Women?s Premier League Round 11 Review
Momentum continued for some of the leading sides whilst others took a tumble; the second half of this year?s competition is certainly setting up for a grandstand finish in the lead up to the finals.
The synthetic pitch at Henley Athletic Field was the scene for the top of the table clash between Sydney University and Illawarra Stingrays. The team sheet listed an array of talented footballers in what promised to be an exciting fixture.
The game started briskly with both teams committed to attack. In the 5th minute, disaster struck for Illawarra when Talitha Kramer was injured. She was replaced by Laura Donnelly.
Sydney University had held the territorial advantage in the opening minutes. Whilst they hadn?t conjured up a shot at goal they did look decidedly dangerous. However, it was Illawarra who got the best opportunity when in the 8th minute the referee ruled a pass back by the University defence to goalkeeper Michelle Grigg. University were able to clear the danger but Illawarra pressed forward; the ball eventually bouncing to Ash Connor who put in a stunning shot to open the scoring.
Sydney University regrouped quickly with some good lead up work seeing Olivia Kennedy attack the line. When she was felled by an Illawarra defender University were awarded a free kick. The sweetly hit spot kick was brilliantly saved by a diving Dimi Poulos.
The ball then moved to the other end of the park where an Illawarra attacking movement forced a hand ball from a Sydney University defender. The referee pointed to the penalty spot from which Kim Bonilla converted to give Illawarra Stingrays a 2-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes.
This chain of events may have been enough to crush the spirit of many a side but, to Sydney University?s credit, they kept coming. Good combination by Sam Spackman and Erin Wilson saw University camped on the edge of the Illawarra box. The University girls couldn?t convert, however, soon finding themselves under pressure at their own end of the field.
Illawarra?s defending wasn?t totally convincing with hurried clearances that only resulted in a turnover of possession to the Sydney University side. Carlie Ikonomou did release a bomb from the edge of the semi circle but the ball flew straight to Stingrays keeper Poulos. Unfortunately the Sydney University shots were coming from distance as they struggled to get through the Illawarra defence. The Stingrays looked lethal whenever they moved forward; a Kim Bonilla strike bringing a diving save from University keeper Michelle Grigg who then held on to the resulting corner as it came high into the goalmouth.
Sydney University were not playing poorly. There was plenty of effort in their work, with their attack showing promise. But they lacked the quality of Illawarra, especially in the final third.
In the 35th minute a high ball into the Sydney University goal mouth saw a mass of bodies leaping to the ball. Just as Kim Bonilla looked likely to score keeper Michelle Grigg managed to get enough on the ball to send it wide of goal.
Kennedy and Kimber combined soon after to spring University into attack. As Kimber went through on Kennedy?s pass she turned back inside and attempted a shot. The ball skewed across the box before being cleared by the Illawarra defence.
However, Sydney University were vulnerable to Illawarra?s quick transition. In the 38th minute Stingrays keeper Poulos leapt high to take a University cross before sending the ball upfield. Hesitancy in the University defence saw Kim Bonilla win the ball before slotting a classy finish past University keeper Grigg. At 3-0 to The Stingrays it looked like this match was all over.
University almost pulled one back soon after when the ball fell to Jenna Kingsley in front of the Illawarra goal but Poulos was once again equal to the task, pulling off a magnificent save.
In the 43rd minute Illawarra won a corner which was met at the back post by a Michelle Carney header. Somehow the ball stayed out but nearly ended up in the goal anyway after a goalmouth melee. Michelle Grigg eventually dived on the ball inches from the line to save the day.
Right on half time Illawarra?s Ash Connor was yellow carded after a foul.
The half time score saw Illawarra leading 3-0.
At the break Sydney University substituted Caitlin Jarvie with Lauren Mahoney.
The change nearly brought immediate dividends as Mahoney was involved in the lead up to an opportunity for Jenna Kingsley. The ball was centred from the right with Kingsley trying to head the ball past Dimi Poulos. Whilst the chance was missed a hint of handball against an Illawarra defender went unheeded by the referee.
Sydney University had come out fired up for the second half, throwing everything at Illawarra as the home side tried to find a way back into the match.
Moments later Michelle Heyman received a yellow card.
Jenna Kingsley and Olivia Kennedy both had shots for University, Kingsley being blocked by Caitlin Danyi and Kennedy?s going wide of goal.
In the 57th minute Michelle Heyman made a long run out of defence. The W League star saw Michelle Grigg off her line in the Sydney University goal and launched a chip shot from about 30 metres out of goal. The shot looked destined for the back of the net but hit the cross bar before bouncing away.
