W16A’s | Round 14
Terrigal 2 – 1 Southern & Ettalong
Our Community Champions this week come from the W16 A’s division, specifically team 1 of the 2 Terrigal United sides in the division and the Southern & Ettalong Lions team.
It was a top-end of the table clash as United came into the round in 2nd place, 4 points ahead of the Lions in 3rd, and the match lived up to the billing on a sunbaked Eastern Road Oval.
It was a fiercely contested game with fantastic moments for both teams. However, before diving into the recap, we must introduce the two exceptional coaches for these sides.
The hosts, Terrigal, are predominantly U15’s, but with no W15 grade, they are playing up. This season they have a new coach in Derryk Kane, who has been associated with the club since his son joined the U6’s in 2019.
He coached his son in U9’s and returned to a coaching role this year to coach his daughter, after the previous coaches moved on when their daughters became affiliated with the Central Coast Mariners.
In the week before last weekend, Coach Kane guided his side through the Kanga Cup in Canberra, where they valiantly bowed out in the semi-finals, doing Terrigal and more broadly Central Coast Football proud in the process.
While Southern has a 10-year veteran at the helm in Carl Teves, who is in his 7th year with the Lions and is in his 4th year with this side.
Both men have a brilliant eye for the game, and watching their tactics unfold on Saturday was engrossing.
Football can be viewed as a puzzle. When one team finds an advantage in a particular area, the other team must figure out how to counter it and neutralise the effect.
Once the game kicked off, these two teams were calculating where to find advantages so both would try different things, leading to some flashy moments but more prominently, some impeccable defence.
One early challenge that showcased the start of an excellent all-round defensive display was put in by Terrigal’s Ruth Brown, who prevented a Southern attack down the left wing with a perfectly timed challenge as she ran across to meet the winger.
Southern had a similar moment when their centre-back Zara O’Sullivan stopped an attack that came in from the Terrigal left flank with an emphatic block that sent the ball out for a corner.
There’s one common denominator between these two moments: they both came down each team’s left wing. It would be impossible to tell the story of this game without noting the contributions of both left-wingers.
For Terrigal, Charlotte Bottell played most of the game on the left side, running relentlessly all game and causing headaches for everyone who had to mark her.
For Southern, Imogen Graham played the first half down the left, and she was all class with her sheer pace and control of the ball. On multiple occasions, Graham would kick the ball around her defender into open space, to sprint past them and continue attacking. It was brilliant to watch.
As the match progressed, both teams improved, but it was Terrigal who slowly took control, and it was through surprising circumstances that the hosts opened the scoring.
After Southern had successfully stopped a Terrigal attack, their backline cleared the ball, but the clearance was low and only went as far as United’s Kate Kelly, standing just beyond the edge of the box. It rebounded off her straight back towards goal through the sea of legs and into the net.
It wasn’t the kind of goal you see every day, but still a well-earned one for Terrigal, who had been asking more questions in the opening stages.
Next came a spectacular chance on the counter for Southern when Evie Harrison played through Graham down the left flank, the winger used her pace to get into the box before attempting to chip Lily Clayton in goals for Terrigal, who produced a solid save above her head.
Graham wouldn’t wait long to try her luck against Clayton again, though. Her second shot arrived when her attacking midfielder Amelia Champley produced a perfect through ball from midfield to play Graham through the line. This time, she had a better angle and once again went for the chip, only for Clayton to tip the ball over the bar at the last second. It was the sort of save that takes your breath away, where the only way to sum it up is to proclaim, “What a save!”.
United would capitalise on this in the closing stages of the first half when some great work down the left resulted in a cross that found Terrigal striker Emily Kane open in the box.
The forward didn’t waste time taking a touch, instead opting to guide the ball from the near post into the far side of the net with a lovely, delicate touch. It was a glorious goal.
Halftime soon followed, and as Southern retreated to what little shade there was to be found on Eastern Road Oval, they now had to solve the puzzle that Terrigal had presented them.
This highlights the coaching philosophies of both coaches, emphasising expression and development, which each team displayed in abundance throughout.
