Image Credit: Sal Giovinazzo/Soccer Snaps by Sal

Belconnen United 12 (Leah Carnegie 4’, Alexia Forner 8’, Maddy Whittall 15’, 29’, 35’, 49’, 74’, 77’, Bronte Pyke 18’, Nicole Jalocha 45’, 45’+1, Keira Bobbin 83’) def. Woden-Weston FC 0

By Jakob Gisik

If Belconnen United coach Antoni Jagarinec was looking for a response from his team, he certainly got one, as they stormed to a 12-0 win over Woden-Weston FC on Saturday afternoon.

Jagarinec was less than impressed with his side’s performance a week ago, despite recording a comfortable victory over Tuggeranong United.

But he was far more pleased following Saturday’s big win at home, which was setup thanks to a scorching eight-goal first-half.

“Definitely [our best performance] of this year,” Jagarinec said after the match.

“We had a bit of an eye-opener during the week and we really wanted to change things up a bit to execute better, and we did that in the first-half today.”

“Unfortunately for Woden they’re not a 12-0 team, they’re a lot better than that, but our seniority took over today which was really good for us.”

Maddy Whittall starred for the home side with a six-goal haul, while Bronte Pyke continued her outstanding start to the 2019 season.

The Blue Devils opened their account inside four minutes through Leah Carnegie, before Alexia Forner doubled the lead shortly after thanks to a long-range effort that flew into the top corner.

Belconnen scored their third just prior to the quarter-hour mark, and their fourth inside 20 minutes when Pyke floated one over the head of Woden goalkeeper Cristina Esposito from out wide.

Pyke added Woden’s Anna Vandenbroucke to the list of star players she has nullified in 2019, a list that includes Canberra FC’s Rachael Goldstein and Canberra United Academy’s Hayley Taylor-Young.

Jagarinec was all praise for Pyke after the match, stating the versatile fullback doesn’t get the credit she often deserves.

“Bronte’s often one of the first picked in the team,” Jagarinec said.

“She plays against girls that are sometimes more experienced than her, sometimes quicker than her and for the most part she puts them in her pocket.

“She’s a gifted footballer beyond which she gets recognition for.”

Nicole Jalocha bagged her second brace of the season with two goals in two minutes before half-time.

But the day belonged to Whittall, who secured her double hat-trick in the 77^th minute with a classy shot from the top of the area that curled past a diving Esposito.

Keira Bobbin than made it an even dozen for the Blue Devils, who have still yet to concede a goal in 2019

It was a tough outing for a Woden side that has lacked consistency to start the season, with two strong wins in the league and cup mixed in amongst some heavy defeats.

They’ll be looking to bounce back when they take on Tuggeranong United on Sunday, while Belconnen will welcome Canberra Olympic to McKellar Park on Saturday.