The first few rounds of the Waratah Cup are a great opportunity for Association clubs to test their mettle against more illustrious opposition from the Federation. Wednesday's encounter between Lilli Pilli, a strong Sutherland Shire based outfit with 111 teams all up, and 2nd Division Luddenham United was no exception.

However on the night, a weakened Luddenham were dispatched 5-1 as they failed to come to grips with a rampant Lilli Pilli attack that sent up 4 attackers at a time on the break! In the 8th minute, James Gardner slotted home for the home side after good work from ex-Sutherland player Alex Judd - receiving the ball from a free kick and beating sloppy United defence.

Just 8 minutes later Gardner was brought down in the box by the Luddenham keeper Richard Connors, which earned him a yellow card, and Steve Byrne cooly slotted the ball into the back of the net. Byrne bagged his 2nd when he pounced onto a loose ball and extended Lilli Pill's lead to three in the 29th minute.

A shellshocked Luddenham threw everything at the home side for the remainder of the half but some woeful finishing and a fine save by Lilli Pilli keeper, Todd Sams, in the 31st minute to deny Huso Merdanovic, kept the home team firmly in the box-seat to advance to the next round.

Despite Andrew Montgomery making 5 changes to his side at halftime, it was to no avail as Gardner scored again for Lilli Pilli in the 66th minute and substitute Pat Dibley grabbed the fifth in the 81st minute.

As a consolation and perhaps the best goal of the evening came when the visitors finally getting on the scoresheet with Grant Odei blasting home a cracker in the final minute.

Following this game Lilli Pilli defeated Mountains United 4-2 on Wednesday 4 April at Wooloware High School

MATCH STATS:

Crowd: abt 40

Lilli Pilli FC (SSFA) :
Player listing:
1. Todd Sams (gk), 52. Sam Dawkins, 11. Justin Murray, 9. James Gardner (Off 69'), 7. Paul Skyllas (off 56'), 12. Steven Byrne (Off 66'), 83. James Pearce (Off 84'), 10. Steve Americanos, 26. Scott Pickering, 8. Alex Judd
Substitutes: 13. Nick Kynezos, on 66min; 22. Nick McCarthy, on 84min; 6. Pat DIBLEY, On 69min; 5. Ben Smith, On 56min

Coach: David Zabic

Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil

Luddenham United FC (NSW Div 2) :
Player listing:
1. Richard Connors (gk), 5. Dino Imamovic. Off 46min. 35. Stipan Popovic. Off 46min. 36. John Vella. YC – 36MIN. 10. Chris Camilleri. Off 46min. 12. Pasquale Corso. Off 46min. 8. Dejan Urosevski. 21. Dujon Webster. YC – 65MIN. 17. Andrew Chandab. Off 46min. 7. Huso Merdanovic. YC – 72MIN. 14. Grant Odei.
Substitutes: 18. C. Vella, On 46min; 6. J. Bazina, On 46min; 4. R. Shields, On 46min; 27. B. Radnillo, On 46min; 2. Steve Andrews, On 46min

Coach: Andrew Montgomery

Yellow Cards: Richard Connors 16', C. Vella 84', R. Shields 55'
Red Cards: Nil

Referee: Thomas Diakos
Assistants: Adrian Arndt, Julian Policino

Pitch rating: 6/10

Game rating: 7/10

Players to note: n/a

Match report and photos by Mark Taylor

---