East Gosford 1 – 0 Umina
Only one goal separated these two sides from their evenly matched contest this past Sunday as the reigning Premiers season is now over as East Gosford make club history and advance to their first WPL Grand Final.
With their W14s and W16s winning their respective Grand Finals earlier that day, the East Gosford WPL Squad was eager to make history when they stepped on the pitch Sunday afternoon against the E-Gals.
East Gosford knew they were going to face a very strong Umina team that would come out firing in the opening stages of the contest as they have been a powerhouse within the competition for the past few years, especially when it comes to finals.
Both teams started the game strong, looking to settle into their own rhythm, However, East Gosford were dealt an early blow when their experienced midfielder Lucy Metcalfe fractured two of her ribs from a tackle inside the opening ten minutes and was forced to leave the game and seek further treatment at the hospital.
This forced Jorge Chavez to make unforeseen changes for the second straight week as the Rams changed tactics and formation to suit their available players.
Nonetheless, East Gosford remained resolute as they continued to fight and work for each other which paid off for them when they were awarded a penalty after Maddy Yates was taken out from behind inside the opposition box.
The confident and clinical Tahlor Thackray stepped up for her side from the six-yard spot and buried her opportunity to give the Rams a crucial 1-0 lead which they carried into the halftime break.
Having been victim to a second-half comeback from Umina earlier in the year, East Gosford were well aware that Steve Donaldson and his squad with give everything they had with their season on the line in the final 45 minutes.
Umina created numerous chances to equalise in the second period but player of the match, East Gosford’s goalkeeper Narissa Dolbel, produced a handful of fantastic saves to ensure her side would keep a clean sheet and in return progress to their first Grand Final.
“Not our night. Not our year,” voiced Steve Donaldson.
“Definitely watched both teams play better football. But a hard way to go out from a dubious penalty. It evened up in the second when the ref waved away a certain penalty for East Gosford. But we just let too many chances slip. One of those games.”
“Massive thanks to all my players, coaches, committee and families over the years. Five years in this comp has taken its toll. But we’ve come a long way with our club putting ourselves at the top and winning it all last season. Was always going to be difficult going three in a row.”
Steve also spoke on the opposition, “Massive congratulations to Jorge and the team. They deserved it even more after losing Lucy early on and still getting the result. It feels sort of right to leave this competition losing to the likes of the Thackray’s, Metcalfe’s, and Bryant’s. We’ve shared some quality games over the years, so I wish them the best next week and my best wishes to Lucy as well.”
An extremely proud Jorge Chavez also spoke post-match. “Words can’t express how proud I am of our squad. We have had key players out all year and it’s always been the next person in to do their job and the finals series has been no different with losing our captain Jacinta against Terrigal and our vice-captain Lucy this week. Credit to the girls who stepped in and did the job, it just shows the type of team we have this year.”
“We are super excited to make history yet again this year, this is our WPL first grand final for the club in their sixty-year history, the girls are super pumped for that, and we are just looking forward to having another crack at Terrigal. Terrigal have gone the season undefeated and should come in as favourites. Sometimes the week off can be good and bad for you.”
Jorge also spoke on the League Champions who he will now meet again in the Grand Final. “I know Terrigal will have some suspended players this weekend and will have to change their structure. I look forward to the challenge, they are still going to be a quality outfit on the park, we just need to be ready to do what we need to do and hopefully, we can get the win and further create history.”
Match Official – Laura Hockings