Chiara Romano (Box Hill) gets her kick under pressure from Christina Leland (Ashburton). Image Courtesy: John Punshon.
An intriguing Women's Premier League season continued in round 11 with Altona City overcoming Casey Comets at home, while the Vipers were able to get their first away goal on the board and managed a draw with South Melbourne. Box Hill Inter stamped their authority on the competition with a 5-0 win over the fourth placed Ashburton, but Heidelberg United also managed a 3-2 win over Sandringham to retain their spot at the top of the WPL ladder.
Altona City won their second match of the WPL season over an out-of-sorts Casey Comets. The Comets will be rueing the loss, given they also missed a golden opportunity to take third spot from Sandringham.
Nicola Prins scored first for the Comets from 30 yards out and the brilliant strike brought applause from both benches. The ball spent a lot of time in the midfield for both sides in the first half, while Altona City had some great chances on goal but were unable to put them away.
The second half signalled a change in fortune for Altona City who were able to hit the scoresheet early in the second half through Christine Fonua. With the scores level, Altona City could feel victory coming on, and scored twice more, through Alexandra Miller and Kerri Little. The Comets were able to score in the dying minutes, when Talia Silivestros stole an Altona City back pass, but the Comets couldn't score again and went down, three goals to two.
Casey Comets Director of Coaching Glen Bristow said he was very disappointed.
"It was heartbreaking. We had a chance to go top four, but we didn't play like we wanted it. We were second to the ball and gave them way too much room. We just weren't interested. Altona City were there to win, they wanted the ball, and we had people hiding. All credit to them, they deserved the win."
Altona City Coach Paul Kilpatrick said that it was a good win for his side.
"The Comets scored in the ninth minute, it was a one in a hundred sort of goal - everything worked. It was beautiful. We had more possession, had the ball in their box regularly and I felt we were unlucky to be 1-0 down at half time.
"We deserved the early goal in the second half, and I felt we dominated a very good side - they're well coached, experienced and balanced. It was a great win."
South Melbourne hosted Bendigo Vipers on Sunday afternoon at McIvor Reserve, and it was hard fought match that brought out some great play by both sides.
Paige Conder was on the board first for the Vipers after her free kick took a deflection off the wall and South Melbourne's keeper Sarah McKeown couldn't do anything to stop it.
The bumpy surface at McIvor was causing the Vipers a few hassles in the first half, but both sides had a reasonable amount of possession, and were able to create at least two good chances each for the half.
South Melbourne went hard early in the second half and put the Vipers under pressure all over the field. Lucrece Laverdure put a brilliant ball through the heart of the Vipers defence and Penny Bakopoulos spanked it past Kristen O'Connor to draw the sides level.
Neither side could score again and the match ended in a one-all draw, to give the Vipers their first points away from home in 2010, and to give South Melbourne their second draw for the season.
South Melbourne Assistant Coach Matthew Shaw said that it was good to get a point.
"We were a bit sluggish. We didn't compete as well in the midfield and we took a while to get in to the match, and struggled to finish the match off. Our fitness needs to improve.
"The Vipers got down the flanks well and caused us problems when they got in behind us. They made it hard for our forwards to get the time and space they needed and really blunted our goal chances."
Vipers Coach Peter Richardson said that it was a learning experience for the Vipers.
"We struggled for the first half to cope with the surface. It was very bumpy. The girls tried to play as normal but we couldn't do that. We did well in the first half - Kristen [O'Connor] pulled off two brilliant saves. They came at us early in the second half. We lost composure and they played better and got the equaliser. It was a fair result, neither team deserved to lose that one.
"It was a really pleasant day - the crowd was very supportive of both sides and the kiosk staff were friendly - it was a really nice experience."
Top four sides Box Hill Inter and Ashburton played at Ashburton Park on Sunday afternoon, and while it looked like it would be a close match before the round began, what occurred was a bit of a disappointment for Ashburton and their fans.
Ashburton had some good chances early but didn't put the ball away. Melissa Barbieri was forced to play at her best, saving an Elly Curo shot early in the half.
Box Hill Inter scored via an intelligent finish from Deanna Niceski in the 22nd minute who had the poise to chip the ball over Ashburton keeper, Ingrid Philippe's head and into the net.
Ashburton put a great deal of pressure on Box Hill in the first half, and were able to force some turnovers on the muddy pitch.
Natalie Exon scored for Box Hill in the 44th minute when she broke free of her defender and put Box Hill up 2-0 at the break.
Ashburton would have felt like they were still in the match, but 1 minute into the second half, Box Hill Inter had their third goal through Aleksandra Sinclair. She had a brace three minutes later, then Exon scored her brace at the 65 minute mark to give Box Hill an unbeatable 5-0 lead.
Ingrid Philippe made some great saves for Ashburton and certainly stopped Box Hill Inter from defeating Ashburton by an even greater margin.
Ashburton Coach Chris Michail said that the score wasn't a true reflection of the match.
"Box Hill were very clinical in their finishing and that was the difference between the two teams. We had some good chances before they scored and they scored against the run of play. We were a bit sloppy in the second half.
"The two weeks off has hindered us a bit - we're down on match fitness and the girls tired a bit. Ingrid Philippe played well in goals and the team pressured well in the first half."
Box Hill Inter Coach Jeff Hawkins was very pleased with the match.
"I'm very happy with the way the team played. We took our chances which we hadn't done in previous weeks which resulted in the score line we got. It was unfortunate for Ashburton that they caught us on the day where we put our chances away. The match was played in difficult conditions, so to get a win like that is a big plus."
The final match of round 11 took place on Monday night between Sandringham and Heidelberg United at White Eagles Stadium.
Windy and cold conditions met the sides when they kicked off at 8.30pm, and it was the top side, Heidelberg United that were on the board first through some brilliance from Melanie Camilleri, who took her tally to 12 goals for 2010.
The scores were 0-1 at half time, with Heidelberg slightly on top, but the game was still within Sandringham's grasp.
When the sides returned to the field in the second half, Heidelberg's Belinda Pannella scored her side's second goal to give Heidelberg a 2-0 lead.
Sandringham began to kick into gear and scored not long after through Michelle Parton from a penalty and Eliza Gleadell to draw the scores level. Both sides went for numerous shots in the last fifteen minutes to try to get their side the three points, but it was Heidelberg's Pannella who scored the winning goal in the 88th minute that put Heidelberg United up 3-2 and ensured they kept top spot on the WPL ladder.
Sandringham Coach Shaun Parton said that it was a good effort by Sandringham despite the loss.
"Although we lost I thought our overall performance was competitive considering the number of players unavailable on the night. Young Alice Maxwell had a very good game for us. Pannella scored a good goal to win the game for Heidelberg."
Heidelberg United Coach John Lioupas said that it was lucky it didn't rain.
"It was cold and windy and the best thing we did was keep warm! It was good to get a win on a Monday night.
"We went up 2-0 and we eased off a bit and Sandringham made a game of it. Sandringham don't let you get away and they battled hard. It got to a point where we were trying to hold our lead, but then [when Sandringham equalised] it was all about mental courage and momentum to get the third goal."
Round 11 wins to Heidelberg United and Box Hill Inter put them safely in first and second place respectively, while Sandringham's loss puts them two games off the pace on 17 points. Ashburton and Casey Comets are locked on 15 points for the year, while the Vipers' win over Casey keeps them in touch with the top four. South Melbourne and Altona City are in seventh and eighth place with two wins and two draws, while Preston Lions are in ninth after having the round 11 bye.
For full results please visit the Competitions section of the website.
Last updated: Tuesday June 29, 2010 12:08PM
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