Welcome to the Weekend Wash-Up for Round 20 of the MyState Bank Women’s Super League. It was a weekend where Launceston United officially sealed the league title, with their thumping 5-0 win over Kingborough coupled with South Hobart’s 1-1 draw with the Clarence Zebras ensuring that they now cannot be caught. They are worthy champions who have put together a truly spectacular season and claimed the coveted League/Cup double having already won the Women’s Statewide Cup earlier in the year. They wobbled a little late on in the year but they had the points on the board that meant it was a luxury they could afford. This was a title they set up right out of the gates as their opening three fixtures of the season saw them taking on Clarence Zebras, South Hobart and Devonport, with two of those games coming away from home. They would win all three of those games, firmly establishing themselves as the side to beat and it was those top four games that ultimately decided the title race.
All four of the top four sides were perfect against the bottom three sides, meaning it was purely the games against each other that have decided the title. United won six of those nine matches, posting a 6-1-2 record whereas South could only go 4-3-2. South might have won the third battle between the pair utterly emphatically, but United winning the first two fixtures against them was what put them beyond South’s reach despite their furious late push.
So congratulations to the entire club and especially Co-Coaches Frank Compton and Lynden Prince who’ve done a fine job in guiding this side to a League/Cup double in just their second season in the top flight. They assembled a strong squad and the players absolutely delivered. Ellie La Monte was a star in attack all season, scoring 17 goals in 14 games and she was well supported by the tireless Dani Gunton who scored 16 in 16 games leading the line. Madison Gilpin and Alexis Mitchell provided the secondary scoring as well as plenty of creativity in the final third and were joys to watch. Across the pitch, week in week out they had winners across every line. Laura Dickinson stamped herself as a player for the big moments as she starred in several of those huge games, Sydney Carnie was a steady presence in net, whilst the likes of Hill, James and Lohse were ultra-consistent performers who just got the job done and provided a solid defensive foundation on which victories were built. It takes an entire squad to win a league title and United had 17 players who played in 50% of their matches or more. That shows the depth they utilized and they all deserve credit for this feat. They are full deserving of the league title and it’s fantastic to see top flight Women’s football thriving in Launceston once more. This has been a triumph many years in the making and United are now well poised to become a power club in the North which is a credit to all those who work so hard behind the scenes.
With that covered let’s take a quick look at how the games played out over the weekend.
United Emphatically Dispatch Lions
Needing to win to keep their fate in their own hands Launceston United jumped into an early lead against the Kingborough Lions and never looked back. United had a two-goal lead inside the opening quarter of an hour, pouncing on errors at the back to storm to an emphatic 5-0 win that would give them the three points to ultimately seal the title.
United were given an early gift to help to steady any potential nerves when a sloppy turnover at the back left Alexis Mitchell with a wide-open net to curl the ball into from outside the box.
Minutes later and United had doubled the advantage as Ellie La Monte scored a wonderful solo goal. Picking the ball up in the centre circle, La Monte stormed off towards goal, powering through the defence before unleashing a rocket into the back of the net.
Any fears of a second half Lions rally to spoil their title dreams were quickly put to bed in the opening moments of the second half when Mitchell bagged her second of the afternoon with a thumping hit.
With the result beyond doubt United went on to add two more goals and both were quality strikes. Gunton timed her close-range volley to perfection before Dickinson put a cherry on top of the cake with an absolute stunning blast from outside the box.
It saw United running out 5-0 victors and then all eyes turned to Darcy Street on the Sunday, where the Zebras would go on to do United a favour and officially wrap things up.
Zebras Deny South
Needing a win to force the title race to the final day, South Hobart were held to a 1-1 draw by the Clarence Zebras at Darcy Street. The result consigned South to a second placed finish on the table as they were made to rue some first half missed opportunities.
South had their chances in the first half but couldn’t take one and ultimately, they probably should have created a lot more of them. They had the Zebras pinned back in defence for large swathes of the half but their end product continued to let them down. Dixon and Leon were mighty in the heart of the Zebras defence and deserve plenty of credit for keeping South at bay, but the quality of ball into the area was far too inconsistent from South.
They were then made to pay by Georgia Burt who, brought a ball down, fired off a shot on the non-preferred left foot and lobbed a spectacular effort over the keeper just before the half time break. It was a bitter blow for South who now needed two goals in the second half.
In the second half the chances were few and far between. The one clear cut chance they did create was denied by a brilliant double save from Ponting.
Ever the willing runner, Bonnie Davies provided a glimmer of late hope when she produced a barnstorming run through the middle and emphatic finish to level the game at 1-1, but the Zebras defence had been magnificent all afternoon and they duly saw the game out.
It brings an end to South Hobart’s title bid, but they can still look back on a successful season. Improving from a 3 win side to one that pushed all the way in the title race and also bagged a Summer Cup is a definite sign of progress and no doubt they will be in the mix once again in 2023.
Williams Strikes Late Again to Salvage Point
For the second week in a row, Jessie Williams produced late heroics to deliver the Olympia Warriors a positive result. Williams scored two times in the final 15 minutes to help the Warriors fight back and claim a 3-3 draw with Taroona after they had found themselves in a 3-1 hole at half time.
The Warriors got the worst possible start to the game when Shelley Cook produced a rare howler, clean missing a back pass and allowing a tap in for Ineeka Link just 50 seconds into the contest.
Sarah Morris got the Warriors back on terms ten minute later when she caught Ottavi off her line and produced a wonderful first-time finish, lofting the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net.
But the Warriors leaky defence that has plagued them all season came to the fore again as Daisy Parsell responded with a brace before half time to have the Pirates well on the way to victory. First she took advantage of some sloppy play out from the back by hammering an effort in at the near post before bagging a second by winning a foot race for a ball played over the top and producing the classy finish.
It seemed like that would be enough to secure the win but just as she did a week earlier, Jessie Williams stepped up to the plate and salvaged a result for her side.
The first goal came from a corner as Williams volleyed home at the back post and clearly buoyed by the belief from last week’s breakthrough win, suddenly the Warriors were on the charge. Five minutes later and Williams turned sharply into the box where she was cut down leading to a penalty kick. Up stepped Williams to square the game and secure a point for her side.
The result ensures Taroona will finish above the Warriors on the table in sixth place, but given the way their season had been playing out, I suspect Olympia will simply be happy to have bagged 4 points in the last fortnight as we head into the final week of the 2022 season.