Curtin were quite relaxed heading in to their match against bottom-of-the-ladder UWA-Nedlands on Sunday August 29th. The game was delayed by ten minutes, and the first half was shortened by ten minutes due to having to find someone to referee and the ground only being available for the time slot allocated. The hassles of finding a referee and finding a way to the ground while avoiding the many roadblocks due to the annual City to Surf did not affect Curtin in any way and they came out with all guns blazing. Talia Crombie was looking to have a day out, having several close shots in the first ten minutes. Curtin scored the first goal through Madeline Chandler, easily dribbling through several defenders to take the shot. Chandler also scored the second goal after receiving an excellent pass from Grace Carmichael on the wing. The third and fourth were also scored by Curtin in the first half, a third by Chandler and one by Liza Nekel, who was perfectly positioned in front of goal to get on the end of a Laura Lammie cross, giving Curtin a 4-0 lead at half time. UWA-Nedlands had several plays which were potentially threatening, however only one had to be saved by the goalkeeper, all the rest were managed by the Curtin defence who played well all day.

The second half was simply a continuation of the first, with Curtin determined not to take their foot off the accelerator. Chandler got a free kick on the wing after being taken out by a slide tackle when she had already played the ball several metres out in front. She managed to put the ball through the fingers of the UWA goalkeeper right in front of goal and straight to the waiting Sara Zadnik, who easily pushed the ball across the line and in for a well-deserved goal. Jessica Nugent got the next goal after a run down the wing and a shot from just outside the box. UWA-Nedlands seemed to have given up all hope and were now just trying to prevent more goals being scored against them. Grace Carmichael then got her second, as did Liza Nekel, who was playing a great game on the left wing. With ten minutes to go Renae Tuia was moved into striker to try for a goal, however wasn’t able take advantage of this and score. Sarah Treloar also wasn’t able to capitalise on a brilliant pass to her from Chandler right in front of goal, however she then managed to cut off an attempt at a clearing kick out of defence and passed to Talia Crombie, who put the ball in for number ten.

By Tom Kitson

The reserves took on Armadale at the weekend, hoping for better fortune than the last time the teams met where Curtin lost 4-3 at the death. The game was tight all day and unfortunately the boys just couldn’t find the back of the net, losing 1-0 courtesy of a scrappy goal to Armadale in the second half.

The first half saw few chances at goal for either side, with Armadale rarely threatening and Curtin unable to find the finishing touch. Frank and Dave worked hard all day in the midfield, providing run and opportunites in the attacking half. However no one was able to finish off the chances created and the scores were level at 0-0 at half time.

The second half saw more attacking prowess from Curtin, yet still with no result. Armadale managed to push forward and scored through an unfortunate series of rebounds and failed clearances. The ball was eventually sent towards goal over keeper Dale’s head, then hit the crossbar and came down for an Armadale player to poke over the line.

Despite the setback Curtin rallied and continued pressing until the final whistle, but it wasn’t to be and Armadale got away with a narrow win for the second time this season.

The Curtin division two first team defeated Armadale 3-1 in a game where Daniel Tibbit scored a magnificent brace with Erik Holm Nilsson scoring the third.

The Curtin division two first team defeated Balga 6-0 in a game where Eddie Tikoft and Chris Ward both showed their class with two goals each as well as dominating performances. Playing in their lucky yellow away kit the Curtin team were missing captain Antony Russo to illness but they put that aside and got the job done with three goals in each half. Tikoft opened the scoring finishing of some fine play well by putting it into the bottom corner past the Balga keeper. He was then involved in build-up play that saw right back Alex Thurstan break into the box and coolly finish to score his first for the season and make it 2-0. Ward then had a chance to make it three but was unable to connect cleanly with a ball squared by Tikoft. He then returned the favour for Tikoft playing through a sublime ball that Tikoft kept in front o himself and while fending off a tackle blasted it into the corner to make it 3-0.

Curtin came out in the second half with the goal of improving their goal difference and, after a sluggish start, they did just that. The first chance fell to Ward, when Tikoft broke down the wing and cut the ball back to the edge of the D where Ward struck firmly and first time into the side netting. The next chance fell to Thurstan as he again broke down the wing with pace but could only toe Wards through ball wide of the post under pressure from the keeper. Ward scored his second not soon after with another strike that left the keeper no chance and Curtin were on a roll. The next chance fell to David Cantoni who had been quiet all game. After a fine save and some action in the goal mouth Cantoni was able to beat the keeper but his shot was cleared off the line by the last defender. Minutes later Tikoft played a neat ball for Daniel Tibbitt (who was returning from illness and injury) who unselfishly squared for Calum McMulkin to slot from 6 yards out with no one to beat. Both Ward and Tibbitt had good shouts for penalties waved away and the final score ended at 6-0 to Curtin.

Man of the match Tikoft was outstanding all day both creating and scoring goals along with Ward who seems in ominous form. Aaron Robbins and Jordan Gibbs were delightful in the midfield while Chase Parker and Erik Holm Nilsson made light work of the little attack that Balga had. With International Calcio and Heathridge sharing the points as well as Kelmscott’s match against a strong Floreat side being postponed the top of the table is very tight with just 1 point and goal difference separating first from fourth.

The Curtin div 2 reserves continued with their rich vein of form with their fifth win in 8 outings. Curtin put three goals past a young Balga side with Neville Benson netting twice and Campbell Ballantyne scoring once. Curtins standout on the day was Daniel Tibbitt who was returning from injury and illness who showed vast amounts of pace and inteligence.

Curtin were desperate to beat North Beach in round 14 and replace them at the top of the ladder. North Beach is the only team to have beaten Curtin this season, and Curtin were keen for revenge. The game started with Curtin attacking hard, as they had planned, getting the ball into the box several times before North Beach even got into attack, however they were not able to capitalise on this early dominance and soon the game turned around and North Beach began to break through the Curtin defence. North Beach scored the first goal, when two players were left on their own in the middle and got an easy shot on goal. Curtin began to worry after North Beach also scored the second goal, with a shot rebounding off the crossbar and onto the chest of a North Beach player and into the goal. North Beach almost had a third goal, when number four found some space and the ball in attack and was lining up her shot on goal when Mary Hikumuah came out of nowhere to cut off the shot. The shock of almost being 3-0 down spurred the Curtin team, Madeline Chandler in particular, into action. From kick-off, Chandler ran forward and received an excellent pass down the wing from Megan MacNaughton and put the ball over the top of North Beach defenders and their goalkeeper for Curtin’s first. From the opposition kick-off, Chandler stole the ball and dribbled through several North Beach defenders to get a clear shot on goal and level the scores. The half-time whistle went shortly after and Curtin were pumped to get a drink on the warm day then get back out and continue the momentum they had just created.

The second half was an arm wrestle, with Curtin scoring the first goal through Sophie Fletcher running through the middle of the field, receiving a perfect pass from Chandler and putting it away. Curtin had several more shots on goal, with Fletcher, Sumeet Pal and Branwen Morgan starting to get away from the North Beach defence, however their defence had the speed to stay with the Curtin players and managed to put enough pressure on them to put them off their shots. Megan MacNaughton was having a great game on the wing, demonstrating her high level of fitness by constantly running forward to assist the strikers and back to help in defence. North Beach were not getting through the Curtin defence as easily as they had in the first half, with the defence line of Georgia Koval, Renae Tuia, Laura Lammie and Mary Hikumuah and Sarah Treloar tightening up and cutting of many of the plays North Beach were trying to create. Just as Curtin began to think they had the wood on North Beach, they broke through, with number ten taking a shot which was almost saved by keeper Jess Sheridan. A very rare error by the Curtin goalkeeper saw the ball slide through her fingers and bounce through her legs to level the scores at 3-3. The game was slightly distrupted not long after this, with Laura Lammie attempting to clear the ball, only for it to roll over her boot and back in the direction of Sheridan, the goalkeeper then picked it up, as it had not been intentionally kicked to her. One North Beach player, number five, however felt that it was a back pass and began to argue and swear at the referee for not giving her team a free kick. She was given a yellow card. The North Beach players began to argue with each other regarding the call. Number five continued to swear at the referee, then ran off the field, continuing to debate the call abusively, and the referee gave her another yellow card. Curtin soon capitalised on the disruption of their opposition’s focus. North Beach soon had a goal kick, which was brilliantly cut off by striker Branwen Morgan, who was standing in front of her defender, and then managed to comfortably control the ball and put it straight back past the goalkeeper and in for a goal. The score was then 4-3 with less than ten minutes to play. The next five minutes were an arm wrestle, with Curtin defending hard and North Beach throwing everything they had at the home team. North Beach got one last chance to attack and a North Beach player put a shot up which hit the crossbar and bounced back. Number ten was running in to follow up the shot, though unfortunately for her and her team the bouncing ball hit her in the arm and fell dead at her feet. The referee had no choice but to call hand-ball against North Beach and Curtin cleared the ball as far up the field as they could. The final whistle was blown and Curtin celebrated, elated to have won the game and regained their position on the top of the table.

The Curtin div 2 first team needed a win to stay in the hunt for promotion and they got just that in an interesting game against Golden Lily at South Oval. Cracking strikes from Aaron Robbins and Erik Holm Nilsson inspired Curtin to a 4-3 win against a hard fighting Lily. With other results in the league varying Curtin remain in 4th place but only 3 points adrift of league leaders Kelmscott.

After dominating the early parts of the match Curtin found a breakthrough when Robbins hit a pile driver from 30 yards that looked to be sailing over the bar but at the final instance dipped more than a vegan into hummus and left the Lily ‘keeper to watch it rocket into the top corner of the net. With jubilant celebrations Curtin had broken their goal drought of recent weeks in emphatic fashion. It was only a few moments later when a probing run by David Cantoni led to a free kick twenty five yards from goal after he was brought down. Up stepped Nilsson who, not to be outdone by the Robbins goal, powered a bullet over the wall that cannoned into the crossbar above the out stretched hand of the Lily ‘keeper. The rebound hit the keeper in the back of the head and deflected across the line to make it 2-0 to the home side. Kye Middleton then had a chance after Cantoni found the ever present Jordan Gibbs, who played in Chris Ward, who then put the ball into Middleton’s path but his half volley sailed agonizingly wide of the upright and the teams went into the break with the score at 2-0.

The second half was an interesting affair with 5 goals and a red card. Lily scored first after the break when a deflected shot found an unmarked Lily player in a clearly offside position. He netted from 6 yards out and was awarded the goal as the referee waved the linesman’s flag away. Curtin quickly got back on track with some nice build up play that led to Eddie Tikoft receiving the ball wide, drawing and then feeding the ball past the advancing keeper for Robbins to net his second of the day from 3 yards out. Curtin then scored their 4th quickly with Tikoft and Antony Russo combining brilliantly and Russo putting the ball into Tikoft’s path for him to fire home from 15 yards making it 4-1. Curtin then had two goals disallowed for offside which was surprising to many as the referee had in this instance decided to listen to the linesman even though it seemed, at least in one instance, that the linesman had made a blatant error. Curtin was put under pressure with two quick goals to Golden Lily and a ton of forward pressure but they held on to the lead and won the game 4-3.

Standouts for Curtin were the midfield maestro Russo and his partner in crime Robbins as well as Chris Ward and Tikoft up front.

Division 2 Men Reserves Match Report By Tom Kitson.

The Division 2 Reserves side took on Golden Lily at the weekend, a team they easily beat last time around. There were high expectations on the playing group to get the win after losing the last two.

The game started out as a scrappy affair with neither side able to maintain possession. Curtin scored first through Phil Rogers, who used his pace and shooting skills well playing up front. Curtin felt comfortable in the lead but Golden Lily responded quickly with their first meaningful attack, getting through the defense and scoring from close range.

The scoreboard stayed even until halftime. Coach Neville Benson told the players during the break they needed to improve and play on their terms, by holding the ball in midfield. Curtin responded immediately after the break, putting together a stunning set of passes ending in a powerful finish from Rogers to retake the lead. However, Golden Lily responded again on a counterattack which got through the midfield and defense too easily making it 2-2.

The Curtin side knew they needed to win and the team lifted to again set up Rogers for a third, which he slotted into the net after another quick break through Lily’s defense. Despite having more chances on goal, some heated aggression between the two sides and a number of controversial challenges, the game ended 3-2 to Curtin. It wasn’t the type of win they’d hoped for, but Curtin are back on the winner’s list this week.

The Curtin division two first team travelled to Kelmscott for a 3rd vs 4th battle. Curtin started the brighter and after creating a few chances scored first. A far post ball was nodded into the centre by Peter Talikowski and blasted into the back of the net from 6 yards by new signing Micael Cardoso leaving no chance for the Kelme keeper from that range. Cardoso scoring on debut for Curtin must have been a good feeling for manager Campbell Ballantyne who had considered starting him at right back but thought better of it and put him at the point of the attacking three.

Almost straight from kick off Kelmscott earned a penalty when the attacker drew a sliding block from the Chase Parker, pushed the ball away from the defender and stepped into the challenge before hitting the deck. Some very intelligent play from the Kelme number 11 and scores were level at 1-1.

Curtin still dominated possession through the midfield with Antony Russo, Chris Ward and Eddie Tikoft linking up well and Aaron Robbins putting in a solid performance. The pitch didn’t help Curtin’s passing game however and after another move was broken down by the paddock like outfield the same Kelmscott striker that earned the penalty then scored a cracker by using strength and composure before a classy half volley with the outside of the boot left goalkeeper Calum MkMulkin no chance as it burst into the side netting from a tight angle.

Curtin then dominated possession and turned it into chances and if not for the Kelme keeper pushing a Robbins thunderbolt from 35 yards onto the upright and some last minute challenges from the Kelmscott defence it could have been a different score at the break.

Curtin came out in the second half and dominated possession but found it hard to break down a disciplined and physical Kelmscott defence. Kelmscott’s man of the match, number 11, went off with what looked like a groin injury and Curtin got right on top creating wave after wave of opportunity.

Cardoso linked up well with Ward that led to Tikoft hitting the cross bar from 15 yards out. In the move the Cardoso injured his ankle on the uneven Kelmscott surface and was replaced by David Cantoni up front. Curtin continued to dominate but Kelmscott scored against the run of play a throw got down the bye line and was cut square and was somehow deflected through the legs of McMulkin to make it 3-1.

Curtin still looked like they could get back into it and a Cantoni strike from 25 yards forced the Kelmscott keeper to dive and deflect the ball wide. The overlapping Kye Middleton was adjudged to have been fouled but the referee made an error in giving a free kick just outside the box when it was obviously 2 metres inside the box and only the momentum of the foul took Middleton outside of the penalty area. Ward then beat 2 players with great strength and skill and was attacking the goals but in what seemed a bizarre decision the referee pulled the game back and awarded Ward a free kick for an earlier foul rather than playing advantage.

Kelmscott played a physical game but were lucky to get 3 points against Curtin in a game when the Uni boys absolutely dominated the football. Curtin needs to take the form from this week and turn it into results if they are to win promotion to division one next season. Standouts for Curtin were new signing Cardoso, the midfield trio of Robbins, Ward and Russo as well as the ever present Jordan Gibbs who’s ability to fill roles has made him indispensible to the Curtin team.

Curtin’s Division two clash with Port Kennedy was a short, but not sweet, one, with the game lasting a total of only 56 minutes.

Curtin were at full strength for the match and keen to avenge their draw with Port Kennedy in the earlier rounds. Five minutes into the match it looked like it could turn sour, with brilliant defender Mary Hikumuah going down after receiving a kick to the ankle from a Port Kennedy player. Thankfully for Curtin, she returned to the field not long after the incident. Megan McNaughton then went down after a sloppy tackle from port Kennedy caught her in the knee, and she too had to leave the field due to injury and once again, managed to come back on ten minutes later. From then on Curtin got serious, attacking strongly, with Sophie Fletcher putting in her first since her return off a corner ball and the team’s 50th goal for the season. Port Kennedy got given several free kicks through the middle from claims the Curtin girls were holding, however this was the only times they managed to get forward, and most of these balls over the top were comfortably collected by goalkeeper Sarah Treloar. Branwen Morgan scored Curtin’s next goal – and absolute blinder from almost in the corner. Morgan controlled the bouncing ball as it moved toward the sideline and managed to whip it around her body and miraculously in for a goal. Curtin’s third goal came quickly after that and it seemed like the floodgates had opened, with Sumeet Pal running hard to get to the ball and flick it while still in the air, past the goalkeeper and into the net. Grace Carmichael, Megan McNaughton and Mary Hikumuah were having great games, relishing a bit of space down the right wing and easily burning off any opposition. Nearing half time, Sophie Fletcher, who was having a brilliant game in the midfield, scored her second for the match after receiving a through ball, dribbling it into the box and caressing it past the goalkeeper. Not long after this, Port Kennedy managed to get the ball through the Curtin defence for the strikers to run onto, however this was quite easily gathered by goalkeeper Sarah Treloar, only to be run into and kicked by the Port Kennedy striker, causing a serious thumb injury. The Curtin team was outraged by the move and even more so by the failure of the referee to give the offender a card. Thankfully the half time whistle was blown soon after and Curtin had time to gather their thoughts and turn their mind back to the game they were there to win.

Curtin came out after half time ready to bury their opponents, however Port Kennedy had also stepped up a gear, taking several shots which were well-saved by new keeper Jess Sheridan, then scoring the first goal from a ball passed through the defence and to the strikers to run into goal. Curtin then had their turn to attack and the ball was passed out in front of Sophie Fletcher once again, however it was also passed out in front of a Port Kennedy defender, who chased the ball and got her studs caught in the ground, causing a her to twist her ankle quite badly. The referee could not continue the match with the player down, and the medical assistants refused to move the player off the pitch due to the amount of pain she was in and the potential to make the injury worse. The ambulance was called and the game was ended in the 56th minute, handing Curtin a 4-1 win.

The Curtin University division 2 team took on third-placed Kingsley at South oval on August the first. Right from kick-off it looked to be a tough match, though both teams looked below their best, Curtin in particular looking sluggish. Despite this, Curtin’s defence still held firm and Kingsley didn’t look much like scoring in the first half. The situation was very similar for Curtin, with several shots going through, but none looking particularly threatening. Megan McNaughton was one of few Curtin players looking on her game, battling hard on the wing and linking up well with Jess Sheridan from defence. Scores were 0-0 at half time, both teams disappointed with their efforts and keen to rectify things in the second half.

Kingsley put the first one in after half time, much to Curtin’s frustration, after Kingsley’s number 8 found a hole in the defence and ran through to score the goal. Curtin hit back within the next five minutes, with a corner kick from Madeline Chandler deceiving and bouncing through all players in the box and arriving at Megan McNaughton’s feet, who calmly put the ball in the back of the net. Curtin then continued to dominate play for the next 15 minutes, with Sarah Treloar, Sophie Fletcher and Bran Morgan all having excruciatingly close shots on goal, Grace Carmichael had also lifted her game to provide excellent run down the wing, feeding the Curtin strikers. Kingsley then turned the momentum, dominating play toward the end of the match, exposing holes in the Curtin defence. Though, similarly to Curtin, were unable to convert this dominance into goals. With about five minutes to go, Kingsley looked certain to score, with number 8 once again breaking through the defence, though the shot was brilliantly cut-off by a desperate chase from defender Jessica Lowes, saving the match for Curtin. The final whistle was blown shortly after, with both teams coming away with a draw.

The last time these two teams met it was a 3-3 thriller which saw Curtin cough up a 2-0 lead before rescuing a point in the dying moments of the game. This time around, Curtin started very strongly in the opening 15 minutes, dominating possession and knocking the ball around with ease which eventually led to strikers Rabeen and James McCann linking up, with Rabeen nodding the ball onto McCann to slot past the keeper. A nice interaction down the right side saw space open up for player/coach Mick Philp with a nice diagonal through ball from Daniel Young, that was put just wide by Philp. Despite the possession, Belmont equalised from a Wimbledon-esque long boot from the goal keeper, with centre back Troy Kritter pushed out of the way it lead to a 2 on 1 and Belmont equalised. Shortly after, newly announced retiree Philp suffered a horrible injury to his chronic achilles complaint after knicking the ball from the centreback who was still swinging his leg and connected fully with Philp's achilles and ending his contribution for the day, and bringing into doubt his ability to play in his final match in 2 weeks. Shortly after the restart Belmont went ahead as their striker mazed his way through the Curtin defence. Rabeen equalised for Curtin and scored a nice goal after riding two tackles to blast his left foot shot into goal. The restart after half time saw Curtin come close several times, but they conceeded on a corner. Despite breaking down the Belmont defence time after time, Villa's goal keeper earnt man of the match points for denying several one on ones from McCann. Despite Curtin's best effort, everything Belmont touched turned to gold, and they scored another 2 more, their 5th was the choice of the day with a solo effort from the striker, who ended the day with a quality goal and a red card for two silly yellows, but it was too late in the game for Curtin to make anything of the numerical advantage.

The division 2 Curtin Womens team played their second of back-to-back games against Wembley Downs at Butlers Reserve on Sunday July 25th. Curtin came into the game confident, having won against the same team a week ago, and having several players return, giving them a stronger team this week. However Wembley Downs were ready for revenge and came out hard, and Curtin, having lost key striker Branwen Morgan before the match, couldn’t get on top as they had been earlier in the season. Wembley scored the first goal, finding a hole in the Curtin defence and slipping the ball just past goalkeeper Georgia Koval. Wembley Downs’ number ten looked very much a threat from the beginning, and Curtin weren’t able to neutralise her as easily as they had the previous week. Curtin still had their patches of dominance, including some brilliant plays down the wing between Liza Nekel and Madeline Chandler, however weren’t able to put the ball in the net, with several attempts being saved by the Wembley Downs goalie, or the quick defence. Wembley Downs scored a second goal, bouncing off both goal posts and then, to Curtin’s despair, rolling over the line. Curtin then snapped into action, realising they may have underestimated their opponents and lifting their game. With five minutes left in the half, Madeline Chandler finally broke through the Wembley Downs defence to put an excellent shot just past the outreached hands of the goalkeeper, keeping Curtin only one goal down at half time.

The Curtin team which came out after half time was a different side from that in the first half, they dominated from the start, attacking the ball and tackling hard. The defence stepped up, closing the gaps which previously had existed and ensured the ball came quickly out of the Curtin defensive half on the occasions when it went in there. Laura Lammie was coming out of defence which scared the opposition, using her huge boot to take several close shots on goal. Megan McNaughton had stepped up her game in the midfield and looked threatening, dribbling past the Wembley Downs defence and using her body to protect the ball well. Curtin’s first goal of the half was from a free kick taken by Chandler which found the head of McNaughton, then the back of the net. Curtin’s next goal came shortly after, courtesy of Grace Carmichael taking a composed shot under pressure in the box. This put Curtin in the lead for the first time in the match. Wembley Downs levelled the scores after goalkeeper Sarah Treloar dropped a corner kick, which was then chipped over her head and into the goals. Wembley Downs then moved the fast, dangerous number ten onto Curtin’s Chandler to reduce her impact, unfortunately for them, that led to Wembley Downs to have very little avenue to goal and they did not look like scoring from then on. Curtin, however, were still on the attack, with Grace Carmichael taking a run down the wing and having a shot, to be saved by the goalkeeper, but bouncing straight to Sara Zadnik, who casually put the ball straight back past the goalkeeper and in for Curtin’s fourth goal. Curtin then struck Wembley Downs a final blow, with another awesome shot from Laura Lammie finding the top corner of the goal, giving Curtin a 5-3 win.

The last time these two teams met the game finished 1-1 after 0-0 at half time, a saved penalty by the Curtin keeper, Royals scoring late and Curtin scoring even later. This time around was almost a mirror image with the game finishing 1-1, after Curtin missed a penalty, scored what seemed to be the winner in the 89th minute and conceeded an equaliser in the 90th minute! The first half almost started brightly with James Bubbs McCann causing a turnover in the Royals defensive half and cutting the ball to Mark Bradley who put his shot on his non-preferred foot wide. From there it was a midfield tussle, with neither team really pressing and it looked to be a dour draw. Indeed, team stalwart Joel Woods commented at half time that Curtin were "holding Royals really well". The 2nd half, however, was perhaps some of the finest football Curtin div 6 has produced all season, with straight from kick-off Curtin strung almost 15-20 passes without interception by Royals. Martyn Taylor was introduced at half time for the injured Omar, and provided great spark down the left side, linking up brilliantly with Mick Philp and Ruth. Later in the half Curtin broke down the Royals defence for McCann who had a low shot well saved by the Royals keeper. Fraser Smithson linked in well and found himself put through to the penalty box where he intelligently caused the Royals defender to foul him for a penalty. Unfortunately, he sent the resultant penalty wide. It seemed despite the possession dominance, easily 60-40 in Curtin's favour, it was destined for a draw until McCann slotted home a goal after good work from Marcus Hill and Mark Bradley. Curtin only needed to survive another minute, however, a free kick in the middle of the park saw a lofted ball headed over the Curtin defence and the Royals striker sent in a deft volley leaving the keeper no chance whatsoever and collectively breaking Curtin's heart. The referee signalled the end of the game immediately after the goal.

The Curtin Div 2 first team went out against a struggling North Beach team looking to get their season back on track and maintain their place at the top of the table but North Beach had other ideas for the afternoon’s game. North Beach threatened early from long throw-ins on the small pitch and it was from one of these that the deadlock was broken. A North Beach flick on was not dealt with by the Curtin defence and North Beach were able to poach at the back post and take the lead. This turned Curtin on and I n no time the increased pressure payed dividends as David Cantoni pressured the ‘keeper on a ball just outside the box and was able to slide in and toe the ball into the back of the net to bring scores level. Curtin dominated possession in the later parts of the half but were not able to take their chances against a solid North Beach defensive line.

North Beach scored from a set piece mid way through the second half when substitute ‘keeper Viraj Bhagatwala advanced off his line but was beaten in the air by the North Beach player who nodded into the empty net. Curtin lifted the pace and with a North Beach player getting a straight red card for retaliation against Cantoni it seemed that maybe Curtin could get back into the game but a soft penalty given against Kye Middleton when the North Beach player went to ground after shoulder to shoulder contact helped North Beach to a 3-1 lead. Curtin went all out attack for the last 15 minutes and it produced the best goal this season Curtin with the hard working Chris Ward going past 3 players, looking up, seeing the North Beach keeper off his line and sticking it in the top corner from 30 yards out to make it 3-2. This gave a sniff for Curtin to pick up a point with 5 or so minutes to go but it wasn’t to be and Curtin had been defeated for the second time in a row this season.

Curtin could again complain about some poor refereeing decisions that cost them for the second game in a row but in the end it is part of football and if they are to find their winning way again need to put it behind them and improve dramatically if they are to beat title challengers International Calcio next week. Once again luck was on Curtin’s side with results in other matches going their way and they maintain top spot on the ladder. Standouts this week were few and far between but Chris Ward worked hard all day and Chase Parker made some timely interventions at the back for Curtin as well as captain Antony Russo again putting in a man of the match performance.

Earlier in the day the Curtin div 2 reserves made further improvements on their standings with a solid 2-1 win over North Beach. The scorers were Rabine Kader and Neville Benson, with standouts being Benson, Calum McMulkin in the middle of the park and Viraj Bhagatwala in goals.

Curtin were missing several key players in their match against fifth-placed Wembley Downs on July 18th, however it did not show in their game. Many of the players who had come up from the division five team slotted in easily and made it very tough for the coach to decide who will be going back down to division five next week. The game was predominantly played in Curtin’s attacking half, however the first twenty minutes were scrappy, with both teams taking time to settle in. After this twenty minutes, Curtin found their skills and started to link up beautifully across the field with the speed of wingers Cat Mahon and Liza Nekel, and forwards Talia Crombie and Bran Morgan giving Curtin the advantage and several shots on goal. A corner ball saw Curtin get their first goal, with the Wembley defence trying to clear the ball, only to have it slam into the foot of Curtin’s Branka Prodanovic and rebound into the back of the net.

