Castle Hill United PL put on a five-star display defeating Baulkham Hills PL, 5-1, in the Hills Cup at Fred Caterson Reserve last Tuesday night.
Leading into the match, the men in maroon and yellow came off a 6-0 home win against Rouse Hill Rams, while United moved to second position on the ladder with 2-4 away win to Winston Hills.
In a cagey opening fifteen minutes, it was United who scored first in the 17th minute.
A defensive error by Baulkham Hills allowed Karl Bowry to drag the ball forward into the eighteen yard box which he slotted his shot into the bottom left corner to open the scorings.
Castle Hill continued to pressure the Baulkham Hills backline and were rewarded again in the 22nd minute.
A poor Baulkham Hills pass just outside the eighteen year box was intercepted by Michael French, who laced his shot first time to double the advantage.
Just seconds later, the home side looked to have got a third, only for the away side to clear the ball off the goal-line.
Although possession and momentum favoured Castle Hill, a swift counter attack from Baulkham Hills saw Arjun Punehar score a tap in, in the 32nd minute, to make things interesting.
However, any confidence that Baulkham Hills gained was shortly lived as two minutes later, the men in green and white restored their two goal cushion.
The away side were caught sleeping when a high ball in the air was left ignored, which saw an unmarked Peter Lautre hit a first time volley on his left foot to make it 3-1 heading into half-time.
The second half started identically to the first half, as United continued to pressure Baulkham Hills.
Michael French was causing headaches for the away side with his dribbling skills winning numerous corners.
The first real chance of the second half came in the 70th minute when a one-on-one chance was parried by Baulkham Hills’ keeper outside the box, resulting in an open goal, however Michael French spurned his shot wide.
Tempers did arise between both sides, however the officials were able to control the match.
In the 80th minute, Castle Hill scored their fourth as Karl Bowry ran from halfway, turned a Baulkham Hills defender inside out to make it 4-1, with the home fans loving it.
Just on the stroke of full-time, wonderful link-up play from the home side saw Mason McComasky slot a first time volley from a cross into the bottom right corner to round off a five-star performance, eliminating Baulkham Hills from the cup.
Report – Ian Pulczynski
