Kincumber v Umina
Kincumber enters their first match of the round fixture coming off their second win of the year as the Roos look to keep the momentum rolling when they welcome in-form Umina to Frost Reserve this Sunday.
Kincumber were able to get their season off to a perfect start under new head coach John Jiggins. In their opening fixture of the year the Roos hosted veteran WPL side Kanwal and defeated the Bulls 5-0.
Kincumber were unable to build on that result in their next two fixtures as they went to battle against the top two teams in the league, East Gosford and Terrigal, and came up short in both games (4-0, 3-0).
Their next fixture, which was less than two weeks ago, Kincumber met this week’s match of the round opponents Umina in a rescheduled round 1 fixture at Pluim Park.
Despite going 2-0 up against the E-Gals, Kincumber was unable to see out the victory as a determined Umina clawed their way back to a 3-2 win.
Kincumber were once again unable to hold onto their lead in their next game when they travelled to Hamlyn Terrace to face Woongarrah. After going 1-0 up after 25 minutes of play, Woongarrah found an equaliser in the second half as the two teams were forced to share the points.
However, thanks to a first-half goal from Charlotte Health and a brace in the second half from Emily Smith, Kincumber got back to winning ways mid-week against Killarney with a 3-0 win as the Roos will be determined to further build on that come Sunday.
Reflecting on the year so far, Jiggins voiced “We are a very young squad! What has surprised me is how competitive we are! Not that I doubted our ability, but our playing maturity is raw. The young ones have really ‘stepped’ up.”
“We definitely need to be more clinical in front of goals! We have had many opportunities to finish games but have not done so because we have rushed our shots. This is an area I have asked the players to improve on and I feel we are getting better at!”
Kincumber currently finds themselves sitting in fourth place after six games but a win this weekend would see Jiggins side jump into third on the ladder, overtaking Umina.
Coming off their second win, that victory also marked the second time Kincumber have been able to keep a clean sheet in ninety minutes which will play a vital part in their success again this Sunday as they welcome the third-best attacking side in the competition.
When asked about the opposition, Jiggins feels Umina are very similar to his side as he anticipates another close battle this weekend.
“Umina are like us! A team going through a new phase in their development process! Both our teams play a similar style of game and it’s always a battle of attrition between our squads, so I expect nothing less on Sunday.”
“The weather has been a disruptive problem all season, but we have started to access other sources of training that are beneficial to our team and fitness regime.”
“If we do the one percenters right then I feel we should get the win but we are not complacent in our thought process either,” declared Jiggins.
As for this weekend’s visitors, third-place Umina are coming off their first back-to-back victories of the season as they look to do the double over Kincumber and make it three straight.
Umina are also coming off their biggest win of the season as they defeated Killarney 4-1 in front of a home crowd in round 7. Veteran WPL striker Kate Styles has been in electric form to start the year for the E-Gals as her hat-trick last Sunday puts her on seven goals from five games.
However, at the other end of the field, Umina have had some worries to start the year as their backline has been unable to keep a clean sheet in all of their fixtures which includes conceding four goals in ninety minutes to both Woongarrah and East Gosford.
“Obviously if a team concedes unnecessary goals it is a concern to both the squad and coach. We will continue to focus our training on our shortcomings in order to eliminate them during the season,” explained Penn.
After a very disruptive start to the season, Penn talked about how his side is managing after playing two games in under a week. “We’ve picked up a couple of niggling injuries but nothing serious, overall, the players are looking forward to our next encounter.”
Umina showed their character when they met Kincumber last week, coming from 2-goals down to claim a 3-2 win but head coach Michael Penn will be hopeful his side can start better this weekend and not have to do things the hard way.
“Losing 2-0 at half time and not injecting ourselves into the game I made a significant formation change at half time. This resulted in turning the game around and scoring three goals in the second half to win the game. We persevered with this formation against Killarney, and it produced four more goals.”
A third straight win for Umina this weekend will see them go five points clear from fourth spot and with second-placed East Gosford enjoying a bye this weekend, a victory will see Umina remain just one point behind the Rams.
There is plenty on the line for both teams entering Sunday’s important clash, and we expect another close, intense battle between these two sides who have their sights set on finals football come the end of the year.
“Kincumber have good players and will capitalise on any errors, but we also need to focus on our game, take the game to them and continue where we left off,” voiced Penn when asked about the opposition.
“I’m sure Kincumber will have evaluated their second half and adjusted accordingly so I’m expecting this to be a hard game for both teams.”
Match Official – Stephen Wrightson
All Round 8 Fixtures –