Jess Sheridan and Mary Hikumuah were playing excellent games in defence, keeping the ball in Curtin’s attacking half, chasing down any opposition players who tried to get through the goal. Curtin’s second goal came shortly after, with the Wembley goalkeeper misreading the bounce of the ball and the ball crossing the goal line courtesy of a contest for a header between Bran Morgan and a Wembley defender.

The second half was played very similarly to the first, with Curtin again having an excellent defence and Jessica Lowes being put in charge of shutting down Wembley’s only goal scoring threat. Bran Morgan looked threatening once again, with shots going just over the top of the crossbar, to the Wembley goalkeeper or just on the wrong side of the post. Scores stayed at 2-0 for the half, handing Curtin another win, putting them on top of the ladder.

The div 6 boys travelled to Balcatta to play top of the table Jaguars on Sunday. The last game between the two was a close 3-2 loss and Curtin were hoping to make amends. After starting brightly, Curtin unfortunately made 2 critical errors to gift Jaguars a 2 goal advantage. However, player/coach Mick Philp made some adjustments to the formation to open up more space in a congested midfield due to a small pitch, which seemed to help. Eventually a break by Phillip Rogers saw Martyn Taylor pop one in just before half time. The 2nd half was a similar encounter to the first half, with the poor state of the pitch severely disrupting Curtin's reknowned passing game and causing multiple turnovers for both teams in the middle of the park. Rogers had a chance to level the scores after a nice interchange saw him break clear for a one on one with the keeper which was well saved. At the other end 'keeper Viraj Bhagatwala made a few good saves as Jaguars started to get on top of a frustrated Curtin who were unable to break down their stiff defence. In the last few minutes of the game Jaguars took a quick free kick and scored by catching out Curtin who were still preparing a wall. A disappointing result in the end, but the game was much closer than the scoreline suggested.

The Curtin div 2 first team suffered their second loss for the season against a very physical Kwinana side that took their chances and were the better on the day. Kwinana came out hard and when the referee failed to brandish any yellow cards early to stamp out poor challenges on a wet and muddy pitch the game was set to be a heated exchange.

Kwinana scored first through a misplaced pass from David Cantoni that saw Curtin on the back foot. Kwinana broke quickly taking their opportunity well and Curtin were down 1-0 before they even got moving. Curtin were back in it at 1-1 not long after when some good football put Antony Russo through and he took his chance slotting the ball under the keeper to make it 1-1. Then a hard hit on Curtin's Chase Parker that was lucky to go unpunished left him unable to jump or move freely, he tried valiantly to play on but Kwinana scored from a corner straight after and then Parker had to leave the ground. Kwinana realised their physical presence was unsettling the Curtin boys and many bad hits were let go by the referee. They Troy Pippin was unlucky to give away a penalty but the Kwinana player finished it well and Curtin were all at sea and 3-1 down. It seemed it couldn’t get any worse for Curtin until a hopeful ball into the box hit Jordan Gibbs in the shins and it skidded awkwardly into the bottom corner of the net out of reach of the diving Calum McMulkin. Curtin went into the break 4-1 down with their heads hanging and it seemed that Kwinana had effectively used their strength and menace to break Curtin’s spirits.

Curtin came out in the second half still thinking they had a sniff of getting something out of the game but Kwinana scored early and put the game to bed making it 5-1. The Kwinana central midfielder was finally sent off but not for any of his rash tackles it was for a hand ball when Chris Ward schooled with some classy football, the Kwinana player received his second yellow and was sent from the pitch. With a man extra Curtin began to string some passes together but never showed enough fight to claw their way back into the game. Ward suffered one of the most horrendous tackles ever witnessed by this reporter as a Kwinana player lunged two footed into the middle of his shin directly in front of the Referee who decided that there was "nothing in it". This incident, sadly, really summed up the whole pulse of the game. Curtin created some half chances but none that were good enough to trouble the Kwinana keeper.

Curtin dropped three points for the second time this season and with a bye this week may find Heathridge joining them at the top of the table come the 25th of July. Standouts for Curtin were the fearless leader Russo, Pippin, Ward and Gibbs in the middle of the park and McMulkin in net.

It was another backs to the wall performance by Curtin, with two reserve players, Courtney Woodward and Scott O'Neill, making their 1st team debut and the team missing several regular players. Player/Coach Mick Philp opted for 3-4-3 formation and urged his players 'to go for it' against 2nd placed Sutherlands. Sutherlands hit Curtin hard in the 1st 15 mins, with Curtin barely touching the ball in the 1st 5 mins apart from kicking it out to touch. Sutherlands probably should have scored if not for poor finishing. However, as in the first time these two teams met, Curtin rode out the Sutherlands wave and began to string together some passes with Marcus Hill causing problems upfront on the counter. Philp also started to knock the ball around, constantly finding space much to the chagrin of the Sutherlands bench, and helped construct many of Curtin's good passing moves. A link up play between Philp, Bryan Bourke and Phil Rogers almost ended in a wonder goal for Rogers who beat at least 3 players before he was tackled. Unfortunately, Sutherlands scored, another sloppy goal to add to the div 6's tally this year, with a cut back from the wing not dealt with and the easiest of tap ins to Sutherlands. Shortly after O'Neill was adjudged to have brought down the Sutherlands striker in the box, when the two collided shoulder to shoulder. A soft penalty in most people's book was well saved by keeper Dayle Gilliatt. The 2nd half continued much the same as the first, with perhaps Curtin controlling the ball better, and Philp and Fraser Smithson starting to control the midfield. Matt Redway was replaced halfway through the 2nd half by Martyn Taylor who injected some pace to the attack and again good link up play between Rogers, Philp and Taylor almost broke through for Curtin. In the end, Sutherlands equal fitness nullified Curtin's counter attacks and despite a few dangerous corners and crosses by Woodward and Hill, Curtin couldn't find the back of the net, finishing 0-1.

It was an all-round good day for the Curtin Women’s teams on Sunday July 11th, with wins to both the division 5 and division 2 teams. The first game played was the Division 5 team against the Beckenhem Angels. Curtin were meant to have 12 players, with 3 pulling out last minute, 2 players from the division 2 team were asked to rush to Beckenhem to play both the division 2 and 5 games. These last minute changes did not seem to affect the Curtin team, as they came out looking very keen for a win and playing an excellent team game. In the first half, both Curtin and Beckenhem managed to get the ball close to goal, however neither team managed to get good shots on goal, with defenders Georgia Koval and Emily Kendall playing extremely good games for Curtin, preventing the Beckenhem strikers from getting clear shots with extremely good tackling and pressure. Toward the end of the half, the Curtin girls looked to be tiring, as they had no subs, while Beckenhem had a full bench and were rotating regularly.

The half-time break did the Curtin players a world of good and they came out in the second half with guns blazing. The change of ends and half time also gave Curtin the advantage, having battled hard against the wind in the first half, they now got to run with the wind, making their task seem much easier. A jet-lagged but hard-working Emily Kendall replaced Sarah Treloar in goals, with Treloar joining usual division 2 teammate Georgia Koval in centre defence. Curtin looked better and better as the game went on, with Monique Latch and Liza Nekel working hard on the wings and Amanda Earle lifting in defence, helping Treloar, Koval and right back Sumeet Pal provide and impenetrable wall. Curtin’s shots were looking better and better, with Jenna Buckton and Talia Crombie getting several shots on after getting through the Beckenhem defence, unfortunately to be saved well by the Beckenhem goalie. With five minutes to go, both teams had an urgency about them, but it was Curtin, despite their fatigue, who finally managed to break through after a throw-in from the left wing fell to Buckton, who carried the ball across the top of the box and slotted it brilliantly into the top corner of the goal. Curtin then had only five minutes to hang on, which they did with ease, coming away with a 1-0 win.

Inspired with news of the win by the division 5 team, the Curtin division 2 team were extremely keen to continue their winning run and put Kalamunda away. The first half started extremely well for Curtin, with Bran Morgan scoring their first goal, and her first of 4 for the day, within the first 30 seconds of the match. Kalamunda had kick-off, which was easily stolen by the Curtin midfield, passed through to Morgan, who ran in for the goal. Shortly after, a handball in the box gave Kalamunda their first shot on goal, which, luckily for Curtin, went a long way over the top of the crossbar. The next 20 minutes were an arm wrestle, with Kalamunda breaking through the Curtin defence several times, which looked like having several holes in it, though thankfully they were not able to get the ball past Curtin goalkeeper Jess Sheridan. Curtin managed to tighten up their defence and look more attacking for the rest of the half, scoring 2 more goals through Morgan and Madeleine Chandler, with the score 3-1 at half time.

The second half turned very ugly for Kalamunda. After getting the first goal from a penalty, Kalamunda never got another look-in, Curtin began to dominate the game with brilliant passing through all areas of the field and excellent defence from Renae Tuia and Mary Hikumuah. Bran Morgan got her third goal from a very composed shot along the ground past the Kalamunda goalkeeper after another through-ball from the Curtin midfield. The Kalamunda goalkeeper worked very hard all day, but was unable to stop the onslaught which Curtin were about to begin. Curtin had a purple patch around the middle of the half, scoring 4 goals in ten minutes, two consecutively from amazing composure and skill from best-on-ground Madeline Chandler after a relatively quiet first half. Another goal to Bran Morgan gave her goal number four, then a great chip from Catherine Mahon off a corner ball made the score 8-2. In the last ten minutes, Kalamunda looked to have given up all hope of scoring and simply defended as hard as they could, booting the ball out at every opportunity. Catherine Mahon managed one more goal before the end of the match after a scramble in the box rolled out to Mahon, who casually put the ball past the keeper and in for goal number nine to Curtin.

The Curtin Div 2 first team was looking to maintain their 3 point lead at the top of the ladder during the dreaded university break against a strong Maccabi side. With Troy Pippin and Ali Shaiban being promoted for their first starts of the season the Curtin team was very different from the one that took on fellow contenders Heathridge just two weeks earlier. That said Curtin were determined to maintain their winning ways and set out to get the three points against a Maccabi team that seemed to come chasing a draw.

Curtin dominated possession for the first half with Chase Parker and Aaron Robbins distributing beautifully from the back to the likes of Pippin and Curtin captain Antony Russo. It seemed only a matter of time until Curtin broke through and it seemed the effervescent Daniel Tibbitt had created that chance when he took the ball, beat to players and cut the ball square but Curtin lacked the finish and were left to try again. Next it was David Cantoni’s turn as he slipped through the offside trap to control a Russo pass well but, not realising he had more time, his well struck shot on the turn sailed a foot wide of the far post. Curtin continued to dominate possession and another opportunity fell to Cantoni who beat his marker well and struck the ball with such venom that a goal seemed an eventuality but the Maccabi keeper showed great agility to dive at full stretch and parry the ball into the advancing Russo’s path whose follow up shot was once again well saved by the Maccabi keeper. The Maccabi defence was able to hold strong for the rest of the half and the teams went into the break without a score.

Curtin came out in the second half and again dominated position and opportunities with Tibbitt continually breaking through the lines and creating opportunities only for the numerous Maccabi defenders to snuff out the attacks it was then Cantoni’s turn to mirror Tibbitt’s work on the other wing but one again the blue wall held firm against an ever frustrated Curtin team. Maccabi’s keeper continue to perform outstandingly and it seemed that Curtin would not be able to break through until, after yet another fine double save by the Maccabi keeper, Chris Ward powered through box and blasted the ball into the back of the net to put Curtin up with 15 minutes to go. Curtin continued to dominate possession and Maccabi had no way of scoring and as such Curtin were eventual winners 1-0.

With Tibbitt, Ward, Russo and Parker all staring for Curtin as well as Pippin in his first start this season Curtin can be happy that they took three well deserved points and maintained their lead at the top of the table. With closest challengers Heathridge going down to Kingsway and Kelmscott beating International Calcio the Curtin team are 6 points clear on top of the table and 8 points clear for a promotion spot. Curtin travel to Kelly Park to take on the proud Kwinana next week.

The reserves took on draw specialists Maccabi on Sunday. With a few changes in personnel from the week before Curtin tried a slightly different approach to bolster the midfield and open up extra space on the flanks to move into. Wilson Yum made his first appearance for the club in a central midfield role and was linking up well with the strikers. The game started off well for Curtin with a corner in the first 20 secs being awarded. After this point most of the first half was a struggle with both teams counter attacking. Maccabi used its right hand flank very well catching out Ruthran Seevanathan on a couple of occasions, but they failed to make the most of their chances with some poor efforts on goal. Curtin also looked dominant down the right with Omar Barifcani drifting into space and using some great pace to get deep into the final third. Curtin's best chance came from a free kick just outside of the box after Rhys Hanlon was taken down in a heavy tackle, but Campbell Ballantyne's effort was well dealt with by the Maccabi wall. At half time the game was steadily poised at 0-0.

The second half started much tighter with both teams struggling to crack an opening in either side's defence. The goal did come eventually however not for Curtin. A Maccabi long ball failed to get cleared on the edge of the box and Curtin paid the price. This seemed to spur on captain Calum McMulkin and he began to really take control of the midfield with some outstanding runs forward. The game had opened up and Curtin decided to make its first substitution with Omar Barifcani being replaced by Matt Redway for the last 25 minutes. Curtin continued to toil away and slowly began to find some openings but couldnt capatilise with almost every shot being closed down. Xavier Cornwall had to leave the field after succumbing to an ankle injury. The game ended 1-0 to Maccabi.

In what was a disappointing result, there were a couple of positives to come out of the match. Kane Gravelle who stepped up from division 6 reserves had a solid day, Rhys Hanlon kept his 'player of the month' form going, and Wilson Yum was a handy addition to the midfield.

Division 6 reserves faced up against Warnbro Strikers on Sunday with both Curtin and Warnbro coming off heavy losses the week before. Faced with losing several regular players (Frodo, Kane, Fraser, Gavin and Viraj to promotion into both first team and 2nd division) Curtin lined up with the bare skeleton of 11 players. A tactical change from the regular formation to a 3-5-2 with Scott O’Neill sweeping worked wonders for Curtin. Warnbro were unable to break through a stoic defensive display by all 10 outfield players and after an early ball cut back across goal by Steven Collins saw an onrushing Tama Sularko at the far post smuggle across his first goal in three years for Curtin, Warnbro had a mountain to climb. Warnbro pressed hard but were choked of any creativity in midfield and when they did break into the Curtin penalty area they were cut off time and again by June player of the month Scott, who worked hard to cover behind the defence sliding in and dispossessing Warnbro of the ball. Defending corners was practised on Wednesday night by the whole club and came just in time with Curtin conceding up to 20 corners in the game. Despite the high corner count Warnbro never looked like breaking through and scoring until the final stage of the game when Dayle Gilliat in goal had to pull off a stunner save heading into the top of his net. Congratulations to the Curtin lads running out 90 minutes with no subs, 1-0 to Curtin. The whole team were stand outs this week, although special mention must go to Scott, Emre Eren and Colm Lawless for pulling off the best defensive display for the team all season.

