Long range Dean Lockhart strike breaks Durals resistance

Dural Warriors  2 def by. Campbelltown Quake  5

Dural began the game strongly when Brett Stapylton had a fierce drive pushed over the bar by Gavin O?Brien then came close again when Ben Lawson sped down the right and crossed for Engelo Rumora who just failed to get a toe to the ball at the far post.
Shortly after it was Quake who opened the scoring in spectacular fashion when Dean Lockhart collected the ball inside his own half and sped off down the left side and on the run hit his shot across the keeper and into the far corner.
It was a match where both keepers ventured way out of their areas early in the game and on one such expedition from Dural keeper Ian Pemberton it almost resulted in a goal when he came out well over the halfway laid the ball off to Brett Stapylton who lashed his shot from the by-line against the post and out of play.
The Quake came close when Ian McAndrew slipped the ball to Pablo Alcantara who hit his shot just wide of the goal.
Dural almost equalised when the speedy Elliot Ragomo intercepted a pass and raced toward goal then laid the ball across to Ben Lawson who shot just wide. The Quake counter attacked immediately but Pablo Alcantara?s shot from the right flank hit the post and side netting.
Campbelltown extended their lead when Shane Soutter seized on a loose pass and set off down through the centre of the court. While holding off the defenders he drew the keeper and nicely slipped ball to Danny Martinez who slotted the ball into an empty net to make it 2-0.
Durals reply was swift when Engelo Rumora received the ball close to the byline and surrounded by defenders had his first effort well blocked by Gavin O?Brien but kept going and was rewarded for persistence when he again held everyone off the defence and smacked the rebound into the net for a terrific goal to make the score 2-1.
The Quake had a bit of good fortune when Shane Soutter ran through the middle and took on the keeper, his shot was blocked by Pemberton but the rebound cannoned off Danny Martinez and rolled into an empty net to make it 3-1.
The Dural players heads went down for a short period after the third goal and Quake capitalised as they immediately made it 4-1. From a lightning fast counter attack the ball was fed out wide on the left to Tuan Cao who lashed the ball home on the run for a great Futsal goal.
Dural hit back with chances to Engelo Rumora whose drive was saved by Gavin O?Brien and Ben Lawson?s long range shot was parried by O?Brien who did well to block Rumora?s follow up.
Dural began the second half full of running trying to pull a goal back on their visitors and after five minutes they got the breakthrough when Aiden Dupen turned the ball inside for Ben Lawson to strike the ball home from close range to make it 4-2.
Quake looked to reply as Ian McAndrew sprinted forward with the ball but his shot on goal was blocked by defender Zach Caruana and cleared by the keeper and shortly after Tuan Cao saw his shot go just wide.
Following Durals goal the pace of the game really quickened with the Warriors pressuring Quake much more sensing they had a chance of getting a result against their more credentialed opponents.
Despite the Dural pressure the Quake were still fashioning chances and Dean Lockhart won an extended tussle for the ball then knicked the ball to Emmanuel Harihiru  but his attempt was just turned away by the fingertips of keeper Josh Codrington for a corner.
Elliott Ragomo held off the Quake defenders down the left and fired into the side netting. Elliott was involved again as he ran sped forward but O?Brien saved his shot and the rebound fell to Rumora who didn?t connect with his close range backheel and the chance went begging.
With five minutes to go Quake got their fifth goal to seal the game when Tuan Cao received the ball with his back to goal and under pressure from the Dural defenders laid it back for Dean Lockhart to drive an inch perfect shot low into the corner from outside the area.
Dural had some late chances but the Quake had a comfortable lead with only a few minutes left and ran out winners 5-2.
Dural had played well but the third goal that rebounded off a Quake player just before halftime was a bit unfortunate and they dropped their heads briefly which allowed the Quake to score an excellent counter attacking goal. Against a team as good as the Quake you can?t afford to switch off and were punished for it.
With only 2 more rounds to go before the finals series Campbelltown go into the new years break well placed for another tilt at the premiership title.
Teams
Dural                                                                           Campbelltown
1. Josh Codrington                                                      1. Gavin O?Brien 
2. Engelo Rumora                                                       2. Emmanuel Harihiru
4. Ben Lawson                                                            4. Dean Lockhart
5. Brett Stapylton                                                        6. Shane Soutter
6. Michael Thornton                                                    7. Tuan Cao
18. Ben Pollock                                                          8. Ian McAndrew
11 Ian Pemberton                                                       9. Pablo Alcantara
7. Rhys Giovenali                                                       10. Danny Martinez
17. Zach Caruana                                                       11. James Gilligan
14. Ryan Johnston                                                      12. Andrew Haim

Goals
Dural  –  Ben Lawson, Engelo Rumora
Campbelltown ? Dean Lockhart 2, Danny Martinez 2, Tuan Cao

Infringements  
Fouls 
Dural  – 8
Campbelltown –  5
Yellow Cards ?  2 Dural, 2 Campbelltown
Red Cards –  1 Campbelltown

Officials  – Darius Turner, Nick Backo
By Peter Davies