Sport
29 May, 2026
Maryborough wins 9-0
The Maryborough Soccer Club continues to set an electrifying pace atop the Ballarat and District Soccer Association’s third division, delivering a decisive taste of deja vu to Forest Rangers with a 9-0 victory.
The blue and whites had six different goal scorers on Sunday, including another brilliant hat-trick from talisman Julian Callea and a brace by Luke Bucknall, who’s scored five in Maryborough’s last two games.
Sunday’s encounter was originally scheduled to be played at Jubilee Oval, but due to safety concerns surrounding the condition of the ground’s full-size soccer pitch, the match was shifted to Wendouree West Recreational Reserve.
That didn’t stop the blue and whites from taking an early lead through Callea, who was giving Forest Rangers defenders imme-diate nightmarish flashbacks to his seven-goal haul when the clubs met in round one.
After Cullen Green joined Luke and Jake Bucknall to give Maryborough a commanding 5-0 lead, Callea completed his third hat-trick of the season with another composed finish.
Goals from Luke Bucknall, Mitchell Gardam and Johno Melton provided the exclamation point for the blue and whites, who not only maintained their un-defeated record but preserved their three-point gap at the top of the table.
Maryborough will hope to extend that advantage when they take on the Ballarat Soccer Club this Sunday at Trekardo Park.
These two teams found them-selves deadlocked at 1-1 with 40 minutes to go when they last met in round two before a quickfire double from Kynan Carter gave the blue and whites a launching pad to a hard-fought 5-1 victory.