Division 6 first team fought bravely to scrape back from a 3 goal deficit to fall just short, succumbing to a 3-2 defeat at the end of the day. By all accounts the boys had several chances to put more past the Warnbro keeper in a fast finishing last 20 minutes and will be ruing conceding some soft goals and not making the most of their chances.

The Curtin University Women’s division two side continued their good form this season with a 3-0 win against Subiaco on Sunday. With their division 5 side having a bye, Curtin had the luxury of a full bench, which enabled them to run out a full game strongly. Curtin never looked like losing, with all the attack in the first half, unfortunately not being able to put the ball in the back of the net, despite some agonisingly close shots by Grace Carmichael, Madeline Chandler and Branwen Morgan. Subiaco gave Curtin a scare, with one or two breaks through the defence, thankfully saved by goalkeeper Sarah Treloar and some brilliant tackles from defender Mary Hikumuah.

The second half began very similarly to the first, with Curtin having all the attack. Goalkeepers had been switched, with Jess Sheridan going into goals and Treloar coming out onto the pitch and setting up the first goal with a ball through the Subiaco defence, finished off by an excellent, composed shot by Chandler – starting her off on the inspiring second half she was to play. Chandler soon had another shot on goal, unfortunately missing to the wrong side of the post, followed by a cross to Sara Zadnik, who, in the scramble of players, didn’t manage to get good contact on the ball to have a shot. Chandler scored the next goal from directly in front of goal, inside the box after some fantastic teamwork beginning in Curtin’s defensive half. With Curtin 2-0 up, Subiaco still felt they had chance and began to attack harder, but once again, Sheridan bravely saved several balls coming into the box. Curtin almost had a third goal after another shot went just across the face of goal and to several Curtin players, however frustratingly only getting the ball to roll back and forth along the front of the goals, not quite crossing the line. Subiaco’s hope was soon snubbed out after another scramble in the box, Jessica Nugent managed to chip the ball just over the head of the goalkeeper and in for Curtin’s third goal.

Curtin University Soccer Club moved clear at the top of the division two table with a 3-2 win over a spirited Kwinana at the weekend. With all other clubs not playing Curtin took the advantage and the three points to point a 3 point gap between them and their nearest rivals. Goals from form men Eddie Tikoft and Antony Russo as well as David Cantoni were enough to help Curtin take the three points. It wasn’t all Curtin however with Calum McMulkin called into action many times between the posts for Curtin.

Curtin started well below their best and although creating some good passing movement never really threatened. That was until Eddie Tikoft rose above the crowd to meet a Chris Ward corner only to see his header beat the keeper and come cannoning back off the cross bar. Then it was Kwinana’s turn and they took their chance with glee. A long ball down the right hand side that saw their striker put the ball over McMulkin’s head before following on to slot the opener. The Curtin team were at sea and were finding it hard to create chances. Cantoni slotted a neat ball forward for Daniel Tibbitt who did well to beat his man and cut the ball back for Ward who blazed over. The next chance then came when Ward beat his man on the wing a put in a perfect cross for Cantoni who lost his marker well but failed to connect well and the ball glanced off his head and wide. It seemed Curtin would be going into the break down a goal but the goal scoring maestro that is Tikoft latched onto a through ball and coolly slotted his chance past the advancing keeper to help Curtin into the break at 1-1.

After half time it seemed a different Curtin team on the park with Cantoni, who had been very flat in the first half, putting in some hard running and starting to combine well with Tibbitt as well as Chris Ward continuing his good form from the first half and captain Antony Russo leading from the front. In no time at all Curtin were in the lead when Tibbitt’s speed and fancy footwork earned him a free kick just outside the box which he stepped up and struck himself. The powerful free kick was too much for the Kwinana keeper who could only palm it into the path of Russo who gladly headed into an empty net to make it 2-1 to the home team. Just minutes later Tibbitt’s pace again brought Kwinana to its knees only for their blushes to be saved by the advancing keeper. Cantoni tried his luck with a shot from distance but the keeper made it look better than it was palming the shot wide.

It was then time for another goal as Ward pounced on some poor defensive work and passed the ball to Cantoni who controlled well and struck the ball on the turn, his half volley beat the keeper and he opened his account for the season. Gaute Baardsen then had a chance to score in his last game for Curtin when a 40 yard ball was struck by Ward to Baardsen only for him to miss time his strike and have the keeper save. Curtin made some changes at the back giving Ali Shaiban his first run this season as well as Richard Pascal. It was not Shaiban’s day as he was soon in the thick of it scoring an own goal, it can be said however that the Kwinana striker was set behind him ready to slot the ball had Shaiban not got there first. Curtin then had another chance as Cantoni broke with the ball, slotting it wide to Baardsen who cut it back for ward but his hesitation cost him and a timely tackle prevented the scoring opportunity.

The game was tight from here on in with Curtin looking to hold on. They did manage to and took three points from the fixture. Standouts were Jordan Gibbs in midfield who had arguably his best game for the club, Ward who worked tirelessly up and down as well as Tikoft and Russo in midfield and Aaron “Mooch” Robbins at centre back.

The reserves match started off brightly for Curtin with some good passing play and great defensive pressure when not in possession. Curtin were very dangerous out wide with the pace of Phil Rogers and Peter Talikowski. It was Kwinana however that got the first chance with a break down the left but it was cut out by the solid Rhys Hanlon. Curtin's first real chance fell to Rogers after a fantastic lobbed through ball from Jason Pippin. Rogers had no trouble finishing and put Curtin in the lead. 1-0. The midfield gelled well together creating numerous opportunities for the team to get forward. Daniel 'Goon Sack' Young took advantage of this and breaking out of midfield to score Curtin 2nd. Curtin's dominance was evident by the fact keeper Viraj Bhagatwala had barely touched the ball.

The second half started out much the same as the first ended. Kwinana were struggling to break the defence down with Troy Pippin and Hanlon winning and controlling everything that came their way. After a scoreless 20 mins to start the second half Benson opted to put some fresh legs on upfront in search of another couple of goals. Matt Redway replacing the outstanding Rogers and Omar Barifcani coming on for Talikowski. Curtin also made a slight formation change placing Campbell Ballantyne back into the the midfield to supply some extra support for the hard working midfielders. The changes paid dividends straightaway with Redway sneaking into the box and putting a 3rd past the keeper.

Great effort for the ressies to record their first home clean sheet of the season. Outstanding performers for the day were the Pippin brothers, Hanlon and Rogers.

The Curtin division five women’s team were the only Curtin team left in the cup on Sunday June 27th, and they represented Curtin brilliantly. With only ten players Curtin were on the front foot from the start, going all-out attack from the first whistle. Curtin had countless shots on goal before the Subiaco even got into their attack. Lone striker Talia Crombie looked very dangerous – dribbling around several Subiaco defenders and having several shots on goal, unfortunately only finding the crossbar and the goalkeeper with her first two shots, not the back of the net. A corner kick from Curtin found Amanda Earle, who’s shot fell just short, but landed right on the line next to Branka Prodanovic who finished it off, giving Curtin their first goal of the match. They were then given a small scare with a Subiaco striker running through Curtin’s defence and taking a shot, thankfully straight to Jess Whiteaker in goals. At half time the coach could not fault Curtin’s play, simply giving them the message to keep doing exactly what they were doing.

Starting the second half exactly as they had the first, with Gabby Lloyd in goals this half, giving Jess a run on the field, Curtin once again had all the attack. Any attempts made by Subiaco to attack were thwarted by central defenders and Curtin’s two best players Jessica Lowes and Emily Kendall. After some brilliant play through the midfield saw yet another shot on goal, this was stopped by the Subiaco defence, only to be passed straight back to Jess Whiteaker on the wing who put the ball in the back of the net over the outstretched hands on the Subiaco keeper with an excellent shot. Talia Crombie had another two shots on goal from long runs, however again putting the ball on the wrong side of the post, then being tapped over the top by the Subiaco keeper. Curtin were up 2-0, but the players were beginning to feel the effects of only having ten players on the field and they were visibly tiring, however their skills were still above and beyond those of the Subiaco players. Branka Prodanovic scored the goal of the season from just in front of the half-way line, booting a ball which was coming out of Subiaco’s defence which flew perfectly to the goals, just dipping in under the crossbar, later saying ‘I was just too tired to run with it so I just kicked it’. With Curtin 3-0 up, but very tired, Subiaco began to get on top a bit, having a run down the wing and, despite the best efforts of the Curtin defence, just slipping the ball past goalkeeper Gabby Lloyd. The final ten minutes were an arm wrestle, with the ball going end to end, but without any major goal-scoring chances, giving Curtin a 3-1 win and advancing to the round of 16.

The Curtin division 2 reserves squad fielded on Sunday may have been the youngest ever for the club even with CUSC stalwart and legend Campbell Ballantyne in the starting eleven. Their age did not show however with Curtin having the better of the first half with only their finishing letting them down with the best chance of the half falling to Neville Benson who put his shot over the bar. With Rhys Hanlon showing strength at the back for Curtin and captain, Calum McMulkin solid in goals the game went into the half time break tied at nil all.

After the break both teams came out firing with Heathridge looking dangerous on set pieces drawing some saves from McMulkin as well as wasting some chances. With 20 minutes to go David Cantoni was brought of the bench and in no time at all was in the thick of the action, chasing down a Ballantyne through ball before under hitting a pass to the advancing Matt “Hollywood” Redway who battled hard to win a corner. Another chance fell to Cantoni only minutes later when Ballantyne again exploited Cantoni’s pace and with only the keeper to beat Cantoni sent his shot inches wide.

Heathridge went hunting for the win with a change in formation for the last 10 minutes of the game. From a corner they found the goal they were searching for with the ball skidding through low missing numerous bodies before being blasted into the back of the net from 6 yards out. IT seemed again that Curtin would be haunted by missed opportunities as the score finished 1-0 at full time. Standouts for Curtin were Ballantyne, Hanlon and Daniel Young.

A top of the table clash presented itself between CUSC and Heathridge and the game lived up to expectations with action aplenty. The first opportunity fell to Curtin when Havard Lund received the ball on the left of the park beat two players before being brought down in the box only for the referee to wave the penalty appeals away and to award of all things a goal kick. It wasn’t long until the deadlock was broken however with some sweet passing from Curtin, starting at the back with Erik Backstrom, ended with Antony Russo who beat his man and almost tore the net of the goals with a searing finish into the side netting leaving the Heathridge keeper as only a spectator to the class finish.

It was only a short time later when Curtin made it two. A Chris Ward pass pierced the defence and put Sindre Arete Bendixen through one on one with the keeper. Bendixen rounded the keeper sublimely and put the ball into the empty net to keep his rich vein of form intact. It seemed that Curtin would run away with it but Heathridge started to show some promise especially from set pieces. With only minutes to go in the first half a cross was hit into the Curtin box and it struck Backstrom on the elbow, the referee pointed to the spot and Heathridge were back into the match with a well taken penalty. Curtin then had Michael Birch to thank when he advanced quickly of his line to shut down a shot and then clear the ball to safety allowing Curtin to take a 2-1 lead into the halftime break.

Only minutes into the first half Heathridge drew level bustling a corner over the line against the flow of play. Curtin bounced back almost immediately through Lund who stung a volley past the Heathridge keeper at the near post. Two minutes later Lund again caused Heathridge problems dancing past two defenders and then rounding a third leaving himself only the keeper to beat yet he lashed his shot just wide of the far post. It would be a miss that Curtin would come to rue with Heathridge digging in and preventing Curtin from playing with physical challenges and hard hits the worst being a two footed challenge on substitute Daniel Tibbitt that went unpunished by the inconsistent referee.

With time up in the second half it seemed a clearance from Birch up the pitch would see the end of the match but the referee allowed the play to continue past the allotted time. An interesting free kick was then awarded to Heathridge inside the centre circle. A long ball was hit to the far post where Heathridge won a header to the opposite post where two Heathridge players stood in an offside position with one of them nodding it home from three yards out. The referee then explicably decided to ignore the linesman’s flag without even consulting him and awarded a goal to Heathridge. 15 seconds after the restart of play the whistle was blown and Curtin were left wondering what could have been.

A three-three draw in the top of the table clash with ups and downs, lefts and rights and everything in between. There were many standouts for Curtin with all players stepping up when needed. Bendixen, Backstrom (who leaves Curtin to return home to Sweden), Birch, Russo and Ward were just a few as well as the tireless Eddie Tikoft and Aaron Robbins in the middle of the park and Chase Parker at centre back.

Division 6 reserves came up against a Westnam reserve team fresh from a 20-0 demolition of cellar dwellers Perth Royals. Last meeting in a 5-0 win to Westnam in the season opener the Curtin boys were determined to turn the result around on the back of several promising weeks against arguably the only team in the competition with the pace and skill to not be disadvantaged by the wide expanses of South Oval. The boys were on the back foot from the outset however, defending grittily and struggling to find any fluency in their offensive link-up play. A late challenge by Bryan 'Frodo' Bourke on the edge of the penalty area gifted Westnam the first goal of the match, and despite the best efforts of right winger Courtney Woodward who had several decent chances in a lively first half performance the boys conceded twice more from defensive errors as the pressure from the continuous Westnam attack mounted. After some frank self assessment at half time the Curtin boys went into the second half determined to salvage some pride and inside the first ten minutes striker Steve Collins notched his fifth goal of the season with a sweetly placed shot from the edge of the box that nestled in the lower left corner whilst the out of position Westnam keeper could only look on. Curtin started pushing forward, trying to take advantage of a sluggish start to the second period of Westnam in pursuit of an unlikely comeback and were unlucky to concede on the counter from a shot that deflected off two Curtin defenders. Nevertheless the boys kept searching and Court's hard work breaking down the Westnam defence finally paid off with his second goal of the season, latching onto a quality pass and slicing between two defenders to slot the ball past the keeper. Unfortunately that was the end of the Curtin fightback as Westnam took advantage of a tiring Curtin squad to score twice more as the match petered out, final score 2-6. Standout players were a dynamic Courtney Woodward, and the solid Scott O'Neill in what was a tough day for the defenders.

