Match of the Round
Umina 5 – 4 East Gosford
The round 17 match of the round did not disappoint as East Gosford let a 4-1 halftime lead slip as the E-Gals were able to score four unanswered goals in the second period to hand the Rams just their second loss of 2023.
It was the home side Umina who opened the scoring when some well-worked play at the top of the box found its way to Kate Styles who turned her defender and emphatically finished into the top corner for the first goal of the game.
However, East Gosford found an equaliser after a bad pass out of the backline fell straight to the Rams attacker Annika Hansen who finished with ease.
East Gosford then took over proceedings, scoring three straight goals to head into the halftime break with an impressive 4-1 lead.
Their second goal came from a ball in behind the Umina defence that found Tahlor Thackray who carried the ball into the box before cutting on her left and finding the bottom corner to give her side the lead.
Next on the scoresheet was Kelly Hogan who picked the ball up in the middle of Umina’s half and went herself, dribbling the ball to the edge of the box and finishing well with her right foot effort that found the bottom corner.
Tahlor Thackray got her second of the evening when she once again found herself in behind the opposition backline, the Umina goalkeeper came off her line to try and beat the attacker to the ball, but Tahlor coolly chipped the goalie to extend their lead to 4-1.
Umina’s premiership-winning mentality showed in the second period as the E-Gals were able to claw their way back into the contest to shock East Gosford.
The first goal of the second half came after a ball into the box was not dealt with properly by the East Gosford defender as it perfectly fell to Hannah Batten who made no mistake with her chance on goal.
Kate Styles was able to get her second of the day when she beat three defenders and perfectly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to take the game to 4-3.
A surging run down the right flank by captain Chelsea Campbell saw her play a pinpoint ball across the face of East Gosford’s goal as her teammate Isabella DeMeyer was there to tap home to level the game.
It was Umina’s captain Chelsea Campbell who got the game-winning goal for her side after a long through ball was intercepted by Ram’s goalie only for her clearance to hit Chelsea and fall perfectly fall her to tap home into an open net, scoring the game’s ninth and final goal as Umina produce the comeback of the season.
“Crazy game,” Declared Umina coach Steve Donaldson. “Compared to our last game, we were even worse in the first half. Struggled to make three consecutive passes that allowed way too many chances for East Gosford’s tidy players up top. Their tactics in the first half killed us which led to some notable changes at the halftime chat.”
Steve also added. “The completion rate of passes from the back increased in the 2nd which allowed our forwards to look threatening with every attack. We overloaded their attackers and completely owned the half. Massive congratulations to the girls. A lot of players would normally give up at halftime, but it just goes to show what this collection of players can achieve even when we’re at our worst.”
Match Official – Christopher Robinson
Killarney 0 – 0 Kincumber
A windy day at Edsacc saw two teams outside the top four come together as Killarney recorded just their second point of the season as they and Kincumber battled it out in an entertaining fixture that would end in a scoreless draw.
Coming off an extremely close fixture in their last encounter, Killarney took the field this past Sunday looking to compete for the entire 90 minutes as they searched for their first win of 2023.
Killarney had multiple attacking raids in the first half but could not penetrate the Kincumber goal as the Roo’s resilient backline stuffed any Killarney chances.
At the other end of the field, Kincumber also did well to generate some chances on goal but failed to turn any of their half chances into goals inside the opening 45 minutes.
Kincumber started the second half in a much better fashion, but once again the opposition defence held strong despite Kincumber throwing everything they had at the Killarney goal but could not get past the Killarney backline and goalkeeper.
Once again Killarney would create opportunities of their own in the second period, but this fixture would not see any goals as the back-and-forth contest ended 0-0 as Kincumber record their first draw of the 2023 season.
“Killarney were unlucky not to receive a penalty as a Kincumber player handballed the ball in the box, but the referee said he couldn’t see it because of the Sun. However, both sides missed opportunities so a fair result, very proud of our efforts today,” voiced Terriers coach Adam Tait.
Match Official – Philip McNab
Kanwal 0 – 1 Terrigal
Kanwal and Terrigal played a tight and entertaining contest at Wadalba on Sunday as the O’lasses late winner extends their lead at the top of the ladder to six points in a highly competitive game of football that could have seen either team take home the three points.
The match was high on quality and intensity as you would expect with a first verses third clash. The first half played out evenly for the most part, though at times Kanwal looked the more likely to convert, creating opportunities and throwing numbers forward in a very attacking formation.
Terrigal defended well and managed to thwart a number of chances created by Kanwal, Hayley Green and Grace Heinemann in particular looking dangerous in the top third.
The score remained even at the halftime break and both teams came out firing. Kanwal took an early opportunity on goal, narrowly missing and hoping to build early momentum.
Both sides enjoyed periods of dominance, but neither was able to take advantage due to good defending. However, from the 60th minute, Terrigal began to hit their straps, creating opportunities both centrally and out wide, now demonstrating their usual dangerous forward play.
Terrigal continued to persevere and were rewarded in the 79th minute, after tenacious striker Indianna Moyes beat her defender in a surging run down the left-hand side, crossing a perfectly weighted ball onto the boot of strike partner Gab Blanch, who slotted home for the first goal of the day.
Kanwal were eager to find an equaliser and made Terrigal work for the points, whilst Terrigal fought hard to increase their lead with many chances created but to no avail. The final whilst blowing with Terrigal taking all three points back home.
“Full credit to Terrigal today. They are a well-drilled team that just keep chipping away at you all game,” voiced Ben Raychaudhuri.
“I’m so proud of my girls today. We played with high intensity and on another day the result may have been different. The top teams are there because they take their chances, and we need to be better on that front if we want to compete.”
Gab Blanch also spoke post-match as her side now have a short turnaround. “Tough game for us today. The washout last week did us no favours and we were rusty from the start. Kanwal capitalised and were good, really good. We were lucky not to concede on a few occasions and they really threw everything at us for 70% of the game.”
“I guess we are lucky to be able to rely on our fitness and squad depth, with a few injuries railroading our plans today. Well done to Ben and the Kanwal girls on a competitive, fair game of football. Happy to take another six points, but back to basics for us as we prepare for another tough one on Wednesday night.”
Match Official – Con Pantos
Golden Boot Standings –
| 23 | Tahlor Thackray (East Gosford) |
| 18 | Jordan Evans (Kanwal) |
| 15 | Kayla Vanderfield (East Gosford) |
| 14 | Kelly Hogan (East Gosford) |
| 12 | Gabrielle Blanch (Terrigal) |
| 10 | Kate Styles (Umina) |
| 9 | Candice Phelan (Terrigal), Chelsea Campbell (Umina) |
Points Table –
Club Championship –
