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 Ten (played December 13)

Venue : Jensen Oval, Sydney

NSW Sapphires
Jackson, Bazi (Shipard 46), Gilbert (Ristevski 75), Brogan (Davison 46), Carney, Holcombe (Todd 46), Rockall (Hilder 85), Blayney, Ledbrook, Burgess, Cannuli
Goals : Kylie Ledbrook 6, Catherine Cannuli 22, 34, 65, 80, 87 6 - 1 Victoria Vision
Barbieri, McEvoy, Smith, Lamb (Ruyter-Hooley 67), Jackson (Alpozgen 82), Bisby, Totsidis (Pfeiffer 82), Maza, Angelucci (Kuralay 60), Terek, Pannella
Goal : Jamara Maza 5

NSW Sapphires' final hitout before the championship decider ended up a dominant 6-1 win over Victoria Vision at the unfamiliar Jensen Oval, a late change of venue yesterday following the closure of their usual headquarters due to heavy rains. The match soon became the Cannuli show, the livewire Young Matildas striker equalling an all-time league record of most goals in a game by a single player. The first to score five was SASI Pirates Jessica Halfpenny in February 1999, with Sapphires' Julie Murray then recording the same total in November 1999.
However, it was underdogs Victoria who took the early lead against the favourites, despite promising play from NSW from the opening whistle in the hot conditions. Vision striker Belinda Pannella provided a ball over the top of the last defender for Jamara Maza to slot home past the keeper in the 5^th minute. Sapphires hit back immediately though, Kylie Ledbrook meeting a Taryn Rockall corner kick with a glancing header past the diving keeper.
Victoria were hungry to make a contest of the match and soon after went into attack to gain three corners within the same number of minutes. Then, on the quarter-hour mark, Cannuli's first attempt on goal flew just over the target in a warm-up for what was to follow. Cannuli recorded her first for the day in the 22^nd minute to give NSW the 2-1 lead, running on to a Ledbrook through ball, the shot beating the goalkeeper and trickling in over the line.
Cannuli next hit the post, before teammate Jo Burgess narrowly missed. In the 34^th minute, Sapphires were awarded a penalty after Ledbrook was fouled in the box, and up stepped Cannuli to squeeze her spot kick past the diving keeper for a 3-1 lead. Meanwhile, Vision had several freekicks within scoring range, but Louisa Bisby was unable to make any count.
Five minutes into the second half, a great strike from Cannuli was met by an equally fantastic save by Matildas goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri. A Shipard dipping shot went just over the bar, and Barbieri denied Cannuli another couple of times, but Cannuli notched up her inevitable hattrick in the 65^th minute, again from the penalty spot after Sally Shipard was fouled as she ran through the box.
Pannella did her best to steer play a little back into Victoria's favour, working well with Maza, but NSW keeper Monique Jackson still had little to do. Sapphires midfielder Ledbrook hit the crossbar and Cannuli mishit the rebound before NSW took the 5-1 lead in the 80^th minute, when a Burgess cross was headed home by Cannuli. With three minutes remaining, Cannuli tallied up her fifth for the game after being released by Michelle Carney with only the keeper to beat. From the right of goal, Cannuli finished with a neat shot with the outside of the boot.

Venue : Wanderers Oval, Newcastle

Northern NSW Pride
Logue, Cotts (Townsend 53), Shepherd, O'Toole, Howes, Tristram (Khamis 56), Neilson, Colthorpe, Klessattel (Giuffre 83), Gill, Crawford
Goals : Neisha Klessattel 29, Katie Gill 38, Lauren Colthorpe 50 3 - 4 Queensland Sting
Catchpole, Reuter, Garven, Grant, Carroll, Beaumont, Canham (Reed 46), Duus (Dawney 46), Mitchell, Walsh (Ferguson 60), Mann (McShea 60)
Goals : Jessica Mitchell 14, Bryony Duus 22, April Mann 42, Belinda Dawney 52

