MATCH OF THE ROUND
Killarney v Wyong
The Round 5 WPL Match of the Round sees Killarney fresh off their postponed fixture and set to host Andrew Halton’s struggling Wyong side.
Killarney got their year off to a near-perfect start after defeating WPL newcomers Ourimbah. On that day, Alisha Dudman, Jesse Andrews and Ella Aldrich found themselves on the score sheet. That performance, along with their unbeaten run in the Association Cup has a lot of people weary of this Killarney outfit in 2022.
It was imperative Adam Tait and his side took their preseason form into the winter season, and by all counts, they did in their opening fixture. The Terriers have stamped their mark on the rest of the competition as an elite contender who you can expect to see around the finals come the end of the year. They will look to keep this form going as they face an underperforming Wyong side at home this weekend.
Tait and his squad are not looking past this weekend’s fixture as he expects the opposition, despite their recent form, to be a gruelling test for his team. “Wyong have had a couple of tough opponents in their first two fixtures. We are expecting Wyong to be competitive, and our players are aware that we must be mindful of our opposition.”
Wyong has had a far from ideal start to the season. In their opening fixture against Woy Woy, they went down 11-1 and this previous week just gone by they faced another tough opposition in Southern & Ettalong and lost 14-1.
Unfortunately, the challenge does not get any easier for the Emu’s this Sunday when they travel to Edsaac Oval to face Killarney. If there are any positives to come from their opening fixtures, it would be the Wyong goalie Sian Johnson who has been instrumental in between the sticks for her side. Another shining light would be the positive attitude Wyong continues to show throughout the whole ninety minutes of the competition games.
Tait states that despite being on the end of some big results, he and his squad are looking past that as they focus on executing their well thought-out game plan this weekend. “The girls have been working hard in training and will certainly be up for the task. The games we have played are now in the past and we will be focused on our game plan. It’s hard to know what to expect from Killarney but I’m sure it will be a hard-fought game.”
East Gosford v Terrigal
East Gosford will be welcoming BPL title contenders in Terrigal to Hylton Moore Oval as The Rams look to stop the O’lasses in their tracks.
There was plenty of excitement for Jorge Chavez and his Ram’s squad who finally played their opening game of the year in round 4, sharing the points with Woy Woy in a 2-2 draw. Chavez’s team had a clear goal heading into their first competitive game in over a month and it made for a blockbuster of a game at Austin Butler Oval.
New recruit Grace Bryant was instrumental for the East Gosford side as she commanded and organised Ram’s backline. Meanwhile, up the other end of the pitch, Kelly Hogan opened her goal-scoring account for the year but will miss the opportunity to find herself on the scoresheet again this weekend as she was shown a red card late in that match. This is sure to be a huge loss for the Ram’s heading into their match against Terrigal.
East Gosford will be hoping to make a statement in front of a home crowd this weekend as they look to take three points from WPL heavyweights Terrigal.
Terrigal, along with Umina, are still yet to play a competitive WPL game in 2022 after being washed out again last weekend when they were set to play in the Round 4 Match of the Round against Umina in a rematch of the 2022 Association Cup Grand Final.
Terrigal has a lot of hype surrounding them for the year ahead. The O’lasses made it out of their Association Cup group with flying colours before meeting Umina in the Grand Final and falling short in a very close, intense battle that ended 1-0. Terrigal will enter this weekend having already claimed a win over East Gosford in the Association Cup, on that day the O’lasses walked away 3-1 victors.
The weather has played a part on Terrigal more than most who have been sidelined since their Grand Final match due to field closures. Coaches Gregory Parker and Peter Blair will be making sure that their squad are raring and ready to go On Sunday against a tough Ram’s outfit.
Southern & Ettalong v Woy Woy
High flying competition leaders Southern & Ettalong are set to square off against tough opposition in Woy Woy
After a rather lacklustre preseason run, Southern has entered the 2022 WPL competition guns blazing. Augusto Terra and his side had the tough task of facing Kanwal away for their opening fixture, and despite going down to an early goal in that match, The Lionesses rallied together to score five unanswered goals to win the game 5-1 and pass their opening test with flying colours.
Last weekend’s test was Wyong, and once again the Southern side passed that challenge, scoring an ecstatic 14 goals in a 14-1 win to propel them to the top of the WPL Ladder. Emily Diaz found her name on the score sheet eight times in that game and with her two goals in the opening fixture, that already brings her tally to ten goals.
Diaz will be looking to keep this magnificent goal scoring form in full effect against WPL newcomers Woy Woy.
Although they may be new, Woy Woy has plenty of experience in their squad and this was proven when opened their season with an 11-goal win over Wyong. Woy Woy has their own inform striker under Laura Mundy who has managed to score 7 goals in her opening two fixtures.
Woy Woy thought they would claim the three points from East Gosford last weekend, but the Rams left it late with an 88th-minute equaliser. However, this Woy Woy squad, coached by player Lucy Metcalfe will be trouble for plenty of sides as they boast many title-winning players on the team sheet.
This weekend marks Woy Woy’s first game away from home, so it will be interesting to see if this squad can perform away from Austin Butler Oval. This is definitely a fixture we could see at the end of the year when it comes to finals football, expect a very tight and hard-fought match between the two sides.
Umina v Ourimbah
Umina will look to get their 2022 campaign underway with an important win over WPL newcomers Ourimbah
2022 WPL favourites Umina will be hoping to finally get their season underway this weekend as they welcome Ourimbah to McEvoy Oval. Umina had their Round 4, 2022 Association Cup Grand Final rematch fixture washed out against Terrigal, which marked the fourth consecutive round Umina would not get their season underway.
Steve Donaldson and his E-Gals put on a clinic in the Association Cup that they eventually were crowned champions. Umina, in those four fixtures, scored a massive 20 goals whilst only conceding the one goal. Eight of those goals scored came from Nicole Carmichael who will be hoping she can carry her impressive run of form into the competition starting with the game this weekend.
Umina also possess Kate Styles and Gemma Crowson in their arsenal, Styles was leading the golden boot standings before the competition was cancelled last year and her teammate Crowson is an extremely experienced competitor who won the 2019 WPL Player of the Year. The Umina squad all share the same aspirations for the season ahead which is to win everything and play a great style of football while doing so, anticipate a fast start from the E-Gals this weekend.
Coming off their bye round, Ourimbah will be well-rested heading into their round 5 fixture and will look to send a warning to the rest of the competition if they can get a result over competition favourites Umina.
Although Ourimbah is new to the competition, the club boast plenty of WPL experience from the top down starting with coach Dave Hurley. Hurley was won WPL competitions in the past, so he knows what it takes to win important games within this competition. The majority of Hurley’s squad from last year have followed him and have made the switch from Woongarrah to Ourimbah.
In their opening game of the year, Ourimbah kicked off their year in front of a home crowd where they, unfortunately, come up short to Killarney in a 3-0 loss. After having a week off and a great deal of time to work on things at training, Hurley will be hoping his squad will be able to execute their game plan and grab a result over their opposition.
