Newcastle Olympic 2-3 Charlestown Azzurri
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins says that key moments cost his team the championship against Charlestown Azzurri on Sunday evening.
The Blues secured their first NPL Women’s NNSW championship in atrociously wet and windy conditions at Darling Street Oval as Olympic suffered the heartbreak of a third grand final defeat in as many years.
Azzurri came out of the blocks the hungrier of the two sides, desperate to win every first and second ball.
Olympic looked nervous as they struggled with Charlestown’s aggressive press and found it difficult to settle on the ball.
Charlestown's early dominance paid off when Ella Joyce opened the scoring with a spectacular strike.
A loose ball ran down the pitch which Joyce pounced on and launched from the edge of the penalty area, past the reach of goalkeeper Isabella Whitton.
Olympic started to get themselves into the match as the minutes ticked on but Azzurri remained on top as they continued to be relentless in attack through Joyce and Melina Ayres.
But Olympic levelled the score in the final minute of the first half after a goal from Marion Dunbabin.
Sophie Walmsley ran onto a stray ball and struck it towards goal which forced Azzurri goalkeeper Malli Blanch to dive and make a save. But Blanch was unable to smother the ball and it bounced off her gloves and into the path of Dunbabin for the tap in.
The sides went into the break locked at 1-1 with all to play for in the second half.
The weather deteriorated in the second half as the rain bucketed down in blustery conditions.
Olympic came out of the sheds with a lot more energy and urgency, desperate to lift their second championship trophy.
Olympic captain Jemma House had a chance to give Olympic the lead with a powerful shot but Blanch pulled out a top shelf save and tipped the ball over the crossbar.
Charlestown took the lead for the second time with Ayres rewarded for her relentless efforts in attack.
Ayres rose highest off Chloe Cattley’s corner kick to head the ball into the back of the net.
House had another opportunity to level the score after Olympic were awarded a penalty when Chloe Martin brought down Dunbabin inside the penalty area in the 71st minute.
But the attempt from House was unsuccessful as her hard and low strike ran wide of the goal.
The miss was a turning point as Joyce netted her second spectacular strike of the evening seven minutes later to give Azzurri a 3-1 advantage.
A defensive error from Georgia Cook allowed Jessie Gentle to snatch the ball and pass it through to Joyce.
The striker smashed the ball with power from the edge of the penalty area, curling it in the wind past Whitton, off the post and into the goal.
It looked as if the score was set as Olympic struggled to find their way back into the match.
Ayres almost put the game to bed with a sensational scissor kick off a corner but Whitton denied her strike with a strong save.
But Olympic set up a tense finish struck when Sophie McDonald and gave them a lifeline in the 89th minute.
An Elodie Dagg free kick sailed into the penalty area and bounced around until it hit the feet of McDonald who sliced the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
The intensity turned up for the final minutes of the match, with Olympic desperate to score an equaliser and take the game to extra time.
But it was too late for Olympic with Azzurri crowned champions at the full-time whistle.
Joyce was awarded the inaugural Joey Peters Medal for the player of the match.
Atkins said that the loss came down to missed opportunities and key moments.
“A couple of big key moments there that hurt us but that’s football,” Atkins said.
“There was a number of really good opportunities for us. We got one before the break which helped us but we fell short at the end.
“I am not going to talk about misses but there were a number of key moments that could have changed that game but didn’t.”
But Atkins was proud of his team’s never-say-die performance to push Azzurri until the final whistle.
“All credit to the girls. I thought Azzurri was on top when they got that first goal but I was impressed with the way the girls fought back,” Atkins said.
“I thought we dominated at the end of the first half and took that into the second half.
“I thought our football was really good. We stayed calm and composed but obviously we just missed out in the second half.
“I can’t fault the girls. We have had a hard season with injuries and sickness. But they are a great group of girls. I couldn’t be prouder.
“It is such a shame we couldn’t get it done tonight.”
In a highlight for Olympic, defender Jess Evans was recognised for being the first female Olympic player to feature in 100 first grade matches.
Charlestown Azzurri coach Heath Whyte was overjoyed to win the club’s first NPLW NNSW championship.
“I am ecstatic and the girls are ecstatic,” Whyte said.
“We believed from day one. I said to the girls in February that I believe we can do this.
“Our objective was to disrupt this competition and the girls have certainly done that tonight.
“The win is huge for the club. We had four teams in the grand finals today and had one get across the line. I am glad that it was first grade.”
Whyte credited the fightback from Olympic but praised his players’ efforts to stick to the game plan and get the job done.
“It was a hard-fought match. Olympic was a tough team and they kept coming back at us. Full credit to them it was a really difficult match in difficult conditions,” Whyte said.
“We had our strategy and the main thing we didn’t do last week was keep the ball well so we wanted to put immediate pressure on the ball player, win it back quickly and try and win the ball in good places while we had the wind in our backs.
“I think the substitutes were timely. Both Chloes [Martin and Cattley] worked really hard.
“To get some fresh legs on and change up the midfield and it paid dividends and we had some opportunities from there.”
In reserve grade, Maitland FC defeated Charlestown Azzurri 4-0 while Mid Coast FC was victorious against Maitland FC after a 3-2 win in the under-17s.
In the under-15s, Charlestown Azzurri went down to Broadmeadow Magic 5-3 on penalties after the score was locked at 2-2 after extra time. Adamstown Rosebud JFC defeated Charlestown Azzurri 2-1 in the under-13s.