Written by Thomas Esamie with help from various sources including RSSSF (esp James Allnutt), Back of the Net, numerous Newspapers and State Football Associations.
| All matches played at the AIS Athletics Track, Canberra and AIS No. 2 and MP 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canberra Eclipse
Goals : Sarah Kelly 6, 49, Korri Chaivannacoopt 20, Caitlin Munoz 68 |
4 | - | 1 | Adelaide Sensation
Goal : Vicki Balomenos 80 |
| THE Canberra Eclipse paused momentarily to celebrate its 4-1 win in the opening round of the National Women's Football Tournament yesterday but the focus soon shifted - to the ice-cold plunge pool. Before the athletes braved the freezing water for their recovery session, former Socceroo Robbie Hooker addressed his young charges and wasn't afraid to throw the 'f' word around - finals. Hooker said the win against Adelaide Sensation was a rewarding start to the nine- day tournament and had added personal significance as his first game as head coach of the Eclipse. "It's always good to get a win first up," he said. "A win first up puts you in a position where you can make the semi- finals, a loss first up, you're sort of behind the eight ball." The Eclipse dominated the midfield and took only eight minutes to score with an impressive cross by Collette MacCallum to debutante Sarah Kelly. Nicknamed Twiggy, the first-gamer added another goal in the second half to give Canberra a 3-0 lead. Matilda Caitlin Munoz gave herself a headache after a determined header into an open goal to increase its lead 4-0, but left the field soon after. Hooker said there were no evident casualties after the game but the players would benefit from the cold water recovery. "I think she [Munoz] will be fine. She copped plenty of knocks from the opposition and with a player of her stature there are always going to be other teams looking to try and snuff her out. She just needed a breather." While he admitted the team was "ragged" in the last 20 minutes when it conceeded a late goal, he was pleased with the efforts of Kelly, Leanne Mills and substitute Rachel Jones. "I made a few changes which probably disrupted the team a little bit but we played the game out to the end and were never really under much threat from the opposition. We're still in the hunt." Meanwhile, defending champion Queensland Sting had a disappointing start to its finals campaign, defeated 3-1 by NSW Sapphires Blue. It was hard to separate the teams with the score nil-all at half-time but two late goals by midfielder Kylie Ledbrook secured the NSW win. The tournament is an interim replacement for the former National Women's Soccer League that folded in April last year and it is anticipated home-and-away games will return to the Australian sporting calendar in 2006. Eight teams make up two groups and each side will play three games before the semi- finals and play-offs on Friday. The Eclipse is in group A and faces a challenging road to the final coming up against NSW Blue tomorrow and Queensland on Wednesday. Both games are at the AIS Multi-purpose fields and entry is free. | ||||
| Queensland Sting
Goal : Lana Harch 76 |
1 | - | 3 | NSW Sapphires Blue
Goals : Heather Garriock 47, Kylie Ledbrook 74, 80 |
| Western Waves
Leanne Trimboli, Amy Thorpe (Katy Coghlan 51), Allarice Keswell (Carys Hawkins), Nicola Williams, Brid Dawson, April Mann, Tanya Oxtoby, Laura Turnbull, Sara Gawned, Olivia Kennedy, Lillie Billson (Lindsey Jobling). Coach: Alistair Edwards. Cautions: Nil. Referee: Sharon O'Neill (NSW). Assistant Referees: Lee Corey (SA), Allyson Flynn (ACT). Fourth Official: Airlee Keen (SA). |
0 | - | 3 | Victoria Vision
Melissa Barbieri, Rachel Lamb, Sarah Groenewald, Meagan Thornton, Maika Ruyter-Hooley, Aleksandra Sinclair, Andrea Totsidis, Melanie Camilleri (Annabelle Gibney 57), Amy Jackson, Georgia Koutrouvelis, Meghan Archer. Coach: Harry Chalkitis. Caution: Groenewald 44. Goals: Lamb 19, Ruyter-Hooley 49, Archer 79 |
