MINOR SEMI FINAL
Kincumber 2 – 0 Umina
For the second straight year, Kincumber put an end to Umina’s season in their do-or-die Semi-Final showdown as the Roos booked their place in the Preliminary Final as they search for their first WPL Grand Final appearance.
It was a cagey affair early in the contest between the two sides with quite a history. The opening stages of the game saw both sides struggle to create any clear-cut chances as both sides were forced to shoot from distance with efforts that didn’t trouble either goalie.
The first real opportunity for either side came in the 25th minute for Umina as Kate Styles was played the ball on the edge of the box. Styles used her pace to drive to the byline and fire a cross across the face of the goal to Kiara Kelly who was unable to get a shot off inside the 6-yard box.
Kincumber started to gain more momentum and were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area as set-piece specialist Jasmine Beacroft stepped up for the Roos. Beacroft delivered a free kick to the back stick, but no teammate was there to get an effort off on goal.
However, from the resulting goal kick, Kincumber’s Tamara Forster won the ball back from a loose pass, running to the edge of the box before firing a pinpoint shot over the head of the Umina keeper, giving the Roos a 1-0 lead.
Things then went from bad to worse for the E-Gals just moments before the halftime whistle. Nina Boije Af Gennas played a brilliant through ball over the opposition backline for Olivia Melenewycz.
Melenewycz got to the ball first as Tori Sheriff left her goal box, and in an attempt to win the ball, Sheriff fouled Olivia outside of the 18-yard box and the goalkeeper was shown a red card for her actions.
Now down a player and without a spare goalkeeper in their squad, an outfield player was sacrificed in goals.
With the free kick still yet to be taken, it was Beacroft who once again stood over the ball for Kincumber. This time, Beacroft was able to produce a wonderfully taken set-piece which found the back of the net, giving Kincumber a 2-goal lead at the break.
Down by two goals and a player down, it was always going to be an enormous task for the E-Gals to pull themselves back into the contest in the second period.
Kincumber looked to extend their lead further, but the Umina defence was working overtime to keep the opposition at bay.
Umina had chances of their own throughout the second half, but the Kincumber defence remained impenetrable, forcing the E-Gals to shoot from distance and limiting any clear-cut opportunities in the box.
In the end, Kincumber were happy to see out the result to book another meeting with East Gosford in this year’s Preliminary Final.
“I’m so proud of my girls, they kept their composure and fought hard against a tough physical Umina side. We proved why we are one of the top three teams this season,” voiced an ecstatic Tamer Mansour.
Dave Brewer also commented on the fixture as his inaugural season as WPL coach comes to an end. “This semi-final really summed up our season well. We struggled to have a fit team on the field and had referee decisions not go our way which had a major impact on the game.”
“We came into the game as the underdogs and unfortunately the season caught up to us. We went into the game only having 11 WPL players available and half of them unable to train all week.”
“As the team has all year, they fought to the very end. For us to go down to 10 players just before half time to a dubious red card decision and then still hold out Kincumber in the second half shows the fight this team has.”
Dave also added, “I couldn’t ask for a better group of ladies to coach this year and am extremely lucky to get to coach this group. Even with this result, I would consider this a very successful season for our club.”
“We struggled to get enough players to even register a team this year so to end up making the semis is a huge result. I couldn’t be prouder of this team and how far they have come along this season.”
Match Official – Rodney Mcloed
MAJOR SEMI FINAL
Killarney (4) 2 – 2 (2) East Gosford
The two most consistent teams of 2025 could not be separated after 120 minutes in a game that had it all as the League Champions came from behind twice to keep their unbeaten streak and defeat East Gosford on penalties.
The game was only two minutes old when East Gosford got their first look on goal. A pinpoint ball over the Killarney defence saw Annika Hansen unleash Niesha Monteleone whose shot from the edge of the area went just wide of the goal.
East Gosford continued this early pressure and created more looks on goal. One of their best was Monteleone playing in Jess Dominello in the box, but the attacker fired her shot over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
A minute later, Dominello was played in again, this time crossing the ball which was parried into the box and fell nicely for Emma Hurley who couldn’t keep her shot low and another great opportunity went begging.
Their fast start was eventually rewarded in the 16th minute when Hurley received the ball inside the opposition’s half and unleashed a long-range strike that found the top corner to give the Rams a deserved 1-0 lead.
Looking to get back on level terms, Killarney started to show why they are undefeated League Champions, controlling the game and the chances started to come.
To their credit, East Gosford’s defence was extremely difficult to break down and the Rams were able to keep their 1-0 lead into the half-time break.
The halftime introduction of Candice Phelan for the Terriers benefited them instantly as she almost scored with her first chance of the game after some individual brilliance.
13 minutes into the second half, Phelan was able to find the equaliser after a calmly placed shot into the bottom corner after being played into the box by Kaitlin Murphy.
Phelan found the back of the net again 10 minutes later but was deemed offside by the official as East Gosford breathed a sigh of relief.
After an extremely tense second half, East Gosford were awarded a free kick in the 90th minute out wide on the right. Kim Meyer stepped up for the Rams, delivering a stunning strike that found the top corner as the Rams thought they had all but booked their place in the Grand Final.
Killarney needed a miracle to have any chance at salvaging a result from this contest, but a miracle it was as Orianna Evans produced a moment of brilliance to beat her defenders and cross the ball in at the byline.
The cross found veteran striker Phelan who was in the right spot once more to equalise for the Terriers and send the game to extra time.
Extra time was again an extremely cagey affair with both teams giving it their all. The best chance came from another East Gosford free kick from Meyer, but this time the set-piece specialist was unable to get enough power behind her shot, and the game headed to penalties.
Killarney’s four penalty takers all held their nerve to produce unstoppable shots from the penalty spot while the Rams missed two out of their four attempts, seeing Killarney progress to the Grand Final where they will search for one more win to claim a treble in 2025.
Head coach Sarah Hudson praised the fight and composure of the squad, “I think that goal with 30 seconds to go sums up who we are as a team. We never stop believing, and the players showed incredible fight to keep pushing until the very end. That moment changed everything and gave us the chance to keep playing.”
“Penalties are always a test of composure, and I thought our group handled it brilliantly. They stayed calm under pressure and trusted each other, which is what got us through.”
“Full credit to East Gosford, they were outstanding and made it such a tough contest. That kind of game could have gone either way, and it brought the best out of both teams.”
“We’ll enjoy this win, but we know the job’s not finished yet. Tonight gives us belief, but we’ll reset and be ready for the next challenge.”
Match Official – Russell Kirkland