Ulverstone have sent a strong message to the competition, downing South Hobart 12-0 at Darcy Street on Saturday.
The defending champions were led by Jazmin White, with the Ulverstone goal machine scoring seven goals. White was helped by doubles to Tiela Weeda and Georgia Foote, with a Lucy Foote goal rounding out a dominant 12-0 win.
The pattern of the game was established quickly and it started with an early chance to Ulverstone, after a wayward South pass was cut out. Soon after and Foote had a shot going wide as the chances mounted early.
The visitors continued to push for the opener, with chances falling to White, Mitchell and Bissett before a breakthrough finally occurred. In the 7th minute Jazmin White found space inside the box to get a shot away. South keeper Isabella Declerck managed to get a foot on the shot however it went into the back of the net, putting Ulverstone 1-0 up.
Minutes later it was South with a great chance, this time Gregg was in an attacking position, however Anderson collected the ball well. Moments later and the home team had another opportunity to equalise, with Pishon Choi finding herself on the end of a great cross, but Anderson defended well.
South had another good chance in the 20th minute, but Anderson came out of her box to clear. This clearance then sparked an Ulverstone counter attack, resulting in White’s shot hitting the goal post before Foote’s follow up was cleared on the goal line. It was a very near miss, however Ulverstone would soon hit the back of the net again.
In the 22nd minute Jazmin White found herself bursting out of the middle to be one on one with the goalkeeper. White then took a touch to round Declerck before hitting the ball into the back of the net, extending the visitors’ lead to 2-0.
Soon after and South produced another good attack, with Gregg receiving the ball but failing to convert. Five minutes later and Ulverstone had no such troubles, with White on the receiving end of a good pass before striking into the back of the net. This goal sealed White’s hattrick and moved the score to 3-0.
Two minutes after White’s third and she was searching for a fourth, attacking the goal at pace. However, this time Declerck got the better of her opponent, preventing another chance on goal. Shots then fell to Reimer, Weeda and White before the ball went out for an Ulverstone corner.
This corner proved to be a dangerous one, with the ball falling to Jamzin White in the middle. White had managed to find space in a crowded box, hitting home her fourth to send them into the half time break 4-0 up.
Georgia Foote resumed the onslaught early in the half when she stood over the dead ball. The number five made it goal number five, by striking the free kick low and hard into the bottom corner of the goal.
Just four minutes later and it was Lucy Foote extending her sides lead. Foote found room near the top of the box to hit a powerful shot, extending her sides lead to 6-0 with just 51 minutes played.
Jazmin White then made her way back into the thick of the action. White’s fifth goal came from a shot in a crowded area. White managed to get her shot off well, and a deflection may have aided in it hitting the back of the net, moving the score to 7-0.
Five minutes later it was 8-0 as Jazmin White found the back of the net yet again, as she continued to run the South defence ragged.
Six minutes after White’s goal and Tiela Weeda found her first, hitting the ball over Declerck’s head and into the back of the net.
Just a minute later and Ulverstone were celebrating again.The tenth goal came from a great ball down the middle of the pitch. This ball found its way to Jazmin White, with the speedster scoring her seventh goal of the game with 74 minutes played.
Ulverstone were not done there though and found two more goals, hitting the back of the net in quick succession in the 81stand 83rdminutes. The first of these goals went to Georgia Foote who struck well to hit the back of the net for the second time of the day. Tiela Weeda then also completed her double, rounding out the scoring at 12-0.
With not long left on the clock it was South Hobart with two good chances, however they were not to be, and the game ended with Ulverstone running out 12-0 winners.
Speaking post-match Ulverstone coach Malcolm Gorrie was “really, really happy” with his side’s performance. He explained that both sides had a number of outs for the game which made the sides more even in the lead up to kick off.
South Hobart Craig Westwood was happy that his side “never stopped trying to play football.” He explained that through injuries and illness his side were undermanned and said that “player welfare is priority” and thus his side only had ten players on the pitch towards the end of the match. In a great show of sportsmanship Ulverstone then brought one of their own players off in order to even the numbers in an act that Craig acknowledged and appreciated.
The win sees Ulverstone remain in third, whilst South remain in sixth position. Next week Ulverstone host the Hobart Zebras, 2:30pm at Ulverstone on Saturday, whilst South Hobart travel to Kingborough, 4:30pm on Saturday.