Round 21 Review – League One Women’s
The wet weather once again conspired to bring Round 21 of the League One Womens competition to only four games.
It didn’t mean there wasn’t goals, drama and action aplenty in those four contests which saw Gladesville Ravens, Hills United FC, Inter Lions and Sutherland Shire FA win.
Let’s get onto the review.
Match of the Round: Gladesville Ravens 2 defeated SD Raiders FC 0
In a wet and wild affair, Gladesville Ravens won 2-0 against a gallant SD Raiders FC side on Sunday night at Christie Park.
Gladesville Ravens found the back of the net twice in the second half to put the game to bed after a scoreless opening 45 minutes. Jess Wootton and Anja Seeto made sure the Ravens keep up with leaders Hills United FC.
For SD Raiders FC, they battled hard against one of the top teams but were unable to build on their strong first half performance. Now they turn their attention to their chase for the finals in the last few months of the competition.
It was wet and wild conditions at the Artic Circle for the night time kick-off but both sides were into their work early as the teams looked to take home three points.
The first shot of the contest fell to the hosts. Ravens swung in a corner which was directed goalbound by Jess Wootton but it was covered up well.
Next it was SD Raiders FC’s turn to challenge. Some well worked link up play started by Rojin Polat on the right found the pass to Sarah Mandile who shot right at Ravens keeper Romina Parraguirre.
Experienced attacker Keiko Tanaka struck the woodwork for Gladesville Ravens then it was swept out for a corner. The result fell to Gemma Woolley who sprayed it wide.
The game kept being played at a high speed between the two sides who tried to fashion the opening goal but the final chance of the half fell to Ravens, Woolley swept wide.
Coming out of the break, SD Raiders FC had a pair of chances to find the back of the net first in the slippery conditions. Both Kristen Prior and Mandile thrashed at goal but weren’t able to score.
On the hour mark, Ravens opened the scoring. It was a rapid counter from Woolley and Wootton which saw the latter fire home to make it 1-0.
We waited an hour for the first goal but the second goal for Ravens came in the 63rd minute. Anja Seeto was on the spot to tap home after some slick work in the box. 2-0.
Full of confidence after the double delight, Woolley had a chance to get her name on the scoresheet for the Ravens. She strode into the box but her shot clipped the bar and went over.
Not ready to concede the game, SD Raiders FC almost snuck one back through Polat. She found space on the edge of the box and went near post which forced Parraguirre into a save.
Wootton had another late chance to score a brace. She was on the end of a Ravens counter attack but thrashed her effort wide of the mark.
There was a late chance for SD Raiders FC through Ellie-Leigh Lontis’ low shot needed to be gathered well by Parraguire. Ravens also had one last shot with Woolley’s free-kick saved well just before the 90 minutes was up.
Speaking post-match Gladesville Ravens coach Andrew Galbraith was delighted with the second half adjustments for his side to take home the points:
“It was the same as the last few weeks. We’ve created a lot of chances but haven’t been able to put them away. The second half we talked about pressing more and got our rewards against a fantastic SD Raiders FC side.” said Galbraith.
For SD Raiders FC coach Catherine Cannuli, she remained upbeat despite the defeat as her side battled hard against one of the competition favourites:
“We held them out for 45 minutes and the girls battled really well. An error in the second half had us down 1-0 and it is tough in these conditions. I am proud of the girls and the way they fought hard in the trying conditions.” said Cannuli.
MATCH STATS
Sunday 10th July 2022
Christie Park, Macquarie Park
Referee: Craig Black
Assistant Referees: Jackson Arnold & Domenic Herngren
Gladesville Ravens 2 (Wootton ‘60, Seeto ‘63)
SD Raiders FC 0
Gladesville Ravens: 5. TANAKA Keiko, 6. SEETO Anja, 7. WOOLLEY Gemma, 9. ZACZEK Zoe (8. VLANGOS ‘71), 11. BREWIS Lara, 12. DENBY Astreia, 15. GILBANE Elizabeth, 22. PARRAGUIRRE Romina, 24. DAVEY Kimberley, 26. O’REILLY Maggie, 31. WOOTTON Jess (18. LONG ‘82)
Unused subs: 1. COLEMAN Eliza, 21. MILROY Amelie, 28. HATTON Isabelle
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
SD Raiders FC: 4. DI TOMMASO Talia, 6. PRIOR Kristen, 10. COSCIA Kiara (13. HAIN ‘30 (3. LOPEZ ‘67)), 12. NEVILLE Jessica, 14. MANDILE Sarah, 15. KNIGHT Layne, 17. DOAN Chloe (11. TUCKER ‘45), 22. RADMILLO Amanda, 30. BRITTON Caitlin, 32. POLAT Rojin, 48. LONTIS Ellie-Leigh,
Unused subs: 33. HUFTON Taylah
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Inter Lions 2 defeated Central Coast Mariners 1
Inter Lions secured a massive three points in their 2-1 win against Central Coast Mariners in windy conditions at Majors Bay Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
Coming off their loss last weekend, Inter Lions found the extra edge to take home the three points in one of the few fixtures to play on Sunday. The Lions strode out to a 2-0 lead and their coach Adrian Contarino will be pleased in how they bounced back after last week.
The goals for the Lions went to Chloe O’Brien and Marissa Papoulidis either side of half-time as the hosts showed a much more clinical edge than last week. Inter Lions have moved into 11th spot with that win as they look to finish on a high.
Central Coast Mariners had no excuses after their loss and coach Peter Preston admitted they need to be much better in their chase for finals football. Kaitlin Murphy pulled one back for the Mariners in the second half to make it 2-1.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0 defeated by Hills United FC 6
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were hit for six against Hills United FC in their 6-0 win at Blacktown City Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Fresh from their weekend off, Hills United FC were at their clinical best in front of goal on a wet afternoon in Sydney. Imogen Lane was the star with her hat-trick which helped the visitors to a 5-0 lead at the break.
Annie Halls contributed a brace in the one-sided affair alongside a striker from Ellen Berios to round out the scoring. Coach Allan Tasses was happy his side were firing on all cylinders in the first 45 minutes to kill off the contest.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were blown away in the first half but the young side were much better in the second half. The Town Rangers only allowed one goal as they look ahead for fixtures that will be much more fruitful.
Sutherland Shire FA 2 defeated South Coast Flame FC 0
In the final game of the round, Sutherland Shire FA ran out 2-0 winners against South Coast Flame FC on Sunday night at Kareela Oval 3.
This result made it back-to-back wins for Sutherland Shire FA and helps them bridge the gap to Central Coast Mariners in eighth spot. The hosts will have a catch-up game vs SD Raiders FC on Thursday night to look forward to now.
Sutherland Shire FA’s goals were scored by Violet Keelan in the 2-0 success. The young side have shown in recent weeks they have started to find their groove which will delight coach Jon Long as his side stuck to their task and kept possession well.
South Coast Flame FC will be disappointed to not take home any points tonight and see the side leap above their opponents from tonight. The Flame will be left to play spoiler for the rest of the remaining weeks now.
Marconi Stallions vs Camden Tigers, Nepean FC vs Northbridge Bulls FC, South East Phoenix FC vs Blacktown City FC and St George FC vs UNSW FC were washed out
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
