Women's NSL - Season 2003/2004

Women's National Soccer League

Supplied by AWSA and transcribed by Thomas Esamie

Home Team v Away Team

Round Three (played November 1 & 2)

Venue : Belconnen Soccer Centre, Canberra

Canberra Eclipse
Beattie, Taylor, Munoz, Davies, Somi, Chapman, Karp, Hepperlin, Doyle (Staniforth 46), Brush (David 75), Wilson (Parker 78) 0 - 1 Queensland Sting
Kitching, Garven, Reuter, Grant, Garriock, McShea, Ferguson, Canham (Duus 60), Walsh (Mann 82), Mitchell (Harch 60), Dawney
Goal : Belinda Dawney 32

A Belinda Dawney first half goal in the end proved sufficient for reigning champions Queensland Sting to claim the three points 1-0 over Canberra Eclipse in Canberra on Sunday.
Queensland dominated play in the first half, combining much the better as a team and utilising their pace up front and were unlucky not to go in at the break with a bigger lead. Canberra saw little of the ball and their defence was at times a little shaky. Several half-time positional changes turned the game around for Canberra, enjoying the greater percentage of possession and attacks on goal in the second half, but unable to break through.
Sting came close after just three minutes from the opening whistle, a quick break not cleared by the Canberra defence allowing striker Belinda Dawney to shoot, the ball hitting the side netting. The next best chance fell to the lively Sarah Walsh, unmarked and receiving a rebound off the defence but her snap shot from 14 metres in front scraped the outside of the post.
Three minutes later, Queensland scored the inevitable goal, Walsh providing a long ball in from the right for Dawney to unleash a beautiful first-time strike from 16 metres to beat the outrushing keeper. Six minutes later, Eclipse created their only real chance of the half, Ellie Brush involved at the start and end of a neat move but hooked her shot just wide of the right post.
At half-time, Caitlin Munoz was pushed up into the striker's position from left fullback, defender Katrina Staniforth came in off the bench, and Brush moved into midfield. The changes almost brought instant reward when three minutes later, Munoz unleashed a thumping drive from the edge of the 18-yard box, but goalkeeper Belinda Kitching made a sensational save at full stretch to tip the ball around the post.
Canberra went on to spend much of the second half in opposition territory and reduce Sting's chances to the odd break. Their next best chance came in stoppage time when Munoz passed back to Staniforth for the defender to provide a dangerous cross. Substitute Emily Parker rose above the pack but her header flew wide.

Venue : Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

Adelaide Sensation
Wirkus, May, Alagich, Burgess, Shigrov (Day 80), Slater (Walsh 63), Stocco, Spagnoletti (Wilson 67), McCallum, Balomenos (Papageorgiou 72), De Vanna
Goal : Vicki Balomenos 29 1 - 2 NSW Sapphires
Kell, Davison, Brogan (Todd 46), Gilbert, Blayney, Shipard, Rockall, Ledbrook, Carney (Holcombe 68), Burgess (Hilder 86), Cannuli
Goals : Kylie Ledbrook 14, Catherine Cannuli 65

At Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium in Sunday's doubleheader with men's NSL side Adelaide United, a half-time crowd of around 4,000 and approaching 7,000 by the end saw NSW Sapphires defeat Adelaide Sensation 2-1. Sensation were boosted by the return of international defender Dianne Alagich from injury, whilst Michelle Carney lined up for NSW after missing last week's game through a knee problem.
In an action-packed entertaining first half, the two attack-minded sides delivered the goods to the spectators, many new to women's football. Adelaide were sharp and keen and created several dangerous chances. The Sapphires also looked willing and able whenever in sight of goal. After the break, Sensation paid the price for their missed chances, as a fit NSW took control of proceedings for the final half-hour and scored the winner.
NSW took the lead in the 14^th minute, a cross from Sally Shipard finished in magnificent style by Kylie Ledbrook with a curler into the top right corner of goal from just outside the 18-yard box. Adelaide's speedy front line soon after created several chances, Vicki Balomenos and Lisa De Vanna both falling victim to goalkeeper Cassandra Kell in one-on-one situations.
Ledbrook had another chance for NSW but shot wide, but shortly after, Adelaide equalised. A neat build-up involving Collette McCallum and Marie Spagnoletti sent the ball in to De Vanna who beat one opponent and sent in the cross. Balomenos slid in before her marker to get her foot to the ball and score, the first goal to be conceded by NSW this season.
Two minutes later, De Vanna shot wide for Sensation with just the keeper to beat, and shortly after, NSW's Carney was thwarted with a great saving tackle by defender Amy Shigrov.
A Catherine Cannuli goal for NSW was disallowed five minutes after resumption on an offside ruling. De Vanna weaved her magic for the home side but with no reward, twice beating two defenders enroute to goal within the next eleven minutes, but brought down on the first attempt, and next her shot saved.
As Adelaide then started to tire, NSW stepped up in search of the three points. Their efforts bore fruit in the 65^th minute, Cannuli on the receiving end of a long ball. The striker controlled the bouncing ball, shrugged off a defender and slotted home. Cannuli came close again with a minute remaining but was stopped by a fine tackle by Stacey Day.