The Curtin div 6 first team were looking to avenge their 1-0 loss to Westnam in the first round, a game they dominated but failed to score. Troy Kritter was a late withdrawal after failing a fitness test resulting in captain Iestyn Williams slotting into centre back next to Richard Pascal while Franck Marciano filled his position in centre midfield. Westnam started brightly testing the Curtin defence and had a chance at opening the scoring. Curtin also lost Jan Czul after 5 minutes from a severe knee injury, and he was stretched off and replaced by Marcus Hill. The formation was shuffled to bring Joel Woods up front and from there, Curtin settled, starting to build up the play better. A Williams clearance was taken expertly down on the chest by forward James Fay who swivelled and sent a stinging low shot into the back of the net. Curtin continued to press, with Woods starting to influence the game with his range of passing, which eventually led to a neat 1-2 with Fay to round the last defender and Fay scored his second in a one on one with the keeper. Curtin continued to press, and also defend more cohesively, and Fay could have scored a first half hat-trick producing a fine near post save. The half-time talk addressed the team's problem of starting the 2nd half flat and it worked with Mick Philp cutting out a pass and laying off for Fay who rounded the full back and smashed the ball across the face of goal to the right hand corner of the goal for his 3rd about 20 seconds after the restart. The Westnam heads started to drop and they were in further trouble with a send off for retaliation against a late Philp tackle. Shortly after Fay broke through the defence and after cutting back was brought down by the Westnam 'keeper who then talked and intimidated himself into a very lengthy ban. Woods put away the subsequent penalty. From here though, Westnam threw caution to the wind and played their best football for the day, while Curtin, despite scoring a 5th through Phil 'stop calling me boy wonder' Rogers, lost their shape and concentration and a missed time header from Williams allowed the Westnam striker to slot a consolation goal. Stand outs today were Fay, Woods, and fill-in centre back Williams.

The Curtin division 2 girls had a very entertaining match against the Bassendean Caledonians this weekend. With the game’s quirks starting with the girls having to play on a junior league pitch it only lead to the match being a battle of shots from the half way line. With the line up being shaken up a bit so that Coach could really see how the girls handled themselves Bassendean managed to put the first two shots in the net. Fortunately striker Bran Morgan put them back in their place, dribbling around several defenders before taking an open shot on goal, and so the goal-for-goal battle began. A second shot from Maddie Chandler and a third from midfielder Jess Nugent and the first half was underway with the Curtin girls trailing by a goal. The girls came out strong in the second half with Maddie scoring her second in the first few minutes with a brilliantly composed shot from inside the box. Though Bassendean tried they couldn’t get past Curtin’s defensive plays with the girls holding a strong line but an unfortunate corner play lead the scores to once again go in Bassendean’s favour. The Curtin girls were urged on again after some rude comments from the opposition players directed at the Curtin coach. A strong kick from defender Laura Lammie, just dipping under the crossbar, over the outstretched hands of the Bassendean goalie evened up the scores and a hat-trick from best-on-ground Maddie left the girls in the lead for the majority of the half. Unfortunately world cup fever was present in the game with goalie Georgia Koval pulling a ‘Rob Green’ moment in the final minutes causing a draw. Well done to all the girls for a fantastic fighting effort.

Starting with only 9 girls on the field, the Curtin University Women’s Division 5 team did tremendous against the Perth Royals. An injured Liza Nekel stepped up as goalie, doing amazing despite the amount of pain she was in. With the help of a solid defensive line they did not let one goal in! Throughout the game both teams were fighting for a goal, but Curtin held their own. A couple shots at goal by the forwards, but Perth Royals goalie was very aggressive and did not budge. Each player gave it their all and really stepped it up despite the numbers. Emily “Embryo” Kendall took the initiative and acted as an on field captain which encouraged the team more. The game ended 0-0 but Curtin really worked together. We’ll get them next time!

Coming back from their unfortunate first loss of the season last weekend, Curtin’s ladies division 2 team recorded a 5-0 victory over UWA-Nedlands, and also their first clean sheet of the season. It was fair to say the first half of the game was a very one sided affair, with Curtin attacking from all angles and the Curtin goalkeeper of the day Georgia Koval only receiving one or two touches of the ball. UWA were rarely able to break through Curtin’s strong back line, with Jess Nugent stepping up from Div. 5 to play a crucial role in the defensive line, clearing many of UWA’s attempted through balls for Curtin’s attack to chase down. Curtin’s first 2 goals came from Bran Morgan, the first from a break down the right by Sophie and a cross into the box, with Bran ready to put it past the keeper and a couple of defenders, and the second from a through ball, and with the keeper nowhere to be seen, Bran was able to easily slot it in the bottom corner. With several other attempts and shots on goal during the first half (including the ball rolling across the goal line at one point) Curtin’s last goal of the first half came from hardworking Maddie Chandlers through pass to Talia Crombie, who took one touch and shot at the far corner of the goal. With slightly less pace on the ball than was anticipated, the whole Curtin side seemed to hold their breath as the ball eventually trickled over the line, leaving the score line at 3-0 at half time.

After a keeper change at half time from Georgia to Jess Nugent, the Curtin girls went back onto the pitch feeling strong and continued to put pressure on the UWA defense, with Grace continually breaking away down the right down the right wing, putting many crosses into the box, and once such cross resulting in a goal for Curtin, off the foot of a UWA defender into their own net. After a slight slip up in communication between defense and the new keeper, a picked up back pass led to a UWA free kick just outside the 18 yard box, which the Curtin girls were able to get away despite pressure from UWA strikers in the area. The period that followed was mainly spent in the UWA box, with corner after corner being sent in by Bran and Maddie, and Sara Zadnik’s hard work in the box causing the UWA keeper trouble, and the player marking her to take it a bit too far, with the referee telling both players to cool it down a little. Unable to connect from the corners, Curtin continued to capitalise on the predictably short UWA goal kicks and maintain possession, until another break down the right wing was passed in at the last minute to Megan in the box able to put it neatly in the goal. At 5-0 up, with around 15 minutes remaining, more substitutions lead for a change in formation for Curtin with 3 players in the back line and 4 playing up front, giving a few midfielders and defenders opportunities to play up front. Both teams continued to put their all into the game until the final whistle, and after a few slip ups and several missed opportunities, Curtin came out on top for a well deserved win.

The Curtin University women’s division five team had a hard day at the office after a 3-1 loss to Sutherlands Park on Sunday at Edinburgh Oval. The game started off decidedly for Curtin, matching the opposition for most of the first half before a quick goal by Sutherlands gave them a 1:0 lead heading into the half time break. The second half bought about many more goal attempts by both teams, with Sutherlands capitalizing after shortly after the break and taking a 2-0 lead. However Curtin were not disheartened and continued to battle on with some magnificent saves by goalie Renae Tuia and close goal attempts by strikers Jenna Buckton and Monique Latch. Despite Curtin’s brave efforts Sutherlands found the back of the net giving them a 3-0 lead midway through the second half. Curtin fought back though and after several more attempts a great team goal came with Jess Whiteaker sneaking it in perfectly to draw it back to 3-1. In the end however it was a case of not enough time resulting in a 3-1 loss to the Curtin University women’s division five team. Let’s hope they can bounce back in time for a must win game against the league’s bottom team the Perth Royals when they meet them next week.

The Curtin Juggernaut continued its stellar home record with wins for reserves and first team against Floreat Athena. Curtin reserves went into the game off the back of a well scrapped draw with Kingsway, the return of talisman Campbell Ballantyne proved that goal scoring was not to be a problem this week. curtin got off to a bright start scoring the first goal of the game through a Ballantyne cut back coming off an unfortunate Athen defender converting the ball into his own net. However the jubilation was short lived with Athena creating an equaliser deep into the second half. The game was on course for a second draw until super sub Matthew 'Hollywood' Redway was brought on with ten minutes to spare, the burley forward contributed instantly creating a chance for Norwegian recruit Christor Sorvik. The game then came to a dramatic end with Ballantyne putting his side into the lead to bring home the three points. Stand out players were Daniel 'Goon Sack" Young and the returning Campbell Ballantyne.

The first team entered Sundays clash with a good run of form claiming a one hundered percent record at home. The game got off to a high tempoed start wit Curtin dominanting the early possession zipping the ball round well. Midfield general Aaron Robbins enforced the a sturdy midfield with solid tackling and effective distribution. Robbins was key in a number of chances in the early minutes of the first half. Captain Antony Russo has been enjoying a great run of form and continued that form with a huge hand in creating the games opener. Sharp passing through the central midfield allowed Russo to break free who was able to then slot target man Eddie Tikoft in for a well worked goal. The goal was the catalyst to a number of chances that followed with good work from left winger Harvaard Lund who tirelessly patrolled the left flank. The lead was then doubled with a well worked goal from the returning Chris Ward. Ward playing a through ball to Russo that split the Athena defence putting them into disarray, Russo then calmly cut the ball back to Ward who cooly slotted the ball into the corner. The second half however was a different state of affairs with Athena coming out firing. An injured Erik Backstrom was substituted for livewire Daniel Tibbitt moving midfield enforcer Robbins to centre back. This move appeared to put the team off balance and the game fell into a scrappy battle. Curtin however were able to weather the Athena onslaught. The killer blow came with the introduction of Norwegian striker Sindre Bendixen who made an instant impact. The spritely striker out paced two Athena defencers to place the ball into the back of the net. The game was then dead with Athena submitting to a well fought out win for the Curtin mean machine. Stand out players for Curtin were captain Antony Russo, Eddie Tikoft and wing back and constant smiler Gaute Baardsen.

Curtin reserves looked to continue with their improvement after their devastating 1-0 loss to Hamersley last week. A varied line-up saw Fraser Smithson paired with spritely Martyn Taylor in midfield, and Steve Collins paired with Kitt up front. Smithson was dangerous throughout the first half, his deft touches and centimetre perfect passing oozing class and setting up attacks down the wings. 'Keeper Dayle Gillant was stoic in goal, though Villa never really threatened in the first half. Collins was again throwing his body around, and sustained a couple of heavy knocks to his head, but not enough to keep him from winning a penalty by flicking the ball into the defenders arm. Smithson stepped up and struck a magnificent penalty high into the top left corner. 1-0 at half time. Curtin looked to get the win they deserved. Unfortunately, this reporter had to cover the first team on another pitch and from all reports Curtin looked the goods until the last few minutes where they conceeded a clumsy late goal. However, the boys look to be setting up for a strong second half of the season with some superb displays, and with a little more luck can probably move up the table.

The Curtin first team were looking to capitalise on last week's win and they looked like they would with Marcus Hill destroying Belmont down the right flank with pacey runs, and after 8 mins he again beat the Villa left back and whipped in a dangerous cross that the 'keeper fumbled and dropped over the line for the first goal. Curtin were in total control of the game with Hill and Kye Twigg dangerous down the flanks and Iestyn Williams bossing the midfield, in particular over ex-Curtin Uni player Michael Alessandri, who usually plays for Villa's premier side, rarely able to contribute anything more dangerous than a sqaure pass. Belmont did press though, however, a magnificent counter attack beginning from Curtin's defensive 18 yard box down the right flank to Hill who cut the ball back for Williams who made a 50 metre run to get into the box and nicely finished in the bottom corner. 2-0 at half time to Curtin. The second half, however, was the opposite to the first half, with Villa quickly pegging a goal back and then equalising as Curtin went to sleep. With 12 minutes to go, Belmont scored a 3rd and it seemed that Curtin had capitulised their advantage. The last 10 minutes were reminiscent of the 1st half with player/manager Mick Philp exerting some dominance over a tiring Villa midfield to send in a dangerous through ball to substitute Jan Czul who over hit his cross to the back post. There it was met by Phillip Rogers who hit the upright, and a goal mouth scramble finally led to a clearance by Villa. James Fay got the equaliser though, making up for his turnover that contributed to the 3rd goal, and his 2nd goal in 3 games for Curtin div 6. Curtin escaped with a draw, their 4th of the season, but it felt like 2 points dropped.

A very different team lined up for the CUSC Div 2 Reserves and in a modified 1-3-3-3 formation they gelled quickly and showed some promise early but poor finishing and some fine saves from the Kingsway keeper kept things level. The best chance of the half and match fell to David Cantoni who, with a puff of dust as he struck the ground first, sent his penalty half a foot wide of the mark. Some creative interchanges between Frank Marciano and Daniel Tibbitt broke down the Olympic defence but it seemed that nothing would go Curtin’s way under the overcast skies. Solid work at the back from Cantoni, Tom Kitson and Xavier Cornwall playing in front of Shahkyr Hamzah acting in the sweeper role. Stand in goalkeeper Calum McMulkin was not asked to do much but he dealt with anything Kingsway threw at him comfortably, his strong hands and high leap making crosses easy work. The second half saw Courtney Woodward introduced for his first Div 2 appearance and although playing in a new role he performed commendably working hard and creating some half chances. In the end the match fizzled to a 0-0 draw with Cantoni’s earlier miss haunting Curtin. Standouts on the day were Cornwall, Marciano and James “bubs” McCann who work tirelessly from box to box.

The Curtin Div 2 first team went into their match against Kingsway Olympic as hot favourites and created all the first half chances. If not for some solid last ditch defending and goalkeeping Kingsway could have been down 2 goals within the first 15 minutes. It didn’t take much longer for the deadlock to be broken however as Sindre Arete Bendixen got on he end of a long ball strolled round the keeper, then a defender before putting it past another defender camped on the goal line. More chances went begging in the first half but Curtin went into the break with confidence, momentum and most importantly the lead.

