THE Forest Rangers have suffered their first defeat of the Ballarat District Soccer Association men’s division one competition at the hands of Warrnambool on the weekend.
Playing away from home in the round 12 encounter, the Rangers found themselves on the back foot early in the piece when Warrnambool’s Michael Loughhead found the back of the net in the 10th minute.
While the Rangers were quick to respond with a goal of their own via Daniel Cook in the 26th minute, Warrnambool was again able to hit the lead with five minutes left in the half when Loughhead again beat the keeper.
Neither side was able to add to their tally in the second half, as the match finished 2-1.
While the Rangers remain a comfortable nine points ahead of nearest rival Sebastopol on the BDSA ladder, the win by the fourth-placed Warrnambool will provide confidence to the rest of the field following the Rangers’ seemingly impenetrable start to the 2016 season.
In other results from the weekend, the Sebastopol Vikings’ recent run of form came to an end with a tight 2-3 loss to Ballarat at Morshead Park.
After a tight opening half Ballarat was able to break the deadlock in the 40th minute when Braydie Chalmers beat the keeper.
In the early minutes of the second period of play Nicholas Lavery managed to double Ballarat’s lead with his first score of the season.
Vikings captain Sam Young managed to reduce the deficit in the 57th minute, and with the fixture all but finished Jacob Coxall managed to put the icing on the cake with a third for the underdogs.
While Daniel Hon managed to find a consolation goal for the Vikings in the dying moments, it was too late to salvage a point from the in-form Ballarat outfit.
Meanwhile, Bacchus Marsh enjoyed a comprehensive 4-2 success over the winless Creswick Cougars at Doug Lindsay Reserve.
A brace from Kevin Langan in the opening 25 minutes of the clash gave the Scorpions plenty of breathing space to head into the break with a 3-0 advantage.
The result was all but sealed in the 56th minute when Robert Cutajar found his second for the match, and while the Cougars were able to snare two late goals the deficit proved too great.
In the final contest of the round, North United’s rich vein of form continued with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Vic Park away from home.
Jeremy Beggs was the only player to score in the encounter, breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.
Despite sitting at second last on the BDSA men’s division one ladder, North United are unbeaten across the last five rounds and have now put together three wins on the trot.
