Final Series Week Three – National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Women’s Review
Twelve started, only two remain. We have our Grand Final set up after a wet n wild afternoon at Valentine Sports Park where SD Raiders and Central Coast Mariners did battle to see who challenged Sydney Olympic FC for the crown.
Preliminary Final: SD Raiders 1 defeated by Central Coast Mariners 2
Our Grand Final is set. Central Coast Mariners secured their passage with two well taken strikes to overcame SD Raiders 2-1 in a tough matchup tonight at a wet ‘n’ wild Valentine Sports Park #3.
The Mariners once again, did it the hard way. They conceded in the opening sixty seconds when Logan Garard slotted home but a pair of fantastic strikes – the first from Haylie Eyers in the first half then Iona Snape in the second – helped them make it first vs second in the Grand Final.
For SD Raiders. They fought valiantly through the season, but the south-west unit’s injuries caught up with them at the pointy end of the season. It was a wonderful first season in NPL2 Womens for them and now, they look to build onto next season.
Gloomy conditions greeted the two sides as the fans in attendance rugged up. They were barely comfortable before SD Raiders opened the scoring. They cut through the middle of the Mariners defense as Logan Garard pounced to make it 1-nil.
Looking to respond immediately, Mariners young tyro Iona Snape slipped free from her markers before she fired safely into SD Raiders custodian, Regan Hill’s gloves. A moment of quick transition almost brought them level as Yasemin Genc’s lunge almost directed into the net but fell safely.
They were level in the 15th minute. From a foul in the centre of the park, Haylie Eyers stepped up and lited her free-kick over everybody, including Hill, as the Mariners celebrated a wonderous strike that made things 1-1.
After the frantic opening to the contest, the game settled into a rhythm as the two midfields battled for control. Both Snape and SD Raiders’ Hannah Rose Davey had shots that were easily gathered as the game needed a spark to get it reignited.
Sophia Hamilton almost produced that for SD Raiders. The attacker glided into a pocket of space to unleash a powerful effort that Mariners keeper, Rhiannon Hines pushed over. From the resulted corner, Hamilton couldn’t turn the ball home as the half ended 1-1.
As the rain eased for the second half, Mariners found their rainbow through Snape. The diminutive striker cut past a defender, decided to break open the game herself and blasted an effort into the corner that made it 2-1 for the yellow and navy.
It was nearly double delight for the Mariners. They produced a good movement to cut open the SD Raiders defense then it fell kindly to speedster Jordan Evans, the striker couldn’t wrap her foot around the ball as the Raiders took a sharp intake of breath.
Matt Constantini rung the changes, looking to find a route back into the contest. Tara Bavdana was bright in her appearance, she fired wide in the 62nd minute before a desperate lunge from Georgia Davis denied her in the 70th as the SD Raiders continued to be frustrated.
The chances continued to pile up for SD Raiders. As the time ticked down, they opted for a more direct approach although their best chance came when Garard combined with Kasia Wojtowicz for the latter to direct a shot right at Hines.
SD Raiders continued to unlock the stubborn Mariners defense, that were first to every challenge but the closest came deep in stoppage time as a deep free-kick flicked past the post and signalled the end of the Raiders season.
For Central Coast Mariners, they worked hard and got their due reward in a shot at Grand Final glory against Sydney Olympic FC next weekend.
A joyous Mariners coach Dan Barrett reflected on the win and the challenge up ahead in his post-match comments.
“I am very proud of my team. We had to change some stuff at half-time to get back into the contest. Of course, I am happy with the victory but reality check, we haven’t won anything yet,”
“Conceding so early is a good lesson for them. We weren’t ready but I will add, SD Raiders are a quality side. I think they play the best football in the competition, and we go into next week knowing we have taken a big scalp.
“Sydney Olympic FC are worthy premiers but it is about the day isn’t it. We’ll go into the contest looking to do our best as usual and see what unfolds.” finished Barrett.
For SD Raiders boss, Matt Constantini, it was a valiant effort from his side but they ran out legs despite showing immense character across the season.
“We truly failed to back up from last week. The physicality of the game hurt us, alongside the smaller size of the pitch didn’t help our style of play. Credit to the Mariners though, they were first to every ball and wanted it more than us.” said Constantini.
MATCH STATS
Sunday 26 August 2018
Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood
Referee:
SD Raiders 1 (Logan Garard ‘1)
Central Coast Mariners 2 (Eyers ‘16, Snape ‘54)
SD Raiders: 4. GENC Yasemin (45. COSCIA ‘79), 7. FALLAH Jessica, 9. GARARD Logan, 10. PACE Gabriela, 11. WOJTOWICZ Kasia, 14. HAMILTON Sophia (13. CASSER ‘81), 16. ROSE-DAVEY Hannah (41. BAVDANA ‘57), 18. SKINNER Tamara (5. GAUL ‘57), 29. O’REILLY Elizabeth, 32. KROPE Courtney, 99. HILL Regan
Unused subs: 19. GRIMBILOS Stephanie
Yellow cards: Pace
Red cards: nil
Central Coast Mariners: 1. HINES Rhiannon, 2. BLANCH Gabrielle, 3. SWINFIELD Melissa, 7. EVANS Jordan, 8. LITTERICK Kirby, 9. EYERS Haylie, 10. MCATEMNEY Jade (32. BRYANT ‘77), 11. SHORTER Elizabeth, 13. MURPHY Kaitlin (5. OLIVEIRA ‘67), 25. SNAPE Iona, 35. DAVIS Georgia
Unused Subs: 21. TUCKER Mikala, 23. DEARIE Cheyenne, 50. BRADBURY Maddison
Yellow cards: Eyers Litterick
Red cards: nil
By Justin Davies
