MATCH OF THE ROUND
Terrigal v Umina
The Round 4 WPL Match of the Round presents us with a rematch of the 2022 Association Cup Grand Final. On that occasion, it was Umina who were crowned winners in an extremely close match that ended 1-0.
Terrigal will be out for retribution this weekend as they fell short to Umina in the Cup Final. Terrigal, when they faced Umina last year during the WPL competition, came out the better of the two sides as the O’lasses handed Umina their first competition loss from a club other than Gosford in the previous three years. Terrigal has asserted themselves as title contenders for the year ahead and will be raring to get back onto the pitch after having a bye in round 3. This is a fixture we could definitely see in the finals at the end of the year.
The Association Cup loss is something that is defiantly still on the mind of Terrigal coach Gregory Parker as he feels his side was very unlucky not to be crowned winners on that day. “We are very much looking forward to our match against Umina since the Association Cup. Our results have been excellent against tough sides in the round matches. Our side will be back to full strength this Sunday and without unlimited interchange rules to interrupt play. Our final in the Association Cup against Umina was disappointing as we were dominant in possession but did not put away multiple opportunities to score including a highly contentious call to disallow us a goal at the end of the game. Credit to Umina who pounced on an opportunistic ricochet ball to score and provided stiff competition throughout the match. We expect another very close competitive game against Umina on Sunday with both sides fielding full-strength sides.”
“Peter and I expect the first half of the season to continue to be dominated by the weather and ground closures. There are some very competitive teams in the WPL this year who will surprise us, but we are confident the O’lasses will be in the top 4 for the finals,” Stated Parker
Umina are without a doubt the competition favourites to go all the way this year. Umina coach Steve Donaldson has his side well drilled and they all share the same goals for the year ahead, win everything. The E-Gals were hoping to make a statement against East Gosford last week but were unfortunately rained out. Their attention now turns to Terrigal, which they must be at the best if they want to start the year with a win.
Donaldson will welcome back some key additions to his squad for this weekend. “With a few players returning to the squad including our captain Chelsea Campbell, and league top goal scorer last year Kate Styles, I expect us to be creating a lot more chances and maintain control of the game this time around compared to the Cup Grand Final.”
Donaldson has nothing but high praise for the opposition as he expects them to be amongst the top teams this year. “Terrigal are always fast out of the blocks and use their wings with great transitional play. They’re not just a team to beat this weekend, I feel they’re the team to beat this season.”
Killarney v Kanwal
Two teams in Killarney and Kanwal that should find themselves in and around finals contention at the end of the year are set to square off in a very important matchup this Sunday.
Killarney is coming off a near-perfect 3-0 win over Ourimbah, and coach Adam Tait will be making sure his side carries that performance into Edsaac Oval against Kanwal. Killarney has recruited a few players away from Kanwal for the following year, so tensions will be high as those former Bulls players will not want to lose to their former club.
The Terries were a force in the preseason and continued that form into their opening game when they kicked their year off with a convincing win over newcomers Ourimbah, but the challenge does not get any easier as the Bulls look to stop Killarney in their tracks.
Kanwal will be very disappointed in themselves after last week, letting one-goal lead slip and conceding five goals in a row to go down 5-1 to Southern. One highlight they could take away is the brilliant performance from Jennifer Reeves who not only impressed her coach but also the opposition coach.
Unfortunately for Kanwal, the test does not come any easier, so to get their opening points of the season they will need to improve drastically. Allan Bourke will be determined to get his first win this weekend since taking over as Bulls head coach.
Southern & Ettalong v Wyong
Wyong was handed an 11-1 loss last round as they hope to turn things around when they travel to James Browne Oval to face Southern & Ettalong.
Southern will be flying high after their come from behind win over a good Kanwal outfit. The Lionesses will play their first home game this weekend as they look to build on that terrific 5-1 win and replicate that result against a struggling Wyong side.
Augusto Terra and his side had a far from ideal preseason, especially in the Association Cup when his side failed to score a single goal in all three fixtures whilst conceding 15 goals total, 11 of those goals came against Kanwal in a single match. But since welcoming players back from injuries, Terra’s teams look like a whole new side, one that will challenge amongst the top of the competition this year.
Although Wyong lost 11-1 at the hands of Woy Woy in their opening fixture, Wyong has been here before in their inaugural season where they saw two 11-1 defeat in their opening two fixtures. Wyong was able to turn this around and put together some great performances together last year that saw them win two games and pick up one draw before the competition was cancelled.
Unfortunately for the Emu’s, their squad is quite thin this year and that showed in the later stages of the Woy Woy game as a majority of their players and already played minutes in reserve grade. Wyong and their new coach Andrew Halton will be determined to overcome that result as they look to pick up their first win together this Sunday.
Woy Woy v East Gosford
Woy Woy sent a warning to the rest of the competition with their win last week whilst their opponents East Gosford will be itching to get on the park this Sunday after having their round 3 fixture postponed.
It was as close to a perfect opening match for Woy Woy, scoring 11 goals in their inaugural WPL match. Woy Woy’s Laura Mundy was on hand to score five goals for the Emu’s in their opening fixture which saw her rocket to the top of the Golden Boot standings. Laura only managed to score 2 goals in 9 rounds last year under a different club in Gosford, so already doubling her tally and some in one game is sure to be a massive confidence boost for the attacker.
Woy Woy also had five more players on the scoresheet including a double from their coach/captain Lucy Metcalfe. After some mixed results in the Association Cup and some uncertainty around how this Emu outfit would fair in the upcoming season, they answered a lot of those questions last weekend as you can expect to see them fighting all year long alongside the rest of the WPL competition.
East Gosford are one of three teams who are yet to play a competitive game in 2022, alongside Terrigal who had a bye, and Umina who had their game against the Rams postponed because of the wet weather. Jorge Chavez remains in charge of the Rams who have a slightly different squad this year, but Chavez insists they are up for the challenge as he has very high aspirations to play finals football in 2022.
This Rams side played their last game all the way back on March 26th, that’s over a month ago. Chavez and his side will need to be switched on from the first whistle if they want to keep a hungry Woy Woy side quiet. The fact that East Gosford hasn’t been on the park against another team in some time, you can expect them to be raring to go and look to start the game fast and on the front foot.
