In conditions better suited to Eskimos, FC Bulleen Lions advanced their charge for finals contention with a clinical 9-0 defeat of Caulfield United Cobras on Sunday night at Knox Regional Football Centre.
Braces to Alex Natoli and Emily Coppock along with singles to Cindy Lay, Caitlin Friend, Ash Beagley, Charlotte McGilp and Emily Dolzan iced the result and added to the enviable goal difference for Bulleen.
The mercury was pushing 2.5 °C and as the officials and players alike lined up for the starting whistle, they could all “see their own breath”. The coaching fraternity were dressed up as Michelin men on the sidelines and the crowd were all jumping up and down on the spot to simply increase circulation. It was a night for the die-hards as Round 17 played out its penultimate tune.
After a 6-0 hammering by Box Hill United in Round 16, Caulfield were keen to arrest their slide but they were immediately under the pump from the Bulleen midfield. McGuinness changed the lineup starting with Em Coppock up front and dropping Cindy Lay back into midfield with Caity Friend and Alex Natoli. This triumvirate would pose to be a real headache for Caulfield as the game progressed.
Natoli relished the opportunity to play holding midfield and opened the Lions account in the 13th minute by following the play down deep into the forward third and running onto a well weighted pass, converting the shot with pin-point accuracy from outside the box.
Just to prove this was no aberration, Natoli again was in the thick of things up forward. The ball was squirted into the top of the box by Lay looking for Friend who manufactured an ambitious shot that rebounded off the legs of the Caulfield defenders into the path of the lurking Natoli. Seizing her opportunity, she fired a missile from the top of the box over the keepers head, hitting the underbelly of the crossbar and ricocheting into the back of the net.
Bulleen continued to push forward through through their skilful midfielders but thanks to Caulfield defenders Ruby Bingham and Ange Durston-Ryan, the score may well have been even doubled by the 30-minute mark. Caulfield desperately tried to hang on.
A resultant corner to Bulleen from a good Caulfield interception saw the customary two-pronged corner approach executed by Lay and Friend. Through a series of sharp, deft passes, Lay opened up a passage for Friend to take a ludicrous shot from a sharp angle and loop the ball over the keeper into the net for her first of the evening. 3-0 Lions was a sign of things to come.
No sooner had the ball returned to the centre circle, Bulleen were at it again. Caity Friend had the ball on a string and slotted a delightfully well weighted pass through to Ash Beagley who streamed down the right wing, turning Durston-Ryan inside out and cutting the ball back inside to power forward Coppock.
She found space and slotted the shot into the right hand corner of the net to register her first for the evening and Bulleen’s fourth at the 38 minute mark.
Coppock returned minutes later applying great pressure to the Caulfield defensive line. Looking to slow the game down, a Caulfield defender played a back pass to keeper Hannah Woodward which didn’t have the desired weight and speed. This allowed Coppock to sweep in like Harry Potter and intercept the pass eluding the keeper and tapping the ball into the back of the net to register her brace for the evening.
The whistle sounded with Bulleen midfielders – Friend, Lay and Natoli – all suffering leather poisoning from an incredibly busy first half.
The second was no different, and it didn’t bode well for Caulfield. Bulleen looked to bring their defenders into the game pushing them higher up the ground, applying more ball pressure across the pitch. Dolzan, Iaconis, Sernio and Scott were all ready for action.
Immediately Bella Scott streamed up the ground and along with Charlotte McGilp combined well on the left wing to drive the ball deep into the forward zone, where Scott centred the ball to the feet of a hungry Beagley.
She didn’t disappoint, registering her first major for the night, and relishing in her first full game coming back from a long 14-month ACL injury. It was good for the league to see Beagley running without hindrance down the wing and playing into some form.
Natoli, searching for her hat-trick, again fired at the goal line only to see her resultant shot clear the cross bar comfortably and pose no real danger to the Caulfield keeper. The hosts desperately hung on to circumvent the Bulleen onslaught but all to no avail.
At the 66 minute mark, a free-kick was awarded to Bulleen and the ball was switched across the ground to the waiting centre back Emily Dolzan who savaged the ball from way down town looping the shot into the top right hand corner for Bulleen’s seventh of the evening.
Caity Friend had been superb all night and played a direct shot into the path of the Caulfield goalkeeper who managed to punch the ball into the path of Charlotte McGilp. The youngster made no mistake and tapped in the shot to register goal number eight for Bulleen and her first for the club.
As the result was well and truly decided, the final goal really was the icing on the cake. A Bulleen corner saw Emily Dolzan fire a bullet like pass to Lay. The midfielder was positioned just outside the box, trapping the piercing pass on her chest, dropping the ball to her feet where she then chipped the ball over the keepers head, looping it into the back of the net and finishing the evening for Bulleen.
***
Caulfield United Cobras 0 defeated by FC Bulleen Lions 9 (Natoli 13’ 19’, Friend 32’, Coppock 38’ 42’, Beagley 49’, Dolzan 66’, McGilp 74’, Lay 89’) at Knox Regional Football Centre [HT: 0-5]
Caulfield United Cobras: 2. Hannah Woodward (GK), 23. Victoria Argyropoulos, 19. Ruby Bingham, 24. Hollie McDonald, 36. Ange Durton-Ryan, 12. Bryaman Gurr, 33. Louise McMullen, 14. Danielle Jackson, 22. Cassandra Mayston, 3. Amy Kane, 8. Anita Les.
Substitutes: 28. Lisa Oberbeck, 6. Edita Mackaj, 17. Zoe Haractsis, 35. Shelby Swiney, 16. Irena Malliaras.
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
FC Bulleen Women: 1. Cass Dimovski (GK), 2. Tessa Sernio (C), 3. Isabella Scott, 20. Alex Natoli, 6. Caitlin Friend, 8. Cindy Lay, 22. Emily Dolzan, 12. Liana Iaconis, 7. Ashleigh Beagley, 10. Emily Coppock, 14. Charlotte McGilp.
Substitutes: 21. Rachel Quigley, 4. Bianca Trimbole, 17. Alex Theodosi, 43. Tori Snelleksz, 9. Lia Privitelli
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil