MATCH OF THE ROUND
Kariong 0 – Woongarrah 6
Round 9 WPL Match of the Round saw Woongarrah hop off the bottom of the ladder after their convincing 6-0 win over Kariong.
Prior to the fixture, Woongarrah set a few objectives they would strive for, these objectives included getting their first win and a clean sheet for the season. In the first half, Dave Hurley set up his Wildcat side with the intent of maximising any scoring opportunities, this attitude of going forward worked extremely well with Emma Hurley converting two scoring chances on the 12th and 25th-minute marks after some fantastic ball in the midfield. Morgan Perry would score her first-ever 1st-grade goal on the 21st-minute mark as Woongarrah would enter the halftime break with a 3-0 lead.
With many players returning from injuries, Kariong found it vastly difficult to coordinate teamwork and communication which ultimately where their demise. Woongarrah’s speed was unmatched as Kariong lacked pace defensively. It wouldn’t take long for Woongarrah to pick up where they left off in the second half as Niesha Monteleone finished a well-placed shot across the face of the goal in the 47th minute to open her goal-scoring account for the year. Continuing this attacking style of play and some very positive lead up work from the Wildcat’s midfield players, Emma Hurley was able to get her hattrick on the 57th-minute mark and then followed that up with her 4th just minutes later as Woongarrah picked up their first win and a clean sheet for the 2021 season.
“The weekend’s loss was unfortunate for us. We did not put our best game forward on the weekend, I’m hoping to work on communication coming into our next game.” Commented Kariong coach Haylie Eyers.
Woongarrah’s coach Dave Hurley was ecstatic with his team’s performance and credit’s his side who put in a 90-minute performance. “It’s a very positive outcome from this game, whilst our entire team continued to press and put pressure on the opposition across the pitch for the full 90 minutes, which was a major contributing factor for our first clean sheet for the season.”
East Gosford v Gosford
The East Gosford and Gosford game was postponed due to a serious injury in the first half.
Wyong 3 – Kanwal 5
An 8-goal thriller at Baker Park saw Kanwal walk away with the win and the 3 points as the Bulls jump into the top 4.
It took some time for both teams to get going as Kanwal turned over possession multiple times and Wyong look slow to start the encounter, but Wyong would take the lead early after Piper Monteith found herself down the left-hand side of the field and managed to beat a couple of players to open up space and managed to put her shot through the Kanwal’s goalkeeper’s legs. Kanwal were awarded a spot-kick after a foul by the Wyong keeper on Kanwal striker Hayley Green. Hayls Ballard stepped up and converted for her side to take the game back level at 1-1. Kanwal started to enjoy long periods of possession, but Wyong continued to fight hard and capitalised well on the opposition’s mistakes. Just before halftime, Kanwal’s Casey Cooper put a superb cross in for Alisha Dudman to hit with a first-time volley that gave Kanwal a 2-1 lead at the break.
The second half saw plenty of attacks from both teams, but Kanwal would once again be the next to score when Hayls Ballard got on the end of a through ball by Jennifer Reeves and slotted her chance and gave Kanwal a 2-goal lead. Alisha Dudman then scored a magnificent free-kick to give Kanwal an even bigger lead. Wyong went on the attack looking to be the next to score in the hope of salvaging something from the fixture. Cheyenne Deary beat a couple of players to finish a nice attacking move for Wyong. Not long after grabbing one back, Wyong managed to win the ball in the midfield and set up Cheyenne Deary 1-on-1 with the Kanwal goalie as she managed to chip the goalie to take the game to 4-3. Kanwal hit back almost instantly off the kick-off to restore their 2-goal lead as the game eventually ended 5-3 despite multiple chances late in the game to either side.
“This is a game we definitely could have won but I’m proud of the girls, we just need to take our opportunities in front of goals,” stated Wyong coach Paul Halton.
Kanwal’s Hayls Ballard said she is happy to get the win despite not having their greatest appointment. “Credit to Wyong, they put us under pressure and definitely kept us on our toes. Not our finest performance, but we are happy to walk away with the win and having 5 more goals to our tally, given that we have struggled to hit the net in the first half of the season.”
