MATCH OF THE ROUND
Terrigal 1 – 0 Woy Woy
A first-half header from Candice Phelan was the only difference between these two sides as Terrigal bounce back from their disappointing loss mid-week to keep within distance of first place.
Both clubs entered their round 18 match of the round clash knowing how important a win could prove for either side. After seeing a 4-0 defeat the last time they met, Lucy Metcalfe knew her Woy Woy team must be at their best if they wanted to walk away with a result. Terrigal started the contest the better of the two teams as Woy Woy struggled when they had possession of the ball, especially with their passes to feet. In a game full of turnovers, Terrigal was able to break the deadlock when golden boot leader Candice Phelan grabbed the 26th goal of her campaign thanks to a powerful header.
The second half saw much of the same as the first with both teams struggling to get into a rhythm and continuing to turn the ball over with unforced errors due to the challenging playing surface of Eastern Road Oval. Terrigal was unlucky not to finish a few more opportunities as their attack struggled to find the back of the net. Luckily for the O’lasses their defence remained strong and was able to see out the game and keep a clean sheet in a very tight battle.
It just wasn’t their day stated Woy Woy coach Lucy Metcalfe. “It was a tough game, Terrigal came out wanting it more and it showed with them one-nil up before halftime. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t find our passes today.”
Gregory Parker commended the opposition who was an extremely tough opponent to defeat. “Woy Woy proved tough to break down today. Credit to their players for providing such a tough challenge. The O’lasses proved today we have depth within the squad, even with key players out temporarily, to stay in finals contention. Well done to all our players for gritting out a one-nil win.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – John Shaw
Wyong 1 – 4 Ourimbah
In their closest result this season, Wyong could not hold on to their fast start and early lead as the Emu’s concede four straight goals and miss out on the chance to pick up their first points of the season
With both teams deficient in playing numbers, it would end up being a game determined by which team could remain solid for the whole 90 minutes. Wyong commenced the game with a level of intensity that Ourimbah was not prepared for. Through good build-up play and a nice ball from Jessica Peachey, Georgia Fellowes found herself on the right side of the Ourimbah defence and calmly slotted home to give Wyong a 1-0 lead. Conceding so early in the game motivated the Ourimbah players to perform at a higher level of intensity and determination. Midway through the first half, Teagan Bell finished a well-placed shot into the back of the net which restored parity in the game. Ourimbah maintained a high percentage of possession for the remainder of the half with Emma Hurley Scoring their second goal 20 seconds before the halftime whistle.
The second half started a bit slow for the Ourimbah squad as tired legs started to show. This caused the contest to become a bit scrappy as Wyong were also showing signs of fatigue, which led to the referee awarding a penalty to the Falcons. Ella Murphy stepped up for her side and placed a powerful shot to the left-hand side of the goal to improve the score to 3-1. Even with tired legs, Wyong continued to fight hard and didn’t give up and if not for a series of outstanding saves from Sian Johnson as well as resolute defending from the Wyong back four, the scoreline would have been a lot different. With less than a minute to go, Stephanie Azzopardi added to the scoresheet to complete Ourimbah’s 4-1 win.
Fill-in head coach James Chauncy had nothing but high praise for his squad who he felt deserved a point from the fixture. “Full credit to Ourimbah as they were also short numbers for this fixture but took their chances when they were given to them and that’s all that separated the two teams. Honestly, being the first weekend for me coaching first grade, I thought all my girls did an amazing job and thought it was one of our best performances all season and I feel like we were a bit unlucky not to get at least a point out of the game.”
Dave Hurley admitted it took his side some time to get into the game as he also voiced his praise at the opposition and the way they conduct themselves. “We found it a bit tough to get into the ‘swing’ of the game after our Thursday night game against East Gosford, as we really didn’t hit our usual level of enthusiasm until the second half. In saying that, I can honestly say that the Wyong players and coaching staff can hold their heads high and be proud of the way their WPL squad represents themselves and their club.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – Darryn Eyndhoven
Kanwal 1 – 3 East Gosford
East Gosford record their ninth win of the season as they come from behind to beat Kanwal to jump into third place on the WPL ladder.
