Welcome to the Weekend-Wash Up for Round 11 of the MyState Bank Women’s Super League season. It was ultimately a weekend that went largely as expected, with the competition’s top three sides all registering victories against the sides ranked 4-6. It wasn’t all one-way traffic though, with Taroona giving second-placed Launceston United a major scare at Kelvedon Park.
More Last Minute Heart-Break For Pirates as Ikeda Makes Instant Impact
The game of the weekend undoubtedly took place at Kelvedon Park, where the defending Champions Launceston United just snuck past Taroona 2-1 with a last-minute winner from new signing Angelique Ikeda.
The American struck in the 89th minute, having assisted on their first-half equalizer earlier. It was quite the way to introduce yourself to the competition and she looks to be another astute import signing for United. Hailing from Missouri, Ikeda comes to the league with an interesting background, recently playing in the Macedonian first division. We have had players from around the world across the years in the WSL, but I feel confident in suggesting that’s a first!
Her side were immediately on the backfoot in this clash though, as for a second week in a row United conceded a goal in the opening moments of the match. A rare error at the back from the reliable Katie Hill was punished by Maeve Dunbabin who seized on the turnover and picked out the bottom corner to put the Pirates ahead 1-0.
Chances were tough to come by on what was a heavy pitch that made stringing passes together difficult but United got back on terms via Dani Gunton, who headed home Ikeda’s cross in off the crossbar. Another Gunton header rocketed into the same crossbar five minutes later, but this time it stayed out and the score would remain 1-1 at the break.
The teams traded half-chances throughout the second half, United were getting on top in general play but not exactly knocking the door down with the weight of chances produced. The introduction of Adilat Otto seemed to give United a lift and on multiple occasions, she came close to unlocking the defence, but it remained locked at 1-1 till late on in the piece when there was late drama.
In milestone game #200 for Taroona, club legend, Daisy Parsell almost had the perfect script when she spied Venn well off her line and launched a shot from 35 yards that bounced agonizingly, just wide of the post.
Then came the follow-up gut punch, as for the second week in a row, Taroona conceded a last-gasp winner that would condemn them to defeat.
Izzy Declerk’s shot from outside the box was uncharacteristically mishandled by Ottavi, leaving an inviting rebound for Ikeda to pounce upon and put United 2-1 ahead with just 12 seconds left in regulation.
It was enough to see United sneak home and stay in second place on the table, though their hopes of chasing down South Hobart appear to be slimming. They got the three points they need, but their form since the Statewide Cup final has not been what it was before it.
Taroona meanwhile will be gutted to have lost it so late for a second week running, but the progress they’ve made is undeniable and a breakthrough win seems to be drawing ever closer.
South Cruise Past Lions
There were no such troubles for the competition’s front runners, as South Hobart cruised past the Kingborough Lions 4-0 to maintain their seven-point buffer atop the table. Madi Chambers played a starring role, setting up all 4 goals whilst Pishon Choi continued her brilliant season with a brace.
They took the lead in just the second minute of the match after Madi Chambers stormed into the box from the left and her cross caught the arm of Segger for a straightforward penalty decision.
The ever-reliable Lucy Roberts stepped up from the spot and dispatched the spot kick with no fuss; she is ice cold from the penalty spot and proved so once again.
They had to wait a while for the second goal to arrive, as the first half saw the Lions digging in, but South hit the accelerator in a devastating 20-minute burst midway through the second half to power away to victory.
First Amy Ollington had a tap in from close range in the 58th minute after a brilliant piece of play from Chambers in the build-up, breaking lines to spring Pishon Choi, who unselfishly opted to pass.
Choi then turned scorer, chiming in with a brace. She was afforded far too much time and space in the 68th minute, as Chambers picked her out in the area and she emphatically thumped home the shot.
It was Chambers setting up yet another to complete the victory, albeit this time via the head of a Lions defender who couldn’t clear her cross, which fell to Choi who struck it first time into the bottom corner for her second and the 4-0 victory.
Bigger tests await South Hobart, but this was another convincing performance as they continue their march to a maiden league title. Next up the Devonport Strikers at Valley Road, probably the toughest remaining fixture on their schedule, and a potentially defining day in the WSL season.
Strikers Continue to Pick Up Steam
Perhaps the biggest threat to South Hobart now lies in the Devonport Strikers who picked up where they left off against Launceston United and hammered the Clarence Zebras 7-0 at Valley Road, scoring a series of eye-catching goals in the process.
The Strikers are starting to fire on all cylinders, and this was another impressive performance and a result that represented an 11-goal turnaround from the last clash between the two sides at Wentworth Park when the Zebras won 5-1.
This was a completely different story as the Strikers got going early and never looked back. The competition’s leading markswoman Jazmin White started things off in the 6th minute with a wickedly bending shot from range. Her second that she added early in the second half was an even more impressive goal, absolutely rocketing a shot from just inside the box that nearly burst through the side netting.
In between those 2 goals, the Strikers added three more, with Maddy Payne accounting for two of them, the first a fine blast from outside the box, before the second was a more regulation shot from close range.
Georgia King found the back of the net from 30 yards out with a long-range free-kick, though it may not have been intended as a shot, as it bounced past bodies and into the far corner, whilst Renske Rombouts conjured a quality curling effort on the left from outside the box, as the insanely high calibre of goals scored in this match continued.
Nikita Boyd then rounded out the scoring to finish a nice flowing move and secure a big win for the Strikers. They still sit 9 points behind South Hobart, but they are starting to pick up steam and are threatening to make a second-half charge at South, whom they host at Valley Road in what shapes as the biggest game of the season to date next weekend.
MyState Bank Women’s Super League
Round 11
Devonport Strikers 7 (J.White 6” 50” M.Payne 21” 46” G.King 41” R.Rombouts 52” N.Boyd 60”)
Clarence Zebras 0
Taroona FC 1 (M.Dunbabin 1”)
Launceston United 2 (D.Gunton 35” A.Ikeda 90”)
Kingborough Lions 0
South Hobart 4 (L.Roberts 2” A.Ollington 58” P.Choi 68” 78”)