Women’s Super League Round 6 Review
For the first time in four years, the Saints managed to get a win in both reserve and first grade, a feat the club are rather proud of. Northern Tigers slipped up at Melita Stadium whilst UNSW and Southern Branch continue to fight it out at the top of the ladder.
St. George FC 3 ? 1 Southern District
Kicking off at the historic location of St. George Stadium were two sides who had completely different starts to their seasons. St. George having signed some very talented footballers in the last few weeks showed off their skill and ability to counter quickly as they went on to beat Southern Districts in just their second win of the season.
Just six minutes into the game, the first real shot was fired on target producing the first goal of the game. The Saints? Pure Pearson was played into acres of space down the right flank as she went one on one with Districts? goalkeeper. Pearson spotted the far side of the goal, blasting the ball into the top corner to set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Saints continued attempted to double their lead in the 14th minute through the fancy footwork of Melissa Toumbelekis. Her should could have and probably should have ended up in the back of the next as her slipped past a flat footed Southern Districts defence.
As the minutes ticked by, the tackles started to fly in with Southern Districts? A. Hand earning herself a yellow card in the 19th minute for a heavy challenge on a St George midfielder. Hand felt that the free kick should have gone in her favour after a nudge, however retaliation is always worse than the initial challenge.
Prue Pearson got her name in the referee?s book on the half hour mark for kicking the ball away after an offside decision had been made. A silly decision by the home side?s striker however she knew she was in the wrong instantly trying to make up for her actions with two more shots on goal before the break.
Without L. Movabito between the posts for Southern Districts, the travelling side could have easily have been 2-0 down just before the referee called half time. Again it was Toumbelekis who was left unmarked in the front third leaving her one-on-one with the ?keeper. The onrushing keeper produced a save worthy of most W-League sides injuring herself in the process.
With the score locked at 1-0, St. George were the happier of the two sides as they entered the change rooms for a pep talk. Southern Districts however knew that they had to score early in the second half to stay in the game.
Just five minutes after the restart, Jess Carosi made it 2-0 for the Saints after some fantastic build up play. With that goal the heads of every Districts player slowly began to sink as they knew their task of getting at least a point became a lot more difficult.
With 55 minutes played, Districts managed to string a handful of passes together on the edge of the box as their centre midfielder A. Gauthier scored a wonderful goal to give her side a lifeline. 2-1.
Willow Shorrocks almost brought the game level with a free kick from 35 yards out. The ball rebounded off the crossbar and somehow landed in the hands of Saints ?keeper Adriana Maras in the 65th minute. If the away side did score the goal, there is no doubt that they would have had the momentum to go on and possibly win the game however lady luck was not cheering for Districts today it seemed.
Before the referee was about to blow for the end of the game, there was enough time for Saints to have one last attack. A simply stunning one-two between Alana Humphries and Vanessa Stanton meant that the goal had opened up for Humphries to calmly slot the ball home and round off a solid performance by the home side.
With this win, the home side are high on morale as they face the daunting trip up to Mills Park next Sunday to take on Northern Tigers. Southern Districts will take the week to rebuild and rethink some tactics as they welcome Sydney Olympic to Ernie Smith Reserve in what should be an absolute cracker of a match.
Western NSW Mariners 2 ? 0 Sydney Olympic
Western NSW Mariners have hit their stride with their second win of the season moving the home side up to fifth on the ladder. A 2-0 win was exactly what the squad needed with who else but Kelsey Tuttle adding another goal to her name. Sydney Olympic had the long trip back to Sydney having scored just two goals across all age groups, something the club needs to work on this week if they don?t want to slip further down the ladder.
Eastern UNSW Lions 5 ? 2 Nepean FC
UNSW Lions were in complete control at David Phillips Field with Ayse Adalis grabbing two goals to add to her goal tally as she looks to win the golden boot award for the second year in a row. Rebecah Ericksen and M Petshy both got a goal each for UNSW as well as an own goal by a Nepean defender to ensure a much needed three points. Nepean can be happy that they did get two goals though, an achievement which not many sides can boast about.
Southern Branch 6 ? 2 APIA Leichhardt Tigers
Completely dominant would be the best way to describe Southern Branch?s performance against APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Ison Park. With five different scorers getting their names on the scoresheet, Branch have shown once again why they are so strong across the entire park and not relying on one or two players to win them games.
Parramatta Lady Hawks 2 ? 0 Northern Tigers
For the second time in as many weeks, Northern Tigers slumped to a 2-0 loss against a physically stronger side. Parramatta Lady Hawks have made Melita Stadium a fortress of sorts in recent times as the club continue their push for a top spot in the 2012 Super League season.
RESERVE GRADE
A goal just before the break by Gemma Brennan was enough for St. George to get a 1-0 win over Southern Districts at St. George Stadium. The match from start to finish was end to end with entertainment with Southern Districts disappointed to not get a sneaky goal towards full time to at least secure a point away from home.
Western NSW Mariners claimed yet another win after a strong 2-1 performance over Sydney Olympic. The Parramatta Lady Hawks were dominant against Northern Tigers as they continue to challenge for top spot on the ladder, a 2-1 win at Melita Stadium was exactly what the squad needed. UNSW Lions ran riot over Nepean FC with a 4-0 win whilst Southern Branch put five goals past APIA Leichhardt Tigers in a clear 5-0 win at home.
-By Peter Nowakowski
