Round 20 Review – League One Women’s
Round 20 was a truncated version of the League One Womens competition but we did have four games that were able to withstand the wet weather.
There were wins for St George FC, Northbridge Bulls FC, Gladesville Ravens and UNSW FC.
Let’s get onto the review!
Match of the Round: Inter Lions 0 defeated by St George FC 5
St George FC swept away Inter Lions 5-0 in their clash at Majors Bay Reserve on a wet and wild Sunday afternoon for the Match of the Round.
The Saints were in fine fettle in their win which extends their huge unbeaten run and moves them into the 40-point mark. Jordan Baker was clinical in front of goal with four goals while Lara Nicholls found the back of the net once.
Inter Lions hung tough with the Saints for the first 45 minutes but some errors saw them concede their goals and lose the contest. Inter Lions remain safe in 12th place with a pair of games extra played by them.
It was good weather for ducks in Sydney but there was some football played in wild conditions at Majors Bay Reserve on Sunday afternoon. Visitors St George FC got themselves off to the best possible start in the game.
There was a wonderful run from Lara Nicholls down the left wing before she cutback the ball precisely for sharpshooter Jordan Baker to sweep home, 1-0 for St George FC.
St George FC kept pushing forward and add to their advantage with Jess Meads flaying wide from a corner while Nicholls was dangerous on the counter and shot straight at the Lions keeper.
Once again Meads was involved when she forced Inter Lions keeper Cristina Esposito into a fantastic save to keep it at 1-0 as the rain and wind picked up at the venue.
Inter Lions were holding their own for much of the first half. They matched it against their opponents and almost snuck a free-kick in from Lara Mascato which was juggled by Saints keeper Chloe Avgoustou then captured.
St George FC had their own chance from the set piece through Baker but she put the effort right down the throat of Esposito. The visitors racked up the chances in the first half but were struggling to find the back of the net.
Inter Lions almost punished their wastefulness through Chloe O’Brien. The attacker had a pair of chances near half-time which went close alongside a Natalie Marchese shot from a corner in the 43rd minute.
St George FC did double their delight just before the break. A delightful ball from Morgan Maxwell found Nicholls in stride, before she slotted home to make it 2-0 for the visitors headed to the break.
Coming out of the break, the Saints kept their foot on the gas and add further to their advantage. Maxwell had a pair of chances which went astray.
Just after the hour mark, St George FC found their third goal of the contest. Jordan Baker produced a wicked ball from a corner which drifted in for a 3-0 score line.
Baker completed her hat-trick in the 73rd minute with a typical effort. She found some space from close to the box and drilled the ball home to make 4-0.
As the game started to stretch, Inter Lions had another effort through Marchese then St George FC responded through Maxwell which was saved.
The Saints made it a five-star result with their last goal of the contest. It was a fourth goal for Baker with another well taken effort to make it 5-0 and another win for the visitors.
Speaking post-match Inter Lions Adrian Contarino was short and sweet in his assessment of his side in the match against St George FC:
“We came up against a well drilled opponent and we gave them too much space, time and basically we made four defensive errors which created five goals against us.” said Contarino.
For St George FC coach Mark Cupitt, he was delighted with their second half where they found the back of the net three times:
“I’m very happy in difficult conditions. We turned it up a notch in the second half and they couldn’t go with us. All we can do is keep winning and keep the others behind us in the chance for the finals.” said Cupitt.
MATCH STATS
Sunday 3rd July 2022
Majors Bay Reserve, Concord
Referee: Nikolas Stavropoulos
Assistant Referees: Kosta Stavropoulos and Manwel Limnios
Inter Lions 0
St George FC 5 (Baker ‘4, ‘65, ‘73, ‘86, Nicholls ‘42)
Inter Lions: 1. ESPOSITO Cristina, 3. MARCHESE Natalie, 4. O’BRIEN Chloe, 5. DUGGAN Brittany, 6. DONALDSON Bella (36. WICKREMERATNE ‘88), 7. PAPOULIDIS Marissa, 12. KATSIONIS Zoe, 13. ANDERSON-SHARP Belinda, 17. PAJOR Natalie, 22. MASCARO Lara, 23. SMITH Jenna (35. SCHUMANN ‘75)
Unused subs: 14. POLETANOVIC Bojana
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
St George FC: 1. AVGOUSTOU Chloe, 2. BESZ Nicole, 5. MAXWELL Morgan, 8. BENNETT Amy, 9. BAKER Jordan, 12. DALE Kate (15. PEZZOTTA ‘29), 18. MEADS Jess (17. YEATS ‘70), 19. NELSON Melody (14. MAGUIRE ‘58), 21. NICHOLLS Lara (11. DONOUGHER ‘58), 23. FARMER Maddison (7. LEE ‘85), 31. HUTTON Bek
Unused subs: 20. ORPHANIDES Amalia
Yellow cards:
Red cards: nil
Blacktown City FC 0 defeated by Gladesville Ravens 1
Gladesville Ravens take top spot after their 1-0 win against a gallant Blacktown City FC at Blacktown City Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
That win puts the Ravens on the top perch in the League One Womens competition with some of their other challengers off due to the wet weather. They were pushed hard by Blacktown City FC but ultimately took the three points.
The Ravens only goal came from a familiar source. Gemma Woolley scored in the second half to settle the contest and fire home her 19th goal of the season. Today’s game also featured the Ravens debut of former Inter Lion Jess Wootton in the starting side.
Blacktown City FC were stout in their defensive work and it was only one error which cost them points this afternoon. Once again, goalkeeper Kiara Rochaix was immense between the sticks alongside Bronte Tilsed and Ainsley Byrne in the defeat.
Northbridge Bulls FC 5 defeated Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0
The Northbridge Bulls FC picked up a valuable three points in a 5-0 win against Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Northbridge Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulls were on parade back at home in Northbridge and picked up three points which will be crucial in their chase for finals football. Tamires Souza was the only Bulls player to score twice in the contest to further add to her goal tally.
Reigning Golden Boot Evelyn Chronis found the back of the net alongside Kiara Farquhar and substitute Rochelle Johnson in the five-star win. Northbridge Bulls have found a purple patch of form recently as we head into the final stretch of the year.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers did halve the deficit from their first encounter back in Round 5 but it was still not the performance they were expecting on their trip. The Town Rangers will also be glad to one of the few sides that got onto the pitch this weekend.
UNSW FC vs South East Phoenix FC
Our night cap featured UNSW FC and South East Phoenix FC with UNSW FC running out winners 4-0 on Sunday night at a soggy Hensley Athletic Field.
The students remain one point outside the top four despite their recent dominant form which continued with their win tonight. UNSW FC led 1-0 at the break before they piled on three goals in the second half to take the three points.
Grace McCormick got the scoring started in the first half with her second goal of the season. Amanda Levaskevich, Sasha Rodriguez and striker Marcella Santos all found the back of the net to pass their latest test.
South East Phoenix FC battled hard for the first half kept the prolific students attack to one goal before half-time then fell away. The regional side will be happy to not add another catch up game though being one of four games played this weekend.
South Coast Flame FC vs Hills United FC, Nepean FC vs Marconi Stallions, Sutherland Shire FA vs SD Raiders FC and Central Coast Mariners vs Camden Tigers were washed out.
