Kingborough have cruised into the Quarter Finals of the Women's Statewide Cup, beating Clarence 5-0 in a dominant display at Lightwood Park.
In a game they could have won by twice the margin, the Lions fired 34 shots on goal and had the vast majority of the possession for the full 90 minutes. Only a best-on-ground performance from Clarence goalkeeper Amelia Vandermiet and some wayward finishing in front of goal spared Clarence from a more demoralising scoreline.
The Lions looked to be switched on from the opening whistle, and they had the lead all too easily inside the first five minutes. Emille Tatton got the ball in the middle of the park and turned into an acre of space through the centre. She wandered into the 18-yard box, lined up the shot and coolly finished into the bottom corner to open the scoring.
It only got better from there for the Lions and Tatton, as she had her brace with just ten minutes on the clock. A cutback from the byline split the defence and found Tatton goalside of her defender, and she finished strongly again to double the early advantage.
While the scoring slowed from that frenetic start, Kingborough's dominance in general play continued. When Clarence's first shot was blocked behind for a goal kick by the referee, it just about summed up their day.
With that chance and some rare forward possession, Clarence would have hoped to slowly wrestle back some momentum. A stunning goal from Amy Ollington put those plans on hold, though, and almost buried the game before half time.
A Lions corner was floated in short by Leila Hickman and found Ollington with some space to manoeuvre. Rather than take a touch, she hit the volley first-time and wrapped her foot around it brilliantly to beat the keeper and give the Lions a commanding lead.
A flurry of chances just before half time kept both sides on their toes, and a pair of stunning saves from Vandermiet to deny Laura Davis were a sign of things to come after the break. Kingborough's three goal buffer at the half could have easily been more, but they went into the break with all the play and a handy cushion.
That cushion was expanded a little straight after the break, as the Lions started the second half in much the same fashion as the first. Four minutes in, a floating cross from the right from Ollington was met by a towering leap from Laura Davis over her marker, and her header crept past Vandermiet and into the back of the net.
From there, it felt like the scoreline could have gotten seriously ugly. The next 30 minutes, though, were the unstoppable force of Kingborough against the immovable object in Amelia Vandermiet.
Ollington, Davis, Hickman and substitute Mia Kane all lined up to take a potshot on goal, but they couldn't beat the Clarence keeper as she made saves to all parts of the area. The highlight was a mad scramble in front of goal in the 79th minute, as she saved a double shot from Kane, before the rebound bounced around the area and back to Kane for a third shot and a third save.
Unfortunately for her, it was shortly after that that the Lions finally found their fifth goal. The lively Kane was excellent in a cameo off the bench, and she was played through down the right by Zoe Horgan and beat the defence for pace. With plenty of space around her, she was able to cruise into the box and slide it past the helpless Vandermiet.
The Lions continued to attack and press for further goals, but the last ten minutes passed and they were forced to settle for a 5-0 that could have been much bigger. That was more than enough, though, as they now advance to the next round of the Women's Statewide Cup.