MATCH OF THE ROUND
Terrigal v Kanwal
Round 7 Match of the Round sees winless Kanwal looking to hand Terrigal their second loss in just a matter of days.
Terrigal played a midweek catch up game in what was a rematch of the 2022 Association Cup Grand Final against Umina. Unfortunately for Gregory Parker’s side, once again the O’lasses went down in another hard-fought encounter. This leaves Parker’s side with only two games under their belts after six rounds as they have struggled immensely getting playing time during the constant wet weather.
Terrigal has stamped their mark on the WPL competition for the year ahead, starting all the way back in the Association Cup but little to no game time on a consistent basis affects even the best teams, especially when it comes to match fitness. The O’lasses now have a four-day turnaround until their Match of the Round clash against Kanwal.
Head Coach Greg Parker knows that his side will face another tough challenge come Sunday. “Peter Blair and I are expecting a tough encounter with Kanwal on Sunday. They are a well-drilled outfit and their recent results do not reflect their ability in our opinion.”
“The Olasses are ready to improve upon our last game now that we are getting some time in ‘our legs’. This will help our match fitness and momentum. The potential of our squad is very exciting. The ladies are training very well and are enthusiastic about the season ahead.”
Much like their opposition, Kanwal has only played two games to start the year as the Bulls also have a midweek fixture which will give Allan Bourke’s team an even shorter turnaround for the weekend. Kanwal are winless after their opening two matches which is below standard for Kanwal who have high aspirations of playing finals football at the end of the year.
Jennifer Reeves has been a standout for her team as she has recorded two goals in two games, Reeves is the only Bulls player that has been able to find the back of the net this year. Kanwal has struggled with capitalising on their chances and as they continue to work hard at training, Bourke will be hopeful he can see more of his players on the scoresheet come Sunday.
Bourke understands the difficult task at hand come their round seven fixture and as they start to welcome back more key players to boost the squad, they will need to be at their best to grab a result against Terrigal. “Terrigal are always hard to beat at home. We are looking forward to getting some consistency and momentum after all the stops and starts in our season. We are almost full strength going into this one, it should be a tight tussle.”
Wyong v Umina
Fresh off their bye round, Wyong will welcome competition favourites Umina who continues to gain momentum after defeating Terrigal midweek 2-1.
Wyong, much like their inaugural season last year, has started the season conceding double-digit goals in all of their games. Wyong has conceded 35 goals in their opening three fixtures as the understrength Emu’s continues to struggle with squad numbers on a weekly basis. Wyong has been in this position before and understands what it takes to dig their way out and grab results as they have done so in the past.
After a weekend off to heal and practice, and hopefully recruit, the Emu’s could potentially come into this fixture looking and playing like a whole different side. Wyong must be at their best if they want their opposition to leave Baker Park with zero points. Wyong has faced Umina early in the preseason and on that day lost 9-0. Wyong could face a similar fate this weekend if Andrew Halton’s squad don’t play to their full potential.
Umina will enter their clash against Wyong, full of confidence after taking down their new WPL rivals Terrigal in a very close and tight encounter at Pluim Park on Wednesday night. Umina enter the 2022 competition as favourites and rightly showed why by winning the 2022 Association Cup Final in a dominant fashion.
Steve Donaldson’s side, despite maintaining their unbeaten run, still has plenty of work to do if they truly want to reach their potential. After a very stop-start preseason for the E-Gals, Donaldson’s side is finally starting to play consistent minutes week in and week out which is only going to benefit this strong side who have extremely high aspirations for the season ahead. The E-Gals will be out to make a further statement to the rest of the competition away from home this weekend.
Killarney v Southern & Ettalong
Coming off their first loss of the year, Killarney will be hoping to turn things around against a Southern Ettalong side who also saw defeat in Round 6.
Adam Tait’s side has extremely improved compared to his squad in previous years. His team managed to stay undefeated in preseason and keep that streak alive in their opening two fixtures against Ourimbah (3-0) and Wyong (11-1). But the Terriers were eventually handed their first loss of the year when they welcomed Woy Woy to Edsacc Oval in round 6 and lost 3-0.
This weekend will be a great test of character for the Terriers who are looking to bounce back and get back to winning ways. A standout for Killarney so far has been Alisha Dudman who was one of the multiple players that made the switch from Kanwal to Killarney for the 2022 season. Dudman has scored four goals to start the year as well as her teammate Maddie Van Dijk who has also recorded four goals to her name. Killarney will be looking at these two key individuals to help them grab the three points this weekend.
Southern & Ettalong have started their 2022 campaign with two wins on the trot, including a 5-1 win over Kanwal and an 11-1 win over Wyong. However, the Lionesses have gone on to lose their last two fixtures against Woy Woy and East Gosford, both of those matches finishing 3-2. Southern will have their work cut out for them once again this weekend as they try to steer clear of three straight losses.
A huge missing piece for Southern last week was the absence of the current WPL Golden Boot leader Emily Diaz who was not named on the team sheet. Diaz has scored a phenomenal ten goals in the three fixtures she has played and with Woy Woy’s Laura Mundy closing the gap on her, Diaz will be committed to getting back to her goal-scoring ways and carry her side to the win against Killarney.
East Gosford v Ourimbah
East Gosford will look to go back-to-back as they are set to battle WPL Newcomers Ourimbah who are looking to grab their first points of the year.
After starting their year will a draw to Woy Woy (2-2) and a loss the following week to Terrigal (2-1), the Rams finally got their first win of the season last weekend, defeating Southern Ettalong 3-2. Jorge Chavez and his side now have a great chance now to build on that result as they look to make it two in a row come Sunday. One thing Chavez should be focused on at the training ground this week is the number of goals his side has leaked in their fixtures so far. Conceding two goals in all of their games so far is not ideal for a team that has very high aspirations for the season ahead.
East Gosford will be full of confidence as they have a great chance to pick up their second win of the year as they face Ourimbah. East Gosford has a great women’s system that allows Jorge Chavez to promote youngsters into the WPL squad. So far this year those juniors have done a tremendous job when they have been called upon which is sure to bolster a positive culture around the club which is required for all good teams looking to win trophies.
Ourimbah is one of three other teams that have only had the chance to play two games so far this year. After having numerous games called off and also training postponed, it has been extremely hard for Dave Hurley’s side to get into a rhythm to start the season. These contributing factors play a massive part in any team. Being Ourimbah’s first year in WPL, it is expected things might take a while to all come together.
Dave Hurley will enter the clash against East Gosford knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and will build a formidable gameplan for his squad to hopefully stun the Rams. Ourimbah has plenty of players with WPL experience so although the club is new to the competition, the squad itself knows what it takes to win in this competition, and they will be hoping it all comes together for them this weekend.
