MATCH OF THE ROUND
Woy Woy 3 – 0 Umina
The Round 8 Match of the Round saw a statement win from Woy Woy as they scored three unanswered goals to keep their unbeaten start to the season alive.
With plenty of excitement surrounding this fixture and the quality of these two football teams, it was far from that with both teams ultimately struggling to cope with the quality of the field on the day. Both Woy Woy and Umina fought and battled hard for possession in the middle of the park as both sides looked for that opening goal. However, neither side would be able to finish on their chances as the score remained locked at 0-0 at halftime.
Woy Woy, in front of a home crowd, came out the stronger of the two teams and Lucy Metcalfe’s team started to create the better of the opportunities. After a Umina goalkeeping error, Woy Woy was able to find themselves a goal through Taylor Thackray who played her first game for the Woy Woy side this weekend. After going down a goal, Umina pressed hard, but Woy Woy remained solid in defence. Woy Woy doubled the score after Lynette Soames’ magnificent shot from the top of the box found the top right-hand corner. Tahlor Thackray finished the game off for her side with a classy chip that went over the Umina goalkeeper’s head to secure a 3-0 victory for Woy Woy and hand Umina their first loss of the year.
Steve Donaldson was quick to take ownership of his team’s loss this past weekend. “My girls weren’t up to it today, as was I. I take a lot of blame for the result as in hindsight I was probably a bit too stubborn in trying to play good football on a surface that wasn’t able to be played on with our type of style. Looking back, I would probably look to play longer, as Lucy Metcalfe was able to do it a number of times and was instrumental in getting their result. Top marks for their team in getting the three points. Though I feel for them as they suffered a rather unfortunate injury in the last 10 minutes that I would place total blame on the playing surface. Hopefully, it’s not as bad as it looked, as I hope the return fixture both teams are at full strength and on a field that is able to produce the quality both teams, I know are able to put forward.”
Lucy Metcalfe commended the opposition who she thought was unfortunate on the day. “I’m super stoked with my girl’s performance today, they showed great class when we needed and it the most and it paid off. Our football is improving every week and it’s starting to show. Also, a big shout out to the E-Gals who always play a wonderful style of football and were unlucky on the day.”
Kanwal 9 – 0 Ourimbah
Kanwal was too strong for Ourimbah this past Sunday as the Bulls recorded their second win of the year with a dominant nine goal outing.
Lack of game fitness and training time definitely showed for Ourimbah this past Sunday as Dave Hurley’s team found Kanwal to be their hardest game so far this season. It took Jennifer Reaves just three minutes to find her team’s first goal of the day. Two minutes later Jennifer grabbed her second to double her side’s lead. Hayley Green was able to find herself on the scoresheet as her efforts in front of goal gave the Bulls a three-goal lead after just ten minutes of play. Ourimbah seemed to settle the ship for the next ten minutes but another three goals, this time two from Maddie Dunlop and one from Molly Couch, gave Kanwal a 6-0 lead after just twenty-five minutes of play. After continuing to create multiple chances it just would fall right for Kanwal as their lead remained at six at halftime.
Ourimbah had no other option other than to reset their defensive structure for the second half. Ourimbah has lost multiple players to injuries and at times only had 10 players on the field which made for an extremely physical battle for the Falcons to remain in the game. Jennifer Reaves was able to grab the final goal for her hattrick early in the second half as she extended Kanwal’s lead to seven. Kanwal was awarded a penalty which Bulls captain Hayls Ballard successfully converted. In the fiftieth minute, Courtney Smith scored the ninth and final goal of the game which gave Kanwal their second win of the season.
Dave Hurley post-match congratulated the opposition and their coach while also talking about the difficulty of losing players throughout the game. “To our player’s credit, we completed the final sixteen minutes with only ten players and did not give up. Kanwal played a very fast-paced and well-structured game. Allan has done a great job setting this team up and deserved the win.”
“I must say that it is early days for Ourimbah at this level. It will take them some time to get established in the Women’s Premier League,” stated Kanwal’s Allan Bourke.
Killarney 2 – 5 East Gosford
East Gosford continues their winning form, this time picking up an impressive win over an underperforming Killarney squad.
The last time these two teams met was in the Association Cup when East Gosford was unlucky to lose 2-1 in a game where they created the majority of the scoring opportunities. With Killarney coming off a far from ideal week, losing three games in seven days, The Terriers would be looking to get back in the winner’s circle as they welcomed an East Gosford side who have struggled with player numbers and a very stop-start beginning of the season. From the whistle, the Rams showed their intentions of pressing high and attacking the Killarney backline. It took ex-Killarney player Yasemin Lawson only two minutes to find herself in the box on goal and if it wasn’t for an extremely strong challenge from Maddison Tait, Lawson could have easily found the opening goal of the game. Rams’ goalkeeper Nubia Lanser, who was coming off her second game of the day, went down early in the first half after rolling her ankle. Knowing that their regular first-grade keeper Ash Myers was missing the game, a determined Nubia found the strength to carry on. Around the 15th minute mark, Yasemin got herself into another fantastic opportunity and this time was able to find the back of the net against her old team and put the Rams in front. Killarney hit back almost instantly through Ocean Hampton after a great long-range strike and was able to beat the opposition goalkeeper and level the score for the Terriers. The Rams soon after had a long-range shot of their own from Jessika Manners that was going in the far post with Kelly Hogan making sure of it with her head and restoring East Gosford’s lead. Late in the first half, Maddie Van Dijk pounced on a goalkeeping mistake to level to score at 2-2. A late surge from East Gosford ended with numerous shots at goal but the Killarney backline stood firm to see out the remainder of the half.
The second half started very end to end as both teams searched for the next goal that would ultimately give them the lead. Some tactical changes from Jorge Chavez seemed to help East Gosford take control, creating chance after chance but Killarney worked extremely hard in defence and looked dangerous on the counterattack. WPL Veteran and East Gosford recruit Jessica Dominello found her first goal for the club as she gave East Gosford the lead for the third time. Minutes later that lead was then doubled after a powerful shot from Yasemin Lawson was too much for the Killarney keeper as the score jumped to 4-2. Kayla Vanderfield was also able to get herself on the scoresheet as her goal gifted East Gosford and coach Jorge Chavez their biggest win of the year.
“East Gosford were to good for us today,” stated Killarney coach Adam Tait who is scheduled to have a bye next week in round nine which will give him and his side plenty of time to correct things and come back stronger.
Rams Coach had nothing but praises for his team after the game. “Killarney is a great counter-attacking team, and we knew they would be up for the challenge today, fortunately, our girls were pumped for the game and showed commitment to our game plan and played some very entertaining football. With multiple scorers and some key players coming back today I feel we are starting to gel and build connections that will just get better the more game we play together. With a few more key players yet to return this season we now look forward to our biggest challenge next Sunday against a very good squad in Kanwal.”
Golden Boot Standings –
| 10 | Emily Diaz (Southern) |
| 9 | Laura Mundy (Woy Woy) |
| 7 | Jennifer Reaves (Kanwal) |
| 5 | Maddie Van Dijk (Killarney), Yasemin Lawson (East Gosford) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