In the 64th minute Sydney University replaced Hannah Kimber with Heidi Van Weeren.
Michelle Carney and Michelle Heyman combined well to release Heyman into space inside the 18 yard box. Heyman had only University keeper Grigg to beat but a great diving save by the keeper saved the day. Grigg couldn?t hold the ball though and Heyman tried to tap away the rebound only to see the ball cleared off the line by a Sydney University defender.
Sydney University had done most of the attacking in this half but had nothing to show for their hard work. University advanced on goal again but both Kennedy and Kingsley seemed reluctant to shoot until Kingsley timid strike rolled harmlessly to keeper Poulos.
In the 72nd minute Sydney University?s persistence finally paid off when Aleisha Clifford received the ball just outside the Illawarra penalty area. Clifford?s clean, whirling shot beat a leaping Dimi Poulos to find the top right hand corner of the net. The score was now 3-1 to Illawarra and Sydney University were surging.
Lauren Mahoney was proving a thorn in the side of The Stingrays with some incisive runs. Unfortunately her good work was not being capitalised on in front of goal. A Jenna Kingsley shot brought a diving save from Poulos who almost bobbled the ball back into her own goal.
The crowd were certainly getting into the match with the University contingent encouraging their girls at every opportunity. However, against the run of play Illawarra replied with Ash Connor scoring her second goal with a fine strike to make the score 4-1.
Connor went down heavily soon after, then being replaced by Zoeie Redman.
The fourth goal, not surprisingly, appeared to take the sting out of the University side. Illawarra settled themselves, forcing Sydney University to take their chances from distance. Olivia Kennedy continued to look dangerous but was unable to find that elusive goal. Dimi Poulos was dominant in goal for Illawarra, using all her experience to keep University at bay.
As the floodlights came on for the final minutes of the match Caitlin Cooper blasted a shot from 20 metres only to be high and wide of target.
The final whistle blew with Illawarra Stingrays maintaining their competition lead after a 4-1 win.
Illawarra Captain Michelle Carney commented that she was very happy to see her side go through the first round of the competition undefeated.
Sydney University Captain Emma Schiller was disappointed but stated that her side were looking forward to their next game against the defending champions.
This was a good game of football. Illawarra blew the match open in the first 45 minutes. It was a long way back for the home side from 3-0 down but they didn?t lie down; giving The Stingrays plenty to think about with a sterling second half effort. The question still remains; is there any team in the competition who can beat Illawarra Stingrays?
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY 1 (A.Clifford 72m)
ILLAWARRA STINGRAYS 4 (A.Connor 10m/81m, K.Bonilla 15m/35m)
There were a lot of smiling faces at Ison Park yesterday when Southern Branch grabbed their first win of 2011 in defeating Blacktown Spartans 2-1.
Southern Branch took the lead in the 23rd minute of the first half through a goal to Under 16?s player Caitlyn Pattie. The 1-0 lead was still in place at half time with the second half turning into a real arm wrestle. Pattie looked to have secured Southern the three points when she scored again in the 70th minute but Blacktown caused some flutters amongst Southern Branch hearts when Bronwyn Jarvis scored with seven minutes remaining.
With the dulcet tones of Coach Shane Duffy urging them on the Southern Branch girls managed to hold on, causing some joyful scenes as the final whistle blew. Elation for Southern Branch; heartbreak for Blacktown Spartans.
Congratulations to the Southern Branch girls on this great result.
SOUTHERN BRANCH 2 (C.Pattie 23m/70m)
BLACKTOWN SPARTANS 1 (B.Jarvis 83m)
At Seymour Shaw Park the Marconi Stallions moved into second place on the competition table with a 2-0 win over Sutherland Shire.
The Stallions opened the scoring in the 26th minute through a strike by Renee Tomkins. Marconi maintained this lead into the break before Helen Petinos added their second goal eight minutes into the second half.
The Stallions were missing playmaker Trudy Camilleri and defender Lindsay Glohe but were too classy for a game Sutherland side.
SUTHERLAND SHIRE 0
MARCONI STALLIONS 2 (R.Tomkins 26m, H.Petinos 53m)
At Pluim Park Manly United FC made it two wins in a row when they scored a comprehensive 6-1 win over Central Coast FC.
Unfortunately I received only a list of goalscorers for this game; no times that the goals were scored or half time scores.
The win is certainly a boost for Manly who?ll be hoping to string some wins together at the beginning of the second round to bring them back into reckoning for a finals berth. The Manly performance was highlighted by a Liz Morison hat trick.
