The Clarence Zebras have blown the MyState Women's Super League season wide open, beating the defending champion Olympia Warriors 2-1 at Warrior Park. The visitors struck early in each half to take a 2-0 lead, and they kept their composure to hold off a late Warriors push and leave with a win.
It was a steady start to the game, with both sides moving the ball forward well but struggling to find the finishing touches. With neither side threatening the goal in the opening exchanges it took a slice of good fortune for the Zebras to take the lead in the tenth minute. After receiving the pass 25 yards out, Sophie Fone lined up a shot that was well hit but took a big deflection off the defender and looped high toward the goal. Warriors goalkeeper Jenna Farrow did well to get a hand onto it, but she could only watch as it continued on and into the back of the net.
Olympia stayed patient and had the bulk of the possession through the rest of the half, but they continued to misfire in the final third. Madi Chambers worked hard down the wing and twice looked to have set up Mia Cane in the middle for an equaliser, but the first chance was bundled away by the defence and the second but rolled into the post and stayed out. The Zebras looked to attack from the wings and crossed on occasion, but the Warriors defence stayed solid to keep their deficit from growing before the break.
It was more of the same when the players returned for the second half, with Olympia searching for an equaliser and almost finding one through Chambers. A cross from Hannah Johnson split the defence and found her free at the back post, but Shelley Cook shut down the angles well to save from close range.
The hosts would come to rue their wastefulness just five minutes later as the Zebras struck again to double their lead. Again they broke quickly down the wing, and this time the cross from the right was timed perfectly to meet the run of Zoe Nichols at the penalty spot. She hit a thumping first-time shot that flew into the back of the net and gave her side a two-goal buffer to protect.
The Zebras continued to play with plenty of confidence and Nichols continued to create, setting up a teammate only to watch them blast the shot over the top. For the home side, Innocent Michael patrolled the backline superbly and launched countless plays the other way. Those efforts paid off with 20 minutes left on the clock, and again it was Chambers chasing the ball into an acre of space on the left. With time to deliver into the middle she sent a low cross to the near post towards Mia Cane. Cook left her line looking to cut it off, but Cane managed to flick a shot past the goalkeeper and into the open net to keep her side's hopes alive.
It would have been easy for the Zebras to sit back and defend until the final whistle, but they continued to play their natural game and could have added to their lead again. That kept the Warriors from settling on the ball for too long, and their only real chance to equalised came in the dying minutes of the game. Chambers crossed dangerously to the middle but couldn't find a teammate, Michael cleaned up the rebound and crossed from the opposite side but saw it cleared away, and the shot from the rebound was sent over the top once again. That was the final real action of the game, with the Zebras claiming a huge win and leaving three teams tied on top of the table.