Albion Park’s six points over the weekend ensured that last season’s Champions will once again take the Builders Club Women’s Division 1 title in 2018.  Kiama’s win over Thirroul opens up a four point gap in the race for top four spots, with Balgownie still in the hunt for Finals football after a draw at Woonona.

Kiama Quarriers 6-1 Thirroul

Kiama Quarriers venged their shock defeat to Thirroul earlier in the season with a resounding 6-1 win. The result keeps Thirroul firmly bolted to the basement, four points adrift of Fernhill, but also gives Kiama a four point cushion over fifth place Balgownie, with four matches remaining in the regular season.

Katie French scored two for Kiama (season tally now eight), with Caitlin Cardwell nabbing her fifth of the campaign, and there were first strikes of 2018 also for Louisa Wood, Alex Stronach and Kari Gonzalez. Thirroul’s consolation goal came from Ashliegh Cavagnino.

Quarriers coach Umberto Sorrentino said: “After a very ordinary first half, our second half was terrific. The girls are using their heads more. Put alongside their courageous spirit and playing for one another, and we have a great combination. It’s doing the job for us at the moment.”

Results against other top four teams haven’t been going Kiama’s way, though, in recent weeks, so next week’s Round 15 tie will be a real test against a University side which has already beaten the Quarriers twice this season.

Thirroul might have lost eight consecutive matches now, but coach Tina Siskoska remains positive: “This is such a young squad with great attitude. The scorelines are the only disappointment, as the girls come off the field each week knowing they have played great football. They will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come.”

Woonona 1-1 Balgownie Rangers

A last minute Woonona equaliser denied Balgownie Rangers a fourth win on the bounce, as Earle Canvin’s side continued its late push for a top four spot.

Ashleigh Anderson’s third goal of the season gave Balgownie the lead in the 17th minute. End-to-end action in the second half produced no further goals until the late drama meant the points were shared, in a repeat of the reverse fixture back in Round 3.

Canvin said after the game: “Just when I thought we had the three points, Woonona equalised. All in all our performance was strong again, though.”

Balgownie get a week off next week, with scheduled opponents Albion Park in Cup Final action, but they will be looking to keep their own Finals hopes alive the week after with a trip to Fernhill.

Rachelle Wilson got her name on the scoresheet for the first time this season with that vital equaliser for Woonona. Next up for the Sharks is a visit from Fernhill where they’ll be looking for three points as they can still challenge Uni for second spot in the ladder, but could also end up out of the top four if results don’t go their way in the final weeks of the season.

Fernhill 0-3 Albion Park

This game was forfeited by Fernhill so no scorers in the standard 3-0 result for forfeit matches.

Fernhill coach Josh Sebben said: “We get three players back for next weekend and the girls are excited to finish the season on a high.” It’s not an easy run-in for the Foxes, though: next week they face a trip to Woonona, followed by a match against in-form Balgownie, and then it’s Albion Park before a final bottom of the table battle against Thirroul.

Russell Vale Black v University

This Round 14 match was rescheduled for Wednesday 25 July, kick off 7.30pm at Cawley Park.

Thirroul 0-5 Albion Park (Round 12 catch-up)

The comfortable win over Thirroul ensured Albion Park take the Builders Club Division 1 title again in 2018. With five games for second placed University remaining, the gap is now an unassailable 17 points.

Casey-Leigh Suttle scored twice in this one, taking her tally for the season to 15, equal to Rylee McGartland. There was also a brace for Kristina Glisic who has now found the back of the net nine times in 2018. And Michelle Foscarini got her name on the scoresheet for the fourth week in a row.

Albion Park coach Richard Davis was pleased with the result, achieved in spite of having five first choice players missing and bringing several new names into the first team starting line-up.

The weeks ahead...

Next weekend Albion Park take on Northbridge in a repeat of last year’s final of the NSW State Cup. The result in 2017 was an 8-0 win for the Park. Albion Park’s Round 15 tie against Balgownie Rangers has been rescheduled for 19 August.

Having completed the two home-away fixtures against each club in the League, there will now be four further rounds of football. A provisional draw for those final four rounds has been made and can be seen on the Football South Coast website. But the draw is subject to change as this next phase is dependent on results week by week.