Welcome to the Weekend-Washup for Round 17 of the MyState Bank Women’s Super League. Round 17 saw an incredible defensive effort from the Clarence Zebras to deny the Champions South Hobart, Devonport locking down second place on the table by beating Launceston United and Taroona continuing their late-season improvement by accounting for the Lions.
Strikers Too Good For United
The Devonport Strikers have just about locked down a second-placed finish, as they again got the better of Launceston United, claiming a 2-0 win at Floorworld Park. First half strikes from Maddy Payne and Georgia King set up the victory inside the opening half hour and sees the Strikers move 7 points clear of third placed United.
The Strikers took the lead in the 11th minute when Jazmin White robbed Katie Hill of the ball before sliding it across to Maddy Payne who took a touch past a defender before burying the opening goal.
Jazlin Venn put in the goalkeeping performance of the season the last time these sides met and she was once again razor-sharp this time out. She did well to keep out Georgia King’s deflected free kick from long range and even better to deny Jazmin White a goal-of-the-year contender after her storming run from halfway. It would be the first of three occasions for the match where Venn was able to deny White after getting she charged in behind the defence.
United were on the back foot but they showed they had some threat about themselves when Ange Ikeda tested out Ponting with a blast from range that the Strikers keeper did well to turn aside. It was as close as they would come to scoring though, with the Strikers doing the bulk of the attacking.
The pressure was beginning to tell and King doubled the Strikers' advantage when she bent a free kick home from 25 yards that curled nicely under the bar just before the half-hour mark.
That made it 2-0 and the Strikers simply never looked like relinquishing the points in the second half, finding themselves in complete control of the match.
They likely would’ve extended their advantage if not for Venn, who made some big saves including an incredible effort to fingertip a howitzer of a Georgia King free-kick onto the crossbar.
It saw the game ending 2-0 in the Striker's favour as they seemingly locked down a second-placed finish, as they now sit 7 points ahead of United as we enter the final few weeks of the season.
Zebras Dig Deep To Hold Champions
A Ten Woman Clarence Zebras outfit put in a defensive masterclass to frustrate the Champions South Hobart and hold them to a 0-0 draw at Darcy Street.
A personnel shortage meant the Zebras played this match without a full complement of players or any substitutes. That they managed to claim a point from these circumstances is a testament to the fight and focus that the 10 players they did have demonstrated over 90 highly disciplined minutes,
It certainly informed the approach they were going to take, basically leaving parking the bus as the only option and challenging South Hobart to try and break through their compact defensive lines. They’ve seemingly had all the answers this season South Hobart, but on this afternoon they were found lacking.
The Zebras were parked deep with minimal space in between the midfield and defensive lines, denying South the space they usually like to play in and it frustrated them mightily. They just couldn’t get anything going and a pair of Lucy Roberts shots from outside the box was as close as they came to creating a chance in the first half. The Zebras were happy to let them have the ball in non-dangerous areas, but protected the prime goalscoring areas ferociously.
The second half brought more of the same as the Zebras defence, led superbly by Anna Fewkes and Sarah Bolonja continued to blunt South’s attacks. Lou Marmion acted as a shield in front of them as they continued to stifle a South side that had been scoring freely in recent weeks.
Bridie Cooling almost broke the deadlock with a spectacular blast from 30 yards out but rattled the woodwork as time began to run out for South.
The 10-Woman Zebras outfit were starting to get worn down though and the final 10 minutes saw them desperately clinging on as South Hobart threw the kitchen sink at them and the ball lived in South Hobart's attacking penalty area.
South were clearly eager to win, and perhaps surprisingly given they still have an unbeaten season record on the line, were willing to risk a loss to get the win by sending keeper Jenna Farrow up for corners as early as the 86th minute.
They would find no way through as the Clarence Zebras held out to claim a point in a hard-fought 0-0 draw. This was a mighty back-to-the-walls type job from a side that had been beaten comfortably in all their prior meetings with South Hobart this season. To claim a point with 10 players the whole game was a tremendous effort.
Turnaround Continues as Pirates Down Lions
Taroona continued their late-season surge, as they downed the Kingborough Lions 3-1 to claim a second victory of the season.
The Lions took the lead just inside the opening quarter of an hour when Isabelle De Smit’s back post cross was parried into the path of a lurking Cara Lashmar who struck a first-time effort past Ottavi to make it 1-0 Lions.
Taroona almost restored parity within 30 seconds, as Williams found Dunbabin at the back post with a raking cross that was directed just wide of the post.
The Pirates didn't have to wait long to level things however and were back on terms moments later when they were given the chance to square things up from the penalty spot. Daisy Parsell had cracked a shot onto the crossbar, with Dunbabin going down in the area as she battled Moutsatsos for the rebound and the referee pointing to the spot.
Up stepped Jessie Williams, who made no mistake and levelled things up.
Daisy Parsell fired her side into the lead six minutes later as she picked the pocket of Clifford before picking out the top corner with an emphatic finish.
The Lions largely had the better of the second half as they pushed hard for an equaliser but lacked a clinical edge in the final third. Twice Davis fired wide, whilst Lashmar elevated a shot over the bar as the chances began to mount and they remained behind on the scoreboard.
Mackintosh did well to keep out what would've been another Jessie Williams stunner, but she was powerless in the 86th minute as Taroona sealed the victory.
A nice attacking move led to substitute Beatrice Thurston-Regan blocking an attempted clearance before running onto the deflection and slotting home a composed goal to seal the match at 3-1 for her side.
It put the result beyond doubt and saw Taroona claim their second win for the year as they continue their strong finish to the 2023 campaign.
Round 17
South Hobart 0
Clarence Zebras 0
Devonport Strikers 2 (M.Payne 11” G.King 27”)
Launceston United 0
Taroona 3 (J.Williams 17" D.Parsell 24", B.Thurston Regan 87")
Kingborough Lions 1 (C.Lashmar 14")