| Northern NSW Pride
|
0 | - | 1 | NSW Sapphires White
Goal : Jo Burgess 16 |
| Queensland Sting
Goals : Lana Harch 1, Kate McShea 26, Alannah Reed 32 |
3 | - | 0 | Adelaide Sensation
|
| Canberra Eclipse
Goal : Caitlin Munoz 9 |
1 | - | 4 | NSW Sapphires Blue
Goals : Kylie Ledbrook 48, 51, 66, Sarah Walsh 58 |
| While there were no broken bones after Canberra's 4-1 loss, there were suspected torn ligaments after Amy Chapman had to be taken off the field on a stretcher. Coach Robbie Hooker said he wasn't expecting to beat the strong NSW team but the additional loss of Chapman with suspected cruciate ligament damage was the worst news of the day. The 18-year-old midfielder has already experienced a knee reconstruction on her other leg. "It doesn't look too good for Amy, but I'm sure she'll bounce back," Hooker said. Players to already bounce back from a head clash mid-game were Kylie Ledbrook from NSW and Eclipse midfielder Stacey Stocco. Both players were led off but ran back onto the field at the first sniff of action. Caitlin Munoz got the home side off to an ideal start to record a goal within 10 minutes but the team was unable to add to the scoreboard. NSW assistant coach Julie Murray said Canberra had done well to keep her side scoreless in the first half but was happy to turn the form around after the main break piling on four goals. "Mentally in the first half the team was just not there," Murray said. "It was almost like it was their first game they've ever played." Hooker said while it was disappointing to lose, the Eclipse only needed to beat Queensland Sting on Wednesday to advance to finals. | ||||
| Western Waves
Goal : Katy Coghlan 77 |
1 | - | 3 | NSW Sapphires White
Goals : Leena Khamis 32, Rhian Davies 61, Alicia Cavanagh 63 |
| Northern NSW Pride
Alison Logue, Gemma O'Toole, Bridgette Starr, Melanie Cotts, Cheryl Salisbury, Tracey Baker (Emma Howes 87), Lauren Colthorpe, Hayley Crawford (Danielle Small 77), Beth Kermode, Jenna Tristam (Sammara Schmitzer 79), Kate Gill. Coach: Anthony Richards. Goal: Colthorpe 20 Referee: Allyson Flynn (ACT). Assistant Referees: Jenny O'Donoghue (ACT), Jenna Hinton (ACT). Fourth Official: Prue Donohoe (QLD). |
1 | - | 0 | Victoria Vision
Melissa Barbieri, Rachel Lamb, Sarah Groenewald, Meagan Thornton, Maika Ruyter-Hooley, Aleksandra Sinclair (Annabelle Gibney 84), Andrea Totsidis, Melanie Camilleri (Melissa Frankcombe 63), Amy Jackson, Georgia Koutrouvelis, Meghan Archer. Coach: Harry Chalkitis. Caution: Koutrouvelis 67 |
| Adelaide Sensation
Goal : Chichi May 76 |
1 | - | 3 | NSW Sapphires Blue
Goals : Kylie Ledbrook 2, Sarah Walsh 49, Renee Cartwright 87 |
| Canberra Ecplise
|
0 | - | 1 | Queensland Sting
Goal : Lana Harch 4 |
| Victoria Vision
Melissa Barbieri, Rachel Lamb, Sarah Groenewald, Meagan Thornton, Maika Ruyter-Hooley, Aleksandra Sinclair, Melissa Frankcombe, Andrea Totsidis, Amy Jackson, Georgia Koutrouvelis (Katrina Smith 77), Seyma Erenli (Annabelle Gibney 55), Meghan Archer. Coach: Harry Chalkitis. Goals: Erenli 17, Ruyter-Hooley 33, Archer 40 Cautions: Nil. Referee: Kirralee Gardener (NNSW). Assistant Referees: Jenna Hinton (ACT), Amelia Morris (NSW). Fourth Official: Lee Corey (SA). |
3 | - | 5 | NSW Sapphires White
Sarah Gollop (Karrinda Moodley 59), Taryn Rockall, Alison Hogg, Alicia Cavanagh, Lyndsay Glohe, Kelly Golebiowski (Erica Halloway 85), Rhian Davies, Michelle Carney, Caitlin Cooper, Jo Burgess, Leena Khamis. Coach: Peter Page. Goals: Burgess 20, 39, Cavanagh 45, Carney 61, Khamis 73 Caution: Golebiowski 49. |
| Western Waves
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0 | - | 0 | Northern NSW Pride
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