Women?s Super League Round 1 Finals Series Review
Women?s Super League writer Pete Nowakowski reviews the weekend?s actions from Mills Park and David Phillips Field, which played host to the minor and major semi finals of the competition.
Minor Semi Final: Northern Tigers v Southern Districts
With the sun starting to set and a cool breeze settling in over Asquith, Northern Tigers played host to Southern Districts in what was set to become a midfield heavy and fiery affair between third and fourth placed teams on the ladder.
The opening ten minutes sadly provided little entertainment for those on the sidelines as both sides looked to get control of the ball and hold possession. It was the physical strength of Districts? squad which was always going to cause problems for the technically gifted and well disciplined Tigers squad.
Despite there being many battles across the pitch between the two rival clubs, arguably the biggest and most prominent was that between Districts? right midfielder Willow Shorrocks and Northern Tigers left back, Kim Skellern. Thanks to Willow?s ability to turn players inside contrasted against Kim?s willingness to go into any challenge to win the ball meant that for the full 90 minutes, there was always something happening between the two footballers.
By the half hour mark, both sides had settled into proceedings with an equal amount of shots on target with Districts being quite simply unlucky to not having gone in front thanks to some amazing play between Sheree Bryant and Justine McLaughlin.
Against the run of play though, Tigers left back, Kim Skellern found herself in unfamiliar territory after managing to beat two defenders to get to the edge of the 18 yard box. As the crowd shouted ?take a shot!?, the unselfish and humble player passed the ball to her side to a natural goal scorer in Tarni Black who blasted the ball over the goal in true Sergio Ramos fashion.
At the break, the scores were locked at 0-0 however, thanks to a pep talk from their coaches, Northern Tigers and Southern Districts approached the second half with a new mind-set. They needed to score early and be hungrier to get the ball.
Just a handful of minutes after the restart, Gab Dal Pozzo make one of her signature runs down the right flank, cutting the ball and weaving her magic around the defenders in her way. As a ball was played into space across the face of goal, it was Ellana Balicki who had made a late run into the box who was on hand to knock the ball into the back of the net. That goal ending the draught for the striker who had been struggling to find the back of the net in recent weeks.
On the hour mark, a lapse in concentration from the Tigers? keeper, Jess Golledge meant that Southern Districts had a lifeline back in this game. From some way out from goal, Rachel Cowin took a shot, which curved in the wind making it tough to predict where the ball would finish up. A poor judgement from the Tigers meant that the scores were level once more with a goal a piece.
The remaining half hour was filled with end-to-end football, which provided plenty of nail biting, edge of your seat entertainment and even heart stopping moments as both sides went in search of a winner. As the seconds ticked by, extra time was looking more and more inevitable.
The full time whistle blew. The coaches pulled their squads to the side, made a couple of substitutions and we were off on our journey to find out who would get a shot to play off next weekend for a spot in the 2012 Women?s Super League Grand Final.
The winning goal came from Northern Tigers? midfielder come striker, Ellana Balicki in the 104th minute of play who scored a cracking free kick over the defensive wall, past the keeper and achieved the ideal ?swish? sound as the ball hit the back of the net. The Tigers girls celebrated like they had won the FIFA World Cup. There is no doubt their cheers could be heard miles away from Mills Park.
Having secured a 2-1 win over Southern Districts at Mills Park, the Tigers have earned themselves the right to play against the loser between UNSW Lions and Southern Branch next weekend.
Full list of Minor Semi Final fixtures at Mills Park on Saturday:
Grade 12 ? Western NSW Mariners 0 ? 1 St. George FC
Grade 14 ? Parramatta Lady Hawks 3 ? 0 Sydney Olympic
Grade 16 ? Nepean FC 0 ? 1 Northern Tigers
Reserve Grade ? Northern Tigers 2 ? 2 Southern Branch (Tigers win 4-1 on penalties)
First Grade ? Northern Tigers 1 ? 1 Southern Districts (Tigers win 2-1 in extra time)
Major Semi Final: Eastern UNSW Lions v Southern Branch
David Phillips Field played host to one of the biggest grudge matches of the season as the newly crowned Premiers of the competition, Eastern UNSW Lions took on Southern Branch for a place in the 2012 NSW Women?s Super League Grand Final.
From the kick off, Branch were hungry for an early goal. The determination on their faces and the quality of shots in the opening few minutes was proof that Southern Branch wanted to win today and wanted to win convincingly.
The opening ten minutes saw first Ange Graham from Southern Branch hit the crossbar after some lovely build up play from the travelling side followed by Ayse Adalis attempting an audacious curling cross come shot also glance off the woodwork. The ?Ooo?s and ?Aaahhh?s from the sidelines added to the theatrics of the shots on goal.
It was the youngster, Maddie Jo Costanzo who was to draw first blood in this fixture as the Southern Branch attacking midfielder made a darting run down the right flank, beating two defenders along the way before lifting the ball over the top of UNSW?s keeper to give her side the lead.
Just one minute later and Southern Branch had doubled their lead, this time through Ange Graham. A brilliantly worked goal from the Branch girls who were hungrier to keep the ball in the final third of play meant that the tall centre forward was on hand to knock the ball into the back of the net.
Within 20 minutes, Branch had pulled apart UNSW?s game plan and were 2-0 up. Things were looking food for the travelling side.
Before the break, UNSW Lions were awarded a lifeline in the form of a penalty after their key player; Ayse Adalis was brought down inside the box. With nerves of steel, it was Adalis who stepped up to take the kick, placing the ball perfectly out of the keeper?s reach in the bottom left corner of the goal.
After the restart, it was business as usual for both sides as Branch looked to increase their lead and UNSW Lions continued to play their long ball tactic to the forward line in search of an equaliser.
By the 58th minute, a moment of glory happened on the half way line. In what should be considered as goal of the season, Ayse Adalis volleyed a stray ball straight over the Southern Branch?s goalkeeper?s head and into the back of the net. A stroke of luck to get the scores level at 2-2 with half an hour left to play.
The final 15 minutes of the match was definitely intense with both sets of coaches unable to sit down due to the pressure and desperation to win. And then the goal that changed everything happened.
77th minute. Ayse Adalis. Goal. There was an roar from the home supporters, most notably from the girls from UNSW?s reserve grade squad as well as previous players who had come to cheer on the Lions. For the first time all game, UNSW Lions were in front ad had the mental strength to hold strong and claim a 3-2 win over Southern Branch across the 90 minutes.
Despite the loss, the girls from Southern Branch were definitely proud of their performances and simply claim that UNSW were the luckier of the two sides. With a game against Northern Tigers next weekend, Southern Branch will need to work hard during the week on finishing off a game sooner rather than taking their foot off the pedal when in front.
For Eastern UNSW Lions, first a Premiership and now a Grand Final. The squad couldn?t be happier with the result however with plenty of heart stopping moments, the coaching team at the Lions have asked the girls to win early and not bring a game so closely to the wire again.
Full list of Major Semi Final fixtures at David Phillips Field on Sunday:
Grade 12 ? Northern Tigers 1 ? 0 Eastern UNSW Lions
Grade 14 ? Northern Tigers 1 ? 1 Southern Branch (Branch win 2-1 in extra time)
Grade 16 ? Southern Branch 4 ? 1 Western NSW Mariners
Reserve Grade ? Eastern UNSW Lions 1 ? 3 Parramatta Lady HAwks
First Grade ? Eastern UNSW Lions 3 ? 2 Southern Branch.
-By Peter Nowakowski