At half time Curtin had to substitute arguably the man of the match so far in Kye Middleton who received a severe cork and could not get up to full pace. This brought about a reshuffle with Havard Lund moving into left back and Chris Ward joining the attack. 5 minutes in Erik Backstrom misjudged a hopeful ball forward and the Kingsway number 8 slipped in behind him and finished coolly to make it 1-1. Curtin did not drop their heads however and a slick passing moved saw Bendixen receive the ball on the edge of the box. He side stepped his marker and showing all his class blasted the ball into the top corner from 18 yards. From this point on it was all Curtin with Bendixen completing his hat-trick after a perfectly weighted pass from Eddie Tikoft saw him side foot in at the back post from 5 yards. Tikoft then got on the scoreboard himself with a low shot that slipped through the Kingsway keeper’s hands and went in off the far post. Backstrom looked to have scored from a corner but his header was palmed away from the top corner by an outfield player and to both teams amazement no penalty was given. To round out a bad day for Kingsway a short corner was well shut down by Curtin with the ball being passed back to the keeper only to be intercepted by the sharp Bendixen who then walked the ball into the net to make it 5-1 with what turned out to be the last kick of the game.

Standouts for Curtin on the day were Captain Antony Russo who worked hard and distributed the ball beautifully, Middleton until his untimely exit and Bendixen with his 4 goals.

The boys from division 6 ressies went up against Hammersly on sunday for the second time in three weeks and boosted by the prematch speech from captain Fraser Smithson started well pushing Hammersly up the right wing with some hard running by the curtin boys but to no avail. It was nearly 1-0 to Rovers when there was a breakthrough from the left side of the pitch but centre back Scott O'Neil, personifying the Curtin boys determination, threw himself at the threat resulting in a fantastic goal line clearance, the ball falling to left back Colm Lawless whose long ball forward turned defence into attack which unfortunately couldn't be converted. The rest of the half passed in a deadlock with Curtin fighting every inch of the way, Steve Collins clashing in the air with a Rover resulting in the poor lad needing his head strapped up as Steve dusted himself off and reentered the fray. Half time 0-0.

The second half started much the same way as the the first had ended with neither side able to create much despite fighting tooth and nail for the ball. With 25 minutes to go Kitt was substituted on for a clearly fatiguing Lawless, Frodo Bourke moving into left back. From here Bourke and the industrious Matty Felton combined well on the left pushing for goal but unable to convert. Disaster struck 10 minutes from time with a Rovers shot aided by the strikers hand found the back of the net. From here it was all Curtin as the boys scrambled desperately for an equaliser with late efforts from Steve Collins, Fraser Smithson and late runs from Bourke.

The game finished 0-1, a result that was hardly a reflection of a fast and hard game of football featuring a greatly improved Curtin reserves. Stand outs where Fraser Smithson, Bryan Frodo Bourke and Scott O'Neill.

After a hard 2 weeks on the training pitch, the Curtin Div 6 first team were desperate to get their 1st win of the season against Hamersley after cruelly gifting a late equaliser 2 weeks ago. Player/Manager Mick Philp decided to go with all out pace with Kye Twigg and Phil 'Boy Wonder' Rogers on the wing, James Fay up front and Mark Bradley slotting into left back. Hamersley also made changes lining up initially in a 4-3-3 formation with 3 narrow central midfielders initially out numbering and controlling midfielders Philp and Iestyn Williams. However, it was Curtin that got the early break with Rogers breaking down the right side to slot in his 4th goal for the season. From here Curtin stepped up a gear, snuffing out Hamersley's creative outlet, and Joel Woods providing defensive cover from the front, Curtin applied pressure all over the park. Indeed they could have been 2 or 3 goals up at half time with Fay hitting the upright and also narrowly missing, and Woods forcing a superb low save by the Hamersley keeper. At the other end, Viraj Bhagatwala made his 1st team debut in goals snuffing out several one on ones from the striker's feet. Half-time 1-0 to Curtin. The 2nd half started much the same as the 1st half and Curtin were quickly 2 goals up after a nice individual effort from Fay hitting low across the face of goals into the bottom corner. With Richard Pascal and Troy Kritter snuffing out Hamersley's attacks and long balls, Curtin created a few opportunities to put the game to bed. Hamersley threw everything at Curtin in response, moving their centre back into central midfield and almost 4 forwards, however, Curtin were resolute in defence and never looked seriously troubled in the 2nd half to finish 2-0. An outstanding team display and fine efforts by Bhagatwala, Michael Freeman, and Woods.

The Curtin girls travelled up to North Beach for their fourth game of the season. They started strongly with much of the play in their half, with Megan McNaughton finally making the breakthrough with a great header off a Madeleine Mejean cross. North Beach replied quickly, with a running goal from a player who was to trouble Curtin all day. Goals flowed throughout the game, with Sophie Fletcher of Curtin scoring the next one from a pinpoint pass from Grace Carmichael, and once again North Beach got the quick reply. Scores were tied 3-3 at half time after a very composed shot from Madeline Chandler past the North Beach goalkeeper, and another goal to North Beach. Curtin came out powerfully again after half time, thanks to brilliant games from Madeline Chandler, Megan McNaughton and Aimee Slocombe, grabbing the first goal through Madeline Chandler. Curtin held off North Beach and looked set for a 4-3 win until an excellent shot from a North Beach player with about ten minutes to go flew just over the fingertips of Curtin goalkeeper Sarah Treloar. With 2 minutes left, North Beach broke through the Curtin defence to get the goal which devastated the Curtin team, handing them their first loss of the season.

The Curtin University Women’s Div 5 played a great game on Sunday against Fremantle United. With only 9 players with ten minutes until kick-off, they were a little apprehensive, however with the addition of 2 more girls, they had a complete team. Jess Whiteaker did an amazing job in goals for the first half saving all shots. Although Freo managed to put 2 goals in after half time, Curtin retaliated with Sara Zadnik shooting one back. Temily Green put up a good fight and attack in midfield, which earned her player of the match. a few other honourable mentions to Catherine Mahon who spent most of the game running and booting the ball to the forwards and Sarah Wingfield who also kept the midfield in their place. The Curtin girls put in a great game overall, fighting the full 90 minutes without any substitutes but eventually went down 2-1.

The Curtin team took on a strong International Calcio team who they'd drawn with 1-1 just 6 weeks earlier. Calcio came out the better but the first chance fell to Curtin when David Cantoni pressured the Calcio keeper on a pass back near the penalty spot and the cleared ball struck Cantoni’s legs only to skid away from goal rather than into it. From here the game was fought in the midfield for much of the first half with Calcio’s main attack coming from set pieces sent into the glaring sun for Curtin goalkeeper Michael Birch and his defence to deal with. Curtin’s first real chance of the half fell to Daniel Tibbitt who received a perfect ball from Gaute Baardsen on the right, brought it down well and got his shot on target only for the Calcio keeper to make the save. Curtin was giving away to many free kicks in dangerous areas and it was from one such free kick just minutes before half time that Calcio found the breakthrough. The ball was lost by Birch in the sun and it struck a Curtin player ending up in the back of the net as an own goal. At half time a sluggish Curtin boys were 1-0 down.

In the second half a revived Curtin team came out firing with Eddie Tikoft pushed into the midfield to help man of the match Russo it seemed only a matter of time before Curtin scored. The first chance for Curtin in the half came from a quick short corner exchange between Tibbitt and Cantoni where the latter swung in a powerful cross which Erik Backstrom met at full force only to power his header over the bar. Looking for that elusive goal manager Campbell Ballantyne elected for a change up front bringing on Sindre Arete Bendixen for Tibbitt and it wasn't long before Bendixen got his name on the score sheet. A brilliant far post corner found Bendixen un-marked and he finished it superbly heading across the face of goals and the ball going in off the near post. It was 1-1 and Curtin had all the momentum. Cantoni slipped a perfect ball into Tikoft who beat the keeper playing a square ball for the advancing Bendixen who fended off his marker and slotted the ball into the empty net only to be ruled offside. Erik Holm Nilsson went the closest to scoring with an amazing strike from wide of the 18 yard box beating the keeper only to strike the crossbar. Cantoni was replaced by Kye Middleton and Chase Parker by James Fay as Ballantyne continued to push for the winner. A counter attack saw Calcio with a chance only for birth to smother the ball brilliantly and keep the teams level. With no time left in the second half Calcio had a corner and with 20 players in the Curtin box anything could happen. A ping pong like moment ensued and the ball was finally cleared by Curtin to safety. At the full time whistle the score was 1-1 and the team to progress to the next round of the cup would be decided with penalties.

Curtin were to take the first penalty and Tikoft showed his class slotting it past the huge Calcio keeper who had this season already saved 4 penalties. Calcio then scored before Havard Lund’s well struck penalty was picked out of the bottom corner by the diving Calcio keeper. Calcio again scored making it 2-1 before Fay stepped up and slotted coolly. Birch was then sent the wrong way to make it 3-2 to Calcio after 3 penalties each. Bendixen then expertly changed his penalty half way through after realising the Calcio keeper was going the right way sending it higher and more central to put the pressure back on Calcio to finish it off. The next Calcio penalty was the only poor one of the day and was skied over the cross bar bringing to mind Roberto Baggio’s 1994 World Cup Final miss against Brazil. Middleton then stuck the ball in the top corner off one step that oozed class and even though Birch was able to get a hand on Calcio’s fifth penalty it somehow squeezed in. After 5 penalties each it was 4-4 and the game would go to sudden death. Russo stepped up to take the 6th penalty and the Calcio keeper once again dived hard and far to his right and saved what was a brilliant penalty to give Calcio the chance of winning with the next kick. They did just that with a rocket shot into the side netting that was just too powerful for Birch who was diving at full length but just could not get there in time.

Curtin were unlucky not to win but paid the price for a sluggish first half and not putting away their chances when they came to them. Standouts for Curtin were Russo who was everywhere at once, the cool headed Nilsson, the pacey Lund and Birch in net.

Curtin div 6 reserves travelled to Morley for round 3 of the cup looking to make it to the round of 16. The boys clearly outplayed a team 3 divisions higher for the first 30 minutes with Allan Jiang providing the deft touches and Michael Freeman the grunt in midfield, while Viraj made some first class saves in goals. The Curtin lads came close to scoring several times with Jiang blasting over the crossbar and Alex Godfrey causing problems and creating several opportunities upfront. Indeed, the Morley defender was lucky to escape with a yellow card for a professional foul as Godfrey raced onto a through ball that exposed the Morley defence. However, a lapse in concentration saw Morley score twice in the last 10 minutes of the 1st half, as well as a fine penalty save from Viraj. The second half again started brightly for Curtin who shut up shop defensively, and Freeman exerted pressure and fine passing to open up wingers Courtney Woodward and Kye Twigg. Several chances went begging to Godfrey and Woodward. Steve Collins thought he had got a goal back only for the referee to disallow the goal for an earlier infringement. Substitute Gavin Repton also came close to scoring on several occasions. Morley scored a third after a cruel deflection off Bryan Bourke and Morley duly scored a fourth as Curtin continued to press. Stand-outs today were Viraj in goal and Michael Freeman.

The division 2 team had a strong start in their first cup match against the Subiaco Premier league team, with much of the play in Curtin’s attacking half thanks to excellent pressure from all the Curtin players. Unfortunately a brilliant header from a Subi player off a corner kick saw the home team score their first goal for the match. Curtin rose to the challenge and stepped up their intensity for the last 20 minutes of the half, having countless shots on goal, but unluckily not being able to get the ball in the back of the net, going into half time 1nil down. Tempers flared in the second half with Subiaco giving away numerous free kicks for sloppy and over-aggressive tackles, however Curtin did not manage to take advantage of these opportunities. Brilliant games from defenders Mary Hakimuah and Laura Lammie saw Curtin once again have much of the attack starting the second half, however the Curtin girls, having only 2 subs, then began to tire and small lapses saw Subiaco score two more goals despite the efforts of goalkeeper Jess Sheridan. The Curtin girls were disappointed with the loss, feeling the score line did not reflect the game.

The Curtin Div 5 Women defeated the Rockingham team 6-0.

Curtin travelled to Armadale and in blustery conditions played on a tiny pitch. The game started out very even with both sides creating a couple of half chances in the first 10 minutes, after that Armadale began to seize control of the game, and got a deserved result soon after with a goal that was tidily slotted past Kim Slaake in goal. After the restart Curtin started to kick into gear going forward, after stringing a few passes together and showing patience Daniel Tibbitt found the equaliser with a solid finish from the edge of the box. Curtin seemed to go back into its shell a little after the goal. Armadale took full advantage and pressed forward at every opportunity. A keen box to box run from an Armadale player almost put them back ahead only for the cross bar to deny them the lead. At half time 1-1.

After halftime it was a different story with Curtin starting positively. Armadale started to use the conditions to there advantage with long diagonal balls forward keeping Ruthran Seevanathan busy. Curtin's midfield started to get on top in the midfield thanks to some Troy Pippin tenacity. Campbell Ballantyne started to make an influence in the game with his creative passing and it looked like Curtin were close to finding the breakthrough, but just couldnt find that clear opening. At the other end Armadale then found the decisive goal to take the advantage back. Another goal came soon after, Curtin lost the ball as they tried to play it out of the back and Armadale took full advantage of Slaake being off his line. 3-1. Neville Benson then introduced himself into the game at the expense of hard working Peter Talikowski. This substitution had an immediate affect with Ballantyne launching a ball down to the corner from the restart for Benson to run onto, after beating two players Benson found enough space to get a low cross into Sindre Bendixen who found the back of the net with a solid tap in. A bit of spirit then began to show amongst the Curtin boys another move down the left created another opportunity with Ballantyne and Benson again combining well. The ball in found Bendixen who took the ball down and calmly knocked it through all the legs in the box and into the bottom corner. 3-3 and game on again. The Curtin boys searched for the winner but couldn’t find that elusive goal and with six minutes to go a counter attack from Armadale caused problems for the Curtin defence. Unfortunately for Curtin, Armadale scored from this raid forward and once ahead didn’t allow Curtin to create any real chances with mostly long shots resulting.

Solid contributer's on the day were Pippin, Ballantyne, Bendixen and Tom Kitson at right back. The Curtin reserves find themselves in 8th place on the table after 6 rounds played.

The Curtin first team came out firing against an Armadale side that seemed underprepared and lukewarm at best. With every attacking move from Curtin seeming like it would yield results it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken. At first it seemed that Jordan Gibbs would be the man to do that but his shot from 30 yards sailed just over the crossbar. The deadlock was broken by a sublime dead ball strike by Havard Lund who guided the ball around the wall and past the Army keeper into the top corner to make it 1-0. From here Army fought hard and shut down Curtin at every opportunity with hard work on and off the ball. They responded to the Curtin goal with a free kick of their own. Swung in to the far post it missed every head in the box and slipped into the bottom corner leaving goalkeeper Michael Birch with no chance. At 1-1 with only a few minutes left in the half Armadale had the best chance to go into the break with a lead but a super save from Birch kept the scores level at half time.

The second half saw much of the same in the first 20 minutes but with a change from the bench seeing David Cantoni replacing Gibbs and being injected into the attack which pushed Eddie Tikoft into the middle of the park the winds of change were blowing. The ever reliable Tikoft then stepped up and changed the game. Tikoft seemed to just stroll through the Army midfield brushing of three players before rounding another and hitting a solid strike into the bottom corner from 25 yards leaving the Army custodian with no chance. 2-1 to Curtin and it was just the beginning. Just 2 minutes later a deflected shot fell fortunately to the feet of Christer Sorvik who controlled well and calmly put Curtin 2 goals ahead from 6 yards out. Just 5 minutes later the Scandinavians plotted (in their native tongue) a perfectly executed corner leaving everyone else on the pitch flabbergasted. Gaute Baardsen swung a perfect near post ball onto the head of Kim Slaake who powered the ball into the back of the net. From here the Scandinavian contingent continued their dominance with Lund scoring his second with a classy finish and Sorvik magnificently lobbing the keeper to round out the scoring at 6-1.

Standout players for Curtin were Gibbs, Tikoft, Sorvik and Baardsen with great support from Antony Russo in the midfield. With other results going Curtin's way they have moved to the top of the table.

Div. 6 reserves hosted Hamersley Rovers on the weekend but couldn’t continue their fine form from the past three weeks going down 5-1, with Matt Felton scoring the only goal in an otherwise uninspired match from the boys in green. Curtin lacked the commitment and intensity from past games and will wish to put it behind them and make amends in two weeks when they face Hamersley again, away on their turf. Standout players were Craig 'the Panther' Taylor who performed well despite being at times isolated in goals and Alex Godfrey who toiled hard up front.

Curtin 1st team are still on the hunt for their 1st win of the season, and were looking to get that against an up and down side in Hamersley. Player/manager Mick Philp opted to change formation which appeared to give the team more structure, with Marcus Hill dominating down the right side. Phil Rogers opened the scoring early in the game with a neat finish beating the keeper at the near post after good interplay with co-striker James Fay. Hamersley equalised soon after, with Curtin giving their opponents too much room. From there it was a tight battle, with Curtin creating several opportunities including Rogers crossing the ball across the face of goal but there was no one to get on the end of it. Keeper Dayle Gilliatt also made some fine saves to see the score to 1-1 at half time. Early in the second half Rogers was dragged down in the box from a corner for a penalty, which Mark Bradley struck superbly to go 2-1 up with about 35 minutes to play. Curtin continued to press and look for another goal to seal the game, while Hamersley changed their formation to 3-5-2, then 3-4-3, pushing players higher up in order to get a goal. This played into Curtin's hands freeing up central midfielder Philp, with substitute Kye Twigg providing width and stretching the 3 man back line. Unfortunately a crude late tackle on Philp late in the game resulted in him being substituted, which left Hill, who had played his finest game for Curtin this year, clearly fatigued on the pitch. Hamersley pinched a late equaliser with their player dancing past the Curtin defence. Rogers had an opportunity to win the game with almost the last kick of the day forcing a double save from the Hamersley keeper. Curtin travel to Hamersley in 2 weeks time after the cup round, and look forward to making amends. Stand outs were Rogers and Hill.

The game started out with both teams running hard and battling for the ball. Play was pushed to all corners of the field while the players worked hard to keep the ball away from their respective goal. Both teams had shots on goal but Curtin found the back of the net three times before the first half ended. The goals came as a result of passes connecting down the field as a team effort, but it was Maddie Chandler, Bran Morgan and Grace Carmichael who had the final touch past the Warnbro keeper. The second half was played mostly in Curtin's offensive half of the field, with the Warnbro defence and keeper feeling the strain of Curtin bearing down on them. A scramble near the Curtin goal resulted in a goal for Warnbro, but Bran Morgan answered with her second goal shortly thereafter to seal the deal. Brilliant games from Grace Carmichael, Madeleine Mejean and Renae Tuia saw Curtin come away with a win 4-1 over Warnboro this weekend and go to the top of the ladder.

The Curtin University woman’s division five team have earned themselves second place on the ladder after a 3:1 win over Gwelup Garda on Sunday at Edinburgh Oval. The game started off decidedly for Curtin, the first goal being scored in the first 30 seconds, by Talia Crombie. Curtin kept their lead, thanks to the strong defensive line who worked hard to stop the Gwelup Garda strikers from penetrating the line. However, shortly after half time, Gwelup Garda’s strikers managed to equalize the game, despite attempts made by goalie Jess Sheridan. Curtin fought back though and after several attempts, Jenna Buckton sneaked one in to put Curtin back in the lead. The lead was maintained by goalie Jess’ brilliant saves and Megan MacNaughton slipping another goal in, ending the game with a well-deserved win. Emily Kendall won herself player of the match for her persistent and aggressive performance, closely followed by Jessica Nugent. All the girls played well and worked together as a team to earn themselves the win.

In an up and down game against a struggling Balga team the Curtin reserves could have easily scored into double figures but with poor finishing and some hard fighting from Balga the score was only 7-3. With one of the strongest starting line-ups seen in Curtin’s Div 2 reserves squad it seemed that they would walk it in. Maybe the players were thinking that as well and they seemed not to gel all that well but the higher quality of player rather than play itself got them over the line. Goals from Peter Talikowski (2), Sindre Arete Bendixon (2), player manager Campbell Ballantyne, Kim Slaake and Kye Middleton helped Curtin to a strong win. With Michael Birch outstanding in goals making some fine saves (including two one on ones) it could have been much tighter. Stand outs for Curtin were Calum McMulkin, Michael Birch and Jordan Gibbs.

Curtin's first team played a Balga team that had struggled throughout the start of the season but did not show that form against Curtin coming out strong and hard aiming to use the referee’s poor ability to their advantage putting in crunching tackles and playing a very physical game. Curtin through quick passing and good ball movement scored the goal of the season so far. It seemed as every player on the pitch got a touch before Gaute Baardsen was put through on goal. He took his opportunity and with both placement and power hammered the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. Curtin dominated possession and rode the hard challenges well but could not create any significant opportunities with Balga getting behind the ball well in defence and shutting down every shot they could.

In the second half Curtin did what they failed to do last week. They came out at one nil up and put the game to bed, not resting on their laurels but rather pushing to seal the game. Time and time again Balga held out against a Curtin juggernaut but it seemed only a matter of time before another would be scored. Curtin's dominance paid off when finally one of what seemed like thousands of Curtin corners proved fruitful. Daniel Tibbit whipping in a searing ball to the near post where a storming Erik Backstrom steamed in, through everything he had at the ball and powered a brilliant header into the top corner to make it 2-0. 10 minutes latter and with the Balga keeper caught out of position Eddie Tikoft scored his 5th goal in 6 games slotting into an open net from the edge of the box to make it 3-0. Although chances went begging for the Curtin team to push up their goal difference it was not to be and with full credit to Balga's defensive effort the match ended 3-0.

Stand out players for Curtin were Antony Russo and Aaron Robbins in the middle of the park as well as Backstrom and Havard Lund in the backline keeping Kim Slaakes effort between the posts to a minimum. With other results going there way Curtin have jumped into second spot on the ladder. If they can finish the season in the top 2 then they will win promotion to the 1st division.

Reserves: The reserves came into this game looking to post their first league win of the season against a team that is clearly the worst in the competition. The Curtin lads started very slowly and took a while to get their rhythm as they displayed so well against Jaguars last week. A goal mouth scramble and a goal to Jason Pippin gave them an early lead but they quickly conceeded a goal to back on level pegging. From here it was bogged down in midfield with the Curtin boys struggling to make their passes until about the 30 minute where a beautiful interplay down the right wing led to a cross from Courtney Woodward to Steve Collins who headed coolly into the net. The Curtin boys went on a rampage knocking in another 3 goals, including a wonderful solo goal by Collins, as well as Woodward and Alex Godfrey to go into the break 5-1. The second half started brightly with an early penalty that was calmly slotted by Godfrey for his second, but this ended the footballing lesson that Curtin had been dishing out. Stand outs were Joe and Jason Pippin.

1st team: The 1st team were hoping to replicate the efforts of the reserves and also post their 1st win. Unfortunately, with Perth Royals div 3 reserves winning by forfeit the good people at Royals thought it was a great idea to stack their team. It was a tight tussle in midfield on a horribly bumpy pitch which did not give a true bounce and severely disrupted Curtin's renowned passing game with many passes going astray. Richard Pascal came closest to scoring following a poorly cleared corner by Royals he struck the cross bar and out for a goal kick. 0-0 at half time and the Curtin boys were desperate to get a goal. Keeper Dayle Gilliant played his best game for the club producing several instinct saves. A bizarre decision by the referee to award a penalty against Pascal for handball produced a magnificent save by Gilliant. Player/Coach Mick Philp brought on three attacking players in the hope of getting a winner. Curtin conceeded a late goal, getting caught square with a long ball from Royals. However, no sooner had they gone down they forced a corner and the ball bobbled around and in for a goal to square the ledger. Standouts on the day were Gilliant and Troy Kritter.

The division 2 women played a game against a 10 player Port Kennedy team, who seemed desperate for a win. Curtin did not have the best start, conceding the first goal. However, the admirable Curtin team did not lose hope, and within the half scored 2 goals - a beautiful header from Sophie Fletcher, and a running goal by Sara Zadnik. A strong Curtin defence kept the opposition trapped for the rest of the half. After half time, the ladies were back on pitch and desperate to maintain scorelines and were helped by a brilliant game played by Megan MacNaughton on the right wing. Port Kennedy got significantly more aggressive in the second half, giving away several fouls, before converting a penalty given away by the Curtin defence. Both teams appeared to tire and when Sophie Fletcher scored her second goal it seemed Curtin had it won, however Port Kennedy fought back, scoring a third goal then holding on for the draw.

Coming out very strong to start the game, Curtins Div 5 team bore down on the opposition, quickly creating several great oportunities right in front of the Queens Park goal area, though unfortunately being unable to convert. A hard-fought first half showed Queen’s Park leading 2-0 resulting from several fast breaking counter attacks through the Curtin defence, until Jenna Buckton got a solid head on the ball, making it sail past the hands of the Queens Park keeper. The play originated from a corner by defender Madeleine Méjean. Being down 2-1 at halftime, the Curtin girls stepped up and held their own with a solid defence, preventing any further goals for the whole 45 minutes. Curtin had a myriad of shots on goal throughout the game, supporting and giving evidence to the immense collective effort by all of the players. It was a tough loss, but a hard-fought game by all.

After being knocked out of the cup last week the Div 2 reserve team was looking for some vengeance and it was Golden Lily who felt the brunt of it. Neville Benson opened the scoring for the greens before scoring again from the penalty spot. Benson then turned provider playing an inch perfect cross to Peter Talikowski who brought it down and coolly slotted his first for the day. With not long to go in the first half Campbell Ballantyne hit a trade mark thunder bolt that the Lily keeper could not hold and the ball fell for Benson who toed into an empty net to complete a first half hat trick and send Curtin into the break 4-0 up.

In the second half Lily put up more of a fight and scored what seemed to be a consolation goal. IT would in fact be Lily’s only goal in the game as Curtin dominated and continued to create and convert chances. Talikowski scored a brace in the second half giving him 3 for the match and rounding out the game at 6-1. Stand outs for Curtin were of course Talikowski and Benson as well as the tireless Daniel Young and hard working Calum McMulkin in the midfield.

Curtin was keen to keep their undefeated run going away to Golden Lily. The Lily pitch was as always very small but otherwise in great condition. It was Curtin who took control of the match in the first half and it seemed inevitable that they would eventually score. Half way through the opening term they did just that with David Cantoni playing the ball to Chris Ward in the middle of the park who turned and played Kye Middleton who returned it to Ward who then powered to the touch line, cut it square to Eddie Tikoft who side footed into an open net to increase his season tally to 4. Curtin had an excellent opportunity to put themselves 2-0 up when a counter attack saw them 4 versus 1 but some how they could not find the back of the net. It seemed this would come back to haunt them. Just before half time Cantoni received what was by all accounts a soft yellow card for a foul in the centre circle. One nil to Curtin at the break and it seemed that it was only a matter of time til they scored again.

In the second half Lily came out fighting and was able to score when Curtin failed to clear a corner completely. The Lily centre midfielder blasted the ball into the underside of the cross bar from 8 yards leaving goalkeeper Michael Birch with no chance. Curtin kept pushing but with injuries to Daniel Tibbit and Erik Nillson coming in quick succession forcing two changes they seemed to lose their flow. The cause was not helped when Cantoni received a second yellow for a hand ball that he claims was "purely and instinctive reaction" and was sent from the park. Not soon after Lily scored a second and it was at this point Lily made a tactical change brining on a player to man mark Curtin play maker Ward who was clearly the standout from both teams on the park, dominating the midfield. It seemed a smart move and because of his new found shadow Ward pushed forward as Tikoft slotted into his place in the midfield. Usually shadows are harmless things but the close attention Ward was receiving (especially his ankles) seemed to be getting to the Curtin lad.

With Curtin pushing forward for the equaliser they were caught on the break and a square ball for Lily left their winger an open net to slot into. At 3-1 and a man down the match seemed finished. Curtin were not going to give up without a fight however and for the last 20 minutes all the Lily players could do was hold tight at the back and play for time. With no time left on the clock substitute Havard Lund found the break through Curtin were looking for but it was all too late with the final whistle blowing straight after the restart. 3-2 was the final score to the home team and Curtin were left rueing missed opportunities and with coach Campbell Ballantyne reiterating the point to his players that "silly yellow cards can come back to bite you" and it was shown that Cantoni's indiscretion left his team mates with an uphill battle which they fought valiantly but to no Avail. Standouts were the brilliant and creative Chris ward as well as Gaute "the motor" Baardsen.

