Round 11 Review – State League Women’s
In another intriguing round of football in the Women’s State League Western NSW Mariners FC welcomed bottom placed Parramatta FC while Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC hosted St George FC and top of the table APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC hosted second placed SD Raiders FC in the late kick off.
Match of the Round
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC vs SD Raiders FC
In the late kick-off, top of the table APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC hosted second placed SD Raiders FC in a game that promised much excitement.
The game did not disappoint as APIA ran out 5-3 winners in a game which had it all, including three dismissals.
In cold condition, APIA started the brighter of the two teams as they looked to press and dominate possession from the outset.
The Raiders though held strong as they soaked up the early APIA pressure.
The first chance of the match though did fall to APIA as Christina Ferreyra dragged her shot wide of the far post after being slid in.
Against the run of play the Raiders took the lead in the 10th minute a APIA were made to pay for their inability to convert their possession into goal scoring opportunities.
Dominique Caridad slotted a free kick past APIA goalkeeper Courtney Halpin as the Raiders found themselves 1-0 up. The goal instilled a new-found confidence within the Raiders team as they began to slowly dominate play. APIA though still posed a threat as Ferreyra did slot one home only to be called back for offside.
In the 30th minute the game got even better for the Raiders as they found themselves 2-0 up after breaking quickly Caterina Moio ran onto the threw ball and lobbed it over the onrushing APIA keeper Halpin.
The Raiders were in dream land as they could not have asked for a better start to the game.
The game though quickly was turned on its head as a few minutes later APIA were awarded a penalty after Brooke Hankin was shown a straight red card for the Raiders after she deliberately stopped a shot with her hand.
Dana Buttigieg stepped up to dispatch the penalty clinically as APIA halved the deficit. In a moment of madness though by Buttigieg she gestured a hand signal towards the referee after scoring the penalty and was shown her second yellow card.
The first half drama though was not finished there as a couple of minutes later APIA pulled level as Lucy Gilfedder followed up a shot which came back off the post to slot into an open net.
The second half started much like the first as APIA looked to gain the early ascendency. They were rewarded as in the 50th minute Gilfedder grabbed her second after running onto a threw ball and calmly placing it into the corner.
APIA continued to create the better chances as the second half wore on as they went looking for a fourth which duly arrived in the 60th minute Nicole Carmichael slotted a shot into the far corner after another lightening break from the APIA team.
APIA were unlucky not to surge further ahead a couple of minutes later as a slip by the Raiders defender allowed Carmichael in again before a great covering block denied APIA a fifth.
Things though did get worse for the Raiders as Courtney Krope was given her second yellow of the match to leave the Raiders with 9. To the Raiders credit though they did not throw in the towel and in the 69th minute reduced the deficit back to 4-3 as Nicole Monti scrambled home a free kick to give the Raiders hope of an unlikely fightback.
This hope though was short lived as APIA barely a minute later scored a 5th as Ferreyra finally got her name on the scoresheet after she expertly chipped her effort past Rhianna Muscat in the Raiders goal. That seemed to take the steam out of the Raiders as APIA came close to a sixth but in the end had to settle for a 5-3 victory.
APIA coach Matteo Maiorana was proud of the fight his team showed to come back from 2-0 down.
“Being 2-0 down and to come back and score 4 unanswered goals shows we aren’t just a good footballing team but tonight proved we have the right attitude to fight when our backs were against the wall”.
SD Raiders coach Catherine Cannuli conceded her team just simply ran out of legs especially in the second half as the two red cards made it all the more difficult to contain a clinical APIA outfit.
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 5 (Dana Buttigieg 33’, Lucy Gilfedder 36’,50’, Nicole Carmichael 60’, Christina Ferreyra 70’)
SD Raiders FC 3 (Dominique Caridad 10’, Caterina Moio 30’, Nicole Monti 69’)
Sunday 18th of June 7pm, Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC: 16.Jennifer Bennett, 3.Dana Buttigieg, 8.Carla Canini, 22.Nicole Carmichael(43.Schuman Tiake), 5.Olivia Cicco(34.Kim Cozens 77’),9.Christine Ferreyra, 6.Lucy Gilfedder(20.Gillian Raymond 71’) , 2.Stephanie Granville-Fyfe, 1.Courtney Halpin, 12.Madeline Latham(38.Sarah Urquhart 74’), 4.Samantha Scarlato
Substitutes not used: 29. Dione King
Yellow/Red Cards: 3. Dana Buttigieg 26’,34’
SD Raiders FC:10.Dominique Caridad, 22.Stephanie Conejeros Berjerie, 14.Brooke Hankin, 26.Natalia Ignjatovic, 15.Courtney Krope, 11.Caterina Moio(12.Cara Forns 89’), 5.Nicole Monti, 1.Rhianna Muscat, 7.Jami-Lee Mussett, 33.Helena Ngauora(2.Sarah Bittner 75’),54.Lara White
Substitutes not used: 29. Zoe Whyte, 8. Sheer Bryant
Yellow/Red Cards; 15.Courtney Krope 40’,64’, 5.Nicole Monti 61’
Western NSW Mariners FC 16 ( Sarah Colman, Teegan Courtney x2, Larissa Kilby, Chloe Lanham, Poorsha Mcphillamy, Annabel Meadley x2, Cuscal Rue x3, Jessica Salomoni x2, Kallie Sargent x3)
Parramatta FC 0
In what was always going to prove a tough test for the bottom placed Parramatta FC the Mariners completed a 16-0 rout.
In a game where Parramatta struggled to keep up with the rampant Mariners they were made to pay for their mistakes as the Mariners utilized their pace and power especially out wide.
Cuscal Rue and Kallie Sargent each helped themselves to hat-tricks as the Mariners shared the goals between 9 different scorers .
The win continues the Mariners strong run of form as they find themselves well entrenched inside the top 4.
Mariners coach Jason Payne while happy with the three points is aware of the much tougher tests which are still to follow if his team are to secure a top 4 berth.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 2
St George FC 4 ( Amy Bennet x2, Lauren Gardner, Antonia Sarikakis)
In what was a game of two halves St George FC raced out to a 4-0 half-time lead as 2 goals within the first 10 minutes had St George threatening to run riot over Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC.
Amy Bennet helped herself to a first half double as the pace and quickness of movement of St George overwhelmed Mt Druitt as they were mad to pay for their defensive lapses.
The second half though was a different story as Mt Druitt threw causation to the wind and threatened to make a remarkable come-back as Stephanie Trovato halved the deficit with 2 second half strikes.
St George though held on for a much needed three points as they look to keep pace with the top four.
St George coach Carlo Tini was especially pleased with his team’s first half as they stuck to the game plan. Mt Druitt coach Danny Abboud was rightly frustrated as his team was punished for a slow and lackluster first half.
