Match of the Round
Kincumber 3 – 2 Killarney
The Kincumber Roos nascent Women’s Premier League team has won its first match of the 2023 season in the round 3 match of the round against a determined Killarney side.
The contest started frantically as each team strived for the upper hand. Kincumber was strong across the park, especially Helaina Wellington, who aimed up physically against the opposition’s quality players, including Killarney young-gun midfielder Levi Cameron.
Helaina’s commitment was rewarded after 12 minutes when she found goal-scoring ace Bree Josling free in space inside the box as Bree finished superbly for the opening goal and to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes later, Bree was unlucky not to find the back of the net for a second time following another quality cross from her teammate Helaina.
The spectators were being treated to some thrilling football. Both teams were evenly matched, with the Roos doing a fantastic job holding their shape and keeping to their game plan which saw Killarney struggle to find an equaliser.
30 minutes into the contest, Killarney’s efforts saw them rewarded with a penalty which was calmly converted by Nikki Leek which took the game to 1-1 and that’s how the scoreline stayed for the remainder of the half.
Both sides started the second period in earnest, and the game ebbed and flowed until a Killarney mistake was again capitalised on by Kincumber as Bree Josling broke the deadlock with a stunning 30-meter strike to reinstate her side’s lead.
Killarney fought hard and responded well to conceding as the Terriers once again found an equaliser with 15 minutes left to play. A set play was converted by Killarney’s Levi Cameron as the score was locked a 2-2. The match was now on a knife edge, with both teams eager to prevail in the match of the round and secure their first wins of the season.
Slowly but surely, the Roos gained the ascendency as Heidi Cullen, in goals, and her defensive line of Mia Kasun, Tyla O’Toole, Ellie George, and Jasmine Crooked held their line superbly. At the same time, the Roos attack put Bree Josling and Helaina Wellington into some great attacking spots.
Kincumber captain Emily Smith broke the deadlock with an impressive 25-metre turn and shot that beat the Killarney goalkeeper for the match-winner.
Kincumber Coach Ian George was thrilled with the team’s performance, especially since they were down three regular players. He mentioned Rhianna Matkovich and Jasmine Crookes, who were magnificent from the bench. He also noted the tremendous effort from the Reserves, who won 3-0 and is very confident the Kincumber Roos WPL squad will only go from strength to strength in 2023.
“It was another game where we again had opportunities, but we didn’t take them,” stated Killarney coach Adam Tait.
Match Official – John Shaw
Umina 1 – 1 East Gosford
With these two teams set to meet for the 2023 Women’s Premier Autocare Association Cup Grand Final on Anzac Day, these two clubs would be looking for a win over the opposition and look to carry that momentum into next week.
With Umina dropping points last week against Terrigal, this week’s game was crucial as the E-Gals look to avoid missing out on six points so early in the season.
The opening of the contest started extremely even, trying to find their feet as both sides lined up with very similar formations. Straight from the first whistle, it looked like certain matchups were going to be key in this contest.
The first 15 minutes saw possession shared between both teams with no side being able to get a hold of the game which frustrated East Gosford who usually look to take control and build into the game with plenty of ball at their disposal.
Up until the 30-minute mark it was a very tight affair until the biggest talking point of the match took place when Umina won a foul and East Gosford’s striker Kelly Hogan was shown a straight red, lashing out in frustration after being fouled multiple times early in the contest.
At the same time, the Umina coach was should a straight red by the official.
Both teams had to adjust to the sending off which resulted in a few holes opening at both ends due to Umina pushing players on knowing they had an extra player to their advantage.
Going down to 10 players seemed to ignite the Rams who played the better football but neither side would be able to break the deadlock as the score remained locked at 0-0 after the opening 45 minutes of play.
Instead of coming out defensive-minded, East Gosford changed to a more attacking formation to look for an early goal despite being a player down which paid dividends as Taylor Thackray scored an amazing goal down the left-hand side, putting East Gosford 1-0 up.
Umina were extremely lucky not to go 2-0 down around the 60-minute mark when East Gosford had three shots blocked off the line thanks to some desperate defending and goalkeeping by the home side.
Fatigue started to creep in for East Gosford who were battling with a player down to try and protect their lead. This opened the door for Umina to attack and find more space in behind the opposition’s defence with a long-range shot from Bella DeMeyer finding the back of the net to give Umina the equaliser.
Jorge Chavez was extremely disappointed in the red card for his side but was happy with how his side stepped up and salvage a point against tough opposition. “I have to congratulate my players for stepping up and running all day, having to play 70 minutes with a player down, getting the lead and drawing 1-1 against a great side is a good result for us.”
“This is our first of four games in the next 10 days with our next game coming tonight against Bankstown in the Sapphire Cup. I look forward to that game and seeing how far we can go in the cup. Also, look forward to next Sunday against Southern Ettalong and playing Umina again on Anzac Day which is sure to be a great game.”
Steve Donaldson was left with mixed emotions after full-time. “Tight game from both teams. Once again, the opposition go down a player and for some reason, we can’t capitalise on it. It’s been a trend over the years with this team which is pretty frustrating knowing the quality we have.”
“We’ve said going into these first games that a result out of them would be great and we got that in this round. The inclusion of Bella DeMeyer was huge for us she was able to link up our play well and got a deserved goal. Being without our top goal scorer Kate Styles, and our only centre back Shana Jones, we know we’re only going to be better once they’re back and to match it with the top two teams the last two weeks, we have a lot to look forward to.”
Match Official – Jeffrey Smith
Kanwal 0 – 2 Terrigal
With Terrigal proving to be the team to beat this year after knocking off reigning league champions and premiers Umina last week, this match-up was a good opportunity for Kanwal to see where they too in relation to the rest of the competition.
Coming off a flat, poor performance against Kincumber the previous week, Kanwal was keen to turn things around against competition heavyweights Terrigal.
The match was barely five minutes old when veteran striker Candice Phelan struck with a well-timed volley to give Terrigal an early lead.
Conceding a goal seemed to spur Kanwal on and for the next 20 minutes the Bulls dominated possession and chances but were unable to capitalise and find an equaliser.
As good teams do, and against the run of play, Terrigal pounced on a poor lost ball in the midfield and after Kanwal’s goalkeeper Sig Rowsell was forced to make a fantastic save, Candice was on point to tap home for the O’lasses second goal of the day and her third of the season.
Kanwal continued to dominate without being able to provide that killer punch as the score remained 2-0 to the visitors at halftime.
The second half was a blueprint of the first except for the goals. The home side Kanwal dominated large passages of the game with Terrigal looking dangerous and threatening the Bulls on the counter.
Despite a few half chances, Kanwal was unable to get the goal that would have brought them into the contest as Terrigal scrambled well in defence to ensure they walked away with a clean sheet and all three points.
Kanwal coach Ben Raychaudhuri commended the opposition when reflecting on the game. “Well done to Terrigal who played to their strengths today. I’m so proud of the way my girls played coming off a poor performance last week. Geez it would be nice to have a Candice Phelan in your team. You can’t switch off for two seconds when playing against her, she is quality.”
Match Official – Philip McNab
Golden Boot Standings –
| 3 | Bree Josling (Kincumber), Candice Phelan (Terrigal) |
| 2 | Lucy Metcalfe (East Gosford), Taylor Thackray (East Gosford) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
