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Balmain went down 3-1 to Mounties FC on Saturday night, undone by a 5 minute spell in the first half when the home side scored all three of their goals in quick succession. Balmain just didn't look like the same side that had gone out and dominated the week before, and Mounties dominated the first half in possession and chances.

A spirited performance in the second half saw Balmain create some good chances, with John Buonavoglia scoring off a superb cross from Freddy Umlil. At the other end Dan Conway made a couple of great saves to keep the match alive, one in particular where he palmed a shot onto the crossbar and over in a one on one situation. Alas, last year's runners-up were never going to lose from such a first half lead, and Balmain will need to improve in the coming weeks as they face a few more of the competition heavyweights.

Saturday night saw Balmain grab their second successive home victory of the season with a 2-1 win over the University of NSW. The match eventually got underway after some farcical pre-match scenes where the referee had threatened to cancel the match after UNSW had alerted him to the fact that the penalty areas were not quite big enough. A quick trip to the hardware store and $50 worth of spraypaint later, the match was set to go thanks to the work of resident Balmain taggers Alex "I do everything at this club" Kaltenegger, Leo Mauceri and Damien McCabe, now known as the BFC ... Balmain Funkmeister Crew.

Balmain took a first half lead through Tom Sowden's back post strike, ably assisted by the absolute faintest of touches from Lozza's second "airswing" diving header of the night from the rampaging centre half Alex Leris' inswinging cross. A quick mention for goalkeeper Conway who enjoyed a fantastic night of doing bugger all between the sticks, a marked contrast after week's match-saving performance at Fairfield where he was peppered with shots for most of the second half. (Dan you got your mention, that'll be $5 off the fines tally. Cheers.)

Then with Paradisis and Modena bossing the midfield and Umlil running amuck out wide, Balmain dominated the second half only to suffer a scare as the students scored with their only shot on goal in the second period. Not to worry though, the gods of karma smiled upon Balmain and granted a lifeline as Buonavoglia outfoxed his marker and was tripped just inside the penalty area. It was right in the extra sprayed area that wouldn't have been there if not for the pre-game shenanigans. Lozza made sure everyone in the stadium knew it too with jubilant cries of "Penalty! Penalty! Thanks to the line! Thanks to the line!". Johnny B picked himself up and duly dispatched the spot kick for a thoroughly deserved victory which keeps the Tigers up at the right end of the table.

If that wasn't enough you can read the Football NSW match report as well.

After being out tigered in the last minute against a gritty Camden side Balmain bounced back with an emphatic 5-1 thumping of the Gladesville Ryde Magic at Lambert park on Saturday.
With one change to the team from Camden, Coach Kal brought in D'arrigo at the back and started with a formation that had attack written all over it.
The game sartted with both teams going blow for blow with a few half chances here and there but Balmain began to take the ascendancy and this was personified by a little Modena magic. As the ball was cleared from the penalty box the industrious Modena shaped up a full 25 yards from goal and hit a ball that stayed at knee height all the way into the net and 1-0 it was. To their credit Gladesville hit back strongly and gave the Balmain goal a few scares but Fog Horn Conway marsheled his backs and net well to keep them scoreless. Just before the halftime whistle the game effectively was put to bed by one of Umlil's tasty balls into the box that left a Gladesville defender flapping and resultantly putting through his own net, 2-0.
Halftime talks came and went and the 2nd half began with more pressure and after being instructed by his president to "Score today" Sowden duly obiged with a sweetly placed strike inside the box from another Umlil pass. Balmain now went for the jugular and Parradisis the elder started to completely run the midfield spraying passes everywhere one of which put Bounavagolia in for a welcome return goal, ala poacher and it was 4-0.
Mrs Bounavagolia had hardly time to return to her seat she had leapt out of to see the quick thinking Para play a sweet pass again into his nephew, "Parradisis the younger" and the diminutive striker scored as if it was just for fun, thats 2 in 2 and he's still finding fitness-!!
Gladesville to their credit again battled on and a over jubilant Balmain defense switched off for that one moment and once again with this standard of football,were punished as a simple tap in afforded the magic a consolation goal.
So 5-1 it was and a very happy coach Kal reflected on a team performance and singled out Modena for his non stop effort and wonder strike so Man of the Match he became.
The Under 20's after a battling 3-2 victory came unstuck in the heat and mayhem to go down 0-4 to a very good Magic side but they will learn from this.....with a 10klm run-!! Welcome to Balmain boys.

Balmain completed the season on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Hurstville. The result secured 9th place for the Tigers in their first year in NSW State League Division One. The Under 20s finished their season with a 2-1 victory, ensuring the side finished sixth - agonisingly one place out of the playoffs.

Schofields once again proved too strong for Balmain on Saturday at Lambert Park. First Grade went down 2-0 with two goals falling just before half-time, while Under 20s' small squad struggled to a 6-0 loss. Last match of the season is next Saturday against Hurstville who will be looking for a win to ensure they avoid the wooden spoon.

Three fixtures each for First Grade and Under 20s over the past week against Hills Brumbies, Schofields and UNSW brought mixed results. Firsts secured their Division 1 survival with a 2-0 win over Hills, but a 4-0 loss to Schofields and then a 1-0 defeat to rivals UNSW brought the Tigers back to earth.

The Under 20s are still in with a chance of a finals berth, but it looks a long shot. They still edged Hills and UNSW 1-0, yet sandwiched between those games was a 2-1 defeat at Schofields that gave them a mountain to climb in the race for finals football. They sit five points off fifth place, and need to win their final two matches and hope Inter lose twice if they want to sneak into the playoffs.

Balmain accrued two more losses on Saturday. Under 20s gave up a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes remaining to lose 2-1 to 10-man Inter Lions. First Grade went down 3-2, giving up three extremely soft goals in another defeat.

Under 20s started the match with three goalkeepers named in the starting eleven. With Justin Delany in goals, Hiro Fujiwara at right fullback and Jeremy Martin in midfield, it was no surprise the match went 80 minutes before a goal was scored. It was Balmain who broke the drought, giving the Tigers what at that time appeared match-winning lead.

Yet Inter, who earlier had a man sent off, rallied and pulled off an improbable comeback. Two hopefuly forays into the Balmain area resulted in two goalmouth scrambles ending in goals. The match finished 2-1, setting Ivan's side a mountain to climb if a playoff position is to be achieved.

First Grade got off to a dismal start, with a harmless Inter cross bobbling into the net off a Balmain defender to put the Lions up 1-0. A superb cross from Craig Andrews and a strong leap from Jake Flower secured Balmain a headed equaliser, but Inter had time to punish Balmain with a direct breakaway before half-time, making the score 2-1.

The second half started even more poorly for the Tigers, with a mixup in defensive coverage allowing a Lions player to stroll into the area unchallenged and finish with ease.

A nice cross from Dane Maberley was bundled home by Lorenzo Merlino with help from Jake Flower to make it 3-2. With 20 minutes to go, the match was set for a grandstand finish. Yet a disallowed goal and a stunning save by the Lions' keeper off a Maberley volley was as close as Balmain could come, as the Tigers fell to their seventh loss of the season.

Next week it's the crunch match against bottom-placed Hills. Can Balmain shake their home hoodoo? First Grade are still winless at Lambert Park.

More frustration was endured for the Tigers over the last week as they went down 1-0 to Stanmore on Saturday night, then produced a stunning comeback to lead Fairfield 3-2 with 5 minutes to go only to concede an equaliser at the death for a 3-3 draw at Lambert Park last night.

The story of Saturday's match at Arlington Oval was like summing up the season so far in 90 minutes. It was a scrappy game with chances at a premium, and Balmain failed to convert the three best opportunities of the match. Stanmore created nothing of note until a deflected shot from the corner of the box looped into the top corner with 15 minutes to play.

The under 20s also endured a forgettable night, being outplayed and overpowered, and going down 3-0 in the end.

That brings us to Wednesday night at Lambert park. The under 20s bounced back from defeat to Stanmore with a 1-0 win over Fairfield. Denny Noor bagged the winner shortly before full time, smacking the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area. With a game in hand and 5th place Inter Lions visiting Lambert Park on Saturday, the finals are still not out of the question for the 20s.

The first grade game against Fairfield was played at a frantic pace from the outset. The ball pinged end to end with both sides eager to attack at every opportunity. Two fantastic early saves from Dan Conway kept the Tigers in the match, first palming the ball onto the crossbar then another onto the post to deny Farifield. Late in the half Fairfield jagged a goal when a mis-hit shot rolled across the six yard box and the unlucky Tom Sowden deflected it past the stranded Conway for an own goal. Worse came within minutes though, as some slack defending allowed Fairfield to play a couple of one-twos around the edge of the area, leaving an unmarked striker with a simple finish from six yards.

What a different story the second half was. The Tigers threw everything at Fairfield from the whistle and had shortly pulled a goal back via a smart finish by Craig Andrews from the edge of the area. The equaliser was provided by Jake Flower who smashed his shot into the roof of the net through a crowd in the penalty area. With the game still flowing from end to end it looked like either side could snatch the points. And with 5 to go, Andrews hit another from outside the box and big Lozza Merlino popped up to deflect it in off his thigh. That wasn't the end though. With Eamonn Byrne off the field concussed after being elbowed in the head off the ball, Fairfield took advantage and scored an equaliser to leave the Tigers once again spitting chips.

Balmain endured a disappointing evening at Lambert Park on Saturday against Mounties. Both grades had a chance to put pressure on teams above them as the playoff race hots up, but both failed to produce. Under 20s went down 5-0, while Firsts crashed 2-1.

Conceding two first half penalties in the Under 20s set the tone for the evening. The side came out in the second half intending to snatch something from the game, though their attacking mindset was punished as the opposition clinically counter attacked. After a good mid-season run put them in a position to challenge for the top five, the Mounties defeat has left the Under 20s with a mountain to climb for their playoff ambition.

First Grade was hungry to bridge the gap on the ladder between the side and the fifth-placed Mounties. A disappointing first period display saw them go down midway through the half. The Mounties striker controlled a difficult ball to bounce his way through a nervous Tigers’ backline before finishing smartly high into the net from a tight angle.

Despite the anxious first half display, the Tigers had their own opportunities. With his back to goal, Dane Maberley drew two defenders then played in Lorenzo Merlino who could only hit the post with the goal at his mercy. Yet Merlino made amends soon after by controlling the ball in the area, turning his marker and sliding a left footed shot past the keeper.

Still, the Tigers were punished by their lack of intensity. Not long before half-time, a back peddling Tiger defence allowed the Mounties forward a free shooting chance from 20 metres. He made no mistake, rifling a shot into the roof of the net.
Balmain came out a different side in the second half. Though they enjoyed a larger share of possession and territory, Balmain could not find the equaliser. The match would have been put beyond them had Dan Conway not pushed a feverish drive from a Mounties midfielder onto the post midway through the half.

More action was to be found at the other end of the pitch. With the goal at his mercy, Jackson Gothe-Snape couldn’t bring down a volley after a half-cleared free-kick. Lorenzo Merlino couldn’t beat the keeper one on one. A corner was cleared off the line amid claims for handball. Then Jeremy Pettenon fired a glistening strike towards the top left corner, only to see the keeper dive full length to his right to divert the ball away. The Tigers were to fall agonisingly short.