https://youtu.be/cFRISkA0FV8
Olympia Warriors speedster Bonnie Davies did the bulk of the damage as Olympia powered to a 3-0 win over South Hobart in a game played in diabolical conditions at Darcy Street.
With heavy rain pouring down for the majority of the 90 minutes and a heavier pitch beneath their feet, it was never going to be easy for the players in this one, but Olympia seemed to handle conditions the better, despite their home track being a synthetic pitch.
A frenetic opening 20 minutes saw the teams trading chances and a wide open affair developing with the best chance falling to Charlotte Ingram who couldn't find a way past Jenna Farrow who saved sharply at full extension to prevent her side going one behind.
Bonnie Davies had been threatening to break the game open in this period, with the space being afforded in behind South's defensive line suiting her strengths and having come close once already, she made no mistake on 20 minutes.
A long bomb from Farrow was brought down with a silky first touch by Davies, who then turned and played a quick one-two with Mia Cane before beating the keeper to the ball, taking a touch around her and depositing home. It was a superb goal and seemed to spark the Warriors whilst simultaneously dishearten South, and one goal quickly became two as the Warriors conjured around six scoring chances in just four minutes of play.
Georgia Mcmullen had been busy early on and after making another sharp save with the right glove to deny Davies she pulled off a great kick save to prevent Cane from making it 2-0. Unfortunately the rebound found its way to Bomford at the top of the box and with the keeper slightly off her line after making the initial save, Bomford deftly lobbed a perfect dipping shot that sailed over the keeper and defender on the line and into the back of the net.
It was pure inspiration from Bomford and her seventh goal of the campaign, a remarkable record from central midfield. One again it was her and Michael running the show in midfield as the Warriors completely took over proceedings and stamped their authority on the match. A third goal felt inevitable and again it was the speed of Davies that produced it. Picking up a Michael header in midfield, she sprinted past Berrell and fired home past Mcmullen to make it 3-0.
Mcmullen had a fine day in South's net and ultimately if not for her it would have been a far more damaging scoreline. She was sharp early in the second half as the chances continued to mount for the visitors but the scoreline remained at 3-0, as it would throughout the rest of the second half.
The combination of the Warriors side not needing to force the issue with their three goal lead and the horrible conditions made for a fairly ordinary spectacle in the second half, but the dark skies were still lit up by some moments of individual brilliance even if no goal would come from them. Olivia Bomford appeared to have the ball on a string at times, whilst South to their credit were rugged in their defensive efforts and never stopped working hard to keep it at 3-0.
The win sees the Warriors remain in top spot on the table with 5 wins from 5 games and impressively they are still yet to concede a goal. South continue to develop and whilst it is tightening, there clearly still remains a gap from the competitions top two to the chasing pack.