Venue : Wanderers Oval, Newcastle

Northern NSW Pride
Herd, Oxtoby, Cotts, Townsend (O'Toole 75), Tristram (Khamis 62), Shepherd, Neilson, Colthorpe, Kermode (Baker 14), Crawford, Gill
Goals : Katie Gill 15, Hayley Crawford 33, Jenna Tristram 37, Amber Neilson 48, Lauren Colthorpe 77 5 - 5 Victoria Vision
Barbieri, Digiammarco, Lamb, McEvoy, Smith (Farrugia 86), Jackson (Totsidis 61), Fitzgerald (Balta 79), Bisby, Maza (Angelucci 65), Terek, Pannella
Goals : Rachel Lamb 8, Louisa Bisby 20, Belinda Pannella 50, 83, 89

A Belinda Pannella second-half hattrick saw Victoria Vision come back from a two-goal deficit to share the points in an entertaining and dramatic 5-5 draw with Northern NSW Pride in Saturday's match in Newcastle, the final goal scored with a minute remaining.
The end-to-end encounter between last season's two bottom-placed teams resulted in the WNSL all-time record for number of goals in a draw, easily surpassing the 3-3 result between NSW Sapphires and Adelaide Sensation twelve months ago.
It was a very physical clash, with both sides receiving a share of the five yellow cards. After going behind to an early goal, Northern equalised twice before holding the one-goal advantage at the break, and extending their lead to two soon after resumption. The final forty minutes, as players from the two teams started to tire, then resulted in three goals to Victoria to Northern's one. Despite the number of goals, both goalkeepers overall performed well.
Vision defender Rachel Lamb rocked a Pride team searching for their first point of the season after just eight minutes, finding the target amidst a goalmouth scramble from a corner kick. On the quarter-hour mark, a minute after losing youngster Elizabeth Kermode to a broken arm, the home side levelled. Katie Gill was the scorer from just inside the 18-yard box after a cutback from the right corner by Jenna Tristram.
Gill soon after had another two great shots saved by equally good efforts by goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri. But it was Victoria who regained the lead in the 20^th minute, veteran Louisa Bisby converting a long ball in from the right. Hayley Crawford then equalised 2-2 for Pride in the 33^rd minute with a clinical finish to a pinpoint Gill cross.
Four minutes later, Northern turned the tables by taking the lead with a solo effort from Tristram, stealing the ball on the halfway line and racing toward goal and finishing the job with a fine strike under the keeper.
Just three minutes into the second half, Pride doubled their lead to 4-2 from the penalty spot after a foul on Crawford, captain Amber Neilson converting from the spot.. Another two minutes in, Vision's Pannella, a 24-year-old striker in her rookie season, was on the spot to take advantage of a defensive mix-up in the goalmouth.
Pride reclaimed their two-goal lead in the 77^th minute when Lauren Colthorpe surged into the area, laid off to Leena Khamis, and received the return pass in space to finish off in style and a 5-3 scoreline.
The visitors weren't giving up the fight and went on to score twice more in an amazing final seven minutes. Pannella struck from outside the 18-yard box and the ball ran past a sea of players before rolling into goal. Pannella's hattrick and equalising goal, to the demise of the home team, was a similar effort, hit from long range and sneaking in low.

