Match of the Round
Terrigal 1 – 0 Kincumber
On an almost unplayable Duffys Oval, Terrigal managed to overcome a stubborn Kincumber outfit to be crowned League Champions for 2024.
It was evident from kick-off that Kincumber would not give up this match without a good fight.
Terrigal found it hard to play their usual possession-based football, with the pitch surface being made up of mostly mud and not a lot of grass, whilst Kincumber worked tirelessly in defence in an attempt to keep a clean sheet.
The entire first half played out without a goal, with a few key moments where Terrigal just didn’t take the opportunities created.
It wasn’t until late in the second half that Terrigal really brought their next level of energy. With the introduction of some fresh attacking legs, a counterattack down the right-hand side of the pitch saw a perfect delivery into the box that would fall at the feet of Tahlor Thackray, who made no mistake in burying her shot into the roof of the net.
For the remaining minutes, Terrigal fought for a second and Kincumber remained strong in their defensive duties.
“We were certainly made to work for the three points today,” voiced Gab Blanch. “Kincumber have lived up to their dark horse status this year, and absolutely deserve their place in finals football.”
“Today was a frustrating one for us, in my opinion, Duffys is an unplayable surface and just doesn’t allow any level of quality football to be played.”
“Regardless, we scrapped, we persisted, and we stuck to our game plan to achieve the result. To win the league with two games remaining is a testament to the determination of our players. They deserve every accolade, and I know how pumped they are for finals football.”
John Jiggins spoke on his side and the opposition. “Despite losing, the Roos’ girls should hold their heads high as they pushed their much more fancied and credentialled rivals for every minute of their encounter.”
“While they all played well, none was better than powerful mid-fielder Nina Boije Af Gennas, who continually shut down the Tords attack through her commitment to close marking and a will to be first to the ball.”
“In recent encounters, the Roos have taken it to the Tords, and for much of this game, the teams looked evenly matched. No doubt if the Roo girls make the semi-finals, they will be just itching to have another crack at the Tords in season 2024!”
Match Official – Stephen Wrightson
Woongarrah 4 – 6 Kanwal
The third and final instalment of the local derby between rivals Woongarrah and Kanwal saw another high-scoring contest as the Bulls kept their Finals hopes alive.
It was a tremendous start by the home side who kept possession well for the opening 25 minutes which resulted in goal-scoring machine Kelly Hogan finding the back of the net twice for the opening goals of the contest to put Woongarrah 2-0 up.
This spurred the visitors on as Kanwal then started to move the ball around and had some very good chances which resulted in them halving the deficit with the first goal of the game coming from a great ball from Adina Hawkins for Grace Heinemann to fire it home.
Hayley Green was working extremely hard down the right side and got the reward with her first goal to take the game level at 2-2. Hayley Green soon after got her second when she was able to chip the keeper, and Kanwal went into halftime 3-2 up.
Woongarrah came out second half and were quickly able to find an equaliser as the game was level once again. With the game on a knife edge, Hayley Green stepped up for the Bulls and finished her hat-trick with another nice goal.
Kanwal didn’t stop there as they continued to push and dig deep which resulted in Molly Couch scoring a header. Kanwal finished the game with a beautiful goal from Tasharn Smith to record an impressive come-from-behind victory.
“I was very proud of the goals coming come from two goals down, showed a lot of passion and heart,” voiced Jen Tatum of Kanwal.
“We just ran out of legs, but the girls kept pushing themselves right to the final whistle. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our day.” Commented Kaine Harmsworth.
Match Official – Natalia Farrugia
East Gosford 3 – 1 Umina
Two teams with a long history went to battle this weekend as East Gosford got the best of Umina on this occasion, but these two teams could have another showdown come Finals.
Both teams tried to find their feet in the opening ten minutes and were able to create some chances at either end of the field. Jessica Dominello looked to keep her incredible goal-scoring return going but her early shot was saved well by the opposition goalkeeper.
At the other end, prolific goal scorer Kate Styles had a chance of her own but once again the goalkeeper came out on top to keep the scores level early in the contest.
Around the 15-minute mark East Gosford started to find their usual rhythm of keeping possession and building momentum as they limited Umina to only counter-attacking opportunities which the E-Gals did look dangerous when going forward.
The first goal of the day came from the home side as Laura Mundy had the first crack at goal which was saved, Dominello tried to follow that up with a shot of her own which was also saved as Noni Wheeler was able to score with the Rams third consecutive shot on goal to give them the lead.
The lead was then doubled when Dominello picked up the ball in the middle of the field, shooting outside the box for a goal-of-the-year contender to double East Gosford’s lead.
Two soon became three as Steph Hansen was able to dispossess the Umina attacker, from there she attacked the space into midfield, finding a pass to Brianna Green on the left flank who cut back and found Dominello who registered her second of the evening to make the score 3-0 at half time.
A determined Umina started to enjoy more time on the ball in the opening period of the second half, stringing passes together but it wasn’t long until the Rams once again took control.
However, a resolute backline from Umina limited the opposition’s chances in the second half. A swift counterattack from the E-Gals found Styles on the break who turned and evaded her defender to score Umina’s one and only goal as the match finished 3-1.
Jorge Chavez voiced his admiration of the opposition post-match. “I’m a huge admirer of the Umina girls and the coaching staff there have done well this year, they have some talent there that will be even better next year with the experience they have gained this season”
“Unfortunately for us, we have had a few unlucky draws, the last two games are going to be a bit of a dead rubber, it will be interesting to see how both teams turn up, we might rest a few players to make sure we are ready come Finals.”
Match Official – Michael Tohme
Golden Boot Standings –
| 22 | Jessica Dominello (East Gosford) |
| 19 | Kelly Hogan (Woongarrah) |
| 15 | Laura Mundy (East Gosford), Madelene Yates (Terrigal), Kate Styles (Umina) |
| 10 | Emma Hurley (East Gosford) |
| 9 | Charlotte Heath (Kincumber), Indiana Moyes (Terrigal) |
Points Table –
Divison 1
Round 18 Results –
Points Table –
