Bundoora United were in control from start to finish in their 4-0 win against 10th place South Yarra, who didn’t give their opponents a sniff over the 90 minutes.
Despite not firing in the forward half, South Yarra were resilient in defence, as they showed determination to keep the deficit to one goal at half-time thanks to Elly Curo.
But a second for Curo and singles to Gulcan Koca and Rachel Alonso saw the scoreline blow out over the second 45 minutes.
With the assistance of a strong wind, the hosts enjoyed a wealth of chances in the opening term at Hillsview Reserve, but were their worst enemies as they failed to make the most of their plentiful opportunities.
Elly Curo troubled early with her aerial prowess, first steering a header wide of the post before forcing South Yarra’s step-in keeper Madeline Jona into work.
Louisa Bisby put in a consistent flow of good delivery into the box, and centre-half Gulcan Koca was on hand to turn one in on 16 minutes, but a handball in the process chalked off the far post tap in.
The industrious Jess Pitts earned a corner with a deflected strike from distance, and Curo again was desperately unlucky not to open the scoring with a header that floated just over.
Pitts was in the action again soon after, slipping through Rachel Alonso on the right, who shot narrowly wide across the face of goals.
Growing increasingly frustrated with their side’s poor conversion rate, the Bundoora coaches switched to a 4-4-2, to give Curo some assistance up top in the form of Bisby.
In fortuitous circumstances, the pair combined for the opening goal on 40 minutes, as Bisby sent a corner towards the near post, which took a pair of deflections on its way through the legs of Jona, onto the left post only for the rebound to fall back to Curo to place home.
Another goalmouth scramble from a corner could’ve easily seen the sides go in at 2-0, but the South Yarra defence did enough to keep their more fancied opponents at bay.
But that all changed in the second half with a stellar five minutes putting the game beyond doubt for Bundy.
For their lack of incisiveness in the first half, they made up for it all within the opening few minutes of the restart as Curo grabbed her second goal of the night in the 47th minute
Monique Ianella was brilliant down the right-flank, pushing up from defence to put the ball perfectly onto the head of Curo for a well-taken header, her fourth goal of the season.
Just three minutes later and United had three through Koca, who headed home emphatically from a Bisby cross.
Jess Au could’ve further compounded the Lioness’ misery as she hit the post to cap off a whirlwind opening five minutes in the contest.
Tyla-Jay Vlajnic was offered more freedom in the second half, advancing up the pitch from her left-back position, and she saw a 65th minute header cleared off the line by Samantha Tighe, who belted the ball to safety.
This started a counter attack, which saw South Yarra register their first meaningful shot on goal; Eliza Mealin testing Beth Mason-Jones at her near post who dealt with her first save comfortably.
Bundoora continued to play pretty football around the area, South Yarra ensured they had bodies behind the ball, but a moment of magic from Enza Barilla saw the captain win a penalty for their final goal.
The midfielder took the game on, galloping through the wall of South players, only to be pushed off the ball at the last second.
Rachel Alonso was on hand to dispatch clinically, shooting into the bottom right corner emphatically.
The two sides get a second chance to square off again, with a Team App Cup fixture this Tuesday 8:00pm, at the State Football Centre.
***
Bundoora United 4 (Curo 40’ 47’, Koca 50’, Alonso [p] 85’) defeated South Yarra 0 at Hillsview Reserve [HT: 1-0]
Bundoora United: 1. Bethany MASON-JONES, 2. Monique IANELLA (15. Krystal McCLUSKY 76’), 10. Gulcan KOCA, 13. Claudia FRUSCASZO (22. Deanna FRUSCASZO 83’), 9. Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC, 16. Louisa BISBY (18. Hailee MESITI 83’), 7. Enza BARILLA, 23. Jess PITTS (6. Bianca ROSANO), 11. Jess AU, 14. Rachel ALONSO, 8. Elly CURO (3. Emma HECKENBERG 68’)
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
South Yarra: 1. Madeline JONA (GK), 2. Hayley WALKINSHAW, 3. Sarah DASH, 4. Samantha TIGHE, 5. Hannah CHARMAN, 6. Aoife MURPHY, 7. Eliza MEALIN, 8. Jennifer WESTHAGEN, 9. Marcela MARQUES (12. Pricilla RIBAS 68’), 10. Katherine FOSTER, 11. Sara ALBERICI (15. Ashley LEDOUX 76’)
Unused Substitute(s): 13. Sharon WALSH, 14. Gretel TEMPLETON
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil