Ashburton United have eased their way past Caulfield United Cobras, prevailing 5-0 at Knox Regional Football Centre on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first half, coach Sinisa Cohadzic shifted winger Georgia Clopfil into centre forward, with the move paying dividends as the American scored four goals and assisted Emma Checker for the fifth.
Both teams struggled to adjust to the windy conditions early in the contest, as Ashburton saw a number of crosses sail over the bar, while Caulfield battled to get the ball out of their half against the breeze.
New Zealand signing Briar Palmer was busy early on the left wing, seeing two shots held by Caulfield ‘keeper Jaye Todd after passages of play involving Britt Thomas in midfield and Olivia Edwards pushing up from wing-back.
Caulfield’s most promising passage of play came when the Kiwi was dispossessed by Irena Malliaras, who then marauded forward and played a through ball to Amy Kane who almost pounced on in United’s box.
Melissa Maizels saw her first action in the 38th minute, holding a Holly McDonald set-piece.
At the other end, Ashburton’s clearest chance to score didn’t actually result in a shot on goal, as Melina Ayres played Thomas clean through on goal, but the midfielder lost her footing and stumbled, allowing Caulfield to clear the ball away.
While Caulfield were mostly trying to sneak a goal via a counter-attack, it was Ashburton with the best chance on the break when the Cobras pushed up numbers for a set-piece, with Thomas, Checker and Ayres combining in a blistering transition.
Despite the action, the first half remained scoreless.
Caulfield replaced injured ‘keeper Jaye Todd with Hannah Woodward after the break, who walked into a baptism of fire when her defence allowed Checker to slip through Clopefil for the opener just two minutes into the second half.
She then bailed her team out twice in succession, denying Cloepfil in almost the exact same situation to the first goal, before scuppering Ayres’ attempt after good interplay involving substitute Fede Frew and Cloepfil.
However, she couldn’t hold off the hosts any longer, with Checker tucking home Cloepfil’s cutback from the byline in the 68th minute.
It was two goals in as many minutes when Ashburton won the ball back from Caulfield straight after the restart and Ayres played through Cloepfil for her second goal.
Her hat-trick was complete in the 80th minute via bizarre circumstances, as Fede Frew’s audacious long range strike held up in the wind and cannoned back off the crossbar, leading to a race to the ball by Amy Malander and Woodward that eventually spilled to Cloepfil for the goal.
Prior to that, Caulfield had their bast chance of the second half when Malliaras pounced on a loose ball in attack and found Kane, who missed wide.
The last goal also came about via a scrap when Checker delivered a dangerous ball into the area, with Malander again throwing her body around in the box and plucking the ball out of the ‘keeper’s grasp, poking it into Cloepfil’s path for a tap in.
Photo: Adrian Shaw
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Ashburton United 5 (Cloepfil 47′ 69′ 80′ 85′, Checker 68′) defeated Caulfield United Cobras 0 at Knox Regional Football Centre
Ashburton United: 1. Melissa Maizels (GK), 9. Melina Ayres (16. Rachel Jarvis 73′), 18. Georgia Cloepfil, 4. Britt Thomas (11. Fede Frew 46′), 14. Christine Pfeiffer, 3. Holly Richardson, 15. Emma Checker, 2. Maria Patrikis (26. Bridie Kean 73′), 19. Olivia Edwards (13. Azize Erenli 73′), 8. Briar Palmer (12. Amy Malander 78′), 5. Kristin Stensholt
Caulfield United Cobras: 32. Jaye Todd (GK) (2. Hannah Woodward (GK) 46′), 23. Victoria Argyropoulos, 19. Ruby Bingham (10. Cassandra Siarabalos 83′), 24. Hollie McDonald, 12. Bree Gurr, 33. Louise McMullen, 3. Amy Kane, 8. Anita Les (22. Cassandra Mayston 85′), 28. Lisa Oberbeck (14. Danielle Jackson 42′), 16. Irena Malliaras, 6. Edita Mackaj (17. Zoe Haractsis 78′)