MATCH OF THE ROUND
Kanwal v Terrigal
Kanwal attempt to become only the second side this season to hand the O’lasses a defeat when they welcome Terrigal to Wadalba Sports Complex for the round 16 match of the round.
Kanwal enters this weekend’s clash with Terrigal, coming off a 2-1 loss to a tough and durable Umina outfit. Kanwal was down 2-0 in that fixture until a penalty allowed them to get back into the game. The Bulls pushed hard for an equaliser but fell just short to record their sixth loss of the season. Kanwal met Terrigal less than a month ago as the two sides battled it out at Pluim Park. On that night Terrigal won 2-0 as Kanwal remained scoreless for only the second time this year. Kanwal will be out to stop Terrigal in their tracks as the Bulls still want wish to play finals football.
Allan Bourke states that he and his squad are excited for the challenge that lies ahead this weekend when they welcome Terrigal. “Looking forward to meeting Terrigal, they play a good style of football. Even though we’re out of the top four at the moment we haven’t given up hope even though we will be relying on other results.”
Bourke also commented on how it will be a very big day for the club come Sunday. “It’s a big club day at our home ground this Sunday with a club legend and past player day. We’re hoping to make it difficult for any team to take the points with our home ground advantage and support.”
Terrigal has been a force in the WPL this season as the O’lasses now only remain one point behind first place but have two games in hand over current league leaders Woy Woy. With a win this weekend Terrigal could find themselves alone at the top of the table. Terrigal has only seen defeat once this season and that came via a 2-1 loss to Umina. Although their season has been worse than most with games being washed out and postponed, Terrigal seems to find a way to win when it matters the most.
Assistant coach Peter Blair insists he and head coach Gregory Parker are well aware of the dangers Kanwal possess despite their position on the ladder. “Greg and myself are expecting another tight affair on Sunday, as Steve Donaldson quoted ‘they play the most pleasing brand of football’. Both their first and reserves are very well drilled sides as is reflected in their reserves remaining undefeated.”
“Their first grades position on the table does not reflect the quality of their side they have just been on the wrong side of some close encounter. I am sure Allan will have them primed for a big game against us. Our ladies will endeavour to return to play that we know we are capable of. We just need to have some consistent gameplay instead of the stop-start season we have encountered so far. We are looking forward to the clash with a side we have the utmost respect for,” added Blair.
Umina v Wyong
Umina will be hoping to jump into the top four with a win in front of a home crowd against a struggling Wyong side this Sunday.
These two teams were scheduled to face for the first time this past Tuesday night at Pluim Park in a rescheduled fixture, but the wet weather postponed the fixture even further. Now these two sides will meet for the first time this Sunday at Umina Oval. Umina started the year off as WPL favourites, but the E-Gals are yet to crack into the top four as they still remain a point away from fourth place.
After a rough couple of weeks that saw Umina lose three out of four games, it seems Steve Donaldson and his squad are finally finding their groove, winning their last two games over tough competition. Despite sitting in fifth, Umina’s goal-scoring record for the season is currently the 4th worse as they only record 19 goals in 10 games. Umina will be out to improve on this record when they come up against statistically the worst defensive backline in the competition.
Wyong is not only coming off a bye round last weekend but since the Emu’s last stepped foot on the pitch for a game was over a month ago when they saw the biggest defeat of their season, a 19-0 loss to East Gosford. Wyong as a whole has struggled immensely all year as they found themselves last on the WPL ladder.
Wyong remains the only team without a win this season but has only played eight games compared to the majority of the competition who have more fixtures under their belts. Match fitness will be a big key for this Wyong side this weekend as they look to compete with one of the best WPL has to offer. Wyong must start fast and on the front foot and take it to Umina early if they wish to pick up their first win of the year.
Southern Ettalong v Killarney
Hot off their 5-1 win over East Gosford, Southern Ettalong will look to jump to the top of the table with a win over an underperforming Killarney side.
Southern Ettalong has a golden chance to go top of the ladder with a win over Killarney this Sunday. Current league leaders Woy Woy have their scheduled bye round so three points this weekend will put Southern above the Roosters. Southern is coming off their second straight victory in which they have won 5-1 and the third win this year with that exact scoreline.
In all three of those 5-1 wins, Southern has conceded first which shows this team’s ability to rally together when they are losing and find a result. Southern has superstar Emily Diaz to thank for last weekend’s comeback as Diaz scored three goals to take her astonishing goals scoring record this season to 23 goals. Diaz remains at the top of the Golden Boot standings as she continues to prove to be a vital part of this successful Lionesses squad.
After getting their season back on track in their previous fixture before last week when they picked up their first in their last six games, Killarney failed to back that up with another victory as they fell 3-0 to current league leaders Woy Woy. Once again Killarney’s missed opportunities in front of goal would come back to hurt this Terriers side who remained scoreless for the fourth time this season.
Killarney will look to avenge their 2-0 loss from earlier in the season against Southern in the hopes they can find form in front of goal and take their chances when presented. Killarney will have to go to enemy territory on the peninsula for the second straight week as they look to spoil Southern’s chance of taking the top spot on the ladder.
Ourimbah v East Gosford
Ourimbah will look to break their recent flurry of 1-0 losses and hand former league leaders East Gosford their second loss in back-to-back weeks.
After their far from ideal start to the season, Ourimbah has improved tremendously as a team but unfortunately for the Falcons that has not translated into results. Ourimbah still records just the one win that came in all the way back in their third fixture against Wyong. Although winless since then, confidence seems to be growing within this squad who in recent weeks have only suffered 1-0 losses.
Two of those 1-0 losses came from two of the current top four teams (East Gosford and Terrigal) which will leave Dave Hurley confident that his team can compete with the best this competition has to offer. Ourimbah will face another stern test this weekend as they welcome former league leaders to Ourimbah Oval. The Falcons will be out to grab their first goal in over a month and the second victory of the season come Sunday.
After starting fast and scoring an opening goal early in last week’s match of the round clash against Southern, East Gosford then seemed to take their foot off the pedal as they conceded five straight goals. This was Jorge Chavez’s squad’s third loss of the season but by far their biggest. The Rams could have easily been leading by three goals in the opening stages of that game but missed opportunities that would come back to haunt them as they dropped from first place to fourth on the WPL ladder.
With the competition in WPL so close this year, one slip-up could be detrimental to a side’s hopes of winning a title or making finals football. East Gosford and Ourimbah met less than a month ago for a catch-up game at Pluim Park and on that night, East Gosford narrowly edged out their opposition 1-0. East Gosford will be out to right their wrongs from last week and put together a dominant performance as they look to regain their spot at the top of the table.
