for Knox in the 86th minute of play.
Bunyip, who has now slipped to third last on the table, travel to play South East this Saturday, while Pakenham will also hit the road to take on second-placed Hampton Park.
Both games commence on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
MEN’S STATE LEAGUE 5 SOUTH SUMMARY
Round 15 – Results
Mt Martha 1 v Hampton Park 5, Pakenham 0 v Casey Panthers 2, Knox 4 v Bunyip 2, South East 1 v White Star Dandenong 4, Rosebud v Mentone – washed out, Aspendale – Bye.
Standings
Mentone 28, Hampton Park 26, White Star Dandenong 21, Aspendale 22, Pakenham 22, Rosebud 15, Casey Panthers 13, Knox 12, Bunyip 11, South East 6, Mt Martha 1.
Round 16 Fixture
Friday 8.30pm: White Star Dandenong v Aspendale. Saturday 3pm: Hampton Park v Pakenham, Mentone v Mt Martha, Knox v Casey Panthers, South East v Bunyip.
