MINOR SEMI FINAL
Umina 2 – Kincumber 4
The Kincumber Roos have continued their march forward in season 2024, picking up a resounding 4-2 victory over a gallant Umina in the Minor semi-final.
The Roo girls started very strongly with midfielders Tamara Foster, Nina Boije Af Gennas, and Lauren Tindale finding their attacking speedsters Emily Smith, Helaina Wellington, and Olivia Melenewycz in open space on numerous occasions.
The Roos onslaught seemed relentless during the initial 10 minutes with many attempts on goal hitting the woodwork, or the side netting. This dominance, though, did not translate into goals, and against the run of play a Kate Styles goal to the E-gals in the 13th minute saw Umina lead 1-0.
The goal lifted Umina and for the next 15 minutes, the ball cannoned from foot to foot as it was lifted from end to end in a frantic display of semi-final football.
At the 30-minute mark, the Roos seemed certain to score when another attacking foray saw Emily Smith pierce the E-gals backline with only the keeper to beat. The keeper boldly left her line to meet her foe just outside the box to thwart what seemed a certain goal by taking Smith’s legs from under her.
Without hesitation, a red card was summoned from the referee’s pocket, and in an instant, the E-gals were reduced to 10 players. The score, though, remained 1-0 in Umina’s favour, a lead they retained until half-time.
The E-gals seemed undaunted by this setback and during the break, their coach rallied the troops. From the outset of the second half, the E-gal’s tactics were very clear, holding onto their 1-0 advantage, at any cost, through a strong defensive mindset.
Kincumber on the other hand just needed to settle back into the attacking rhythm and defensive patterns that had served them so well for much of the season. The pace of play in the second period was frenetic as the Roos surged for an equaliser and the E-gals rallied to keep their lead.
The Roos finally found their first goal when team captain Emily Smith was again cut down by the opposition, but this time the infringement occurred inside the box. Cool as a cucumber, Smith placed the ball on the spot and decisively sent the ball into the back of the net.
In a testament to their fighting spirit, the E-gals only lifted their intensity and began to mount their own attack to wrestle the lead back.
Under the urgings of keeper Heidi Cullen, the Roos backline of Anisha Sei, Emilie Piltz, Courtney Wilson, and Lucinda Miranda dug deep to frustrate the E-gals’ attack. Defensive mid-fielder Nina Boije Af Gennas did an excellent job to effectively shut down Umina’s star striker Kate Styles.
Mid-way through the second half, the large crowd that had assembled for the match was now in a frenzy of partisan cheering. Sadly, for the Umina supporters, their cheers were silenced, when another Roo, this time pocket dynamo Helaina Wellington, was poleaxed in the box by two E-gals. Wellington converted the penalty with a fine strike into the top right corner to give the Roo girls a 2-1 lead.
At 2-1, and against 10 girls, it seemed the Roos would kick away to victory, however, the fearless E-gals had other ideas and with 15 minutes remaining Kate Styles managed a second goal to even the score 2-2.
The Roos hit back and found a third goal as Emily Smith neatly evaded the keeper to send the ball rolling into an open goal and with five minutes remaining the Roo girls sealed their victory with Helaina Wellington scoring her second goal.
The match was a testament to the quality of Central Coast WPL football, and the E-gals should feel proud of their spirited effort in the match.
While Kincumber were happy with their win, their celebrations were muted as they knew East Gosford awaited them in the Qualifying Final. The Roo girls have shared the points in their last two encounters with East Gosford and they just can’t wait for next Saturday to have another crack at the competition heavyweights.
A final word of credit to stand-in coach Dave Storey, who ably took the Roo reins while Coach John Jiggins was unavoidably absent.
With a squad, half of whom are 18 or under, and with their future WPL girls in the W16As having made their Grand Final, the Kincumber Club must be very happy their excellent junior girls pathway is starting to pay dividends.
“I was tremendously proud of my players who fought until the end,” stated Umina’s Michael Penn after the game.
Match Official – Christopher Robinson
MAJOR SEMI FINAL
Terrigal 2 – 1 East Gosford
After 120 minutes of intense, end-to-end football, Terrigal emerged victorious to come from behind over a resilient East Gosford side, securing their place in the 2024 WPL Grand Final.
The opening 45 minutes saw both teams on the front foot, creating a series of dangerous opportunities. Terrigal’s Indiana Moyes came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock, her relentless pressing nearly paying off when her shot beat the East Gosford goalkeeper, only to be denied by the post.
The majority of the first period was played in the Ram’s half as Terrigal controlled the majority of the possession and field space, limiting East Gosford from playing up the field and gaining any momentum when going forward.
With the scores level at halftime, the second half opened with a shift in momentum. Despite Terrigal’s dominance, it was East Gosford who capitalised on a defensive lapse. A failed clearance allowed Jess Dominello to seize the moment, slotting the ball past goalkeeper Mackenzie Walker to give East Gosford the lead.
Unfazed, Terrigal pressed forward, generating several promising chances in the attacking third. In the 75th minute, they were rewarded as Tahlor Thackray pounced on a loose ball in the box, firing a low and powerful strike into the net to level the score against her former club.
As full-time approached, the tension mounted, with both sides pushing relentlessly for a winner. The match headed into extra time, where the intensity showed no sign of diminishing.
Just eight minutes into the added period, Terrigal’s Maddie Yates found herself with a golden opportunity. The ball landed at her feet in the box, and she made no mistake, unleashing a rocket into the bottom corner to put Terrigal ahead as the Rams once again conceded a goal to a former teammate.
East Gosford fought valiantly to find an equaliser and had a shout for a penalty waved away from the official. Nonetheless, East Gosford continued to push, and their attacker was brought down in the box and they were awarded a penalty in what would be a very crucial moment of the game.
Captain Grace Bryant stepped up for her side but was unable to find the back of the net to take the game back on level terms for her side.
In the end, Terrigal’s defence held firm under pressure and their determination saw them through, as they became the first team to book their spot in the grand final.
“Well, we knew East Gosford would bring it, and they absolutely did,” voiced Gab Blanch. “To be honest the game could have gone either way, with both teams given plenty of opportunities to run away with it.”
“Credit to East Gosford, a very different side showed up today, and we really had to work for it. For my Girls, I’m just proud of the effort, every single player wanted it today and that’s what got us over the line. We played some nice football and scrapped when we needed to. A very deserving group of players, I couldn’t be happier for them to be playing Grand Final football.”
“What a great game,” spoke Jorge Chavez. “We knew that Terrigal would come out strong looking to make things right for last year’s grand final. They had a poker face before the game so we knew they were going to be ready, and we would have to match their intensity”
“Just a super proud coach for the way the girls went out there and played with sportsmanship and backed each other up the whole 120 minutes. We never gave up and stayed in the game and it could have gone either way.”
Jorge also added, “We look forward to the next challenge of Kincumber, it has always been a close game against them throughout the season. We will pretty much have our full squad back so hopefully that makes a difference, and we can meet Terrigal once more in the grand final.”
“Huge shoutout to the referees, they controlled the game extremely well in some difficult conditions. The fourth official was great in communicating what was happening, some of the best referees I’ve seen on the coast in a long time.”
Match Official – Russell Kirkland