It was the clash of Rangers at Judy Masters Oval, with Picton coming out on top with a 4-2 victory.

The match started positively with plenty of chances falling for both sides in the opening ten minutes, the best of which fell to Picton's Benjamin Baxter when the ball was played to him on the top of the box. However, Baxter would slip at the crucial moment of coming into contact with the ball and thus skewed his shot wide of the post.

Minutes later, Balgownie had an opportunity to take an early lead themselves, when they won three consecutive corners. However, they failed to threaten from each set-piece as Picton eventually cleared it long following the third corner.

In the 15th minute, Balgownie had a golden opportunity to take then lead when right-back, Luke McDonald ran onto a ball played over the top. Making his way into the box, McDonald flicked the ball up as the ball bobbled, swivelled and hit a venomous shot towards goal. Outstretched, Picton goalkeeper, Aaron Whittingham pushed the ball onto the post which rebounded to Balgownie's, Branden Waeger. With no one around him, Waeger only had to nudge the ball into the open goal in front of him. However, the bouncing ball slid off the edge of his boot and wide of the goal.

The lucky break was what Picton needed to regain their mojo as they went onto score in the 27th minute.  Having made an imposing run down the right-wing, Benjamin Roberts cut the ball across the box, bouncing its way across to midfielder, Matthew Tesoriero. Meeting the ball on the half volley, Tesoriero, stroked the ball into the bottom right corner to give Picton the lead.

The goal prompted an immediate reaction from Balgownie as they made their way into the Picton area. However, the Picton defence would remain strong as they cleared the ball comfortably - a regular occurance for the rest of the half.

With two minutes to go in the half, Picton had a good chance to double their advantage. Cutting the ball onto his left foot from the right-wing, Roberts fired a shot towards the near post. His shot missed as the score remained 1-0 at halftime. However, Picton wouldn't have to wait long to score their second when they came out of the sheds.

Having won a corner in the opening minutes of the second half, Picton looked to have failed to capitalise when a poor cross was hit. However, with a bit of the luck, the ball found its way back into the mixer and Brendan Berkeley was the first to pounce, toe-poking the ball towards goal, and with the aid of a deflection, into the back of the net.

Luck though, wasn’t all with Picton as they were penalised for a handball in the box in the 62nd minute. Stepping up to the spot was Balgownie captain, Matthew McCoy. Making no mistake, McCoy confidently placed the ball into the bottom left corner to slice the deficit.

Five minutes later, it looked as though McCoy's penalty would have little impact on the match when Benjamin Baxter had a golden chance to extend Picton's lead. Having been parried the ball by the goalkeeper following Daniel Nelson's driving effort from range, Baxter, with time and space around him, only had to pass the ball either side of the keeper to score. However, he hit a weak effort straight at the goalkeeper to keep Balgownie in the contest.

It was after this miss that Balgownie would launch a series of long balls in their search for an equaliser and in the 71st minute the tactical ploy nearly came off when the ball bounced through Picton’s defence putting Waeger through on goal. Alas, it was a day to forget for the Balgownie forward as he scuffed his second good goal scoring opportunity of the day, toe-poking the ball well over the crossbar.

Waeger's troubles in front of goal would go on to haunt Balgownie again as Picton went up the other end to score a mere four-minutes later, as Benjamin Roberts dribbled past the tiring Balgownie defence. One-on-One with the keeper, Roberts made no mistake, tucking the ball past him and into the back of the net.

Despite the 3–1 scoreline, the game was not over yet as Balgownie in a show of grit and determination continued to push for more goals which they were rewarded for in the 81st minute. Having crossed the ball in from the right, the ball landed at the feet of talismanic midfielder, Jackson Dummett, who fired a rocket of a shot on the half volley well into the back of the net to set up an intriguing final ten minutes.

However, there would be no epic comeback for Balgownie as Picton wrapped up proceedings in the 90th minute, scoring their fourth courtesy of Benjamin Baxter. Played in behind the defence, Baxter had no problem slotting the ball home to secure all three points for his side.

For Balgownie, the loss means it is now mathematically impossible for them to qualify for the finals. Nevertheless, they’ll look to put in a strong performance next week against the winless Berkeley.

On the other hand, the three points for Picton keeps them well alive in the top 5 race. They'll need to take home all three points again next week against Kiama if they are to close down the five-point gap between themselves and University sitting in fifth.

20^th June 2019 @ Judy Masters Oval

Balgownie – 2 (McCoy 64’, Dummett 81’)

Picton – 4 (Tesoriero 27’, Berkeley 49’, Roberts 76’, Baxter 90’)

Balgownie – Hugh BAHNERT, Luke McDONALD, Ben KEARTON, Lachlan VENEY, Matthew McCOY, Jimmy YOUSSEF, Alex MORLANDO, Jackson DUMMETT, Zachary CRAW, Sebastian DALLAS, Branden WAEGER

Substitutes – Matthew BUBB (on for Waeger), Tomas HOBBS (on for Dallas), Johnathan McCREARY, Deniz TAN, James McCLELLAND

Picton – Aaron WHITTINGHAM, Daniel NELSON, Sebastian MYERS, Connor DYMOND, Brendan BERKELEY, Michael HEYHORN, Benjamin ROBERTS, Benjamin BAXTER, Key MITCHELL, Matthew TESORIERO, Scott MIRANDA

Substitutes – Shane STIFFLE, Deegan CANLSEN, Cameron O’NEILL, Shannon HOAD

Referee – Greg REID

Assistants – Italo ROCANTO, Hallie REID

Report by Nic Wilson, on twitter @_nicwilson

Photo courtesy of Noel Wynn