Talking to Coach Kane, he said:
“Like anything in life, it’s a balance, praise when good play is put into practice, and more explanation if the situation calls for it”.
“For me, it’s understanding the situation and trying to show them how to identify it for themselves.
“Ultimately, you need to have fun and enjoy the game”.
This focus on teaching his players to identify the problems themselves is something that will serve them throughout the rest of their time playing any sports, and it’s something Coach Teves echoed in part.
“My coaching philosophy is centred on creating a positive and inclusive environment where junior players can enjoy the sport, develop new skills, and, most importantly, grow in confidence”. Teves began
“I place strong value on effort, resilience, persistence, teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship, and these are qualities I actively encourage in every player.
“While I strive to focus on development over outcomes, I acknowledge the challenge of maintaining that balance in a strong and highly competitive league, like where we are today”.
It’s this idea of growing in confidence that sticks out to me, and his side did exactly that in the second half.
With a comeback needed to secure any result, the Lions knew they had to change things up, and it started in defence.
There was a new air of confidence around the Southern defence in the second half, with Riley Needle and Nina Spencer-Teves epitomising it.
Needle was in the demanding role of right back, but she didn’t let the challenge overcome her. Instead, she remained composed and was able to slow down multiple Terrigal attacks by forcing the winger to the byline and limiting their attacking options.
While Spencer-Teves was excellent in cover defence, always there to back up anywhere along the backline whenever Terrigal probed too far for comfort, and that did happen a lot, but not before the Lions were able to claw one back.
The third goal of the day was through a piece of individual brilliance from Champley.
The Lions, needing to score, were now playing with a higher line, something the players could be heard discussing amongst themselves, solving the puzzle.
Champley, benefitting from this, stole the ball high by the halfway line and stormed into the Terrigal half. From there, she showed off some terrific footwork to stay open and cut into the edge of the box. Once there, Harrison drew a defender away with a smart run down the right, allowing Champley to shoot towards the near post, where it snuck in for 2-1. It was a memorable moment for the Lions, one earned through their resilience at the back.
It was the kind of moment that prompted me to ask both coaches what they have enjoyed most about their time in charge.
Coach Teves said:
“Seeing players enjoy the sport, grow in confidence, and succeed puts a smile on my face”.
Again, touching on confidence, a key area of importance for football. Champley couldn’t have taken on that shot if she hadn’t backed herself, much like Clayton couldn’t have made those clutch saves. The phrase “confidence is key” has become a cliche, but it’s so true in football. When you back yourself, magical things can happen.
Coach Kane said:
“Just seeing a before and after as we continue the journey this season, if I reflect on game 1 to recent games, I feel we have improved greatly”.
“When in a game, I see what was worked on in training come to life, and the enjoyment on the girls’ faces brings enjoyment to all the parents, including myself”.
It’s hard to think of anything more rewarding than watching practice make perfect week in, week out. It’s all a part of solving the puzzle of football, and once Southern had a goal back, Terrigal did everything they could to ice the game, finding their solution.
With the Lions doing everything to find an equaliser, Terrigal were a constant threat on the counter.
Lilly Parrelli would have a couple of great chances as she worked in tandem with her striker, Kane.
At one point, Kane cut it back to her after finding room down the right side of the box where Parrelli attempted to slide it in a near right post, but Tanaya Weston, with the gloves for the Lions, got down to save it.
Weston would make several good saves in this vein as Kane and Parrelli were played through the Southern line many times in the closing stages.
One final chance for a 3rd fell to Terrigal’s Charlize Hibbard from another cut back, but it wasn’t to be. Regardless, United had done enough, and full-time arrived.
As the players congratulated each other, the remaining puzzles were moved to next week, and that’s something great about football.
There’s always something new to try, something new to learn and something new to execute, and if you haven’t solved it by full-time, there’s always next week.
With two great coaches ready to lend a helping hand and two sets of players growing in confidence every week, both teams are well-deserving Community Champions.
Written by Mark Goodyear
