With one catch-up game remaining, Balgownie Rangers’ hopes of making the end-of-season finals hang by the thinnest of threads as they’ll need to beat Albion Park to overtake Kiama Quarriers in fourth spot. Champions-elect Albion Park were back at their unbeatable best against second placed University, while Fernhill came out on top in the basement battle against Thirroul.

Balgownie Rangers 1-1 Russell Vale Black

Balgownie scored early in this one to give Earle Canvin’s side hope of a miraculous late leap into the finals spots. But after Russell Vale equalised later in the first half, the Rangers just couldn’t find the target in spite of a dominant second half performance.

Isobel Humphreys scored her second of the season to give Balgownie the lead, but a corner from the Vale flew straight into the net for the equaliser.

A Rangers win would have left them needing just a draw to overhaul Kiama, but now only a win at Terry Reserve next Sunday will be good enough for Balgownie and that surely is too much to ask. It’s been a fantastic run for Rangers, though, with this draw making it seven games unbeaten going into the final match.

Fernhill 2--1 Thirroul FC

Fernhill made it three wins from three against Thirroul through the 2018 season, and those nine points condemned the Thunderbirds to bottom spot on the ladder, seven points behind Fernhill.

The Foxes top scorer Emilia Skopal grabbed her seventh goal of the season and Jessica Kelly her first as the Foxes went 2-0 up before conceding late on to Jenna Rose’s first of the season for Thirroul.

With little to play for, a scrappy first half saw the sides go into the break goalless. The Foxes moved up a gear in the second half and scored two goals as well as hitting the woodwork twice, but then sat back and let Thirroul back into it late on.

For Fernhill coach Josh Sebben, his side deserved the points: “We moved players around to try to get some girls off their goal scoring duck, but once Thirroul scored, we went back to our usual positions and saw the game out.”

Sebben acknowledged that Thirroul have improved a lot through the season and ‘knocked the ball around well yesterday’, but it was “good to pick up another win to finish the season well.”

For Thirroul coach Tina Siskoska this defeat ended a “tough season forming a new and young team, but the hardest part is now done. The girls have developed a strong bond and it’s only going to get better.”

 

Kiama Quarriers 0-3 Woonona FC

Woonona put this tie to bed – and ensured they would finish in third spot – with three quickfire goals from Kayla Draper, Ainsley Hawes and Georgia Lang. It was Draper’s first of the season, Lang’s second in successive weeks, and for Hawes a fifth goal of the season and her second against Kiama in 2018.

It gives the Sharks a psychological edge when (if) these sides meet again in the finals series in a couple of weeks, especially as their last win – five weeks ago – was also against the Quarriers.

Kiama coach Umberto Sorrentino will be keeping an eye on the scoreline next weekend just in case Balgownie break Albion Park’s winning run, but he’s already looking forward to semi final football: “We’re not stressing over this result. We played some of our best football all season in spite of the scoreline, so we’re confident in the way we’re playing.”

Barring miracles at Terry Reserve, he’ll have a chance to put that to the test when these two meet again in two weeks in the semi finals.

 

University 0-7 Albion Park

The Albion Park goal machine was back in top gear this weekend with this 7-0 demolition of the Unicorns. There were hat-tricks for Rylee McGartland and Brittany Ring, making these two the Park’s top scorers in 2018 with 20 goals and 17 respectively. It means McGartland has a good chance next weekend in the catch-up tie, of overhauling Uni’s Kristen Gorgieski who didn’t add to her 21 goal tally in Round 18. Tenaya Davis got the Park’s seventh with her first league goal of the season.

Albion Park have now amassed an extraordinary 84 goals in 17 matches, making them just one goal shy of averaging five a game over the season. They put 14 goals past Balgownie in two earlier encounters this season, so they may well hit the 5-a-game target by the end of the regular season.

For Park coach Richard Davis: “This was probably one of our best games. The girls deserved it as they work hard and had to play well to beat a good Uni team.”

In spite of the result, Uni coach Brod Crighton was full of positives: “Our girls played really well and had five or six opportunities to put the ball into the back of the net by the time we went in 1-0 down at half time. We got tired 20 minutes into the second half, and they just ran over us. We need to put away early chances, and we’re looking forward to doing battle again in two weeks’ time.”

Report by Simon Duffin

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