Round 9 of the Women’s Premier League resumes this weekend as top two teams Bundoora and South Melbourne clash on Saturday afternoon, while newly crowned cup winners Sandringham visit Comets Stadium the day after. The Corner Flag reviews every single fixture ahead of this exciting weekend’s action.
Box Hill (4) vs Bulleen (11)
8:30pm, Friday 14th June 2013 Wembley Park, Box Hill South
Form:
Box Hill – WDWWW
Bulleen – DLDLL
Head to Head:
None (Bulleen were in State League 1 last season)
Box Hill have been steadily building up a head of steam, and all indications are that they are back on track to make Finals this season. Cairnlea were ruthlessly dispatched last weekend and the defending champions will surely be feeling confident as they welcome winless Bulleen to Wembley Park. The newly promoted State League 1 champions have had a wretched welcome to the big leagues so far, with a combination of injuries and bad luck delaying their first win at this level. Forwards Federica Frew and Alessandro Varallo are likely to be available for selection after coming through unscathed against South Melbourne, but central defender Emily Coppock suffered a bad ankle strain prior to the game and might take awhile to return. Opportunities against Preston and Cairnlea have been missed, and Bulleen will probably find it tough going against seasoned campaigners Box Hill.
Key Players:
Padiki Dade (Box Hill) – Dade has found a new lease of life in midfield for Box Hill this season. Often seen as a luxury presence on the wing for most of last season, the dreadlocked midfielder has been putting in some solid performances this year. Whether on the wing or through the middle, Dade’s teammates will be hoping for more of the same effective distribution from her.
Federica Frew (Bulleen) – It’s taken awhile but ‘Fede’ finally returned from injury against South Melbourne and put in a good shift in the middle of the park. Frew is a natural forward, but saw plenty of the ball when asked to dictate proceedings against South’s vaunted midfield. Her first touch is still pretty rusty, but it will come with time as she gets back into the swing of things.
Bundoora (2) vs South Melbourne (1)
3:00pm, Saturday 15th June 2013 Hillsview Recreation Reserve, South Morang
Form:
Bundoora – LWWWW
South Melbourne – WWWWW
Head to Head:
25 Mar 2012 – South Melbourne 2 Bundoora 1 (DISC)
02 Jun 2012 – Bundoora 4 South Melbourne 0 (Hillsview Reserve)
There won’t be a better chance for Bundoora to pounce and gain the upper hand this season. South Melbourne’s unexpected cup final loss has left the team stunned and looking for answers and Bundoora will be well aware that only three points separate the two teams at the moment. This match is effectively a six pointer at the top of the table and could have quite some significance as we approach the midway point of the season. South Melbourne will have been licking their wounds since the Sunday game but a win here would be massive and would banish any leftover demons from the 1-0 loss to Sandringham. Bundoora meanwhile need to do it for themselves as much as their fans. The injury setback to Rachel Alonso has been a blow but they have shown in recent weeks they can still win without her and they will now have to start planning for a future with limited striking options up front. They did it last season, they can do it again.
Key Players:
Diarna Cartwright (Bundoora) – With Brianna Davey away on international duty, Cartwright gets another chance to prove herself. While the Bundoora goalkeeper hasn’t had the best of times of late, a good showing against the league leaders will do her confidence a load of good. The last line of defence for Bundoora will be vital if they are to win this contest.
Cassandra Dimovski (South Melbourne) – Eight consecutive cleansheets, it’s safe to say no one else has done that in the history of the Women’s Premier League. It’s a record Dimovski can be rightly proud of, and one she will be intending to extend this weekend. The defence does half the job, but when an attacker gets through, it helps to know you have a top quality goalkeeper backing you up. Dimovski is it.
Heidelberg (9) vs Preston (10)
4:00pm, Saturday 15th June 2013 Olympic Village, Heidelberg West
Form:
Heidelberg – LLLLW
Preston – LLDLW
Head to Head:
21 Apr 2012 – Heidelberg 5 Preston 2 (Olympic Village)
08 Jul 2012 – Preston 1 Heidelberg 2 (B.T. Connor)
Round 8 was a good week for both these teams. Preston managed a morale boosting first win of the season against bottom team Altona to leapfrog Bulleen and out of the relegation zone while Heidelberg turned the form book upside down with a convincing 4-0 win against an in form Ashburton. But all this will count for nought this Saturday in what will be a derby match of sorts for the two teams. Heidelberg will want to build on their win after five straight losses previously, while a second win for Preston would do immeasurable good to their hopes of staying up this season.
Key Players:
Leigh Gray (Heidelberg) – The American import can be lethal on her day, just ask a shell shocked Ashburton. A well struck hattrick to announce herself in Australia, the Preston defence will need to be on their toes if they want to prevent a repeat.
Melissa Rodriguez (Preston) – She’s only playing this season because Preston were short on numbers, but Rodriguez has proven that she can still hack it at this level. Often deployed out of position at full back or in midfield, the veteran has done so without complaint and with distinction.
Casey (5) vs Sandringham (3)
3:00pm, Sunday 16th June 2013 Comets Stadium, Cranbourne
Form:
Casey – WWWLL
Sandringham – DDWWW
Head to Head:
27 May 2012 – Casey 2 Sandringham 6 (Comets Stadium)
26 Jul 2012 – Sandringham 2 Casey 1 (Kingston Heath)
Another of those match ups that might have far reaching consequences, with Casey determined to set things right after consecutive losses to South Melbourne and Bundoora. The latter in particular would have cut deep, as a second half fightback was deemed irrelevant after Bundoora scored a last minute winner. But Sandringham stand in their way this weekend, newly crowned State Knockout Cup winners over no less than a previously unbeaten South Melbourne. Stephanie Catley will not be available as she will be playing against New Zealand in Canberra, but either Lucy Kapusta or Stephanie Parton will step up if needed.
Key Players:
Laura Croft (Casey) – The Casey captain leads by example, anchoring the backline with an assuredness that has come handy at times. Sandringham will look to play crosses into the box, and Croft’s aerial prowess stands her in good stead. If Casey do manage to hold the Sandy attack, expect ‘Crofty’ to be in the thick of things.
Emma Gunn (Sandringham) – It has not been an easy season for the Sandringham full back given she’s had to juggle her football and Year 12 studies. But a best on ground performance in the cup and the Theresa Deas medal will have gone some way to making up for it. If she does turn up to play on Sunday, it will be with her head held high.
Altona (12) vs Cairnlea (8)
3:00pm, Sunday 16th June 2013 Kim Reserve, Altona
Form:
Altona – LLLLL
Cairnlea – LWLWL
Head to Head:
None (Altona were in State League 1 last season)
No joy for Altona, who lost a bottom of the table clash with Preston two weeks ago and then learnt that one of their key players was moving to league leaders South Melbourne. Having extended their losing streak to eight games under caretaker Stephen Scerri, Altona might finally get new coach Ricardo Marchioli on the bench this week. He’ll have to do without speedy winger Aliesha Newman though as he looks to turn things around in what will be his first outing. Cairnlea won’t just roll over, despite their Round 8 loss to Box Hill United. The previous win at Bulleen showed that there’s still plenty of hunger in the team despite a topsy turvy start to the season and coach Jamie Monteith will be keen to ensure they bounce back against winnable opposition.
Key Players:
Laura Athanasiou (Altona) – With Newman gone, Athanasiou becomes even more important to the team. There’s now a worrying lack of firepower at Kim Reserve but if the winger can help pick up some of the workload, things might be a bit easier for everyone concerned.
Georgia Evgeniadis (Cairnlea) – It’s easy to forget how young Evgeniadis is sometimes, given her emergence in the Cairnlea first team. The 16-year-old full back recently returned from injury against Bulleen and will be looking to once again cement a spot in the defence. Big things are expected of her.
EAP (7) vs Ashburton (6)
3:00pm, Sunday 16th June 2013 DISC, Thornbury
Form:
EAP – WLLLL
Ashburton – WWLWL
Head to Head:
29 Apr 2012 – Ashburton 7 EAP 1 (Ashburton Park)
15 Jul 2012 – EAP 0 Ashburton 9 (DISC)
EAP team manager David Edmonson sought to play down his team’s recent run of losses, conceding that their early form had raised expectations to an unrealistic level. While there was merit to his argument that the team’s downturn in fortunes had come about due to a tough run of matches, it’s still fair to say that these are supposed to be some of the best youngsters in the state. EAP showed early on that they could mix it with older and more experienced teams in the league, and mid-table Ashburton will be a reasonable challenge. The girls in green were brought back down to earth with a surprising blowout loss against Heidelberg and the week long break will have given them plenty of time to dwell on what went wrong. This game against EAP represents an opportunity to get their campaign back on track again and they will no doubt be determined to prove that Round 8 was just a blip on the radar and not the beginning of a slide back down the table again.
Key Players:
Beattie Goad (EAP) – Goad has been a revelation for EAP this season with some eye-catching performances earning her a call up to the U17 squad. The flame haired winger is a bolt of lightning on the EAP flanks and is something of an excitement machine when she really gets going. She’s one to look out for this weekend and all season ahead.
Maria Patrikis (Ashburton) – Patrikis is a mainstay in the Ashburton defence, forming a reliable partnership alongside Kristin Strensholt. There are times when she will literally run herself into the ground for the cause, and yet she’ll be back again the next weekend asking for more. EAP will need to get past her if they want to get back to winning ways.
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