Door opens for Epsom

Strathdale has left the door open for Epsom to claim the FFV-Central championship, with the Blues scoring a nil-all draw with the Moama Boarder Raiders.The draw puts the Blues only a game ahead of Epsom, who had the bye this weekend, and will play a catch-up match against Spring Gully next weekend.If Epsom defeats Spring Gully, the championship is likely to be decided in the final round on September 12 when Strathdale hosts Epsom.Strathdale was put on the back foot by the Boarder Raiders early, with Bryn Barnes-Webb and Angus Webb setting up plays. However, it was unable to capitalise on several opportunities.Rhys Clayton had chances to put Strathdale on the board, but his two early attempts were off line or saved by Moama keeper Nathan Whipp.Moama increased its intensity in the second half, forcing Strathdale to concede a number of corners, but it was unable to break through.In the last minutes of the match both Nathan and Gus Sartori had scoring attempts that went wide of the mark, while Jackson Clayton and Scott Linford had powerful shots that were saved by Whipp in the Moama goal. The score remained 0-0.A penalty late in the match saw Spring Gully draw 1-1 with Golden City side at Shadforth Park.The Rams’ young fullbacks Josh Claney and Sean Tomilson caused Spring Gully trouble early with driving runs forward.However, they were unable to capitalise on their opportunities.The first score came from Golden City’s Simon Last in the 49th minute, after his brother Jeremy forced an error in the Spring Gully defence to allow Simon to pounce and beat the Gully keeper.City looked set to take out the match before a late penalty for a hold in the box was awarded to Rowan Muller, who made no mistake in converting to level 1-1.In other matches, Eaglehawk scored a 3-0 win over Colts United, while Swan Hill scored a 1-0 home win over Castlemaine.In the women’s division, Colts United upset ladder leaders Eaglehawk 5-2 with Colts’ Tayla Maloney scoring two goals.Eaglehawk was put on the back foot early by Colts who ran away to a 4-1 lead at half time following goals to Maloney (2) Bethany McDonald and Alisha Shadford. Eaglehawk striker Chloe Parker managed a late goal for the Borough.Following an early second term goal by Rebecca Berry for Colts, Eaglehawk managed to stem the Colts goaling onslaught in the final term. Frankel scored the Borough’s second goal for the match.In other women’s matches, Spring Gully defeated Golden City 2-0, Swan Hill won 4-2 over Castlemaine and Moama scored a 2-0 away victory at Strathdale.