Round 9 - U15 Girls

With the final game of the first half of the season upon us we knew it would be a tough home game against Port Melbourne who were only one point below Rovers on the ladder. With coach Lee back at the helm the girls were charged and they came out committed from the word go. Again we were very dominant making most of the play and coming close to scoring many times in the first half. A combination of missed shots and some good goal keeping kept our girls from scoring but the goal did finally come before half time with Christina Napoleone wining the ball in the midfield and laying it off for Natasha who split the defense with a great through ball to Jordy who slotted her left foot shot past the keeper who this time had no chance!

The girls game out in the second half and again dominated the game with some great passes and moves but were again unable to capitalise in front of goal. They were unlucky to have a goal disallowed when the goal keeper clearly dropped the ball and Kelsey tapped it in after a great run. Justice was to prevail as Natasha drove home a free kick on the edge of the area after another clumsy foul by Port Melbourne with 10 minutes to go. The final score was 2-0 nil to Rovers but it felt like it should have been at least 5-0. The pleasing thing is that the girls are creating some nice play and passing much more effectively than their opponents. We are hopeful that the more goals will flow from this in the second half of the season.

It is also a credit to the girls that their behaviour and conduct has generally been very professional and of a high standard with their focus being to go hard at the ball. Unfortunately some opponents from a few teams this year have used rough tactics, foul language and attempted ridicule to put the girls off. It was very evident from one of the Port Melbourne players on the weekend who also refused to shake hands with the girls after the game. This type of behaviour will obviously remain unacceptable at our club.

The highlights from the game were:-
solid defensive play by our girls and our goalkeeper Holly resulted in no goals being conceded
the great passing in midfield was a pleasure to watch
those blistering runs by Kelsey from the half way line (I think we should call her the "roadrunner")
the first goal was built on great passing by the girls and nicely executed by Jordy
Nat and Cassy for helping push the ball around
Cristina Napoleone came off the bench worked hard and had a great game in midfield
Christina Moribito had a solid game in defense despite being intimidated by her older opponents with some very average use of the english language
Liz was outstanding in defence and won the coaches votes!
At the half way mark of the season the girls are well positioned in 3rd place on the ladder behind Berwick and Kensington.

Enjoy your weeks break and we return Sunday 12th July to start the second half of the season as we take on Peninsular Strikers again, this time at home.