Home Team		v		Away Team
Round Three (played November 1 & 2)
Venue : Belconnen Soccer Centre, Canberra
Canberra Eclipse Beattie, Taylor, Munoz, Davies, Somi, Chapman, Karp, Hepperlin, Doyle (Staniforth 46), Brush (David 75), Wilson (Parker 78)	0	-	1	Queensland Sting Kitching, Garven, Reuter, Grant, Garriock, McShea, Ferguson, Canham (Duus 60), Walsh (Mann 82), Mitchell (Harch 60), Dawney Goal : Belinda Dawney 32
A Belinda Dawney first half goal in the end proved sufficient for reigning champions Queensland Sting to claim the three points 1-0 over Canberra Eclipse in Canberra on Sunday. Queensland dominated play in the first half, combining much the better as a team and utilising their pace up front and were unlucky not to go in at the break with a bigger lead. Canberra saw little of the ball and their defence was at times a little shaky. Several half-time positional changes turned the game around for Canberra, enjoying the greater percentage of possession and attacks on goal in the second half, but unable to break through. Sting came close after just three minutes from the opening whistle, a quick break not cleared by the Canberra defence allowing striker Belinda Dawney to shoot, the ball hitting the side netting. The next best chance fell to the lively Sarah Walsh, unmarked and receiving a rebound off the defence but her snap shot from 14 metres in front scraped the outside of the post. Three minutes later, Queensland scored the inevitable goal, Walsh providing a long ball in from the right for Dawney to unleash a beautiful first-time strike from 16 metres to beat the outrushing keeper. Six minutes later, Eclipse created their only real chance of the half, Ellie Brush involved at the start and end of a neat move but hooked her shot just wide of the right post. At half-time, Caitlin Munoz was pushed up into the striker's position from left fullback, defender Katrina Staniforth came in off the bench, and Brush moved into midfield. The changes almost brought instant reward when three minutes later, Munoz unleashed a thumping drive from the edge of the 18-yard box, but goalkeeper Belinda Kitching made a sensational save at full stretch to tip the ball around the post. Canberra went on to spend much of the second half in opposition territory and reduce Sting's chances to the odd break. Their next best chance came in stoppage time when Munoz passed back to Staniforth for the defender to provide a dangerous cross. Substitute Emily Parker rose above the pack but her header flew wide.
Venue : Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Adelaide Sensation Wirkus, May, Alagich, Burgess, Shigrov (Day 80), Slater (Walsh 63), Stocco, Spagnoletti (Wilson 67), McCallum, Balomenos (Papageorgiou 72), De Vanna Goal : Vicki Balomenos 29	1	-	2	NSW Sapphires Kell, Davison, Brogan (Todd 46), Gilbert, Blayney, Shipard, Rockall, Ledbrook, Carney (Holcombe 68), Burgess (Hilder 86), Cannuli Goals : Kylie Ledbrook 14, Catherine Cannuli 65
At Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium in Sunday's doubleheader with men's NSL side Adelaide United, a half-time crowd of around 4,000 and approaching 7,000 by the end saw NSW Sapphires defeat Adelaide Sensation 2-1. Sensation were boosted by the return of international defender Dianne Alagich from injury, whilst Michelle Carney lined up for NSW after missing last week's game through a knee problem. In an action-packed entertaining first half, the two attack-minded sides delivered the goods to the spectators, many new to women's football. Adelaide were sharp and keen and created several dangerous chances. The Sapphires also looked willing and able whenever in sight of goal. After the break, Sensation paid the price for their missed chances, as a fit NSW took control of proceedings for the final half-hour and scored the winner. NSW took the lead in the 14^th minute, a cross from Sally Shipard finished in magnificent style by Kylie Ledbrook with a curler into the top right corner of goal from just outside the 18-yard box. Adelaide's speedy front line soon after created several chances, Vicki Balomenos and Lisa De Vanna both falling victim to goalkeeper Cassandra Kell in one-on-one situations. Ledbrook had another chance for NSW but shot wide, but shortly after, Adelaide equalised. A neat build-up involving Collette McCallum and Marie Spagnoletti sent the ball in to De Vanna