It was wingers galore this week with a host of the WPL’s flashy and pacey girls earning nominations for Round 18.
The influx of wingers meant we were lacking in other areas, calling upon Wednesday night’s catch up clash to fill a few vacancies.
South stretched their advantage at the top of the ladder with a convincing win over Monbulk, with Boroondara and Bulleen edging out a nil all draw.
Ashburton bundled more misery onto a struggling Bundoora outfit, while there was also wins for Heidelberg, Casey and Sandringham (in their first game of the week).
Formation 3-4-3
GK: Ingrid Phillipe (Ashburton)
Philipe was only on for a half but it was a fantastic 45 minutes at that. The keeper produced several quality saves to maintain Ashy’s lead in a pivotal performance between the posts.
CB: Sky Jensen (FFV U17 Girls)
Her side may have gone down on Friday night but Jensen was a standout at the back for NTC. Interjecting with a couple of last minute tackles and goal line blocks, the defender impressed in spades.
CB: Leah Barrett (Boroondara Eagles)
The shining light in otherwise uneventful 0-0 draw. Barrett oozed class in the heart of defence, timing her tackles to perfection, intercepting with precision and showing her quality, strength and control when moving forward.
CB: Rachel Binning (Casey Comets)
The teenager displayed her worth and potential on Wednesday night’s catch up round, earning a special nomination. A nil all draw saw the centre-half shine in an impressive performance at the back. She also started in Friday night’s victory against the NTC girls and contributed with a decent performance from the back.
RM: Britt Thomas (Ashburton SC)
Ashburton’s standout performer on Sunday afternoon attracted special praise from coach Sinisa Cohadzic, who rated his winger as a best on ground performer. Thomas was damaging for Ashy with a suburb work rate.
CM: Natalie Martineau (South Melbourne)
The WPL Player of the Month picks up her usual spot in the centre of the park in our Team of the Week. Her effort and resilience was emphatic, pressuring the opposition despite her side’s unassailable lead and provided some good support to the attackers.
CM: Elaina Vatcky (Sandringham SC)
The attacker has gradually found herself playing a central role lately as she again showed her class on Friday night. Deployed as a box-to-box midfielder, Vatcky and her teammates ultimately won the midfield battle, contributing with her side’s second.
LM: Melina Ayres (Ashburton)
The lively winger was at her damaging best against a struggling Bundoora. Ayres contributed with two goals of her own, almost single-handedly kicking her side to victory with two fantastic strikes.
FWD: Kendra Jones (Heidelberg United)
The attacker bagged two goals and earned a special nomination from coach John Kyrgios. Jones converted her first directly from a corner kick with her second starting with a dashing burst forward before finishing with an exquisite chip on an acute angle. A star for the Bergers.
FWD: Brittany Dudley-Smith (Casey Comets)
Polled votes in both Wednesday’s catch-up and on Friday night. The Kiwi has been superb for Ian Williamson’s side since returning from the States, scoring two great goals from the edge of the area against the NTC before backing it up against Sandringham with an energetic performance.
FWD: Tijen Hussein (South Melbourne)
Nominated as South’s standout on Friday night. The forward scored two well-taken goals and was involved in most of South’s attacks – and there were heaps! Will provide some selection headaches for coach Alan Davidson next week.
Substitutes:
Jamie Brown (FFV U17 Girls)
Like Phillipe, Brown was only restricted to a limited amount of game time. Nevertheless, the teenager was impressive during her time on the pitch, making a raft of saves to see the scores level at the half. Was comfortable too with the ball at her feet.
Sadie Murphy (Heidelberg United)
Possibly the unluckiest omission from this week’s starting line up with the amount of wingers we have. Murphy put in a strong performance down the left wing, impressing her coach after only signing on a month or two ago.
Belinda Pannella (Heidelberg United)
The veteran showed her class for the Bergers on Sunday afternoon. Skilful as ever, Pannella conjured up two goals with her brilliant passing.
Tiffany Eliadis (South Melbourne)
“She scores when she wants” rings around the offices here at the Corner Flag. Eliadis found the back of the net yet again on Friday night, ranking inside her side’s top three once again.
Emma Runnalls (Sandringham SC)
Could have been the star for Sandy with all the opportunities she created. The forward was dangerous and provided some headaches for Box Hill, but was lacking her usual potency in front on goal.