Queensland Sting were given a tough run for their money in their last game before the grandfinal, coming up against a revitalised Northern NSW Pride before hanging on for the 4-3 victory. Last-placed Northern capped off a disappointing season with a fine display against the classier and more experienced favourites, coming from a two-goal deficit and equalising twice.
Despite the sapping heat, the clash turned out to be an exciting and evenly fought encounter with plenty of attacking activity at both ends. Jessica Mitchell opened Queensland's account in the 14^th minute, running on to a dangerous cross from the left and finishing with a well-struck low drive. Pride goalkeeper Alison Logue made a top diving save to deny Mitchell four minutes later, just getting a glove to the thumping low strike.
Sting doubled their lead in the 22^nd minute, Bryony Duus timing her run to beat the offside trap to collect a pinpoint through ball before taking it in on goal and converting in fine fashion. But Northern weren't about to lie down and kickstarted a spirited fightback. They were rewarded in the 29^th minute, a long range attempt from 40 metres by Emma Howes hitting the crossbar and Neisha Klessattel finding herself in the right place to head home the rebound.
Katie Gill then scored the leveller for Northern nine minutes later, dribbling in on goal from outside the 18-yard box and winning the one-on-one by shaking off the challenge of the goalkeeper for a simple finish. Queensland reclaimed the lead with a third goal three minutes before halftime, a corner kick only cleared as far as the edge of the box by Northern's defence, and April Mann emerging the scorer from a goalmouth scramble after the ball was put back into the danger area.
Pride came out firing again after the break, determined to produce their first win of the season, and equalised at 3-3 just five minutes after resumption. Lauren Colthorpe rose above the packed penalty area to score from a header. But once again, Sting edged ahead two minutes later, with what turned out to be the winner. Belinda Dawney found herself in a one-on-one situation, drew the goalkeeper before side-stepping around her and scoring Queensland's fourth.
Northern weren't finished and continued to search for yet another equaliser, their attack led by flanker Klessattel who was unlucky from three great chances, first hitting the crossbar in the 78^th minute, then soon after striking the post, before an attempted chip over the keeper.

Venue : Belconnen Soccer Centre, Canberra

Canberra Eclipse
Beattie, Davies, C Maciejewski, Taylor, Somi, Brush, Hepperlin, Karp, J Maciejewski (Doyle 85), Chapman, Munoz
Goals : Ellie Brush 10, Jenna Maciejewski 31 2 - 0 Adelaide Sensation
Wirkus, May, Shigrov, Day, Slater, Walsh, Stocco (Wilson 46), Vogt, Ralph (Balomenos 57), Papageorgiou (Burgess 84), De Vanna

Canberra Eclipse finished their disappointing season on a bright note, producing a deserved 2-0 victory over Adelaide Sensation, only Canberra's second win of the season. In blustery conditions, Canberra combined well going forward in the first half, their running off the ball making their passing game very effective, to go in at halftime with the two-goal lead. Adelaide were starved of the ball for most of the first period, coming back a little stronger in the second half only to come up against a well organised Canberra defence led by Matildas defender Rhian Davies.
Canberra made their intentions clear early when Ellie Brush's first time drive flew just over the bar after just two minutes of play. They were rewarded in the 10^th minute with the opening goal, a neat layoff by Tal Karp into the path of Brush converted with a drive from 15 metres into the top of the net, for the youngster's first ever league goal.
A Jenna Maciejewski drive for Eclipse was met by a great diving save at the right post by keeper Emma Wirkus in the 19^th minute. Canberra's lead was then doubled just after the half-hour with a through ball toward goal which Adelaide seemed to have covered when the defender reached the ball first ahead of Jenna Maciejewski, but the striker reached in with her foot and the ball appeared in the back of the net from the challenge on the 6-yard line.
Adelaide's best chance for the half came a minute later, Lisa De Vanna's attempt from wide out on the right sailing not far over. Shortly before the break, Canberra's Jenna Maciejewski tried a deft chip over the keeper without success.
Adelaide had a chance to pull one back six minutes into the second half, but the unmarked Christina Papageorgiou's header hit the upright. Canberra came off the boil in possession and attack with Davies supplying their best effort to score a third but her long range strike in the 57^th minute was tipped over by keeper Wirkus. A couple more chances to Sensation went unconverted, with Lisa De Vanna coming closest in the dying minutes of play. As her marker came in for the tackle, De Vanna sent in a lob over the defence from the left but the certain goal was cleared off the line by the boot of Nicole Somi.

