MATCH OF THE ROUND
Woy Woy v Umina
Woy Woy will be out to keep their spot on top of the WPL table when they welcome WPL favourites Umina to Austin Butler for the Round 8 Match of the Round.
Although Lucy Metcalfe and her squad find themselves at a different club that is new to the WPL competition, these players have a very long history with this Umina squad that dates back to the grand finals in previous years. Woy Woy will be anticipating a very tough challenge against the WPL favourites Umina, but a win for Metcalfe and her team will further distance Woy Woy away from Umina on top of the WPL ladder. Both teams enter this match undefeated and unless the points are shared, someone’s undefeated streak will end.
Lucy Metcalfe is well aware of the dangers the opposition possesses and states her team is looking forward to the challenge at hand. “Expecting a tough game from a well-drilled team who are always edging the top of the table every year. Looking forward to seeing what good my team can produce against a top-ranked team.”
Umina can expect one of their toughest challenges yet as they travel to Austin Butler to face League Leaders Woy Woy. Coming off a close encounter with Terrigal, Steve Donaldson’s side proved why they are the competition favourites as they prevailed over the O’lasses for the second time already this season. But the challenge for the E-Gals does not come any easier this weekend as Woy Woy looks to be the first to beat this Umina outfit who will carry a massive target on their back for the entire season.
Steve Donaldson voiced just how dangerous his round eight opponents are and always the respect that is shared between this bunch of players. “Although a new club, I will be familiar with a fair few of their faces come Sunday. I’ve had the pleasure of having a really great rivalry with these players not through their quality, but also being a really respectable bunch of players too.”
Donaldson is anticipating nothing but a great showing of women’s football on the Central Coast. “If these familiar faces are able to transition what they had at Gosford, I’ll be expecting a great game of football as always. A battle of which has seen the highest quality on the Coast for the WPL.”
Kanwal v Ourimbah
In what once was a derby match between these players, Kanwal will be looking to build on their first win of the year with hopefully another three points against Ourimbah.
Although the opposition may now play at a different club, Kanwal and their squad will be very familiar with the faces of their opposition this weekend as they battled against each other in a local derby in recent years gone by. Despite losing their opening two fixtures to Southern and Umina with a combined score of 9-2, Kanwal was able to rally together and grab their first win of the year when they defeated Killarney 3-2.
Kanwal has seemed to turn things around as their new coach Allan Bourke acquires his first WPL win for 2022. Bourke expects his team to be fighting for a spot in the finals come the end of the year and another this weekend will push the Bulls closer to the top of the competition. The passion and hunger to want to beat their old rivals will still play a big part in this game as Kanwal look to catch up to the top four with a statement win come Sunday.
Ourimbah has been one of the more unfortunate teams this season as Dave Hurley’s side is one of only two teams who have only played two games this far into the competition. Not only have Ourimbah struggled to get on a field to play, but they have also struggled to get onto a field to train. This is sure to play a massive part in their match fitness as they catch up with the rest of the competition who has more minutes under their legs.
In the two fixtures that Ourimbah has played, The Falcons have been unable to find the back of the net with defeats against Umina (4-0) and Killarney (3-0). Ourimbah finds themselves as one of only two teams yet to pick up any points but having played such a little number of games, Hurley’s and his squad won’t be reading into that as they focus on getting their first win this weekend.
Wyong v Terrigal
Struggling to play consistent football each week, Terrigal will look to bounce back to winning ways when they travel to Baker Park to face Wyong.
Starting their year in an underwhelming fashion, Wyong conceded a total of thirty-five goals in their opening three fixtures as they recorded losses to Woy Woy, Southern and Killarney. The Emu’s enjoyed their bye round in round 6 but have been unfortunate not to get on the field since they played their last game over two weeks ago.
Andrew Halton’s team has struggled immensely with squad numbers on match days which has ultimately played a major part in their results. Wyong will be looking to put their poor form behind them as they focus on a dangerous Terrigal side who are coming off a loss. Hopefully, this break has served Wyong positively and they can enter the match week to the best of their abilities and possible shock the competition with a result over Terrigal.
WPL Heavyweights Terrigal will be fired up as they put their disappointing loss to Umina behind them and focus on their next challenge Wyong. Terrigal is one of only two teams that have only been able to play just two competition games to start the year due to the disruptive wet weather. Terrigal enters the 2022 season with plenty of outsiders expecting the O’lasses to be in contention at the top of the table come to the end of the year.
Although the O’lasses currently sit in sixth place, a win in all of their postponed games will see Terrigal jump into the top four and possible first place if other results go their way. Expect Terrigal to come out firing and look to become the fourth team to put double-digit goals past this Wyong side on Sunday.
Killarney v East Gosford
Killarney will look to put a disappointing week behind them and overturn things as they are scheduled to battle against a dangerous East Gosford side.
Killarney started their year like a house on fire as they went through pre-season undefeated whilst playing a very positive style of football. Killarney and their new recruits seemed to gel instantly and everything seemed to click. This excellent form continued into their opening two fixtures when they claimed wins over Ourimbah and Wyong with a combined score of 13-1.
However, since opening their season with those two empathic wins, Adam Tait’s side has lost their last three consecutive games. Their first loss of the year came at the hands of the current league leaders Woy Woy who claimed a 3-0 victory over the Terriers in Round Six. Killarney then backed that performance up in a mid-week catch-up game against Kanwal and on that night, they lost 3-2. Their latest loss was against Southern (2-0) who kept the Terriers scoreless for only the second time this year. Alisha Dudman and Maddie Van Dijk, who both record four goals to their names, their form will be instrumental in the Terriers’ hopes of getting back on the scoresheet and taking a maximum of three points against a tough opponent this weekend.
After picking up their first win of the year, East Gosford will be hoping to build on that momentum and hopefully add more points next to their name on the WPL ladder. The Rams recorded their only win so far when they took down Southern & Ettalong 3-2. This weekend serves as a massive opportunity for Jorge Chavez’s side who can ultimately jump their opposition Killarney if they successfully take all three points away from Edsacc Oval.
Jorge Chavez has done an exceptional job so far this year with integrating the East Gosford youth into his WPL squad and when they have been called upon, these youngsters have done a terrific job for their side. So far in the competition, East Gosford has had nothing but close encounters with their opposition and expect nothing more of the same this weekend as a hungry Killarney side looks to separate themselves further away from the Rams on the table.
