MATCH OF THE ROUND
East Gosford v Umina
A very special WPL Match of the Round will take place this weekend as East Gosford will host Umina for the Kate McCartin Cup.
East Gosford lost their first game of the year last weekend going down 4-0 to Gosford City in the Women’s MATE Association Cup Grand Final 4-0 In what was a very tough and physical match for the side. The Rams coach Jorge Chavez says his side won’t be at full strength heading into this weekend game, “After a very physical cup final we will be without 5 players due to injuries this weekend, this will make our game against last year’s champions Umina a very tall task. Nevertheless, our squad is ready for the challenge.”
Jorge also went on to add how much this round means to the Rams. “It is a very important game as this Sunday at Ram’s HQ is the special Kates Cup Round! All home teams will be wearing pink socks in tribute to Kate McCartin. To fundraise for the day, the WPL squad is organising a 100’s board with prizes up for grabs, a raffle and a bake sale!”
Umina will look to keep their great start going as they have won their opening 2 games of the season with wins over Kariong (5-2) and Wyong (11-1). This round 3 clash will be the hardest test of the year so far for the E-gals and coach Steve Donaldson. “Any team coached by Jorge has the ability to win any game so I’m expecting a tough opposition come Sunday.”
Umina only faced the Rams one last year as they came out victorious in a 2-0 win. The Rams have had quite an impressive pre-season and Steve knows they will be one of the top contenders for WPL this year. “They’re shaping up to be the new team at the top of the table along with us and Gosford.”
Make sure you get down to Hylton Moore this weekend and show support for the Kate McCartin Cup, all fundraising goes to support the provision of a permanent seat at Hylton Moore in Kate’s honour. For more information, please go to East Gosford Football Club Info on Facebook.
Woongarrah v Terrigal
The Wildcats will look to pick up their first points of the year this Sunday as they will battle Terrigal at Hamlyn Terrace.
Woongarrah has not had an easy start to the season as they have faced and gone down to both East Gosford (6-0) and Kanwal (5-0) in the first 2 rounds. Dave Hurley’s side hasn’t managed to score thus far in the 2021 WPL season but will look to turn that around against Terrigal in front of a home crowd on Sunday. It’s only early in the season but Dave’s side is sitting 9th on the ladder having conceded the second greatest number of goals.
Terrigal will look to keep the momentum going after getting a win in round 1 over Killarney (1-0) and even though they fell to Gosford in Round 2 (2-0), the O’lasses side took it to the reigning League Champions in a highly competitive and quality game. Terrigal came out with maximum points on both occasions over Woongarrah last year picking up a 3-1 and 1-0 win as they look to do the same away from home in round 3.
Wyong v Southern & Ettalong
Wyong plays their first WPL game at home this weekend as they welcomed Southern & Ettalong to Baker Park.
League newcomers Wyong have had the toughest test in WPL so far this season, having taken on last year’s 1st and 2nd placed teams in the first 2 rounds and losing by a combined score of 22-2. Wyong will search for their first points of the season. Despite being in the last place, The Emu side will be out to prove a point to the rest of the competition if they can get a win over the 2019 League Champions Southern.
Southern’s WPL squad have been building week by week and constantly improving after what was a rather disappointing 2020 for the SEU women. After falling 1-0 to East Gosford in round 1, Southern turned things around against Kanwal a week later picking up a 1-0 win thanks to a stunning strike. Despite not attending the game, Southern’s new coach Augusto Terra’s squad now have their first win under Augusto and will look to make in 2 in a row this Sunday.
Gosford v Killarney
Gosford will look to keep their perfect start to the season alive as they take on Killarney at Gavenlock for round 3.
While the majority of WPL teams had a weekend off last week, Gosford played their Women’s MATE Association Cup Grand Final against East Gosford in which they came out 4 nil victors. Gosford’s unbeaten start to the season in all competitions comes as no surprise to many as a lot of people have tipped them to remain unbeaten all year. The Dragons and coach Pete Edwards will be looking to put on a show for their home crowd at Gavenlock this weekend.
In Round 1, Adam Tait’s Killarney side was narrowly defeated by Terrigal in a contest that finished 1-0. Killarney secured their first win in round 2 with a 3-0 win over Kariong and will look to keep that momentum from their victory going into this weekend’s tough clash against the Dragons. Killarney fell short to Gosford 2-0 during the two sides only match last year.
Kariong v Kanwal
Kariong will be hoping to get their season up and running with a win this weekend while Kanwal will look to bounce back after a disappointing loss in Round 2.
The Cougars are yet to pick up any points this season after falling short against Umina (5-2) and Killarney (3-0). Kariong’s squad has been dealt with multiple injuries already this season as they have had to get multiple players to play both grades weekly. Hopefully, the week off will see the squad stronger for the Round 3 clash.
Kanwal started their year off with a great win over local rivals Woongarrah (5-0) but could not back that performance up in round 2 as Southern got the best of The Bulls on that day (1-0). Hayls Ballard and Jen Tatum will look to get their squad back to winning ways away from home against Kariong after they dismantled The Cougars on both occasions the two sides faced last year. (4-1, 6-1).
Written by Adam Blunden.