The Rams travelled to Kanwal to play their third game in the last seven days as it was going to be a crucial game as a three-point would be super important for both teams. The Rams looked to continue from where they left off on Thursday night when they defeated Ourimbah 8-0. However, it was a very fast start for Kanwal who opened the scoring and grabbed the lead just two minutes into the first half thanks to Lucy Pratt’s effort that found the back of the net. Finding themselves down a goal so early in the contest, the Rams looked to connect a few passes to get them back into the rhythm of the game. Quick one-two passes seemed to create numerous opportunities at goal which East Gosford took full advantage of when Kayla Vanderfield equalised after 14 minutes of play. Minutes later as the Rams continued to grow in confidence with their short passing game continued to open Kanwal’s defence and in the 20th minute, Kelly Hogan managed to score and give the Rams a 2-1 lead. From then on, the game was more back-and-forth with both teams keeping the ball well and Kanwal almost levelled the score once again after coming close to scoring from a free kick.
Unfortunately for East Gosford, they lost Jessica Dominello at halftime due to a quad injury, then within two minutes of the second half starting they also lost influential playmaker Karen Doutty. Kanwal managed to find some great passes and spaces between the lines of the Rams and did look dangerous at scoring, especially from set pieces. Rams goalie Nubia Lanser managed to pull off two amazing saves to help her side keep the 1-goal advantage. 30 minutes into the second half Kelly Hogan was put through on goal by Kayla Vanderfield and Kelly made sure that the three points were going back home as she scored her second of the day with a well-taken strike.
“What an entertaining game, both teams played some great football. It was a very even game but the name of the game is to score goals which we did but once again couldn’t hold on to the lead,” said Bulls Allan Bourke post-game.
After the game, Rams coach Jorge Chavez had high praise for his opposition. “I enjoy playing against Kanwal, they are one of the teams that try to play good football. I’ve admired them for numerous years and knew that they will give us some headaches today, fortunately for us our girls are playing some amazing football and have managed to get fifteen out of a possible eighteen points for our squad in the past seven days. The week’s rest ahead for us is a godsent as it will give a few of our players the needed rest before some crucial games coming up, we look forward to testing ourselves against some very strong teams to end the season.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – Christopher Pearce
Umina 3 – 1 Southern Ettalong
Umina records their sixth straight win as the E-Gals hold their spot-on top of the ladder by defeating Southern who miss out on a golden opportunity to reclaim a spot inside the top four.
Umina knew from the reverse fixture that Southern defends from the front and presses high for turnovers to keep the ball in that area because that’s where the majority of their dangerous players are. Umina dealt with Southern press fairly well in the first half until one lapse just moments before halftime saw Southern’s Letisha McCormack able to get on goal and finish well to give the Lionesses a 1-0 lead at the break.
Determined to keep their spot on top of the table, Umina came out in the second half and displayed why they are the current league leaders. A quick goal from Kate Styles in the 48th minute that was played through by Gemma Crowson was able to Umina back on track. Umina continued to run the Southern defence around the park, especially down the right flank where Chelsea Campbell excelled. On the 60 minute mark, Chelsea found herself running a line on the inside of Kate Styles who played a ball in, Campbell took one touch and then finished into the bottom left to give her side the lead. Chelsea rounded out her terrific performance by latching on to a free kick from Kirby Squires that was followed in off the post to solidify Umina’s win.
Southern coach Marcus Warwick admitted his side wasn’t at their best against Umina as the Lionesses will look to bounce back next weekend. “In simple terms, Umina were the better team in every way, they just wanted it more than we did. Credit to them, they were solid. I back my girls to bounce back from this Wednesday night and play our game and beat Killarney.”
“We were pretty average in the first half, SEU had the better of the chances. We spoke at halftime about how our general play was alright, but we just needed to up the tempo a fair bit from dead balls as it was slowing any momentum and letting Southern organise their press. The second half was a clinic though. We shut down their strike power incredibly well most notably Kirby Squires who made some unreal dicing tackled and had great ball possession that tired the SEU press. We went forward with pure determination led by our captain Chelsea. She was missed in our previous fixture against SEU, and it showed how much we did. It seemed like three different players were swapping out marking her by the end but her will to win is unparalleled and no one could get close to her today, a true captain performance,” spoke E-Gals coach Steve Donaldson
MATCH OFFICIAL – Graeme Gurr
Golden Boot Standings –
| 26 | Candice Phelan (Terrigal) |
| 23 | Emily Diaz (Southern) |
| 14 | Kate Styles (Umina), Kelly Hogan (East Gosford) |
| 11 | Laura Mundy (Woy Woy), Kayla Vanderfield (East Gosford) |
| 10 | Hannah Batten (Umina), |
| 9 | Yasemin Lawson (East Gosford) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
