Terrigal v Kincumber
A victory for Terrigal this Sunday ensures the Tords their second consecutive WPL League Championship but they must get past the daring task of in-form Kincumber who look to secure their spot in the 2024 Finals Series.
It has been another remarkable season for Gab Blanch and her side. In her first year in charge as head coach in 2023, Blanch coached her side to an undefeated first-place finish.
Now in just her second year, one more victory will see her side go back-to-back as Blanch describes how significant this feat is for her, the players, and the club.
“It’s pretty significant. It was always going to be difficult to back it up this year, I guess we come back in with a target on our back. The players set their sights on this goal during pre-season and have remained persistent in working towards that goal. I’m proud of their constant ability to learn and evolve.”
Blanch also touched on whether she thought she would have this much success when she initially joined Terrigal. “It was definitely the unknown coming in. As a coach, I tend to set high expectations, and I was thankful to learn pretty early on that the player group was responsive and motivated by this.”
“There have been some challenges, particularly losing an entire reserve grade team at the end of last year, however, I feel we’ve adapted well and used the change to our advantage to build a really strong group of players.”
Although they haven’t been the most dominant team in front of goal this year, Terrigal have only conceded a remarkable five goals in their sixteen matches so far this season, that’s an average of less than a third of a goal in each game.
Terrigal started the year with six clean sheets in their opening six games, totalling over 540 minutes of football before they eventually conceded their first goal.
Terrigal are now enjoying another four straight fixtures without conceding a goal as Blanch alluded to why this backline is so strong. “We are disciplined, and we work for each other.”
“Every player understands the importance of their individual role, and we’ve been able to instil the mindset in our players that our defensive duties start at the top. Whilst on paper we play a back three, it translates very differently on game day as we adapt to our opposition.”
Despite entering Sunday’s clash with two victories over the Roos already, Gab is well aware of the challenges they will bring come kick-off. “Kincumber has certainly improved since our round 1 fixture.”
“We know they bring maximum effort and intensity and make you work for every turn of possession. This is something we have discussed at length in preparing for this match.”
“For us to pick up all three points, quite simply, we have to win every single battle. We have to make the most of every opportunity we create. Kincumber fights well and play with good intensity. If we match their energy I believe our current form will see us take the win.”
As for Kincumber, what a turnaround it has been for John Jiggins and his side in recent weeks.
After 10 games played, the Roo’s were sitting in second last win only three wins and eleven points to their name. Now Kincumber have doubled their points tally in their last six fixtures to find themselves just one point away from securing finals.
This season-defining run of form started during their busy schedule of catch-up fixtures which saw them play Kanwal back-to-back, just four days apart. Jiggins’ team were able to hand the Bulls consecutive defeats and followed that up with two 1-1 draws against the defending premiers East Gosford.
Kincumber also recorded a slender 1-0 victory over the Terriers in this run of form as coach Jiggins describes what he believes is the reason for their success. “I believe that the difference has been the belief the girls have found in each other.”
“They go into every game thinking and knowing that they are capable of winning any games be it Terrigal or Woongarrah.”
The only fixture they have seen defeat in their last six games was against this week’s opposition Terrigal who prevailed over the Roos 1-0 on Kincumber’s home ground of Frost Reserve.
However, this result was a big improvement from their 3-0 loss to Terrigal at the beginning of the year. Something has seemed to click recently in Kincumber’s defence as they have only conceded five goals in the last six fixtures.
“As we are a very young backline I have seen a growth in maturity in terms of taking responsibility for their own actions and improving on each and every game,” voiced John.
“They take incredible pride in knowing that they have not conceded many goals not only in the past six weeks but throughout the season. Also, defence is about attitude and bringing that improved attitude into each game has certainly helped us in being competitive.”
John also gave his thoughts on the opposition ahead of the weekend, as well as stating what his side will need to do to be successful against the best side WPL has to offer.
“We have and always will respect Terrigal! They are well coached and certainly deserve their position on the table however we do now know that we can compete against them and will hopefully show that going forward.”
“To beat Terrigal, we will need to be at our absolute best. Every single player will need to bring their “A” game. I believe that the girls will, and this is driven by the leadership group. We are looking forward to the challenge!”
Match Official – Stephen Wrightson
All Round 19 Fixtures –
