Match of the Round
East Gosford 2 – 0 Terrigal
The highly anticipated round 13 match of the round saw East Gosford take all three crucial points from Terrigal, in what was a dominant first-half display that Terrigal could not recover from.
With the game forced to be moved to a neutral venue and an earlier kick-off time for the contest, both teams showed up with a few players missing from their usual starting eleven.
With both teams knowing the midfield battle was going to be key to who won this game, some tactical changes were evident come kick-off as Terrigal pushed Tahlor Thackray further up the field as a lone striker and the Rams played their experienced Grace Kay as a defensive midfielder.
As the game got underway it was obvious that East Gosford’s instructions were to press Terrigal high up the pitch and force turnovers in the opposition’s half.
This seemed to work well for the Rams as Terrigal struggled to find their rhythm early on in the contest and East Gosford were able to settle the nerves early on and play their usual possession style of football.
Jess Dominello thought she had found the opener when she riffled a shot into the top corner only to be denied by Terrigal’s goalkeeper Mackenzie Walker who produced a save-of-the-year contender to keep the scores level.
East Gosford once again managed to win the ball in the midfield and after some clever quick passing, Annika Hansen found Laura Mundy who finished well with her left foot to give the Rams the lead.
This moment saw East Gosford gain further momentum as Terrigal tried to claw back the deficit.
East Gosford struck again as Grace Kay overloaded, untracked, into the top third, burying her shot from just outside the box into the bottom left corner and making it 2-0 at the break.
Halftime saw the Rams shuffle some players around as they were forced to make substitutions at halftime.
Terrigal took the halftime break as an opportunity to reset and came out with more composure, continuing to create opportunities in the top third.
Terrigal looked extremely dangerous from set pieces, but Chloe Smith was not going to be beaten easily in between the sticks as the fill-in goalkeeper made a tremendous double save to keep her clean sheet intact.
It was a battle of two very strong midfield packs that played out for the majority of the first 90 minutes.
Sophie Piltz was strong in winning a lot of possession for Terrigal, whilst East Gosford’s Jess Dominello was busy in creating attacking opportunities for the Rams.
Tahlor Thackray looked dangerous at times, hitting the crossbar on occasions and combining well in Terrigal’s attack, a goal was just not to be as Terrigal recorded their first loss of the year.
An ecstatic Jorge Chavez vocalised his happiness after Sunday’s victory. “Super proud of the girls today, not just of the result but the way they went out there and played the style of football we are known for.”
“It’s the South American in me. We like to score goals, we like to go forward and attack, that’s what we did today. Same thing as last year when we scored over 100 goals, and we are on track to do that again this year.”
Chavez also added, “We stay humble knowing this is just one game against Terrigal and there is plenty more to come but it’s a big victory to give Terrigal their first loss of the season. We look forward to our next meeting, we know they are going to come back firing, they are a championship team, and we look forward to playing them at the end of the year.”
“Credit to the Rams today,” voiced Gab Blanch. “They wanted it way more than we did, their effort and energy got them over the line.”
“A good wake-up call for us, I’m looking forward to seeing how the players respond following a pretty disappointing first-half performance.”
Match Official – Stephen Wrightson
Woongarrah 2 – 0 Killarney
Woongarrah secured their first win of the 2024 season, defeating Killarney as the Terriers have taken a hit to their top four ambitions and now find themselves outside a finals spot after nine games played.
Heading into the weekend was always going to be a tough game for the Wildcats who entered the fixture with only 11 players available again.
Despite starting the contest with a bare eleven, Kaine Harmsworth’s side were confident and determined to overturn their last meeting with the Terriers who beat them 4-0.
The majority of the fixture saw a scrappy contest with lots of turnovers and uncontrolled possession from both sides, but it would be Woongarrah who best converted their chances when they arrived which made all the difference.
From early on both teams showed plenty of attacking prowess but wayward finishing denied either time to take an early lead.
However, the chances continued to come for the home side. After a few misses, Kelly Hogan made no mistake on her third rebound, slamming the ball into the back of the net to give Woongarrah a valuable 1-0 lead after the opening 45 minutes.
Half-time in the Woongarrah shed was relaxed considering they had no substitutes available, but the girls were confident to grab the three points that had eluded them in the last few weeks.
Killarney came out determined to level the score, but a young resolute Woongarrah backline held strong and was able to dissolve multiple attacking raids from the opposition.
As Killarney continued to push, they also continued to tire as Woongarrah now had the upper hand and started to dominate the field position.
After a missed opportunity that Woongarrah thought they had doubled their lead, Kiarna Johnson made no mistake with her chance as she was able to make a great run and beat the Killarney keeper for her first goal of the season.
With time still to play, Killarney tried their best to salvage anything from the contest but the defensive effort from the home side was faultless as the Wildcats secured a 2-0 win.
“We created attacking chances in our moments and weren’t clinical when it mattered. The main point is that we stay together, we learn and focus on the next job at hand,” spoke Killarney’s Jai Menser.
Match Official – Andrew Parsons
Kanwal 2 – 1 Umina
Wadalba Sports Complex hosted a Premier League double header this past Saturday night as the Bulls WPL side secured their fourth win of the year, putting them on equal points as third place to end round 13.
Coming off a disappointing loss the Saturday night before, a determined Umina pushed from the start, but Kanwal’s defence held strong with their keeper sitting higher and picking up any long ball.
Umina continued their fast to the contest but were nearly caught off guard on multiple occasions as the home side looked to hit the opposition on the counter.
A free kick just outside the 18-yard box saw Kanwal’s Hayley Green step up and placed a magnificent shot in the corner to give the Bulls a vital 1-0 lead.
However, Umina were able to get back on level terms before the halftime break after a defensive collapse saw the E-Gals get in behind and score an equaliser to take the game to 1-1 after the opening 45 minutes.
The halftime talk from Kanwal was extremely positive as they mentioned to keep the defence strong and work hard on the counterattack and the chances will come.
Umina once again controlled the majority of the play in the second period, creating a wealth of chances but were unable to find the back of the net for the second time which would come back to haunt them.
With roughly 15 minutes left to play to go Kanwal received another free kick in a dangerous position. Player-coach Jen Tatum stepped up for her side and placed the ball in the top corner to reinstate Kanwal’s lead.
Intent on leaving Wadalba with something to show for their game, Umina kept pushing in search of an equaliser but once again couldn’t make the most of their opportunities when presented as they were forced to leave with no points to their name.
Tatum reflected on the win post-match. “We were under pressure most of the game, but we believe in our defence and squad that if we can hold them out we can push forward and get the goals we need. Keep believing and the wins we come.”
Umina’s Michael Penn also spoke after the game. “This game turned out to be ninety minutes of frustration for us. It’s hard to comprehend that a team can have nearly thirty shots on goal, only score once and lose the game.”
“We dominated the game but were unable to hit the back of the net from all the chances we created.”
“I’m full of praise for the effort and never give up attitude from my players. If there’s anything we can take away from this game it’s that we prevented Kanwal from scoring from open play and despite still not having a full first-grade team we’ve shown that we can still be competitive.”
Match Official – Matt Harper
Golden Boot Standings –
| 13 | Jessica Dominello (East Gosford) |
| 12 | Laura Mundy (East Gosford) |
| 11 | Kelly Hogan (Woongarrah) |
| 9 | Kate Styles (Umina) |
| 6 | Madelene Yates (Terrigal), Charlotte Heath (Kincumber) |
Points Table –
Division 1
Round 13 Results –
Points Table –
