Recap

Western Wolves have kept their title hopes alive with a crucial win against the ladder-leaders Carlton Heart.

The Wolves went into the game knowing that anything short of a win would see the Heart crowned champions for a second consecutive season, and the intensity of their play in the opening exchanges reflected the desire that they would need to display to push the defending champions for another week.

The Wolves opened the scoring through Elvis Kamsoba, before the Heart hit back through Atay Ibrahim,.

Tiema Couliabaly put the Wolves back in front, but Ibrahim was on hand once again to level proceedings.

The teams could not be separated at the half-time break, but the hungry Wolves continued to hunt down the defending champions in the second half, and goals from Hayden Kanjo then Tiema Couliabaly gave them a two goal buffer for the first time in the match.

The Heart were not willing to take the loss lying down though, and Abdirahman Ahmed scored to get his side back into the contest.

But the Wolves were determined to keep the title race alive for at least another week, with Matthew Essay scoring their fifth goal of the game to seal the three points.

The Wolves are now three points behind Carlton, with a +1 goal-difference in comparison with the ladder-leaders with two rounds to play.

Man of the Match: Elvis Kambosa (Western Wolves FC)