Albany Caledonian have given themselves some breathing space at the top of the Great Southern Soccer Association senior men’s ladder with a win over nearest rivals Polonia.
Saturday’s 4-1 win put them four points clear at the top, but they were made to battle in a competitive first half in which they went a goal down — and they lost Nathan Kay to a straight red card late in the second.
Reuben Winter put Polonia ahead with only five minutes gone, and they held their own for the rest of the half.
But just after the break, Hugh Price levelled for Calies and then a goal and a penalty, both struck by Douglas Grant, gave the defending champions a 3-1 lead.
Eh Blut Shawadded the gloss for 4-1 with a strike in the 87th minute, then Kay received his marching orders with two minutes to go.
Despite the defeat, the top two are well clear of third-placed Phoenix, who are two points clear of Rovers after beating them 5-2.
It was quite a contest as Phoenix went 2-0 up, only to be pegged back to 2-2 in an entertaining first half.
After the break, however, Phoenix took control with three goals, sealing the win and the points.
Corey Plug enjoyed his afternoon for Phoenix with a hat-trick, and Jason Bosch and Cameron Dekker were their other scorers.
Rovers’ marksmen were William Chetwin and Andreas Bouzinekis, their goals coming a minute apart just before half-time.
The Caledonian women were held to a 1-1 draw by Phoenix in their senior league contest, with Holly Froehnelt converting a penalty to put Calies in front.
Amaya Dobbe equalised with five minutes to go to claim a share of the spoils.
Rovers were 2-1 winners over Polonia thanks to a last-gasp strike from Georgia Whitelaw, her second goal of the game.
Miriam Ward scored for Polonia.
Sharks were put to the sword 11-1 by Denmark, with Liza Nekel and Elise Beaubien grabbing four goals each.
The women’s focus on Saturday will be the annual Brenda McCann contest between Rovers and Caledonian — with Rovers hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s 9-1 trouncing that handed Calies the league title.
The match is played in tribute to McCann, who established one of the first women’s teams in the Great Southern.
They got their start in the under-14 boys’ competition, but have since gone from strength to strength.
In the men’s reserves competition there were victories for Caledonian and Polonia.
Calies beat Phoenix 2-1 thanks to two strikes from Ben Harris, while Polonia’s 8-0 trouncing of Rovers featured a Charlie Corson treble.
Calies and Phoenix drew 0-0 in the women’s reserves league, while Polonia were 3-0 winners over Denmark Rezzies.
Calies, Old Boys and Rovers Vets were the victors in the men’s masters division on August 6, while Sharks, Denmark and Polonia prospered in the socials on August 5.
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