Nedlands 0 Balcatta 4

Holly Farrell 1, Jaime Carley 3

Prue Cormie helped direct traffic through the midfield for the visitors and Jessine Bonzas, boisterous as usual, allowed no quarter for the Nedlands attack. American import, Emily Heller, had an outstanding game in the midfield for Nedlands, with timely interceptions and some terrific passes to spread the game to their pacey wingers. 

Although Nedlands are proving to capable of stopping higher opposition playing with their sheer determination, their ability to control the ball and release it in a timely fashion, has been a consistent bug bear for Coach John Warrington.  When they did intercede on numerous occasions, they could not build up to a shot on goal.

Balcatta played the ball tidily from side to side with haste and Nedlands found the one and two touch movements difficult to contain.

Nat Spyvee stepped up to take a free kick for Nedlands well into the first half and Lisa Tana in goals for Balcatta easily used her height to catch the ball floating in at the far post.  Despite rampages down the wings from Liz Doorman and Grace Kooperman, this was the only clear shot at goal for Nedlands in the half. Even “Miss Consistency,” Shelley Kent who was getting to the ball first was having trouble controlling it.  Balcatta’s constant forward momentum and switching was proving a headache to Nedlands.

A silly mistake lead to the first goal from a Balcatta free kick. Taken just outside of the 18 yard box, Balcatta put the ball through and an ineffective Nedlands swipe at the ball saw it flip over the defenders foot and deflect into the 6 yard box, where Jaime Carley shouldered aside the goalkeeper and tucked the ball away.

The second half was a different story.  Balcatta scored within a few minutes of the restart, and with the wind at their backs. TannerHoath ran out to stop Holly Farrell after she slipped through the defence following a well timed pass.  The clearing kick slammed into Farrell’s stomach as she jumped to protect herself, and rebounded straight back into the goal!

Emily Heller was proving a constant headache for Balcatta with her interceptions and passing ability.  A great move down the left wing was capped off by a shot at the far post which beat Tana and rebounded to Doorman’s feet.  But from point blank range she was unable to secure a goal for Nedlands.

Balcatta had the upper hand and were dominating the game. Coach Warrington switched Heller from midfield into defence in an effort to change the balance of the game. An accidental handball by Heller in the box led to a penalty.  Alloryce Keswell stepped up and coolly aimed for the corner, but TannerHoath maintained her excellent penalty save record with another finger tip save.

Balcatta’s Jaime Carley was on fire and added two more in the half to prove determination is simply not enough in this division. The win pushes Balcatta into fourth position, edging out East Fremantle.  They have one more catch up game against mid table Beckenham, so have a good chance of moving past UWA.

Queens Park 2 Northern Redbacks 1

Stacey Learmont 1, Jess Lindquist 1
Carys Hawkins (Reds)

Typically windy conditions at Coker Park could have made this match messy.  But both teams played some outstanding football to make it a showcase battle in the midfield.  Woodfin Mum Lynda was impressed with the quality of the game despite the conditions.

One of three Woodfin daughters playing in the squad, Kylie Woodfin was gifted an open goal inside the first 10 minutes and put the ball over the bar against the wind.

Both teams could not get the upper hand and with few opportunities, it wasn’t until 20 minutes from the end that Carys Hawkins headed in for the Reds from a corner. A short while later Stacey Learmont (the oldest Woodfin daughter) latched onto the end of a through pass, and equalised for Park, inspiring the them to lift up a gear.

Redbacks playmaker Nicola Williams was unable to play due to a broken arm. This may have been the edge Coach Tim Hodgson needed in such a close game.

Jenny Jobling could do nothing about Jess Lindquist’s trade mark toe poke which sealed the match not long from full time and put Queens Park equal on points with the Reds, but second on goal difference.  Both teams now have played their catch up games and have no more points to gain outside of standard league games.

Nicky Campbell, a pillar in the Queens Park defence is travelling with the Under 17’s squad along with goalscorer Stacey Learmont.  In the Reds side, Carla Bennett and Rebecca Davies are also in the 17s side, along with injured playmaker Nicola Williams. These players are all absent for their team’s cup games next week.

Learmont leads the goal scoring tally in the Premier League with 12 goals over Kolker from UWA and Davies from the Redbacks.

The table sits with Northern Redbacks on top, then Queens Park, UWA and Balcatta fourth.

Cup game match ups this Sunday:
Subiaco B v Balcatta B, Ballajura v Balcatta A, Nedlands A v Redbacks A, Queens Park A v Subiaco A

Form has surely got to see Queens Park and Redbacks going through and one or maybe even two of the Balcatta sides making the semifinals.

The under 15 and 17s squads are leaving for Identification Championships this week in Coffs Harbour.  Good luck girls!

Penny TannerHoath
The World Football Programme