MATCH OF THE ROUND
Umina v East Gosford
The extremely in-form league leaders East Gosford face the difficult challenge of trying to defeat Umina in this week’s Match of the Round.
After enjoying their scheduled bye round last weekend, Umina will be determined to bounce back from recent results as the E-Gals look to take down the new league leaders. The last game they played was against East Gosford as Umina was faced with the difficult task of playing on back-to-back days. After picking up a 3-0 win on the Sunday over Killarney, Umina travelled to Hylton Moore the next day to see a 1-0 defeat against the Rams. However, Umina played the majority of that match with only 10 players after an E-Gals player was shown red after just 2 minutes.
Steve Donaldson is taking the positives, rather than the negatives out of their earlier contest with East Gosford. “Our last game was against East Gosford, and although we lost the game one-nil there was a lot of positive talk from the game as we played the best part of 88-minutes with ten players.”
Donaldson also commended his opposition and the way they operate throughout the whole club. “East Gosford is well-deserved top of the table with a great club setup. Always a well-respected club for myself and I’m excited to see how my girls go again in what is always a great game.”
East Gosford is coming off an emphatic 19-0 win over Wyong in round 11, the biggest win in the WPL competition thus far. On that day the Rams had a total of six different goal scorers. Kayla Vanderfield and her attacking partner Kelly Hogan recorded 5 goals each while their teammates Yasemin Lawson, Jessica Dominello, Emma Lowe and Rebecca Casey also walked away with goals to their names. However, Jorge Chavez and his side will be up against a very tough challenge on Sunday. Although the Rams have already beaten them, a 1-0 win against a 10-women side who played the next day with be weighing on the minds of the players who face a fresh side coming off a bye.
Jorge Chavez knows how tough this challenge will be against a fired-up Umina looking to right their wrongs. “Umina were the early favourites for a reason, they have a very talented squad, and we know that they will come out strong looking for a much-needed win to get their season back on track. With a few key players out and a few more returning it will be a different starting eleven and formation for us come Sunday.
However, Chavez and his squad are looking forward to the test at hand this Sunday “It will be a huge test for us against a strong Umina team that are serial WPL finalists and hence favourites.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – Jeffrey Smith
Killarney v Ourimbah
Two teams struggling for results, Killarney will look to repeat their performance from round three and take down Ourimbah
On that day back in round 3, Alisha Dudman, Jessica Andrews, and Ella Aldrich all found the back of the net for the Terriers as they walked away 3-0 victors. Adam Tait and his squad will be looking at this result and using it as motivation as they try to get back to their winning form. Killarney still remains without a win in their last five fixtures, but this Terriers squad will be well-rested after having their round 11 clash with Terrigal postponed.
Killarney currently remains nine points out of the finals football picture but making the top four will still be a goal for Adam Tait and his side. In their five losses, Killarney has failed to find themselves on the scoresheet in three of those fixtures. This weekend could serve as their turning point, but Killarney can’t enter the game thinking it’s already one as it could cost them dearly.
An improving Ourimbah side will be out to showcase how far they have come when they look to right their wrongs against Killarney. After securing their first win in round 9 when Ourimbah defeated Wyong 7-0, the Falcons have followed that up with 3 losses against some of the better teams in the competition.
However, despite losses in all three fixtures, Ourimbah showed glimpses in all of those games that they can hold their own against the best the competition has to offer. Ourimbah was able to keep Southern scoreless for the entire second half last weekend and previously they almost managed the same feat against Woy Woy until they conceded a goal very late. Dave Hurley will be looking for his team to execute this performance for the entirety of the 90-minutes this Sunday.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Rodney Mcleod
Southern & Ettalong v Kanwal
Two teams coming off an impressive clean sheet win in round 10 are set to battle when the Bulls travel to James Brown to face the Lionesses.
Southern Ettalong successfully picked up their fifth win last weekend after defeating Ourimbah 5-0. All of Southern’s goals came in the opening half as Emily Diaz recorded a hattrick to her name to send her back to the top of the WPL Bolden Boot standing, Latisha McCormack also recorded a goal to her name in that fixture. Southern continues to hold their spot in the top four as they currently sit in third place with 15 points.
The only other game Southern recorded five goals to their name was back in their opening fixture against this weekend’s opponents Kanwal. After going a goal down early, The Lionesses rallied together and scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Bulls 5-1. Southern only remains one point behind both first and second as Marcus Warwick will be hoping his team can continue winning and possible jump into first place if other results go their way.
Kanwal is coming off their biggest win of the season as they defeated former league leaders Woy Woy in round 11. Two quick goals thanks to their speedster and star striker Hayley Green in the 3rd and 8th minute was the only difference in that fixture as Kanwal walked away 2-0 winners. That served as Kanwal’s fourth win of the season as they now remain just three points away from the top four.
A win this weekend would see Kanwal go level with their opposition which will serve as more motivation for Allan Bourke and his squad. Kanwal’s goals for this year are to play finals football but Bourke’s side has struggled a lot with their consistency in getting results. Kanwal will be hoping that after last week’s magnificent win they can continue their form in weeks to come and establish themselves as a viable threat in the competition
MATCH OFFICIAL – Graeme Gurr
Wyong v Woy Woy
Wyong looks to overcome their biggest defeat of the season as they welcome former league leaders Woy Woy to Baker Park.
Last weekend was another hard day in the office for Andrew Halton and his Wyong squad who suffered their biggest defeat of the year, losing 19-0 to league leaders East Gosford. Wyong remains understrength and having to use the majority of their squad in both fixtures with multiple players within the squad playing two both grades. Despite boasting the worst record in the league Wyong continues to show a positive attitude throughout the squad and the coaching staff.
Andrew Halton and his team still continue to show up every week with a great mentality which is something they all should be commended for. Sooner or later, something will click between this squad, and they might go on to upset a few teams just like they did last year when they faced a similar situation. Wyong will enjoy being back at their home ground for this weekend’s clash as they look to surprise Baker Park and steal some points against Woy Woy.
Woy Woy suffered only their second defeat last week at the hands of Kanwal. The Bulls scored two goals past the Woy Woy defence in the opening 10 minutes in a result that saw Woy Woy drop from first to second. In both of their defeats this year, Woy Woy has not scored in either fixture.
Laura Mundy has been a standout for Woy Woy this year as the attacker records 10 goals to her name and currently sits third on the golden boot standings. The last time when Woy Woy faced Wyong, the Roosters won by an emphatic 10 goals in an 11-1 win. On that day Laura Mundy documented five goals to her name and she will be hoping she can have a similar fortune this weekend to help close the gap between her and Holden Boot leader Emily Diaz. Woy Woy will be amped to turn around last weekend’s loss with another vigorous win over Wyong.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Con Pantos