who beat one opponent and sent in the cross. Balomenos slid in before her marker to get her foot to the ball and score, the first goal to be conceded by NSW this season. Two minutes later, De Vanna shot wide for Sensation with just the keeper to beat, and shortly after, NSW's Carney was thwarted with a great saving tackle by defender Amy Shigrov. A Catherine Cannuli goal for NSW was disallowed five minutes after resumption on an offside ruling. De Vanna weaved her magic for the home side but with no reward, twice beating two defenders enroute to goal within the next eleven minutes, but brought down on the first attempt, and next her shot saved. As Adelaide then started to tire, NSW stepped up in search of the three points. Their efforts bore fruit in the 65^th minute, Cannuli on the receiving end of a long ball. The striker controlled the bouncing ball, shrugged off a defender and slotted home. Cannuli came close again with a minute remaining but was stopped by a fine tackle by Stacey Day.
Venue : Wanderers Oval, Newcastle
Northern NSW Pride Herd, Oxtoby, Cotts, Townsend (O'Toole 75), Tristram (Khamis 62), Shepherd, Neilson, Colthorpe, Kermode (Baker 14), Crawford, Gill Goals : Katie Gill 15, Hayley Crawford 33, Jenna Tristram 37, Amber Neilson 48, Lauren Colthorpe 77	5	-	5	Victoria Vision Barbieri, Digiammarco, Lamb, McEvoy, Smith (Farrugia 86), Jackson (Totsidis 61), Fitzgerald (Balta 79), Bisby, Maza (Angelucci 65), Terek, Pannella Goals : Rachel Lamb 8, Louisa Bisby 20, Belinda Pannella 50, 83, 89
A Belinda Pannella second-half hattrick saw Victoria Vision come back from a two-goal deficit to share the points in an entertaining and dramatic 5-5 draw with Northern NSW Pride in Saturday's match in Newcastle, the final goal scored with a minute remaining. The end-to-end encounter between last season's two bottom-placed teams resulted in the WNSL all-time record for number of goals in a draw, easily surpassing the 3-3 result between NSW Sapphires and Adelaide Sensation twelve months ago. It was a very physical clash, with both sides receiving a share of the five yellow cards. After going behind to an early goal, Northern equalised twice before holding the one-goal advantage at the break, and extending their lead to two soon after resumption. The final forty minutes, as players from the two teams started to tire, then resulted in three goals to Victoria to Northern's one. Despite the number of goals, both goalkeepers overall performed well. Vision defender Rachel Lamb rocked a Pride team searching for their first point of the season after just eight minutes, finding the target amidst a goalmouth scramble from a corner kick. On the quarter-hour mark, a minute after losing youngster Elizabeth Kermode to a broken arm, the home side levelled. Katie Gill was the scorer from just inside the 18-yard box after a cutback from the right corner by Jenna Tristram. Gill soon after had another two great shots saved by equally good efforts by goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri. But it was Victoria who regained the lead in the 20^th minute, veteran Louisa Bisby converting a long ball in from the right. Hayley Crawford then equalised 2-2 for Pride in the 33^rd minute with a clinical finish to a pinpoint Gill cross. Four minutes later, Northern turned the tables by taking the lead with a solo effort from Tristram, stealing the ball on the halfway line and racing toward goal and finishing the job with a fine strike under the keeper. Just three minutes into the second half, Pride doubled their lead to 4-2 from the penalty spot after a foul on Crawford, captain Amber Neilson converting from the spot.. Another two minutes in, Vision's Pannella, a 24-year-old striker in her rookie season, was on the spot to take advantage of a defensive mix-up in the goalmouth. Pride reclaimed their two-goal lead in the 77^th minute when Lauren Colthorpe surged into the area, laid off to Leena Khamis, and received the return pass in space to finish off in style and a 5-3 scoreline. The visitors weren't giving up the fight and went on to score twice more in an amazing final seven minutes. Pannella struck from outside the 18-yard box and the ball ran past a sea of players before rolling into goal. Pannella's hattrick and equalising goal, to the demise of the home team, was a similar effort, hit from long range and sneaking in low.