An interesting WPL round saw the week open with a massive upset as Casey Comets put a dint in Bulleen’s title aspirations with a 1-0 home victory on Friday night. The other Friday night game saw the NTC girls overcome cellar dwellers Monbulk Rangers to the tune of 3-1.
There were 4-0 wins for both South Melbourne – who were victorious over Sandringham – and Boroondara Eagles, who accounted for Ashburton. Box Hill United also notched up a win, with the three points being secured over Cairnlea two goals to one.
The final game of the round was billed as a Monday night classic, with Heidelberg hosting Bundoora United. Sadly the game never reached the heights expected as the two sides cancelled each other out to finish as they started, at a 0-0 stalemate.
Formation: 3-5-2
GK: Anna Lanning (Boroondara Eagles)
A well earned clean sheet for Lanning as the Eagles continued their good form with a resounding 4-0 win over Ashburton. The custodian made two top drawer saves in the second half to keep the hosts to nil.
CB: Angie Rassias (Heidelberg United)
Rassias had a solid game for Heidelberg, maintaining a clean sheet as her side contested a scoreless draw against Bundoora United. The Warriors defender was solid throughout and stood firm when tested by Dade who opposed on her flank, winning the contest between the pair. She squeezes in at centre-back for the week.
CB: Emily Dolzan (Bulleen Lions)
Although she wound up on the losing side, Emily Dolzan was the standout performer for Bulleen as she defended admirably for the 90 minutes. In the absence of Salma Tawfic, it was Dolzan’s job to manage Brittany Dudley-Smith, and while the forward did eventually score, the blame wasn’t attributed to her in the slightest.
CB: Jackie Vogt (Bundoora United)
Got the coaches seal of approval this week as the commanding centre-back played well to maintain her sides clean sheet in the scoreless draw against Heidelberg United. She has been a standout player for Bundy over the last few rounds.
LM: Cristina Cardaci (Box Hill United)
Playing off both wings, Box Hill’s Cristina Cardaci had a stand out game against Cairnlea, scoring a goal and making herself a nuisance with her pace and direct running. Her pressure in the first half was crucial in getting her side out to a 2-0 lead at the break.
CM: Antonia Niteros (Casey Comets)
The nominated player-of-the-match, Niteros pulled the strings in a tight Casey midfield, especially in the absence of Laura Croft who donned the gloves on the weekend. She kept it simple and used her physicality to prevent Bulleen playing their natural expansive style.
CM: Ellie Brush (Box Hill United)
A bona fide star of the competition, Brush was again a large factor in Box Hill’s 2-1 win over Cairnlea. Making her seventh appearance in the Team of the Week – and second starting XI spot – the defender turn midfielder has shone in the centre of the park, nodding home a header to open the scoring for her side.
CM: Natalie Martineau (South Melbourne)
One of her best games of the season sees South’s Natalie Martineau make her second appearance in the Team of the Week. The midfielder displayed fantastic movement to create space for both herself and her teammates, and capped off her performance with the opening goal in their 4-0 rout of Sandringham.
RM: Ash Callaghan (Boroondara Eagles)
What an impact the Irish signing has made since making her move to the Eagles. Callaghan was again a standout as she notched up a goal and an assist to put Boroondara back on the path for a top two spot. Starting in her usual position in the middle, Callaghan drifted into a wider spot on the right as the game progressed.
ST: Beattie Goad (FFV U17 Girls)
The young Melbourne Victory player was the star for the NTC girls as they got up against bottom club Monbulk Rangers 3-1. Goad had two of those goals as she ran the show from the front. Could have had more if not for some good work from Marika Kamoda in goals for Monbulk.
ST: Tiffany Eliadis (South Melbourne)
What a good season it’s turning out to be for Tiffany Eliadis who now has 17 goals for the season after netting a hat-trick against a topsy-turvy Sandringham side. Her positioning and hard running to make space inside the box was to her credit as she ghosted in to put home three tap-ins.
Substitutes:
Laura Croft (Casey Comets)
The captain was forced to fill in between the sticks for Casey and whilst she didn’t have an overly busy afternoon, she did deal with everything that came her way and earned a clean sheet against the ladder leaders for her troubles. Not a bad performance in goals from the midfielder.
Alex Gummer (Boroondara Eagles)
At her usual industrious best and is perhaps the most unlucky to miss selection in the starting XI. Gummer was everywhere as usual and capped off her performance with a goal to boot.
Emily Thomas (Cairnlea)
Midfielder Emily Thomas was the standout player in a losing Carinlea side as she fought hard to keep her side in the contest. She put home a well taken goal and was generally a strong figure in the middle of the park for her side, moving up the pitch when required.
Cindy Lay (Bulleen Lions)
Cindy Lay had a good game for a losing Bulleen, sitting just in front of the back four. The Melbourne Victory midfielder was able to set up plays in that quarterback role, shielding the defence and fighting hard all game.
Laura Spiranovic (South Melbourne)
Another unlucky one to miss out on selection, Spiranovic toiled hard for South Melbourne, displaying vision and control to set up Eliadis for two of her goals. She had plenty of chances to score herself and whilst she’s finding goals harder to come by in the latter rounds, more performances like this and they’ll start flowing.
Photo Gallery > South Melbourne 4 defeated Sandringham SC 0 at Lakeside Stadium
Special thanks to those who helped out with nominations this week; Bill Molloy (@Bill_Molloy94), Bryce Clayton, Cheryl Downes (@ChicasFootball) and Teo Pellizzeri (@teopellizzeri)