Match of the Round
Terrigal 4 – 1 Kincumber
Sunday was a wild and windy afternoon at Duffys Oval, and Kincumber very clearly showed up to battle for the round 8 WPL match of the round.
After a fairly even start to the match, in the 19th minute, tenacious attacker Indi Moyes came out best after a 6-yard scramble in the opposition’s box, resulting in Terrigal’s first goal for the day.
The game somewhat settled after the first goal, Terrigal looked to double their lead and continued to create good opportunities. Kincumber defended well in a block, making it difficult for Terrigal to break them down centrally.
In the 33rd minute, Candace Phelan struck a perfectly weighted lob over the goalkeeper’s head and into the top left corner, extending Terrigal’s lead before the break.
Terrigal came out of the sheds with a spring in their step and spent most of the second half creating goal-scoring opportunities. In the 63rd minute, Gab Blanch shot from a wide range to extend Terrigal’s lead to 3-0.
As the game continued to build momentum, Terrigal striker Indi Moyes received the ball on halfway, beat her defender one on one, touched around the goalkeeper and tapped home for a very well-deserved brace.
In the very next play after conceding their fourth, Kincumber pressed high on Terrigal’s goalkeeper and earned their reward by Bree Josling deflecting the clearance into the back of the net.
Although beaten, the home-grown Kincumber local girls have steadily improved, and for significant periods of play were the equal of the eclectic, competition heavyweights. The team continues to learn and grow.
“Today they matched it with the vastly more experienced and credentialled Terrigal for periods of the game. Most of the Roos are WPL rookies, and the confidence and skill they draw from each match bode well for the future,” voiced Roos Coach Ian George.
Ian was delighted with the effort, commenting after the game this was the Roos’ best performance of the season so far. “The 321 coach’s points would be very difficult as everyone played well. Terrigal, though, were clinical pouncing on the smallest defensive mistakes to capitalise on goals. Kincumber did, however, manage to pull one back late in the second half when striker Bree Josling pressured the Terrigal goalkeeper into an error.”
“Defensively the Roos were strong, spoiling all Terrigal attacking raids mounted from inside their own half. The best player for Terrigal was the right-side midfielder Rachel Darby who made numerous searching runs down the right flank. Caitlin McMahon, too, was very adept, controlling the play very well in defence.”
Gab Blanch of Terrigal United also spoke on the opposition post-match, “Kincumber came out exactly as I expected they would. They defended well and made it difficult for us to play the way we wanted to play. Credit to them, they were probably in it more than the scoreline reflects.”
“For my girls, there’s plenty to think about following today’s performance, and how we approach our Umina fixture. We, unfortunately, weren’t at our best and found it hard to find third gear for the first half, we just can’t afford to do that,” added Gab.
“The girls really picked up in the second half, the effort and intensity was there, and I was pleased to see that. Admittedly we have had a lot of interruptions with midweek fixtures over the past five or six weeks. I am looking forward to getting back on the training pitch and finding our rhythm again.”
Match Official – Stephen Wrightson
East Gosford 2 – 1 Killarney
Still searching for the opening points of their 2023 WPL campaign, Killarney travelled to a windy Hylton Moore oval to face undefeated East Gosford.
Hoping to end East Gosford’s unbeaten start to the 2023 season, Adam Tait and his Killarney side entered their round 8 clash against the Rams with a game plan that was executed extremely well.
The first half saw Killarney create a few chances of their own, however, East Gosford enjoyed a lot of the ball and put the Killarney defence under tremendous pressure for the majority of the opening 45 minutes.
Thanks to some great defence and even better goalkeeping, Killarney were able to hold out the Rams as the game remained locked at 0-0 after the conclusion of the first half.
In the second half, Killarney were awarded a free kick and Haylie Eyers took full advantage of this opportunity with a brilliant set piece that saw the underdogs Killarney go 1-0 up against the home side.
East Gosford really mounted the pressure on Killarney in the hopes of finding an equaliser, but the Killarney defence remained solid.
The constant pressure eventually took its toll as East Gosford were able to finally get their first goal of the day, then with about only 9 minutes left to play, East Gosford were able to find the go-ahead goal and the winner after a corner was finished off into the back of the net.
The Rams have Grace Bryant and Tahlor Thackray to thank for their goals on Sunday as Jorge Chavez’s side remains in second place just two points behind league leaders Terrigal.
Jorge had nothing but high praise for the opposition’s coach and players after full-time. “Full credit has to go to Adam and the Killarney girls today, they came with a gameplan, and it almost paid off. We were lucky to get the win today.”
“Killarney have one of the best goalkeepers in the league and she proved it again today, pulling off some amazing saves to keep the game scoreless for the majority of the game.”
Jorge also spoke on his team going forward and how they will look to recover before their next game against the reigning WPL Champions. “We are looking forward to the bye, it comes at the right time. We have got a few injuries lingering around the squad, it will give us a good two weeks to rest until we face Umina in our next big game.”
Despite not picking up any points, Adam Tait was exceedingly pleased with his sides performance. “Full credit to East Gosford, I’m extremely proud of our girls and the way played today.”
Match Official – Troy Ward
Kanwal 8 – 1 Southern & Ettalong
Tricky, windy, and blustery conditions at Wadalba Sports Complex made for an entertaining contest this past Sunday as Kanwal, looking to consolidate their spot in the top four, welcomed the Lionesses who were looking to make amends from the last time these two sides met.
Kanwal dominated from the outset, racing to a 3-goal lead inside the first 15 minutes with a brace to Jordan Evans and one goal to Hayley Green from a sublime Jordan Evans pass.
The Bulls continued to dominate the game, but a combination of good keeping and poor finishing kept the game at 3-0 until Jordan Evans completed her first half hattrick to send Kanwal into the sheds with a 4-0 lead at the break.
The second period didn’t see much change as Kanwal kept up the pressure when going forward whilst remaining solid at the back to thwart away any Southern attack.
Jordan Evans added two more goals in the second half to take her total for the match to five, and her total of the year to eleven as she now joins Kayla Vanderfield at the top of the WPL golden boot standings.
Hayls Ballard was next to get herself on the scoresheet as she added two more for Kanwal to take the game to 8-0.
Southern scored a late consolation goal through Sophie Trengrove to spoil Kanwal’s clean sheet as the game ended 8-1 in favour of the home side.
“Despite conceding eight goals, the Southern goalkeeper can hold her head high, without her, we seriously could have scored another eight at least,” praised Kanwal coach Ben Raychaudhuri.
Ben also added, “I’m so proud of my girls to not only bounce back from last week’s poor performance but to do so with three late pullouts on the day due to illness as well as several players playing whilst under the weather”.
Match Official – Jayden Downs
Golden Boot Standings –
| 11 | Kayla Vanderfield (East Gosford), Jordan Evans (Kanwal) |
| 8 | Candice Phelan (Terrigal) |
| 6 | Kelly Hogan (East Gosford), Taylor Thackray (East Gosford), Hayls Ballard (Kanwal), Gabrielle Blanch (Terrigal) |
| 5 | Hannah Batten (Umina) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
