It was an exciting clash on Sunday afternoon in The Grange Women’s Division 1, with Albion Park defeating host’s Woonona 2 -1 at Ocean Park. The match was full of close chances and fantastic plays, both sides played in good sport and with high intensity.

Albion Park proved dominant in the opening moments of the match holding up possession, controlling the play and causing chaos in the Shark’s midfield.

The Sharks started to regather their shaky start, by the 9^th minute Ainsley Hawes managed to turn Albion Park’s midfield inside out, pulling off a terrific longshot, falling just past the reach of Aleisha Chessell, placing the Shark’s in the early lead 1 – 0.

Sinead Bailey almost doubled the lead for Woonona in the 13^th minute, off an agile run she was able to receive a brilliant through ball from Georgia Lang, unfortunately blasting it just over the crossbar for a goal kick.

Woonona started to look comfortable in the middle, with great ball work stringing together passes, working their way up the pitch, until Albion park almost equalised in the 20^th minute, when Brittany Ring used her slick footwork to outplay the Shark’s defenders, sending a long shot just over the crossbar for a goal kick.

The Shark’s looked to hold out Albion Park before the halftime break, but it wasn’t enough to stop Ring’s nimble dribble into the their 18-yard box, beating her opposition she was taken out in the box for a penalty. The game was re-levelled when Kristina Glisic placed penatly well to the left of Samantha Clark in the 35^th minute, Albion Park 1 Woonona 1.

The first leg almost finished a wonder for the Sharks, when in the 44^th minute Woonona’s Kathryn Spackman nearly found the back of the net right before halftime, receiving a well lofted free kick from Kelsey Clements, blocked before just she could place a foot to it.

The game was completely flipped in the second half right off the whistle after Ring’s composed touch she blasted the ball into the back of the net, Albion Park 2 Woonona 1, The Sharks founds themselves on the backfoot for the rest of the match.

Ring continued to harass the Shark’s defence with countless crosses and initiating plays, Clark had to pull off a critical 1 on 1 save in the 60^th minute keeping Woonona in the game. Woonona’s last opportunity from Meika Quinn was a longshot drilled just wide of the far post from just outside the 18-yard box in the 67^th minute.

Albion Park continued to attack and place Woonona under pressure, stopping any attacking plays and maintaining possession up until the full-time whistle.

 

Sunday 18^th August @Ocean Park, Woonona

 

Team Sheets:

Woonona Sharks FC – Sinead BAILEY, Samantha CLARK, Kelsey CLEMENTS, Ainsley HAWES, Le-Tisha KABLE, Georgia LANG, Fiona LEAFE, Bonnie MACDONNELL, Shannon PETERS, Morgan POTTER, Jordan WHEATLEY, Andrea GRAHAM, Meika QUINN, Melissa SALE, Khalia RASCH, Kathryn SPACKMAN

Albion Park FC – Christie AKIS, Sarah ALWERT, Aleisha CHESSELL, Eliza COWAN, Tenaya DAVIS, Claire DUFFY, Michelle FOSCARINI, Kristina GLISIC, Jessica HANLY, Linda HILLARD, Orcadia MCCANN, Nicole MCCRACKEN, Rylee MCGARTLAND, Brittany RING, Casey-Leigh SUTTLE, Erin MARTIN

 

Report by Tim Dixon, on Twitter @tim_dixon_