By Chris Curulli
A pair of second half strikes from Josh Ciabatti secured Brookvale valuable 2-0 victory over a previously undefeated Pittwater side at Grahams on Saturday.
The result was made all the more remarkable by the fact that the hosts were reduced to ten men after Josh Lawson was dismissed midway through the second half with the score still 0-0.
Despite the numerical disadvantage Steve Riches’ men found a way through as Ciabatti cut inside and tucked the ball inside the front post.
He soon doubled his tally as Nedan Jelaca played a clever chip in behind, allowing the attacking midfielder to slam the ball into the roof of the net and put the result beyond doubt.
Brookvale captain Dan Green was impressed by his side’s application.
“It was an arm wrestle for the majority of the game and then at the end we pulled through with two crucial goals, which proved to be the difference,” he said.
“Josh (Ciabatti) is our man on fire at the moment, he scored a hat-trick the other week and has done really well.
“Last year we’re used to being top of the table so after a slow start this year we’re really trying to catch up with those teams ahead of us so to take three points of Pittwater is massive.”
Pittwater remain in top spot with 17 points to their name, closely trailed by Curl Curl on 16 in second and Brookvale and Narrabeen closing out the top four on 15.
In other round 8 results, Belrose-Terry Hills emerged 3-2 victors over St Augustine’s and Narrabeen toppled Manly Vale 2-1.
The other three fixtures all ended in draws: 2-2 between Curl Curl and CC Strikers, 1-1 between Harbord and Mosman and 0-0 between Wakehurst and Seaforth.