Central Coast tried hard but manly were simply too good.
CENTRAL COAST FC 1 (S.Bozanic)
MANLY UNITED FC 6 (L.Morison 3, G.Foster, T.Powell, K.Crawford)
There was a big upset at Concord Oval, where NWS Koalas were tipped out of the top four when they went down 2-0 to Inter Lions.
A gritty, gutsy performance by the Inter girls; resulting in their third consecutive win.
The two teams appeared evenly matched in the opening minutes of the game, with both sides creating shots at goal. In the 9th minute, young defender Kristi Pavlicevic won the ball from an attacking Koalas player. Pavlicevic raced downfield before, seeing Koalas keeper Lizzie Durack off her line, lobbing the ball from the half way line over the retreating keepers head and into the back of the net.
The Koalas then put on the pressure, and in the 12th minute looked certain to score when they beat the Inter defence only to see the shot fly over goal. Both teams battled to assert themselves. In the 19th minute Inter?s young Jess Martinez pounced on a long ball out of defence, only to have her shot blocked by a scrambling Koalas keeper.
In the 22nd minute, a Koalas shot at goal was punched into the air by Inter keeper Amanda Horafios. The keeper then attempted to kick the ball clear only to have it rebound off a Koalas attacker. Desperate work by Inter?s Nadia Hamson saved the day for the home side. In the dying minutes of the 1st half, Christie Ferreyra made two breaks for The Lions but both of her attempts at goal were saved by the Koalas keeper.
The 2nd half started with the Koalas attacking; apparently buoyed by the introduction of Katarina Kraft at the resumption. The first ten minutes was all Koalas. Inter?s defence was a force to be reckoned though, staving off every attack. As often occurs when one team dominates possession for an extended time, a goal came against the run of play with Inter?s Kristi Pavlicevic putting a classy ball through for Heidi Makrillos to score in the 58th minute.
The Koalas continued to attack, testing the Inter defence. Temika Wearing and Alex Smith continued with their outstanding performances for Inter, frustrating the opposition and shutting down their opportunities. A free kick by Inter?s Nadia Hamson was saved by the keeper before a Koalas counter attack saw them once again shoot wide. In the final ten minutes of the game The Koalas tried distance shots at goal but Inter were equal to the task. Brooke Starrett worked strongly on the right wing for the home team, helping the defence when needed as well as supplying plenty of attacking impetus. Ivana Bojanovic also worked hard in the midfield, often winning the ball and off loading it for the wings.
Coach Joe Baldacci has a new found spring in his step now that his side has found some form. I must say that Baldacci expressed confidence in his side?s ability to win this match during the week; confidence that was obviously well founded.
(Thank you to the Inter Lions Club for supplying this match report.)
INTER LIONS 2 (K.Pavlicevic 9m, H.Makrillos 58m)
NWS KOALAS 0
In Bathurst Macarthur Rams continued their recent run of goalscoring form with a comfortable 5-1 win over Western NSW Panthers.
The win took The Rams into the top four for the first time this season. Macarthur held a 3-0 lead at half time with new addition Kylie Ledbrook scoring first for the vistors in the 23rd minute. ?Deadly? Stephanie Haim added two before the break; one in the 32nd minute, the second right on the half time whistle.
In the second half Ledbrook completed her hat trick with goals in the 60th minute and 78th minute. The Matildas must have an abundance of midfield talent if they can afford to leave the Sydney FC Captain out of the World Cup squad. This was only Ledbrook’s second game back with Macarthur so she will get even better.
Western Panthers scored a consolation goal in the final minute to young Chloe Callaghan. The Panthers can take some consolation in the fact that they were beaten by the side everyone seems to be talking about as the Women?s Premier League moves into the second round.
WESTERN NSW PANTHERS 1 (C.Callaghan 89m)
MACARTHUR RAMS 5 K.Ledbrook 23m/60m/78m, S.Haim 32m/45m)
I love an upset result or two, though they can be coach killers for those involved. Whilst the competition has broken into two groups it?s obvious that plenty of the sides in the chasing pack are capable of testing the leading sides on a given day.
The Illawarra Stingrays have now opened up a seven point break on their nearest rivals, the Marconi Stallions and Macarthur Rams. Those two sides are only separated by one goal on goal difference. Two points further back are Sydney University and NWS Koalas with the former lying fourth on superior goal difference.
The rest of the pack is led by Manly United FC who are six points out of the top four. Sutherland Shire are just two points adrift in seventh spot.
We look forward to some more great football next weekend.
-By Ross Anderson
