Summary: SMWFC have been bested by second place Bulleen Lions on Monday night at the David Barro Stadium. South started explosively, gaining the lead very early on, before the home side would find their footing and begin controlling the match.
South find themselves in a peculiar spot on the ladder. Reaching finals is within the realm of possibility, and multiple draws with top side Alamein proves they could do some damage if given the opportunity. But this season other top sides have defeated South convincingly, proving that the young team truly does have a long way to go.
Erin Hudson’s injury from last week’s match against Calder has been regarded as serious, and she was absent from the lineup this evening. Interestingly, Kelsey Minton found herself in goals again, despite her attacking presence being of high value to South. The absence of Leia Varley in defence was also a worry, but the first chunk of the match belonged to South. While there were multiple tussles in the midfield, South were more aggressive in both their attacking and defending, culminating to their first chance of the night through Cindy Lay in the first minute. Unconfident and on an awkward angle, her shot isn’t powerful enough to beat keeper Emily Shields, but it would only take another 5 minutes before South opened the scoring.
In the 13th minute, Sofia Sakalis is able to pay a looming ball to Natalie Martineau. Shields, mistiming the trajectory of the cross, steps off her line, and Martaneu cooly lobs the ball over her and into the net. It was easy to see how South were playing so successfully; their defensive efforts were solid, instilling confidence in Minton. But more importantly, they were playing noticeably high up the pitch, meaning when the ball was pushed up, it was much harder for Bulleen to claw it back up the pitch.
Despite their early dominance, the attacking presence levelled out, and a high rate of turnovers throughout the half saw the ball bouncing from goals to goals. In the 17th minute, Kelsey Minton was required to clear a dangerous 1v1 with a Bulleen attacker who had snuck in past South defenders. A minute later, a compelling Sarah Richardson run sees her line up a powerful strike that hits the crossbar. A minute after that, Haratsis has her pocket picked by Racheal Quigley, though her shot hits the post.
Both teams had a decent slice of possession, but slowly the gap between South’s attack and defence began to widen. Bulleen were brought right back into the game in the 27th minute, when Kelsey Minton is punished for her clash with Quigley. It seemed unlucky that such minimal contact would lead to a penalty, but it did, and Quigley was able to convert. South were still presented with multiple chances to gain the lead again, in part thanks to their aggressive pressing and quick movements up the wing through Richardson and Hollingsworth. But Bulleen were also creating opportunities, and in the 37th minute Margot Robinne was able to work her way around Shelby Green, before setting up a tap in for Kelsey Zafiridis. It was slightly demoralising letting the lead slip, but the resilience of our young squad, as well as our attacking presence, would be more than enough to keep us in the game. And the second half was explosive for South with Mia Hollingsworth producing multiple compelling runs in the first few minutes.
Still, it became apparent that Bulleen, who started quite shakily in defence, had found their footing, and were slowly taking control of the game. Minton’s absence in attack was felt, though she made multiple important saves in the match, including an attempt by Quigley in the 57th minute. It would be Zafiridis, however, who’d score a brace, as she slotted another one past Minton in the 70th minute. South were still creating fluid runs, with Sofia Sakalis acting as a playmaker, but Bulleen were able to mitigate the damage South could do. Cindy Lay’s shot in the 85th minute marked the end of their chances, as the home side were able to hold on for a comfortable victory.
Considering we played a more experienced team, a team that has only conceded 1 goal in 5 games, I’m pretty happy with the outcome of this match. We have a team full of young players that can only get better with experience, yet they’re still playing some quality football. Hopefully they can find another keeper to replace Hudson, because Minton (despite her decent performance in goals) is needed on the other end of the pitch.
Notable players: Natalie Martineau, Sofia Sakalis
South Melbourne Women’s FC: 1
Bulleen Lions Women’s FC: 3