Curtin hosted top of the table for both reserves and 1st team Jaguars.

Reserves: The Curtin boys will look back at this game as one they could have notched up as a win and continued their fine form from the cup. They played an excellent passing game, orchestrated by Allan Jiang and debutant Michael Freeman in midfield to create numerous chances in front of goal. Unfortunately, Gavin Repton could not continue his rich vein of form in front of goals as several opportunities were missed. Steve Collins thought he had scored goal of the year following brilliant play between Jiang and Repton down the right wing wipping in a viscious cross to Collins whose header thundered the underside of the cross bar and bounced out. Viraj Bhagatwala was in stellar form in goals with several first class saves keeping the pressure on Jaguars. 0-0 at half time with the mood positive, unfortunately an error cost them a goal, which ultimately proved the difference. Debutant Alex Godfrey almost scored with his first kick of the game after replacing Repton, but shot over the bar after a nice interchange with Collins. Stand outs today were Kane Gravelle in centre back and the ever creative Jiang in midfield.

1st team: Jaguars had scored an impressive 23 goals in 3 games coming into round 4 and quickly added another 2 before the Curtin lads woke up. They then started to execute their trademark passing and movement and gained control of the latter stages of the 1st half culminating in a wonder solo goal from debutant Phil Rogers who collected the ball deep inside the attacking half and cut through a swath of Jaguars defenders before coolly finishing with a nice side foot into the bottom corner. The half time speech was peppered with hairspray treatment and praise, such was the mish-mash of the 1st half. Unfortunately, jaguars again scored quickly in the 2nd half before Curtin had really got themselves organised. But they rallied again and Rogers again scored a freakish solo goal, starting with a nice turn on the halfway line he parted the Jaguars defence like the Red sea and capped it with another fine finish. Curtin continued to ply the pressure in search of an equaliser with Marcus Hill and Mark Bradley interchanging smoothly to cause problems upfront, but they could not find the elusive goal. Jaguars were dead on their feet and playing for time, slowing the flow effectively. Stand outs today were Troy Pippin in midfield and boy wonder Rogers.

The first team faced up against a hard fighting Perth Hills side that had already taken down Kalgoorlie College in the first round of the cup. Although dominating possession in the first half the Curtin team couldn’t put that elusive first goal away and seemed to become more and more frustrated, much to the delight of the visiting fans, which led to a more direct route much to the dismay of coach Campbell Ballantyne. Even with the breakdown of fluid passing it was all Curtin and they were unlucky to go into the break without scoring. James Fay had the best opportunity of the half breaking through the Perth defence only to blaze his shot over the bar. The score at half time was flattering to Perth Hills at 0-0.

In the second half it seemed it was a whole different Curtin team playing with elegant movement and precise passing. It seemed only a matter of time until the deadlock was broken and it was Eddie Tikoft who brought about that change after the Hills keeper fumbled into Tikoft’s path and he bundled the ball into the net making it 1-0 to the home side. From here Curtin dominated possession and the Perth Hills team was left chasing shadows.

Time and time again Curtin moved the ball around the pitch only to come unstuck in the final third and it wasn’t until and individual piece of brilliance from the hard working Chris Ward created a chance for Aaron Robbins who graciously side footed into an open net from 2 yards. Ward, facing away from the goals on the touch line turned his marker, rounded another defender before slotting the ball square pass the approaching hills keeper who could only turn and watch at Robbins scored the easiest of goals to make it 2-0.

With 15 minutes to go Ballantyne gave Kim Slaake a chance to impress after he scored 2 goals the previous week in the reserves and Slaake did not disappoint. He worked hard for Curtin in these 15 minutes and was duly rewarded with a chance on goal. Cooley he finished to put Curtin 3-0 up and with that Curtin slipped into cruise control taking the tie comfortably and moving into the 3rd round of the cup.

Standouts on the day for Curtin were Erik Nilsson and Chase Parker at the back giving Michael Birch an easy day and clean sheet between the posts, Aaron Robbins who worked tirelessly for Curtin in the middle as well as Eddie Tikoft who covered more ground than anybody on the day.

Curtin’s Div 2 reserves came out firing against a Div One opponent in Perth International and opened the scoring early through some fine play which saw Campbell Ballantyne beat two players in the middle of the park play in Daniel Young whose shot was shut down. The ball broke wide off the keeper to Neville Benison who squared it for James McCann to tap it into the net to put Curtin into the lead. Not soon after David Cantoni (playing at centre back) went on a long probing run with the ball ending up in Perth’s box before being dispossessed, from here Perth launched a long ball counter attack and were successful brining the scores back on level terms.

Perth then pushed for another goal, sometimes with a strong physical presence earning a few yellow cards in the process, to take the lead and with a brilliantly struck drive from 30 yards that moved in the air they broke the deadlock. The Curtin lads were punished for not shutting down the option and as such went into the break down a goal with the score 2:1 to the visitors.

After half time Curtin came out looking to win the match and pushed Cantoni into the forward line slotting a solid Rhys Hanlon into his centre back roll. A scrappy mix up at the back left Curtin 2 goals behind and it seemed that Curtin were out of it. Not going down without a fight however Curtin kept pushing and probing and it seemed that the only thing that would stop them getting back in the game was the woodwork and solid goal line scrambling from the International gloveman and stoppers.

Cantoni struck a shot from outside the box that curled and bent over the keeper only for it to strike the underside of the bar and bounce out to safety. It was only a few minutes later when another chance fell to Cantoni who again beat the keeper only to have the shot deflected away by an Perth defenders shins, the rebound falling to Ballantyne who seemed to have done enough but for an amazing save by the keeper.

With time running out Curtin won corner after corner as the Perth defence dug in deep. With less than 10 minutes remaining Curtin keeper Kim Slaake decided it was time for drastic action and joined the attack at a corner. Narrowly missing the header but obviously causing confusion and trouble Slaake had done his job as an intelligent Ballantyne kept himself onside and poked in a difficult chance to get Curtin back in with a sniff.

At 3-2 with no time left it seemed the only thing that would defeat Curtin now was the clock. Time and time again Curtin threw everything they had forward and it seemed that maybe they’d claw another goal back and send the game to a penalty shootout but it wasn’t to be and Curtin were left ruing a few costly errors in the backline that cost them progression to the next round of the cup.

Standout players for Curtin on the day were an ever present Calum McMulkin, the hard working Daniel Young and a creative and tall standing Campbell Ballantyne.

The reserve team continue to improve week to week and looked to make amends to the poor finishing that cost them last week. They were clearly the superior team in the 1st half with Gavin Repton adding to his goal tally early in the game getting on the end of a cross into the box. He added a second shortly after as Curtin continued to dominate with beautiful passages of possession and passing. Unfortunately, a defensive lapse let Bayswater back in the game. A magnificent solo goal by Steve 'the twinkled toed butcher' Collins put the score back to 3-1 before a mix up between defender Scott and keeper Troy Pippin undid a great first half for the Curtin lads. The second half showed some staunch defending, with the midfield pairing of Alan and Fraser lifting a gear to nullify Bayswater. The injection of Kitt off the bench caused trouble for the defense, and his pressure led to Allan scoring the 4th and sealing qualification to the next round. Stand outs were Steve Collins and Bryan Bourke. Final score 4:2

With the 1st team looking to match the impressive result of the reserves, it seemed all one way traffic for Curtin in the first 20 minutes, but unfortunately they were unable to capitalise on the possession and opportunities afforded them with Jan Czul leaving his scoring boots at home and Marcus Hill forcing a reflex save onto the cross bar. 0-0 at half time and the boys were confident their superior fitness would allow them to win. The 2nd half was a different affair with Bayswater seemingly playing for a shoot-out, with the ball bogged in midfield. Bayswater managed to score 2 goals in quick succession late in the game to snuff out Curtin's chances. Substitute Matt Redway scored a blinder from 30 yards, but in the end proved to be only a consolation goal. Stand outs were Richard Pascal and Andrew Mkrenga. Final score 1:2

The reserve game saw Curtin concede a soft goal early in the game due to an error in the final third of the pitch. From here the boys rallied, playing a beautiful passing game and created a host of chances, including an unfortunate miss by Kye Twigg. An interesting decision by the ref to award a penalty that occurred outside the box seemed to knock Curtin's concentration and they conceeded 2 quick goals including an own goal by Viraj Bhagatwala and went into the break 4-0 down. The half time talk addressed some of the issues with the goal to win the 2nd half and work on each goal as it came. This spurred the boys on who absolutely dominated the 2nd half with the injection of 3 players off the bench. Super sub Gavin Repton scored to bring the score back to 4-1 and from reports Curtin could easily have been back in the game if not for some poor finishing. Sutherlands killed off the game at 5-1 but the ressies can be proud of how they played, particularly in the 2nd half. Stand outs for the reserves were Courtney Woodward on the right wing and Bryan 'Frodo' Bourke at right back.

The first team came into this game facing the top team who had scored an impressive 14 goals in 2 games. Sutherlands came at Curtin like a hurricane and scored an early goal from a deflection with the Sutherlands striker the quickest to react and slot past the keeper. From here the boys slowly gained ascendency through increased hard work in the midfield, in particular Joel Woods and Tom Kitson, and solid backline work. Jan Czul possibly could have equalised in the 1st half with a one on one but it was well saved by the keeper. Michael Philp saved a potential goal from a free kick by bravely sticking his face in front of a hard free kick, and was dazed. He saw the half out but was replaced by Troy Pippin. The 2nd half was all Curtin who deservedly equalised by a Jan Czul header from a Mark Bradley corner. Unfortunately, against play Sutherlands scored and eventually ran out winners 3-1. Stand outs on the day were Richard Pascal and Czul.

With Kim Slaake opening the scoring in this reserves match the Curtin team looked like they'd have a good day. A slip up from the reliable Michael Birch allowed Kelmscott back in the match and they took advantage taking the score to 2-1 before Slaake again scored to bring the score to 2-2 with the Curtin boys still in the hunt. From here it was all one way traffic with a wonder strike from the edge of the box making it 3-2 to Kelmscott going into the break.

At half time David Cantoni continued on his return from injury replacing Rhys Hanlon on the left hand side. The tactical change looked promising for player-manager Campbell Ballantyne with Cantoni breaking down the wing from kick off, receiving a beautiful ball from Ballantyne and skipping past a first defender only to be taken down by a second just outside the Kelmscott box. It was just after this that ever reliable full back Dane Gaunt went down with a severe ankle injury that forced Ballantyne to reshuffle and move Cantoni into right back. It seemed the injury to Gaunt deflated the Curtin side and they were run over by a rampant Roos team in the second half with the score finishing 5-2 to the visitors.

Once again the midfield pairing of Daniel Young and Calum McMulkin showed heart while Erik Nilsson plugged a leaky defence well and prevented many of Kelmscott's attacking movements.

A strong Curtin team turned out to take on newly promoted Kelmscott at South Oval and it was a tight affair in the first half with end to end football. James Fay sent a marvellous opportunity just wide of the post mid way through the half after returning to the first team with 4 goals under his belt from last weeks run in the reserves. Other than that no real chances for either side were apparent until in the 45th minute, a persistent Havard Lund crossed into the box where a poor clearance fell to Eddie Tikoft who calmly kept his volley down and on target to open the scoring just before half time and all seemed well for the Curtin boys.

It was just after half time when Curtin keeper Kim Slaake was surrounded by players at a Kelmscott corner and some how the ball squeezed though everyone and Slaakes legs to bring scores level at 1-1. From this point the Curtin team lifted and, encouraged by a fine one on one save by Slaake, they pushed on eventually breaking the deadlock when substitute Daniel Tibbitt repaid coach Ballantynes belief in him with a brilliant finish to put Curtin 2-1 up and in control. It was only minutes later when man of the match Antony Russo put Curtin 3-1 up with a brilliant first touch a classy finish.

From here on in Curtin controlled the game but failed to capitalise and time and time again the final ball went missing leaving the direct and sometimes overly physical Roos team in with a sniff which they took with open arms snatching a goal back to make it a tight finish with the score at 3-2.

The Curtin players were able to weather the physical barrage of the energetic Roos team which made up for what they lacked in skill and ability with good old fashioned running and hard hits and after a tense final few minutes and while trying to protect a severely battered and injured Slaake in goals after a crunching after the whistle hit from a Kelmscott forward the Curtin team were triumphant.

Both Div 6 teams put in a fine effort this week against the youth and pace of Warnbro. The reserves team kicked off first and went into the break 1-0 up thanks to a fine finish by Steve Collins who broke through the offside trap and calmly slotted past the advancing keeper. It really should have been two or three at the break, but that's football and it seemed it would come back to haunt them. In the second half a leaking defence conceded three goals (the third from a penalty in the 89th minute when Kane Gravelle handballed on the goalline) and Warnbro took the match 3-1. Jason Pippin was my pick of the bunch from the Curtin team.

The first team game was a tight affair with end to end football, fine shot stopping and brilliant football at times. At half time the scores were locked at 0-0 with stand in keeper David Cantoni keeping the team in it palming a a deflected shot over the bar. In the second half Curtin came out blazing and looked like scoring on a few occasions and would have if not for a brilliant save by the young Warnbro keeper after a viscious volley from the boot of Mick Philp seemed like it would break the deadlock. Warnbro pushed Curtin at the end with several corners but to no avail, thanks largely to some solid heading work by Tom Kitson in the last 15 minutes keeping the many Warnbro corners from troubling the Curtin goal. Warnbro played well with 10 men after their young striker received 2 yellow cards for coming in late after the ball had been played. Final score 0-0

Daniel Tibbitt has been awarded the trophy for the Intervarsity Sports Person of the Year by the Curtin University. As a prominent member of The University’s gold medal winning soccer and futsal teams Daniel was recognised for his contribution on and off the field. On behalf of all at Curtin University Soccer Club we’d like to acknowledge Daniels effort. Congratulations Dan!