East Gosford v Southern & Ettalong
East Gosford will play at their home, Hylton Moore Oval, for the first time in the 2023 WPL season as they welcome a well-rested and determined Southern & Ettalong side for the round 4 match of the round.
It’s been quite the preseason for Jorge Chavez’s side, the Rams had an excellent showing in the Premier Autocare Association Cup as they face Umina in the Grand Final next Tuesday.
“Our preseason has been full of excitement and hard work. This has paid off thus far, with us making the Association Cup final for a second time in the past three years,” stated Jorge.
East Gosford also got their Sapphire Cup campaign underway midweek with a dominant 9-0 win over East Bankstown to book their spot in the next round.
The Rams, who had a very competitive year last season in WPL, will look to once again be a top contender for the whole year and the addition of some key players in the off-season sees the Rams as one of the favourites in 2023.
“We have added a few experienced players to our squad this year, including 4 ex-Ram juniors, returning to the club after a few years away playing representative football.”
Jorge’s side got their season off to a perfect start when they were able to defeat Killarney 5-0 in the opening round. The Rams were able to rest and recover in round 2 as they had a bye and returned in round 3 where they split the points with reigning league champions and premiers Umina.
“I am extremely happy with how well the squad has gelled thus far and look forward to the improvement left in us and where that takes us this year. Hopefully, that’s a top-two finish, but with so many good teams in the comp this year only time will tell.”
Jorge also spoke on this week’s opposition as he expects a great contest against Southern. “SEU are coming off their bye, so I expect them to be fresh and excited for Sunday’s games. We will have to be prepared to match their energy from the get-go. I have huge respect for SEU and look forward to 2 great games come Sunday.”
There is still plenty of unknown about Southern & Ettalong this year, the Lionesses chose to sit out of the Association Cup in preseason, so their WPL opposition did not know what to expect from this side come round 1.
After getting washed out in round 1, In their opening fixture of the year Southern faced Killarney and were able to pick up all three points in front of a home crowd at James Browne Oval.
“It was really good to kick the season off with a win. It helped our team to know hard work and not clocking off in a game is crucial for us this season. It also was great for both coaches to see what we are doing is paying off,” spoke head coach Cait Walker when reflecting on the game.
After having a bye last weekend, Southern will enter the weekend fresh and extremely prepared for battle against the Rams.
Southern’s opponents are coming off a gruelling match against Umina and a mid-week clash against Bankstown so fatigue could play a big part and be a big advantage for them come Sunday.
However, the Southern coaching staff and the squad know they will need to be at their best if they wish to keep their winning start to the season alive.
“This year we are not judging ourselves on the success of other teams and who might be the powerhouses. We are only worried about what we put on a paddock week in and week out as we don’t have star recruits like other teams and we started the pre-season later than everyone else, we know that it will take a while for us to be a cohesive unit.”
So, the answer is guess is we will wait and see,” voiced Cait when asked if she feels her team compete with the competition’s best again in 2023.
Although they have had the luxury of two weeks to prepare for this contest with East Gosford, Cait admits that her side must be competitive for the entire match if they wish to secure any points from the fixture.
“We anticipate a strong hard-fought battle against East Gosford being a team that many have played together for some time. East Gosford has some great players like Taylor Thackray and Lucy Metcalf. Both of these players can make things happen in a game. Therefore, we will have to play the whole 90 mins and be prepared for a hard game.”
Match Official – Massimo Lucini
All Round 4 Fixtures:
