East Gosford v Terrigal
Terrigal will be eager to get back on the pitch and reclaim their spot on top of the ladder in the round 13 match of the round when the undefeated O’lasses travel to Hylton Moore to face new league leaders and also unbeaten side, East Gosford.
With Terrigal having a bye last week, the Rams had a golden opportunity to go first on the WPL ladder with a win against Kincumber. Jorge Chavez’s side did exactly that as they claimed their seventh win of the season, defeating the Roos 6-0.
As no surprise, it was Tahlor Thackray that lead the Rams to victory scoring a hat-trick which was her second hat-trick in her last two games for the green and white.
Also on the scoresheet was teammate Kayla Vanderfield who secured a brace as both Tahlor and Kayla each record an impressive 13 goals this season. East Gosford records the best attack in the league, scoring an incredible 46 goals in just nine fixtures.
“You would be lying as a coach if you didn’t admit that the ladder and coming first is something that you strive for but at the end of the day there is still a lot of football to be played this season and so you can’t be looking too far ahead,” voiced Jorge when asked if the ladder is something he is focused on week to week.
The Rams will look to keep their hot form in front of goal going this weekend as they come up against statistically the best defensive team in the competition.
The Rams didn’t have any issues finding the back of the net the last time these two sides met back in round 6.
However, the Rams did concede three goals in that fixture, letting a 3-1 lead slip as the two teams split the points after ninety minutes.
“We know that the three points this weekend will be huge in deciding who finishes where in the top two this year, so we need to focus on that game first and do what we need to do to win the game.”
Jorge also spoke on the opposition and what he anticipates from them come Sunday. “We don’t expect Terrigal to change too much of their gameplan. At the end of the day, we just need to focus on what we need to do, make sure we get our things right and the rest will take care of itself.”
“We have full respect for the Terrigal squad and know what they can achieve so we have to be on our game, at 100% to get the three points.”
It has been quite some time since the former league leaders Terrigal have been on the pitch. With the O’lasses having a bye last week and North vs South taking place the weekend before, Gab Blanch and her squad will be almost three weeks without a game when they line up for this top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.
When asked if this time off will have more of a positive or negative impact on her side, Gab replied, “It is tough to answer at this point.”
“I am happy that the girls have had a chance to freshen up, though I guess I’d be lying if I didn’t say it would be great to come into this fixture carrying the momentum we’ve built. The girls are amped for this game so I am hoping that alone will make up for the minutes we’ve missed over the last couple of weeks.”
Having only conceded six goals all year so far, half of them goals came from the last time these two sides met as the two clubs split the points in a thrilling 3-3 draw.
With East Gosford and Terrigal sharing an identical win-loss-draw ratio so far in the season, the Rams hold a better goal difference at this point in the season.
However, goal difference won’t matter if Terrigal can hand the opposition their first loss of the year and jump back into first place with less than half of the competition games remaining.
This is the biggest game of the winter season for both teams as Gab states she expects the opposition to come out strong. “I know East Gosford will be up for this one. I expect them to come out firing, and no doubt they’ll test us. I think this will be a close one, similar to our last fixture.”
Gab also touched on what her side must do this Sunday to walk out of Hylton Moore victorious. “It’ll be key for us this weekend that every single player across the squad is there to dig deep and fight for the win. We are coming into a difficult period with some season-ending injuries affecting a number of key players.”
“We have had to reset and build new combinations in both teams to ensure we can maintain our form. It’s never good to lose players to injury, but I see this as our opportunity to show our grit, and to fight for what we started.”
Match Official – Philip McNab
All Round 13 Fixtures –
