The football gods shone in favour of Bundoora United as a fortuitous Monique Iannella goal consigned the Senior NTC to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat at the State Football Centre on Friday night.
It was a fairly even contest, played at a high tempo across the 90 minutes, with both sides enjoying spells of good football without being overly damaging with the football.
A low key opening term saw neither side take advantage of their respective spells of dominance, with Bundoora finding it hard work to break the defensive line of the elite pathways outfit.
They found some early joy down the right flank through Jess Au, who twice found Elly Curo with curling crosses, and the striker – again twice – cushioned the ball down for a teammate to shoot.
The second of which saw NTC graduate Jess Pitts strike cleanly, but also miss the target, as she sent a drive past the left post.
Skipper Annabel Martin ensured Beth Mason-Jones’ gloves were warm with an optimistic effort from 40 yards, before the NTC broke clear in a more conventional sense.
Utilizing their pace in wide areas, Whitney Knight skipped clear of her marker on the right wing before shooting across the face of goals from inside the box.
Mason-Jones stepped up with a magnificent fingertip save to tip the shot wide.
Rachel Alonso – shifting into midfield to cover the absence of Louisa Bisby – twice tried her luck from range, but failed to adequately test Teresa Morrissey in net for NTC.
A cross from NTC’s Melindaj Barbieri in the 38th minute nearly caught out Mason-Jones, but the keeper rose to stop the ball dipping into the far post.
That foreshadowed the eventual match winner in the 50th minute as Monique Iannella – from what was essentially the exact same spot on the pitch as Barbieri’s effort – looped a right footed cross towards the far post, which unexpectedly picked out the top corner.
The goal went a long way towards opening up the contest, as chances started to flow at both ends.
Adriana Taranto slipped a great ball through to Joey Cartwright who didn’t quite have the legs to beat an onrushing Mason-Jones to the ball.
Tyla-Jay Vlajnic fizzed a free-kick just past the post on the hour mark just before a strong handball shout was turned down for Bundoora.
A strike from inside the area following a goalmouth scrap seemed to cannon off an NTC arm, but it wasn’t convincing enough to turn the head of the referee.
Elly Curo then saw a goal-bound shot deflected behind for a corner, with centre-half Gulcan Koca heading narrowly wide from the resulting set-piece.
A high press from the NTC forwards saw the Bundoora defence turn over the ball twice in dangerous areas.
Cartwright found herself on the end of both those plays, with the visitors clearing their lines the first time and the forward shooting wide the second.
Claudia Fruscaszo nearly doubled Bundoora’s lead in equally fortuitous circumstances to the opener, as she mishit a free-kick from the deep.
The delivery failed to tail in towards her strikers, instead floating towards goal, where Morrissey expertly palmed the ball onto the crossbar before the ball was eventually cleared.
An NTC strike from distance had Mason-Jones again diving to the aid of her teammates, before Bundoora took the ball to the other end for the best chance of the game.
Alonso played a tidy ball to free up Au on the right, but Morrissey made a fantastic low stop to deny her at the near post.
With the NTC keeper in the process of regaining her feet, Iannella volleyed an effort towards the top corner of an unguarded net, but Martin acrobatically dived backwards to head the effort over crossbar.
The keeper made another stop to deny Curo at the death, and despite Bundoora having the better chances in the second half, it was an incredibly even contest which could’ve fallen either way.
Photos: Amanda Williams/Backline Photography
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Senior NTC 0 defeated by Bundoora United 1 (Iannella 50’) at State Football Centre [HT: 0-0]
Bundoora United Squad: 1. Bethany MASON-JONES, 2. Monique IANNELLA, 10. Gulcan KOCA, 13. Claudia FRUSCASZO, 9. Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC, 7. Enza BARILLA, 23. Jess PITTS, 11. Jess AU, 14. Rachel ALONSO, 8. Elly CURO, 3. Emma HECKENBERG, 22. Deanna FRUSCASZO, 15. Krystal McCLUSKY, 6. Bianca ROSANO, 19. Taylah MEXATAS
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
Senior NTC Squad: 16. Teresa MORRISSEY (GK), 9. Joey CARTWRIGHT, 3. Natasha DAKIC, 14. Edith FORDYCE-CROKER, 11. Whitney KNIGHT, 33. Ashleigh LEFEVRE, 13. Annabel MARTIN (C), 17. Hayley RICHMOND, 6. Adriana TARANTO, 25. Melindaj BARBIERI, 8. Melissa TARANTO, 2. Jaimee WILLIAMS, 30. Celia KELSALL, 15. Akeisha SANDHU, 7. Emily HARBIS
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil