It’s been a week packed full of goals, goals and more goals. Blowout wins for Bundoora United, South Melbourne and Heidelberg welcomed the weekend, while the FFV NTC U17s were unlucky not to beat Casey Comets in the other Saturday afternoon fixture.
Sunday saw a crunch game between Boroondara Eagles and Bulleen Lions end in a stalemate, while Box Hill upset Sandringham in the Monday night fixture.
There was a wealth of candidates for this week’s squad of 16 players, and here is who we have picked!
Starting XI (4-3-3):
GK: Stephanie Dwyer (Casey Comets)
Dwyer wins her spot in the team this week because of her solid display between the sticks for Casey, keeping them in the contest for the 90 minutes and contributing to the point they eventually went home with. Dwyer came under fire especially in the first half, making three crucial saves. She was culpable for Harbis’ goal, but her overall performance meant that in the end she really did help save Casey from defeat.
DR: Madeleine Richardson (Box Hill United)
It was a welcome return to the team for Richardson, and her presence was welcome for Box Hill as they kept a clean sheet away from home against Sandringham. As the hosts became more and more desperate to find any avenue to goal, Richardson was solid at right back all night, ensuring hardly anything eventuated down her flank.
DC: Jaimee Williams (FFV NTC U17s)
It would be a crime to focus on the handball by Williams that led to the penalty, as the young centre back was immense at the back all day for the NTC. She intercepted almost everything that came her way, ensuring the likes of Angela Durton-Ryan, Candela Ferreyra-Bas and Tayla Vlaeminck were not effective up front for Casey.
DC: Lauren Farrugia (South Melbourne)
Things were not going swimmingly for South Melbourne at the beginning of their match against Monbulk, as the visitors applied plenty of early pressure, but Farrugia was a key performer at left back for the league leaders, and only takes out the centre back spot because of the number of left backs that performed over the weekend. Farrugia also provided the assist for Brajanovski’s goal, while also ensuring South didn’t concede a consolation goal in the second half.
DL: Tyla-Jay Vlajnic (Bundoora United)
The ever-present left back for Bundoora was once again a key player for her side in their demolition of Ashburton. Her passing was incisive and she delivered several inviting crosses into the box for Bundoora, allowing the home side to maintain the pressure on the visitors. Another eye-catching performance from the energetic fullback.
MR: Jessica Au (South Melbourne)
When she’s running hot, she’s deadly, and Au turned it on against Monbulk to devastating effect. She took her goal well, powering a shot into the back of the net and was involved in setting up two of Spiranovic’s hat trick. Au was also a constant source of creativity for South Melbourne outside of her direct contributions to the goals.
MC: Enza Barilla (Bundoora United)
The pint-sized midfielder has finally found the sort of form she’s renowned for against Ashburton, contributing heavily to their best performance of the season so far. Barilla set up Alonso’s second goal of the day after a nice interchanging move and put herself on the scoresheet with a drive that went in off the crossbar.
ML: Kendra Jones (Heidelberg United)
“The service from Kendra Jones was amazing,” said Heidelberg John Kyrgios, and it’s impossible to argue that as Jones provided four assists to Camilleri against Cairnlea. The American winger had undoubtedly her best display to date and was a big reason why the Bergers scored a convincing win.
ST: Laura Spiranovic (South Melbourne)
What would have happened if she had played 90 minutes? Who knows.But in the half that she did play, she was involved in four of the five goals her side put past a stunned Monbulk side. After beating the centre backs and coolly finishing for the game’s opening goal, Spiranovic provided the assist for Au’s goal. Her second goal was a simple tap in after Au’s shot was saved, with her hat trick goal coming from Au’s flick on, again outmuscling a defender before scoring. It’s really not hard to understand why Fox Sports had her on the plane to Brazil…
ST: Melanie Camilleri (Heidelberg United)
A striker’s job is to finish, and while they rely heavily on the service, they still have to put the ball into the back of the net. It’s actually easier said than done when you see some of the other sides who have struggled to convert chances but Camilleri had no such issues this week as she bagged an incredible five goals of her own. In fact, she could’ve arguably had put away more!
ST: Rachel Alonso (Bundoora United)
Alonso has been in good form recently as she works her way back to her best following her knee injury, and she lit up the game against Ashburton with a fine hat trick, including an ‘Olimpico’ goal to open her account. She combined with Barilla for her second before deciding to do it all herself for the third. This hat trick also propels her alongside Camilleri to equal second on the goalscoring charts.
Bench:
Adriana Taranto (FFV NTC U17s)
The Taranto twins have caused headaches for many a team already this season, and this time it was Adriana who shone brightest (aided by the fact Melissa went off with injury). Her presence in the middle allowed for a seamless transition from defence to attack, and was always there as an option to pass to. Had Taranto converted the chance where she was allowed time and space to run straight down the middle of the pitch, she may have just found herself in the starting eleven.
Natalie Exon (Box Hill United)
With so many standout performances, Exon is a bit unlucky to miss out on a starting berth. She was the outlet for Box Hill, whose game plan involves activating their quick wingers in order to attack. Exon’s highlight was the assist for Jasmina Pedic, where she cranked up the gears to speed past Sienna Fogarty to square the ball across goal.
Ellie Brush (Box Hill United)
Brush was again instrumental to all things Box Hill. She put her penalty away with no issues and did her job in the middle of the park. Her ball out to Exon was a feature throughout the contest, and it eventually paid off with the third goal.
Elaina Vatcky (Sandringham)
Vatcky was a standout in a lacklustre Sandringham side against Box Hill. She was lively for the ninety minutes, and provided plenty of impetus wherever she played on the park, be it in midfield or up front. Vatcky also struck the post in the first half, almost pulling Sandringham back into the match.
Jasmina Pedic (Box Hill United)
Pedic netted her first goals since Round 2 in Box Hill’s 3-0 victory over Sandringham. The first was stepping up to take a penalty about being fouled herself, while the second was a sliding tap in from Exon’s cutback late in the game.
That is it for this week, and once again thanks to all the FFV match reporters and others who have contributed information for the team of the week. Here’s to hoping Round 8 brings more impressive performances!