MATCH OF THE ROUND
Southern & Ettalong v East Gosford
WPL Round 6 Match of the Round will see Southern & Ettalong look to possible regain their spot on top of the WPL ladder as they meet East Gosford at James Browne Oval
Both Southern & Ettalong and East Gosford are coming off losses that in the grand context of things, could have gone very differently. Southern lost their first game of the season to the competition newcomers Woy Woy but A big standout for the Lionesses so far this season has been their new attacker Emily Diaz who has slotted a massive ten goals in her opening three fixtures, and that was with her going scoreless against Woy Woy. Diaz will be hoping to get back to scoring ways as her team looks to get back to winning ways this weekend.
Former assistant coach, now head coach Marcus Warwick is expecting a tough game as their opposition is also coming off a loss. “We are coming off a loss to Woy Woy last week and East Gosford off a loss to Terrigal so both teams will be hungry for the win.
“With Augusto finishing up with us and myself moving into the head coach role, the girls and I are looking forward to a strong season, we are not here to be a number, we are here to win this competition.” Voiced a determined Warwick who is set to lead his first game for the Lionesses this weekend.
East Gosford pushed WPL heavyweights Terrigal to the fullest in their round 5 fixture and ultimately were unlucky for that result not to go the other way. Despite their best efforts, East Gosford could not find the back of the net against a 10-women Terrigal team. After starting their year facing Woy Woy and Terrigal, the Rams are still searching for their first win and they will be very eager to grab the victory this weekend.
Jorge Chavez knows how dangerous Southern have been at the start of the year, especially their new attacker. “It’s lining up to be a big game on Sunday, after a slow start in the preseason, Southern Ettalong is a different team, especially with the huge addition of Emily Diaz, they have plenty of goals in them. I know the coach will have them ready to go and up for the challenge.
When reflecting on his squad and their performances so far, Chavez stated his team will be ready for the test. “Our girls have been extremely unlucky the first two games not to talk away with the three points, we are ready and up for another big game come Sunday. It’s shaping up to be a great season with so many teams evenly matched, it will come down to who takes advantage of their opportunities in front of goal come Sunday.”
Ourimbah v Terrigal
Ourimbah continues to search for their inaugural WPL win after joining the competition this year as they are set to battle WPL heavyweights Terrigal.
Ourimbah kicked off their season will a 3-0 loss to Killarney, Ourimbah then took on WPL favourites Umina and they fell once again, this time by 4 goals. Unfortunately for Dave Hurley’s side, the test does not come any easier in Round 6 as Ourimbah are to welcome in form Terrigal to Ourimbah Oval.
Dave Hurley enters every game with a terrific game plan for his opposition and this weekend will be no different as Hurley hopes the Falcons will be able to find their first goal of the competition and upset the O’lasses. Despite their losses, goalkeeper Michelle Dillon has been in tremendous form for the Falcons as she will be out to build on this form and hopefully keep a clean sheet come Sunday. Another Falcon Emma Hurley possesses the quality and brilliance needed to take this team to the next level as the hungry Ourimbah side will look to pick up maximum points at their home ground this weekend.
After much delay, Terrigal was finally able to get their 2022 season underway last weekend where they came out 2-1 victors over East Gosford. Indiana Moyes and Candice Phelan, both found themselves on the scoresheet in their round 5 win. Teammate Paris Blair was shown a red card late and consequently will sit out this weekend as she serves her suspension.
Terrigal’s backline was able to hold onto their lead as they saw the game out 2-1 and started the season with an expected win. Attentions for head coach Greg Parker and his side now turn to Ourimbah as the O’lasses have very high aspirations this year to win titles. Terrigal had a chance to win a trophy in the Association Cup but unfortunately came up short. The Terrigal squad will be rallying hard to contest with their new rivals Umina who are also amongst the favourites to take out the competition at the end of the year. Umina was able to claim a victory over Ourimbah last weekend so expected Terrigal to try and one up that result.
Killarney v Woy Woy
Inform Killarney who are coming off their biggest win will welcome league leaders Woy Woy to Edsacc Oval this Sunday.
Killarney are set to face their biggest test yet as they are scheduled to battle WPL newcomers Woy Woy this weekend. Adam Tait’s team have been very impressive this season, which dates all the way back to their excellent run in the Association Cup. Killarney has remained unbeaten throughout the preseason and into their opening two fixtures of the year as they recorded wins over Ourimbah (3-0) and Wyong (10-1).
Killarney boasts a massive 14 goals in their opening two fixtures, eight of those goals have come from Alisha Dudman and her teammate Maddie Van Dijk who both record four goals to their name. Tait will be hoping his squad can continue their terrific start of the season and take down the current league leaders in Woy Woy who have surprised a few with their results early in the competition. Expect a tight battle that could go either way this Sunday.
There were plenty of questions surrounding this Woy Woy side heading into the season as a majority of Gosford’s title-winning side had made the switch over to the peninsular club for 2022. Woy Woy, who are being led on and off the pitch by captain-coach Lucy Metcalfe, sent a statement to the rest of the competition in their opening game as they slotted 11 goals past Wyong. Woy Woy was unable to follow it up with another win a week later as they split the points with East Gosford in a 2-2 draw.
However, Woy Woy got back to winning ways in the round just gone by as they came out on top over a competitive Southern side who entered the game on top of the WPL ladder. Metcalfe’s squad were crowned 3-2 victors in a win that propelled them past southern and on top of the table. Woy Woy will be looking to protect their spot at the top against a very competitive Killarney side.
Kanwal v Umina
Kanwal, who has not played a game since round 3, will battle WPL favourites Umina in front of a home crowd in round 6.
A fresh, rejuvenated Kanwal side that has not played in 3 weeks will be raring to go come Sunday as they look to pick up their opening points of 2022. In Kanwal’s opening game they led 1-0 to Southern & Ettalong before conceding five straight goals in front of a home crowd to lose 5-1. Allan Bourke and his side would have been extremely disappointed with that result as they have had plenty of time to regroup and make things right at training.
Despite losing a few key players to other clubs, Bourke insists that his team has what it takes to be a force in WPL again this year and they will be looking to prove that against the very dangerous Umina. Kanwal will be looking for a fast start and hopefully take an early lead and this time shut up shop against an extremely threatening Umina attack.
Having already claimed a title this year (2022 Association Cup), Steve Donaldson and his squad will not be satisfied unless they have won it all. It took Umina until the fifth round to finally get on a park and when they eventually got their season underway as the dominant E-Gals claimed a four-goal victory over a well organised Ourimbah side to start their 2022 campaign.
Many have picked Umina as their favourites to take out the competition this year, this will mean that Donaldson and Umina will have a target on their back for every game they enter as all opposition teams will want to be the ones to hand Umina their first loss. Kanwal and Umina have had very close fixtures over the years, including intense battles in the Semi-Finals. Umina can expect much of the same intensity this week against a determined Bulls side who hope to be the ones to claim victory over the E-gals.