Home Team		v		Away Team
Round Ten (played December 13)
Venue : Jensen Oval, Sydney
NSW Sapphires Jackson, Bazi (Shipard 46), Gilbert (Ristevski 75), Brogan (Davison 46), Carney, Holcombe (Todd 46), Rockall (Hilder 85), Blayney, Ledbrook, Burgess, Cannuli Goals : Kylie Ledbrook 6, Catherine Cannuli 22, 34, 65, 80, 87	6	-	1	Victoria Vision Barbieri, McEvoy, Smith, Lamb (Ruyter-Hooley 67), Jackson (Alpozgen 82), Bisby, Totsidis (Pfeiffer 82), Maza, Angelucci (Kuralay 60), Terek, Pannella Goal : Jamara Maza 5
NSW Sapphires' final hitout before the championship decider ended up a dominant 6-1 win over Victoria Vision at the unfamiliar Jensen Oval, a late change of venue yesterday following the closure of their usual headquarters due to heavy rains. The match soon became the Cannuli show, the livewire Young Matildas striker equalling an all-time league record of most goals in a game by a single player. The first to score five was SASI Pirates Jessica Halfpenny in February 1999, with Sapphires' Julie Murray then recording the same total in November 1999. However, it was underdogs Victoria who took the early lead against the favourites, despite promising play from NSW from the opening whistle in the hot conditions. Vision striker Belinda Pannella provided a ball over the top of the last defender for Jamara Maza to slot home past the keeper in the 5^th minute. Sapphires hit back immediately though, Kylie Ledbrook meeting a Taryn Rockall corner kick with a glancing header past the diving keeper. Victoria were hungry to make a contest of the match and soon after went into attack to gain three corners within the same number of minutes. Then, on the quarter-hour mark, Cannuli's first attempt on goal flew just over the target in a warm-up for what was to follow. Cannuli recorded her first for the day in the 22^nd minute to give NSW the 2-1 lead, running on to a Ledbrook through ball, the shot beating the goalkeeper and trickling in over the line. Cannuli next hit the post, before teammate Jo Burgess narrowly missed. In the 34^th minute, Sapphires were awarded a penalty after Ledbrook was fouled in the box, and up stepped Cannuli to squeeze her spot kick past the diving keeper for a 3-1 lead. Meanwhile, Vision had several freekicks within scoring range, but Louisa Bisby was unable to make any count. Five minutes into the second half, a great strike from Cannuli was met by an equally fantastic save by Matildas goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri. A Shipard dipping shot went just over the bar, and Barbieri denied Cannuli another couple of times, but Cannuli notched up her inevitable hattrick in the 65^th minute, again from the penalty spot after Sally Shipard was fouled as she ran through the box. Pannella did her best to steer play a little back into Victoria's favour, working well with Maza, but NSW keeper Monique Jackson still had little to do. Sapphires midfielder Ledbrook hit the crossbar and Cannuli mishit the rebound before NSW took the 5-1 lead in the 80^th minute, when a Burgess cross was headed home by Cannuli. With three minutes remaining, Cannuli tallied up her fifth for the game after being released by Michelle Carney with only the keeper to beat. From the right of goal, Cannuli finished with a neat shot with the outside of the boot.
Venue : Wanderers Oval, Newcastle
Northern NSW Pride Logue, Cotts (Townsend 53), Shepherd, O'Toole, Howes, Tristram (Khamis 56), Neilson, Colthorpe, Klessattel (Giuffre 83), Gill, Crawford Goals : Neisha Klessattel 29, Katie Gill 38, Lauren Colthorpe 50	3	-	4	Queensland Sting Catchpole, Reuter, Garven, Grant, Carroll, Beaumont, Canham (Reed 46), Duus (Dawney 46), Mitchell, Walsh (Ferguson 60), Mann (McShea 60) Goals : Jessica Mitchell 14, Bryony Duus 22, April Mann 42, Belinda Dawney 52
