MATCH OF THE ROUND
East Gosford 0 – Umina 2
It was a very special WPL Match of the Round this past weekend as East Gosford and Umina played for the Kate McCartin Cup. Kate played football for the Rams before she unfortunately passed away. East Gosford wore pink socks in memory of Kate and for cancer awareness.
East Gosford knew they were going up against a very solid and well-coached squad in Umina. The 2020 Premiers showed their class in the first 10 minutes as they completely dominated possession and created multiple scoring opportunities. The opening goal of the game was scored by last year WPL Player of the Year Gemma Crowson, a well-worked play through the middle saw Hayley Fullwood set up Gemma to give the E-Gals (Eagles) a 1-0 lead. After a slight change in information for East Gosford and a change of player roles, the Rams slowly worked their way back into the game as they created chances of their own in hopes of scoring the elusive equaliser, but it would not come. Umina had chances of their own to double their lead but were denied by the woodwork twice in the first half. Unfortunately for Jorge Chavez’s East Gosford side, a suspected season-ending ACL injury meant another reschedule in personal and tactics to start the 2nd half.
East Gosford continued to press and create numerous opportunities and were very unlucky in not finding the equaliser they were searching so hard for. The Rams battled hard to keep themselves in the game but unfortunately in the 80th minute, Umina’s Gemma Crowson laid the ball off for teammate Chelsea Campbell whose shot from outside the box found the back of the net to give Umina a 2-0 lead, a lead that they would carry until the final whistle.
Jorge was happy to see his side never give up and push to the final whistle but is concerned about a tolling number of injuries within his squad. “A few more injuries means that our season now gets complicated with 8 players out. Sunday’s game against Terrigal will really test our squad. Luckily, we have a great female set-up at the Rams and can promote some W18’s and WAA players to our squad come Sunday.”
“A respectful and well-run day by East Gosford who have a really impressive committee and club to honour a great person that was Kate McCartin,” added Umina coach Steve Donaldson post-match.
Woongarrah 0 – Terrigal 2
Woongarrah’s goalless start to the season continues as they fell 2 nil in front of a home crowd to a very strong Terrigal side.
Woongarrah started the game positively and did well during the first half despite some strong forward runs from the opposition. The Wildcats side was able to frustrate Terrigal and move the ball forward in their attacking third. Dave Hurley’s Woongarrah side created chances but failed to find the target which has been an ongoing story of their season so far. Terrigal enjoyed the majority possession for long periods as they looked to overcome the well-organised defence of Woongarrah, but could not do so in the first 45 minutes of play as the score remained level at half time.
The second half of action was just as competitive as the first, with both sides playing a very positive style of football. Terrigal’s two goals would come at the hands of corners as they eventually overcame Woongarrah’s defensive block with Kate Cheyne and Indiana Moyes finding themselves on the O’lasses scoresheet. Despite conceding two goals, Woongarrah’s squad rallied back with some great runs through the midfield where they challenged the Terrigal defence, but unfortunately once again The Wildcats could not capitalise on their chances and the score finished 2-0.
“The team continued to hustle the opposition until the final whistle, and it was positive to again build on our progress from previous weeks,” added Dave Hurley as he looks to next week’s opposition in search for his sides first points of the year.
Wyong 1 – Southern & Ettalong 3
Unfortunately for Wyong, their first home game at Baker Park since re-joining WPL saw them pick up a 3-1 defeat against 2019 League Champions Southern & Ettalong.
Both Wyong and Southern started well with both sides having many chances to score. Goalkeeper Rebecca Arnfield was exceptional for Southern, making great saves to keep the score level whilst the Southern attack missed some great chances up the other end of the field. Having conceded 22 goals in their opening 2 matches, Wyong’s defence stood strong as they kept a first-half clean sheet and the score remained level at 0-0 heading into the break.
The second half was a repeat of the first, as both teams managed to play well and create opportunities for themselves. Southern would be the one on the scoresheet first as Hannah Davidson’s shot from the top of the box beat Wyong’s goalkeeper for the opener. Despite going a goal down, Paul Halton’s Wyong side continued to fight hard and they were awarded a golden opportunity to level the match due to a handball in Southern’s box that resulted in a Wyong penalty. Georgia Davis stepped up for the Emu’s, but keeper Rebecca Arnfield was able to make a great save to keep her side 1-0 up. Wyong eventually was able to beat the southern goalkeeper as a great strike from Sarah Whitehouse level the match at 1-1. With both teams looking for a goal to go ahead, Southern would take the lead through Kathleen Farrell who received the ball free on the right, making a good run and she was able to strike the ball into the back of the Wyong net. Sothern would then go on to score their 3rd goal of the match after a corner found Tatum Ansiewicz who turned the ball in to score the game’s final goal.
