Finals Series Round 2 Review – State League Women’s

The Grand Final is set and it will be between APIA Leichhardt Tigers and SD Raiders after the latter recorded a tense 3-2 victory tonight at Valentine Sports Park.
Preliminary Final: SD Raiders 3 defeated WNSW Mariners 2
A sublime first half performance was enough for SD Raiders as they held off a fast finishing Western NSW Mariners to move into the Grand Final next weekend.
These two sides traded draws in the regular season and this replicated in the opening ten minutes of the contest as they cancelled each other out with no clear shots.
Once the contest settled down though, SD Raiders took control of the contest down either wing. Caterina Moio’s overlapping runs was causing troubles for the Mariners defense.
Catherine Cannuli found the striker was a precise pass which allowed her to glide into the box and finish underneath Mariners keeper Jessica Daymond for the first goal.
Next it was Dominique Caridad who stole a ball deep in the Mariners area and put a delightful cross for Moio to nod over.
Mariners worked their way back into the contest though and responded through Samantha Wood. An incisive passing movement gave Wood space to sweep home for 1-1.
This led to a good period of play for the Western NSW side as Teegan Courtney and Kristy Collingridge had chances but put them wide.
Mariners did put the ball in the back of the net after a scrambling effort but the sideline official had the flag up for offside so it was chalked off.
In the big games you need the experienced players to stand up and former W-League star Cannuli put a cap on the impressive first half from the Raiders.
From a diagonal ball, Cannuli burnt the defender before striding into the box and finishing well past Daymond for a 2-1 halftime lead.
The lead wasn’t without it’s share of luck though, as Mariners hit the post deep in stoppage time as they surged for the equaliser.
The Raiders introduced Georgia Klapos at the interval and the tall striker had an instant impact on the contest. Her pressing forced an errant pass from the Mariners which she shoveled to Cannuli to make it 3-1.
Michael Godbier urged his Mariners side to not give up at the break and despite the early set back they continued to play their game and caught SD Raiders out for their second. 
Brianna Trappett introduced as a substitute for Jess Salomoni pounced on a defensive error to curve an effort home for 3-2 and a tense finish.
Western NSW continued to find space behind the Raiders defense as Alyssa Armstrong poked a weak effort at Karrinda Moodley.
Moodley played a huge part in preserving the lead for SD Raiders as she denied wave after wave of Mariners attack in the last half hour.
Kayla Steeden went closest as she fired an effort from the edge of the box which forced Moodley to tip over as the tension ramped up.
SD Raiders blushes were saved once again as the Mariners were denied by dogged defense on the line as the spot in the grand final beckoned.
Cannuli’s side would hold on and book their place in the grand final after two tough semi final matches.
Afterwards the SD Raiders coach was pleased with their first half effort. 
"We were the better team in the first half and were unlucky not to be 3-nil up. All eleven on the pitch played good football,"
We started to run out of breath [in the second half] and we needed to put more pressure on them. You learn from these mistakes though." Added Cannuli.
A deflated Michael Godbier was proud of his team’s achievements over the season despite the loss.
"Sport can be cruel sometimes. Much like last weekend we were fantastic in that second half," remarked Godbier.
"Even when we were 3-1 down we never gave up and we created 3-4 good opportunities that if they went the other way has us in the grand final." Finished the Mariners boss.
MATCH STATS
Western NSW Mariners 2 (Wood ’22 and Trappett ’60)
DAYMOND Jessica, ARMSTRONG Alyssa, PAKAI-KELLY Katie(LANHAM ’75), MEADLEY Annabel, COLLINGRIDGE Kristy, STEEDEN Kayla, GODBIER Kya, COURTNEY Teegan, WOOD Samantha, LLOYD Tayla and SALOMONI Jessica(TRAPPETT ’42)
Subs not used: COLMAN Sarah, JOHNSON Tara and MORRIS Sarah
SD Raiders 3 (Moio ’12 and Cannuli ’40 and ’49)
MOODLEY Karrinda, HAMMOUD Sasha, D’MELLO Sasha, MOIO Caterina, HANKIN Brooke, CARIDAD Dominique, MONTI Nicole(KLAPOS ’45), CANNULI Catherine, KROPE Courtney, CONEJEROS-BERJERIE Stephanie(MUSSETT ’88) and IGNJATovic Natalia
Subs not used: BITTNER Sarah and MUSCAT Rhianna
By Justin Davies, State League Women’s reporter