Killarney 1 – Umina 3
Umina came from behind to get back to winning ways in round 9 as the E-Gals look to keep pressure on Gosford and Terrigal who sit above them.
The contest started off even as both teams tried to work out the opposition’s style of play. Killarney seemed content with sitting every player behind the ball which limited the attack of Umina to have any success early on as they struggled to create any clear-cut chances in the first quarter of the game. Whenever Killarney won the ball off the opposition, they would look to play quickly to catch the Umina defence off guard, on the 20-minute mark the Terriers were able to do just that as striker Yasemin Lawson made a break and converted her opportunity to give her side a 1-0 lead. Being down a goal, Umina started to create a lot more chances, especially through Liesel Collins who continued to play great through balls that troubled the Killarney defence. Umina got back on level terms after a deflection off a Killarney defender fell to Chelsea Campbell who tapped the ball into the net to take the game level at the break.
Umina came out of halftime strong and were awarded 15 minutes into the second half when Kate Styles was too fast for her marker down the wing and expertly crossed a ball into Heather Snape who put Umina ahead for the first time in the game. Killarney had their chances in the second half but failed to convert whenever presented an opportunity. Umina found their third and final goal of the match when a couple of quick passes found the feet of Gemma Crowson who darted into the Killarney box only to be fouled and awarded a penalty for her efforts. Current WPL Golden Boot leader Kate Styles stepped up for her side and successfully concerted in the bottom right corner to give her side a 3-1 win.
Killarney coach Adam Tait admits that his side must do better at taking their chances if they want to walk away with results against more experienced teams. “Umina are experienced to close out the game where Killarney must learn to be more ruthless in front of goal.”
“With our starting midfielder Freja Murray not able to continue the rest of the season, we knew we really had to put in and adjust to the hole she has made. Our midfield really got the whole team comfortable playing through the middle and never seemed to stress, even at 1-0 down. We still have a lot to work on but it’s only halfway through the season so we still have plenty of time to work things out,” stated Umina coach Steve Donaldson after full time.
Terrigal 1 – Southern & Ettalong 0
Terrigal remains in the 2nd spot after coming out victorious over Southern & Ettalong in an extremely close contest between the two sides.
It was a very close match up when Southern travelled to Duffy’s Oval for round 9. The game started very evenly as both teams enjoyed an equal amount of possession. Terrigal would get the only goal of the game in the first half after an attacking play on the right side was followed up with a cross that found Indiana Moyes who finished in excellent style to put the O’lasses 1-0 up. Southern failed to capitalise on any chances of their own as the whistle sounded for halftime.
Terrigal started the second half strong as they enjoyed more possession and looked to double their lead. Despite controlling more of the possession, Terrigal couldn’t break down the Southern defence as they were held to only two shots on target the whole half. Southern looked dangerous whenever they won the ball and counter-attacked. SEU had a golden opportunity to level the score after a quick break saw them awarded a penalty. Southern however couldn’t take advantage of the penalty as it was brilliantly saved by the Terrigal keeper. Terrigal managed to keep another clean sheet along with another win that sees them just 3 points behind first-placed Gosford who have a game in hand.
Southern coach Augusto Terra and his side were disappointed with the way they placed, knowing they could have walked away with points if they were more crucial in front of goal. “At the end of the day, we felt that we gave those 3 points to their team. It was a close game and not many chances were created but we should have done better in the critical moments on the game.”
Terrigal Assistant coach Gregory Parker said, “it was always a good experience for the squad to encounter a different style of football and problem solve during a match. We remain focused on our style of play and on our long-term goals.
WPL Leading Goal Scorers –
| 14 | Kate Styles (Umina) |
| 12 | Taylor Thackray (Gosford) |
| 11 | Madelene Yates (Gosford) |
| 6 | Jessica Dominello (Gosford), Jordyn Toms-Wedge (Terrigal), Piper Menteith (Wyong), Hayls Ballard (Kanwal) |
| 5 | Hannah Batten (Umina), Sophie Piltz (Terrigal), |
Reserve Grade Round 9 Results –
WPL Points Table –
WPL Club Championship –
WPL Round 10 Fixtures –
Written by Adam Blunden.