Paul Halton was more than impressed with his side as he feels that his squad were unlucky not to walk away with some points. “It was an unlucky result for our ladies as both teams played some great football. Sarah Whitehouse and Kate Duffy played well in the centre of the field while Georgia Davis hit the bar twice. A great performance from my girls with a lot of positives coming out of the game”.
Gosford 5 – Killarney District 0
Despite having 5 key injuries from first grade heading into their round 3 match, Gosford showed their squad’s depth and ability as they beat Killarney 5-0.
Gosford started the game off very brightly and quickly, establishing strong possession of the ball in the opposition half. Although not having much of the ball and defending for the majority of the first 45, Killarney played well and held strong in defence playing with a very compact backline and making it extremely hard for Gosford to find space in the final third. Killarney would look to pounce on the counter-attack but eventually, Gosford found a breakthrough late in the first half after a piece of individual brilliance by Maddie Yates who turned her defender on the edge of the box and fired her shot into the top corner gave the Dragons a 1-0 lead at half time.
The second half saw much of the same as the first as Killarney tried to fend off the Gosford attack. As the game progressed the Killarney’s defence only grew more tired as Gosford were able to find more space and time in attack. Gosford was able to score 4 second-half goals as Maddie Yates found herself on the scoresheet again. A goal each to Gosford’s Maria Aspitia, Abbie Kitchener and Laura Mundy cemented Gosford’s win as they continue their perfect start to the season.
Killarney’s Adam Tait had nothing but praise for the opposition after the game labelling Pete Edwards team “a far superior side for this competition, full credit to them.”
Gosford’s Pete also had high praise for the opposition commenting, “Credit to Killarney who made it really tough all game and never gave up.”
Kariong 0 – Kanwal 1
Kanwal only just got the better of a very hungry Kariong side who took it to the Bulls all game but just fell short of securing their first points of the year.
Both teams started the game strong with some early chances coming in the first half. Kariong’s intensity and hunger showed as they put Kanwal under pressure whenever they had possession of the ball. Kariong had a few quick breaks in play and were able to get shots off on goal but were denied multiple times from Kanwal goalkeeper Kimberley Burke. Kanwal also had their chances to take the lead in the first half as they missed multiple clear-cut opportunities from great passing and build-up play by the Kanwal midfielders who did a good job of utilising their wide players. After a very attacking half, the score remained locked a 0-0.
Kariong and Kanwal continued to attack well as the second half commenced and both sides looked for the opener. The game’s only goal came from great build-up play from Maddi Dunlop and Alisha Dudman as a nicely played cross found Hayley Green at the back post. Kariong’s keeper was able to get a hand to the shot from Hayley, as the shot required confirmation from the sideline official if the ball completely crossed the line or not, the goal was eventually awarded as Kanwal took a 1-0 lead. A red card in the 75th minute halted Kariong the opportunity to attack late in the game and search for an equaliser however, the Cougar’s efforts almost secured a draw in the dying stages of the match.
Kariong Coach Haylie Eyers was extremely proud of her squad after the full-time whistle. “A strong game by the girls who were up against a quality opposition despite the late withdrawal of a key player in the warmup that added to the large injury toll of the Kariong squad at the moment. Outstanding performances across the board but special mention for the first grade starting debut of Holly Collins who really showed impact from the wing.”
Kanwal coach Hayls Ballard is ecstatic that her squad’s hard work on the training pitch is paying off, “Despite our many missed chances this weekend, Jen and I are happy with the fact that the girls really showed snippets of play that we have been working on at training these past few weeks, particularly through the middle of the park. We created plenty of chances which is positive, that’s our take-away from Sunday’s match.
WPL Leading Goal Scorers –
| 7 | Kate Styles (Umina), Madelene Yates (Gosford) |
| 3 | Amber Mangan (Umina), Hannah Batten (Umina), Taylor Thackray (Gosford) |
WPL Points Table –
WPL Club Championship –
Written by Adam Blunden.