Sandringham SC coach Deb Nichols has stepped in to defend her under-fire side after allegations of unsportsmanlike behaviour were thrown the way of their club in the aftermath of their 1-0 win over Ashburton United.
The winning goal came in somewhat controversial circumstances as Sandringham failed to give possession back to Ashburton after they played the ball out for defender Christine Pfeiffer to receive medical attention on the hour mark.
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But the coach of the South-East based club was quick to clear the air over the confusion, explaining the misunderstanding that arose in the build-up to their goal.
“We should have thrown it back,” Nichols said.
“I think it was young Emily Morris-Krause who took it. She didn’t realise, and [Ashburton] got possession back within two or so touches anyway.
“That’s just her not realising what she’s supposed to do more than [a planned action]. She didn’t do it on purpose, I just think she didn’t understand that she was supposed to give the ball back.”
Opposition coach Sinisa Cohadzic – while understanding that it was merely a simple misunderstanding from the youngster – was still aggrieved by the nature of the attack, citing the fact that the move took his side “by surprise” when forced to defend.
“In my view, it doesn’t matter if it was a misunderstanding or not. It cost us a goal. I can’t understand how we won possession [fairly] when they attacked and took us by surprise and we’ve scrambled back to concede a corner,” the Ashburton coach said.
“Yes we didn’t play well enough to win regardless of whether it was a misunderstanding, but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth to lose in that way.”
After having acted quickly to diffuse the situation, Nicholls heaped praise on fullback Morris-Krause, who kept one of the WPL’s blue chip wingers Georgia Clopefil incredibly quiet on the right wing.
“[Emily Morris-Krause], the young fullback played on the Young Matilda Beattie Goad the other week too. She’s had two really tough opposition in the last fortnight, and it’s her first full season in the seniors.
“She was exceptional [against Georgia Cloepfil], Sienna Fogarty at centre-back too. Right across the park I thought they worked really hard.”
The importance of the three points wasn’t lost on Nichols either, as she declared the important win – which saw the gap close to two points between the finals chasing sides – a product of the hard work she instilled in her players on the night.
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“[The message] was actually quite simple, it was just work hard. Technically we have some really gifted footballers but tonight it was just about rolling our sleeves up, working hard and the rest would flow. For once it did.
“They were five points in front of us before the start of the game so if we had lost that, [the gap] would’ve gone to eight points and we would be out of touch with the rest of the teams. So it was a huge win. I don’t think the girls realise how big of a win it is.