Match of the Round
Armidale City Westside FC 5-0 Oxley Vale Attunga FC
Armidale City Westside FC Senior Vice President Steve Gray says that he was proud of his club’s performance to secure a 5-0 victory over Oxley Vale Attunga FC at Harris Park in round one of the NNSW Regional Super League on Saturday.
OVA had an uphill battle as they lost four players to illness and injury throughout the match and were forced to play the final 15 minutes with 10 players. But club young gun Lara Jones stepped up and made her senior debut, playing the full 90 minutes.
The home side proved too strong and wasted no time before they got on the score sheet.
In the first minute of play, Armidale broke quickly down the pitch and Natasha Livermore-Williams tapped the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to give her side the early lead.
The play opened up and was more end-to-end as the minutes ticked on, with each team eager to make the most of their opportunities in attack.
The score remained 1-0 at the half-time break but the home side turned up the heat in the second half.
Armidale doubled their lead in the 50th minute after Brooke Moran used her pace to beat her defenders to a crossed ball into the penalty area and sliced it into the back of the net.
Two minutes later, Natasha Livermore-Williams netted her second of the afternoon when she received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and curled it over the reach of goalkeeper Shaylah Newton to make the score 3-0.
Substitute Kelly Moran made it 4-0 in the 64th minute with a spectacular long-range strike.
Morgan sprinted down the pitch with the ball to the edge of the penalty area before she unleashed a powerful shot while falling to the ground that whipped into the top left corner of the goal.
Things went from bad to worse for OVA, after their captain Emily Daley was taken from the field with a broken collarbone in the 74th minute. This meant that they were forced to play with 10 players for the remainder of the match as they had used all of their substitutes.
Armidale put the cherry on top in the 87th minute when Bella Hawkins curled the ball from the edge of the penalty area over the outstretched reach of Newton to make the score 5-0.
Gray was thrilled with his side’s efforts to work together and secure three big points for the club.
“We said how amazing it would have been to get the win, so to do it is incredible,” Gray said.
“We showed promising signs and lots of things we can grow and develop.
“The girls played well as a team and worked together.
“It was an eye-opener as we weren’t sure what to expect heading in. The girls were happy with their performance and happy that things worked out for them.
“The women’s program is something that we have been trying to build up and try to increase participation.
“The club is super proud of the team and their performance on the weekend.”
OVA coach Steve Doherty said that it was not their day on Saturday and they were disappointed with their performance.
“We got well beaten and we know we could have played better than we did on the day,” Doherty said.
“Unfortunately, we lost four players in the match to illness and injury.
“We turned the ball over far too easily and when transitioning. But then at half-time it was only 1-0 after I thought we hadn’t performed that well.
“The girls were disappointed with their performance. We have had better days.
But Doherty said that there are positives that they will take from the match and would build on for round two.
“The good thing is that we had a lot of free players in the middle of the park. We had people in the right positions but now it is about taking that next step.
“We are still getting used to each other as we have had a lot of change in the club.
“The girls enjoyed the experience. It was a level of competition that we don’t get all that often. It will be good to have a consistently high level of competition as it is something that we crave.
“It is early days and we have a lot of work to do. We know that we can improve.
“It will be nice to go back with the video. The video will allow us to see the things we need to change and improve on.
“We hope that we will get better. It is a learning experience and we will learn from our mistakes.
“We will be ready to go again in round two.”
OVA will look to bounce back in round two when they travel to the mid north coast to take on Lake Cathie FC at Rainbow Beach Sporting Fields on Saturday 7 June.
Armidale will be determined to build on their winning momentum when they make the journey to Urunga Recreatiuonal Reserve on Saturday June 7 to take on Urunga FC.
Tamworth FC 3-2 Port United FC
Gipps Street Sporting Fields, Saturday 10 May 1pm
Tamworth FC kicked off their NNSW RSL campaign with a bang after they came from behind to secure a 3-2 win over Port United FC at Gipps Sporting Field on Saturday.
The five-goal thriller was action-packed from start to finish, with each team determined to start the competition with three points.
Tamworth opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Courtney Slater hit the back of the net.
Kate Ainsworth got her name on the score sheet in the 35th minute for Port United to level the score at 1-1.
Five minutes later, Port United took the lead for the first time in the match as Georgia Thiveos made the score 2-1.
The visitors went into the sheds with a one-goal advantage and were eager to hold onto their lead all the way until the final whistle.
But Tamworth clawed their way back into the contest after they were awarded a penalty in the 75th minute. Clare Hughes stepped up and converted from the spot to make the score 2-2.
It looked like the two sides would share the points as the score remained locked up in the final minute of the game.
But a late goal from Chloe Nott in the 87th minute snatched all three points for the home side with a 3-2 victory.
Tamworth will be eager to keep the good times rolling when they travel north to Forsyth Park to take on Coffs City United FC in round two on Saturday 7 June.
Port United will look to bounce back as they continue to search for their first win of the competition when they make the trip to Rangers Park to go head-to-head with Macleay Valley Rangers on June 7.
Macleay Valley Rangers FC v Coffs City United FC
Rangers Park, Saturday 10 May 1pm
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Urunga FC v Lake Cathie FC
Urunga Recreation Reserve, Saturday 31 May 1pm
This match is to be played on Saturday 31 May.
