MATCH OF THE ROUND
Killarney v Kariong
Killarney and Kariong will both be on the lookout for their first points of the season in this week’s WPL Match of the Round.
Killarney will play at home once again this weekend as they will look to get the win over last year’s wooden spoon Kariong. Although Killarney did beat Kariong in one of their 2 fixtures last year (3-0), the other fixture ended a 3-3 draw which saw Kariong pick up their only point of the season. Killarney was involved in a tough battle in round 1 having conceded a late goal to lose their first match against Terrigal (1-0)
Killarney coach Adam Tait knows despite where Kariong finished last year, his squad will need to be a lot better in round 2 if they want to walk away with 3 points. “We are looking to bounce back from our first-round loss to Terrigal, the girls are keen to put in a better performance come this weekend.”
Despite conceding 5 goals to Umina last Sunday, Kariong will take a lot away from the game having scored 2 goals in 10 minutes where they took it to the Umina side. Kariong faced Killarney in the Mate Association Cup and was able to take a point away as they had another 3-3 draw with the Terriers WPL side, a game that Kariong coach Haylie Eyers stated, “we were unfortunate not to come out with the win against them, splitting the points after a goal in the last minute of the game.”
“Moving to the second round of the season we can look to build on last week’s effort. Whilst our playing roster is not the largest, our players are committed to playing their best for the club every week. Our mix of experienced players like Nikki Leek, Emily Trengrove and Millsie Copeland, complemented by our younger players Vanessa Bouffier and Tamara Hanlon will hopefully push the team forward for the game against Killarney.”
Woongarrah v East Gosford
Woongarrah will host high flying East Gosford in round 2 as the Wildcats look to get payback from their Association Cup result against the Rams.
Woongarrah has not been able to get the best of East Gosford in their last 3 results, with the latest game being their worst scoreline of all three (8-0). Although Woongarrah remained scoreless in their first-round loss, they had plenty of opportunities to get on the scoresheet and will be looking to improve in front of the goal this week against the Rams. Although going down 8-0 in pre-season, coach Dave Hurley will be focusing on the second half of the game where they only conceded 1 goal for the last 45 minutes as the key to matching the East Gosford side this weekend.
East Gosford are yet to lose in all competition games they have played so far this season, but what is even more impressive is that they have not conceded a single goal in all of these matches. In their 4 games thus far this season (including the MATE Association Cup) they have won by a total aggregate of 17-0, a true credit to the coaching of Jorge Chavez and the East Gosford backline. The Rams will look to keep this streak going against the Wildcats away from home this weekend.
Umina v Wyong
Umina will welcome Wyong to Umina Oval this Sunday for their round 2 clash against the WPL newcomers.
Umina got their season off with a win against Kariong (5-2), but coach Steve Donaldson said his side will need to be better if they wish to repeat last year’s success. Umina who won last year’s WPL Grand Final will look to improve on last week’s result as they will try to be consistent for the whole 90 minutes. Expect Umina to try and prove a point against Wyong come Sunday.
In Wyong’s first game back into WPL they had the hardest test imaginable as they faced previous year League Champions and went down to Gosford 11-1. Coach Paul Halton knew it was always going to be a hard test as he drew last year’s top 2 teams in the opening 2 round’s but his Wyong side will be out looking to prove a point this weekend to show the competition that once they have settled in they will be no easy match up.
Southern & Ettalong v Kanwal
Southern will be looking to bounce back at home this Sunday as they welcome Kanwal to James Browne Oval.
Southern & Ettalong conceded early in their opener against East Gosford but were very unlucky not to walk away with any points from that fixture. Southern will look to start the game fast against Kanwal after it took them until the second half in their round 1 fixture to start playing to their abilities. Introducing a new coach is never easy for any squad as it takes time to get used to the new style, but their first win will go a long way for Augusto and his squad as they will be searching for the “W” against Kanwal.
Kanwal, who did not lose a game in the Mate Association Cup, will look to also keep their unbeaten form going in WPL in round 2 after a great win (5-0) over local rivals Woongarrah in round 1. Although coming out victorious, Kanwal coach Hayls Ballard knows they will need to be a lot better this Sunday against Southern. The Bulls who finished 3rd last year, are looking like a real threat once again and will be out to prove that this Sunday with a win on the road.
Terrigal v Gosford
Both Terrigal and Gosford got their season off on winning ways and will be searching for another win this weekend.
Terrigal grinded out a 1-0 win against Killarney away from home which was labelled a highly competitive and combative game. Terrigal struggled against Gosford last year in their 2 fixtures as they went down both games without a single goal to their name (3-0,6-0). Coach Darryl Darke will look to overcome last year’s defeats and cement Terrigal as a real threat with a win over WPL favourites Gosford City.
Gosford kicked their 2021 WPL campaign off with an empathic 11-1 win. The Gosford girls who will be high on confidence will look to show the rest of the competition that they are once again a force to be reckoned with. Gosford know they will have a target on their back in every game as everyone will want to beat last year’s League Champions, and I’m sure they will welcome this target as they want to prove once again, they are the number 1 WPL team.
Written by Adam Blunden