By: Lachlan SHIRLEY

LARA United took on Geelong Rangers at the Lara Recreation Reserve on Sunday in Round 5 of the Geelong Region Men’s Division 1 competition with the current league leaders Rangers coming away with all three points courtesy of a solid 2-0 victory over the home side.

Nicholas Hogan and Zachary Harry (pictured in an old file photo) both contributed to the win with a goal each. The result sees the undefeated Rangers move five points clear at the top of the table with five wins from five matches. Lara slips to 7^th position on the standings with six points.

On Friday night, Surf Coast visited Barwon Heads and recorded their first win of the season in style after defeating the home team 9-0 at Village Park.

Unfortunately, the long list of goalscorers was not submitted by the club. The huge result means the Coasters now have three points and are in 9^th spot, just one point behind the 8^th placed Barwon Heads.

Also on Friday night, Corio suffered a 2-3 loss at the hands of Surfside Waves at its Hume Reserve ground. Carson Millar was sent off for Corio, while Adam Kumcevski scored a double for the hosts. Matthew Sheen’s double and Stuart Mandley’s single ensured that the Ocean Grove outfit came away with all three points.

Surfside have now jumped to 3^rd spot on the table with 9 points, while Corio has dropped down to 5^th position on the table with 8 points.

Deakin Ducks visited the new Drysdale Sports Precinct on Sunday and the visitors returned home with all three points, after overcoming Drysdale SC. Danny Graham and Rhys Clapp were on the scoresheet for the home team, however Harry Scott’s first half hat trick allowed the Ducks to narrowly win the game 2-3.

The result means that the Ducks now find themselves in 4^th position on the table with 9 points and only trailing 3^rd placed Surfside on goal difference. Drysdale, meanwhile, has fallen to 6^th spot on the standings with 7 points.

Breakwater Eagles earned their first points of the season, drawing 3-3 with second placed Barwon. Samuel Kidd, Riley Smith and Samuel Deller scored one each for Barwon, but goals from Daniel Lavelle, David Jeynes and Thomas Willson saw the Eagles come away with a valuable point.

Breakwater remains at the bottom, but this result will surely be a massive confidence booster for the team which has struggled so far this season after losing more than half of its squad to Barwon’s new State League side.

Barwon’s local Men’s side, despite also being significantly weakened due to the club’s foray into the Melbourne Metropolitan competition, remains in 2^nd position, but now trail leaders Rangers by a sizeable 5 point gap.

Lachlan Shirley is a young SEDA student, currently doing work experience with FFV Geelong. He will be compiling regular weekly reports on the Geelong Region Men’s and Women’s Division 1 competitions.