Balmain Wanderers

There was an Afghan feel to proceedings as the Wanderers travelled to picturesque Smithfield to take on Bakhtar Glory in Round 7 of the Sydney Amateur League.

The Reserves were a little under-strength and were forced to nominate a dodgy keeper from the bench. Luckily he was not called into action much as they came away with a convincing 5-0 win. Uncle Geordie got things going with a penalty after Bakhtar had handled in the box. Chris Brookwell got another shortly after to give them a 2-0 lead at the break. In the second half Kieran Buckley got one and Fergal Donlon scored twice (once with an assist from the aforementioned keeper!)

The First Grade came away with a well earned 3-0 win. Leading 1-0 at half time thanks to a goal from Luke Skinner, they got more in control in the second half and put in an improved performance to give them their second (official) win of the season. Both second half goals coming from Eddie ‘the greyhound’ Fitzgerald.

Wanderers returned to Easton Park on Saturday last to host Thirsties. It was a case of mixed fortunes again with the Reserve Grade going down 3-2 but the First Grade winning 1-0.

Reserve Grade were unlucky not to come away with more from this game. A poor first half performance saw them trailing 2-0 at half time. However they rallied in the second half and peppered the Thirties goal with shots. Kieran Buckley continued his scoring form and Mickey Gunn calmly slotted home a penalty. Thirsties grabbed a late goal however to run out winners. Read Full Mach Report

In the First Grade game manager Ian had a wealth of talent at his disposal with one of the best set of subs in the league. In a close encounter Paul Wildin sent in a cross/shot which the keeper failed to contain and it slipped into the net. This was to be the difference between the sides as the Wanderers got their league hopes back on track to win on a final score of 1-0.