Queensland Sting were given a tough run for their money in their last game before the grandfinal, coming up against a revitalised Northern NSW Pride before hanging on for the 4-3 victory. Last-placed Northern capped off a disappointing season with a fine display against the classier and more experienced favourites, coming from a two-goal deficit and equalising twice. Despite the sapping heat, the clash turned out to be an exciting and evenly fought encounter with plenty of attacking activity at both ends. Jessica Mitchell opened Queensland's account in the 14^th minute, running on to a dangerous cross from the left and finishing with a well-struck low drive. Pride goalkeeper Alison Logue made a top diving save to deny Mitchell four minutes later, just getting a glove to the thumping low strike. Sting doubled their lead in the 22^nd minute, Bryony Duus timing her run to beat the offside trap to collect a pinpoint through ball before taking it in on goal and converting in fine fashion. But Northern weren't about to lie down and kickstarted a spirited fightback. They were rewarded in the 29^th minute, a long range attempt from 40 metres by Emma Howes hitting the crossbar and Neisha Klessattel finding herself in the right place to head home the rebound. Katie Gill then scored the leveller for Northern nine minutes later, dribbling in on goal from outside the 18-yard box and winning the one-on-one by shaking off the challenge of the goalkeeper for a simple finish. Queensland reclaimed the lead with a third goal three minutes before halftime, a corner kick only cleared as far as the edge of the box by Northern's defence, and April Mann emerging the scorer from a goalmouth scramble after the ball was put back into the danger area. Pride came out firing again after the break, determined to produce their first win of the season, and equalised at 3-3 just five minutes after resumption. Lauren Colthorpe rose above the packed penalty area to score from a header. But once again, Sting edged ahead two minutes later, with what turned out to be the winner. Belinda Dawney found herself in a one-on-one situation, drew the goalkeeper before side-stepping around her and scoring Queensland's fourth. Northern weren't finished and continued to search for yet another equaliser, their attack led by flanker Klessattel who was unlucky from three great chances, first hitting the crossbar in the 78^th minute, then soon after striking the post, before an attempted chip over the keeper.
Venue : Belconnen Soccer Centre, Canberra
Canberra Eclipse Beattie, Davies, C Maciejewski, Taylor, Somi, Brush, Hepperlin, Karp, J Maciejewski (Doyle 85), Chapman, Munoz Goals : Ellie Brush 10, Jenna Maciejewski 31	2	-	0	Adelaide Sensation Wirkus, May, Shigrov, Day, Slater, Walsh, Stocco (Wilson 46), Vogt, Ralph (Balomenos 57), Papageorgiou (Burgess 84), De Vanna
Canberra Eclipse finished their disappointing season on a bright note, producing a deserved 2-0 victory over Adelaide Sensation, only Canberra's second win of the season. In blustery conditions, Canberra combined well going forward in the first half, their running off the ball making their passing game very effective, to go in at halftime with the two-goal lead. Adelaide were starved of the ball for most of the first period, coming back a little stronger in the second half only to come up against a well organised Canberra defence led by Matildas defender Rhian Davies. Canberra made their intentions clear early when Ellie Brush's first time drive flew just over the bar after just two minutes of play. They were rewarded in the 10^th minute with the opening goal, a neat layoff by Tal Karp into the path of Brush converted with a drive from 15 metres into the top of the net, for the youngster's first ever league goal. A Jenna Maciejewski drive for Eclipse was met by a great diving save at the right post by keeper Emma Wirkus in the 19^th minute. Canberra's lead was then doubled just after the half-hour with a through ball toward goal which Adelaide seemed to have covered when the defender reached the ball first ahead of Jenna Maciejewski, but the striker reached in with her foot and the ball appeared in the back of the net from the challenge on the 6-yard line. Adelaide's best chance for the half came a minute later, Lisa De Vanna's attempt from wide out on the right sailing not far over. Shortly before the break, Canberra's Jenna Maciejewski tried a deft chip over the keeper without success. Adelaide had a chance to pull one back six minutes into the second half, but the unmarked Christina Papageorgiou's header hit the upright. Canberra came off the boil in possession and attack with Davies supplying their best effort to score a third but her long range strike in the 57^th minute was tipped over by keeper Wirkus. A couple more chances to Sensation went unconverted, with Lisa De Vanna coming closest in the dying minutes of play. As her marker came in for the tackle, De Vanna sent in a lob over the defence from the left but the certain goal was cleared off the line by the boot of Nicole Somi.