Olympia saw off a gallant effort by South Hobart to claim a 2-1 victory in their Round 8 WSL clash. Mary Coy’s cool goal from a close range free kick levelled the scoring after a ‘no look’ goal by Bianca Parker ten minutes earlier in the first half. However it was Madi Chambers, finding a moment of composure to sink one of her many opportunities that would seal the victory for Olympia. Some tense moments and false alarms were had in the second half, but all the scoring was finished by half time.
South Hobart came out with it all to play for, putting in a high press and looking to transition quickly once they had their feet on the ball. The passing around the defence by Olympia in the first minute failed to represent the rest of the half, as the Warriors, who are normally so composed on the ball, struggled to deal with the hunger to win the ball that South were bringing to the table.
A first half of urgent counter attacking by both sides was somewhat marred by an inability for either side to build any real meaningful possession. It was Olympia who managed the early break through in the 19th minute. In a literal no-look goal, Parker turned her back on the incoming cross, only to go on and use her back to nudge the Davies cross into the net.
South Hobart had glimmers of a threat, however were lacking the final pass and composure to utilise the work that was usually happening down the left side in breaking Olympia’s defensive lines. A breakthrough moment did occur midway through the half when South were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area in the middle of the goal. Mary Coy stepped up to take a clever free kick instead. Taken with no hesitation, the midfielders hit the ball low and hard, leaving Farrow stranded watching the ball hit the back of the net.
Attacking down the flanks was the recipe for Warriors success, with Olympia scoring what wound up being the eventual game winner via this formula before the break. Chambers lost her fullback, received the ball in the pocket of space and showed composure to throttle the ball into the net, leaving McMullen little chance of saving it in goal.
With Olympia pulling slightly ahead at half time, it was going to take a mighty effort for South Hobart to keep in touching distance. And a mighty effort was produced.
The second half continued to be an open ended affair, however it was Olympia who were really putting their foot down and it was McMullen who turned out to be the hero of the second half in goals for Olympia. Backing up from an impressive first half, the young keeper pulled out an absolutely stunning display as she fought off the onslaught of the visitors in the second half.
Early in the half the Warriors mixed things up from the first half formula of attacking from out wide, getting Williams, Michaels and Parker all involved in the play. However, the moments of finding the pockets of space on the flanks that remained the most threatening, with both sides main goal threat coming via their respective left flanks.
Olympia particularly were looking dangerous once Chambers had drawn the defenders in on the left side, to cross the ball over to two awaiting teammates, with the attacking side out numbering the defensive side in the box. Only a mixture of good goalkeeping and poor composure in front of goal denied Olympia building on their lead.
With ten minutes to go, South almost got an equaliser against the run of play. Niki Mousatsos decided to put in a deep cross early, finding Ingram who beat the keeper with her efforts, but pulled her shot agonisingly wide.
In a match dominated by left wingers, Olympia found enough to narrowly see out a fighting South Hobart side. Despite the Warriors dominating in patches, South’s hunger to win second balls meant the visitors didn’t have the opportunity to put the game to the bed early on as most expected. In the end though, It was heroics in goal by McMullen that stole the show, despite her side losing.
Attacking down the flanks was the recipe for Warriors success, with Olympia scoring what wound up being the eventual game winner via this formula before the break. Chambers lost her fullback, received the ball in the pocket of space and showed composure to throttle the ball into the net, leaving McMullen little chance of saving it in goal.
With Olympia pulling slightly ahead at half time, it was going to take a mighty effort for South Hobart to keep in touching distance. And a mighty effort was produced.
The second half continued to be an open ended affair, however it was Olympia who were really putting their foot down and it was McMullen who turned out to be the hero of the second half in goals for Olympia. Backing up from an impressive first half, the young keeper pulled out an absolutely stunning display as she fought off the onslaught of the visitors in the second half.
Early in the half the Warriors mixed things up from the first half formula of attacking from out wide, getting Williams, Michaels and Parker all involved in the play. However, the moments of finding the pockets of space on the flanks that remained the most threatening, with both sides main goal threat coming via their respective left flanks.
Olympia particularly were looking dangerous once Chambers had drawn the defenders in on the left side, to cross the ball over to two awaiting teammates, with the attacking side out numbering the defensive side in the box. Only a mixture of good goalkeeping and poor composure in front of goal denied Olympia building on their lead.
With ten minutes to go, South almost got an equaliser against the run of play. Niki Mousatsos decided to put in a deep cross early, finding Ingram who beat the keeper with her efforts, but pulled her shot agonisingly wide.
In a match dominated by left wingers, Olympia found enough to narrowly see out a fighting South Hobart side. Despite the Warriors dominating in patches, South’s hunger to win second balls meant the visitors didn’t have the opportunity to put the game to the bed early on as most expected. In the end though, It was heroics in goal by McMullen that stole the show, despite her side losing.