South Melbourne have secured back-to-back Women’s Premier League titles, claiming a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Boroondara Eagles in an enthralling two-hour contest that tested the mettle of both sets of players.
Two goals to Taryne Boudreau – one in extra-time – twice gave Boroondara the advantage, only for South to twice claw back the deficit through Carol Howes and an own goal.
With bodies dropping left right and centre in extra-time at the Veneto Club, space opened up for a number of golden opportunities which saw the Eagles strike the crossbar on three occasions and see two goals crossed off for infringements in their attacking box.
Alex Gummer and Frances Land both saw their penalties saved in either side’s allotted five spot-kicks.
When Rani Cavarretta missed her penalty, it paved the way for South skipper Alex Cheal to secure the title, coolly placing her effort past Lanning for the victory
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First Half
Despite the action in extra-time and the final moments of regular side, the majority of the contest was error-ridden with most of the openings for either side the direct result of mistakes.
Even then, capitalising on those chances seemed a tough ask as both teams struggled with their decision-making, despite the fact that Boroondara were able to find a goal early.
Two of the Eagles’ superstars in reigning Gold Medalist Amy Jackson and Canadian forward Boudreau combined in the fourth minute for the opener as the latter latched onto the former’s free-kick with a looping header that caught Frances Land off guard.
South had chances to equalise soon after through Dudley-Smith – who lacked the conviction behind her shot to fully trouble Lanning after brilliantly being played through by Tiffany Eliadis – and Natalie Martineau – who was foiled at the near post by the keeper.
A spate of half chances fell the Eagles’ way with the table-toppers enjoying plenty of joy from wide positions, but failed to capitalise further on their lead.
A slip from Jessie Pritchard on the half-way line allowed Aliesha Newman time and space to stream through with support on either side of her in the 31st minute.
In the end, she wasted the three-on-one opportunity by playing in an offside Boudreau on her left, despite the off-the-ball run of Liv Ellis, who sprinted 50-yards to provide an option on Newman’s right.
The winger had the chance to shoot herself soon after, but poked her effort wide of the left post after being played in by Boudreau.
Eliadis and Baker wrapped their right foot around efforts from outside the box – both shots curling wide – while Boudreau at the other end provided the final highlight of the half with a tame effort on her right boot after creating space with a drop of the shoulder.
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Second Half
There was improvement in the second half as both sides found a bit more rhythm to their play.
Eliadis latched onto a ball from the 2015 Teresa Deas medallist Jamie Pollock early in the first half but couldn’t muster the power behind the shot to beat Lanning.
Their captain Alex Cheal then let up at the other end with a loose header backwards, which saw her compete in a foot race with Jackson for possession, to which she redeemed herself well, corralling the ball safely into Land’s arms.
The pressure began to build on the Boroondara defence, and a scramble from a corner kick saw South come fractions away from their equaliser as first Eliadis then Lines were brilliantly denied by Lanning.
But with just 20 minutes remaining in the game, South found their goal through Howes who embarked on a barnstorming run on the right, selling Lanning with a feign before finishing into an unprotected near post, sending the South support into raptures.
South’s equaliser paved the way for a hotly-contested final 20 minutes of regular time, which saw chances aplenty as both sides sniffed a winner.
Dudley-Smith once more came close in the 73rd minute with a dinked effort over the onrushing Lanning, which floated inches wide of the post.
Land at the other end was putting herself to good use, charging forward with purpose to smother Boudreau’s shot from a wide left position, who had earlier nicked possession off Martineau.
The end-to-end pattern of chances continued as a Farquhar corner found the head of Pollock who headed straight at Lanning who held comfortably.
Cheal was the next to go close, albeit in the wrong net as confusion between her and Land resulted in the ball cannoning off her and towards goal, although to her relief, she was able to recover and clear her lines.
It would have been a cruel way of losing the contest so late in the piece, same went for Amy Jackson’s 90th minute free-kick, which was on target but failed to adequately test Land.
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Extra-Time
Instead extra-time beckoned, where we saw two goals struck within its first 10 minutes.
Offered space and time by the South to weigh up her options, Boudreau instead opted for a shot from 30-yards that rifled into the top left corner of the net, leaving the desperately diving Land no chance.
But it took only a minute for South to find their equaliser, as a left sided cross from Saphri Lines was deflected towards goal by a Gummer header, which hit the woodwork and was cruelly bundled over the line by Lanning, who scrambled to keep the ball in play.
A glorious chance to reclaim the lead fell Boroondara’s way courtesy of Tasmanian NTC product Lucy Johnstone who rattled the crossbar with a vicious right footed strike, which struck the bar and the ground before being claimed by the keeper.
Eliadis’ free-kick in the 105th minute floated narrowly over the bar onto the roof of the net despite the resulting South celebrations from within the bleachers.
The second half of extra time saw enough action to span an entire game of its own, as the two goals were rubbed out, the crossbar was struck and a gilt-edged chance missed on the way towards penalty kicks.
A Liv Ellis cross in the 115th minute was turned into goals for what the Eagles thought was finally their winner, although it was ruled out for a foul in the process.
Boudreau then thought she’d secured her hat-trick after turning Jackson’s free-kick into goals in the 119th minute, but for the second time in four minutes, the referees whistle put stop to the claim.
The final piece of action before spot kicks saw Amy Jackson hit the crossbar – the third person in extra-time to do so – from a 25-yard free-kick, which then saw Boudreau miss the chance to write headlines, blazing a volley over the net from all of five-yards out – an opportunity which was harder to execute than it appeared from the stands.
With it brought the referees final whistle, and the lottery of the penalty-shootout to decide one of the most thrilling WPL games in recent memory.
It was an incredibly cruel way for Boroondara to lose, a side who had given their all not only throughout the 120 minutes, but also during a remarkable league campaign which saw them secure top spot and a maiden Team App Cup triumph.
For South however, they’ll now rightly go down in the annals of history as the powerhouse club of the 2010’s in the WPL, with this win arguably their finest accomplishment of the lot.
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Penalties
1-0 Eagles (Sarah Jacobs, Boroondara) – SCORED: Top right, Land dived right way.
1-1 (Tiffany Eliadis, South Melbourne) – SCORED: Powerful effort into the top left corner left Lanning planted.
1-1 (Alex Gummer, Boroondara) – SAVED: Low effort was put within diving reach of Land’s right who gets down in time to thwart the attempt.
2-1 South (Brittany Dudley-Smith, South Melbourne) – SCORED: Fired straight down the middle as Lanning dived the wrong way.
2-2 (Taryne Boudreau, Boroondara) – SCORED: Cool finish into the top right, past the fingertips of Land who guessed the right way.
3-2 South (Alison Baker, South Melbourne) – SCORED: A delectable finish – arguably the best penalty of the lot – rolls into the bottom left corner past the dive of Anna Lanning. Had it been any further away from the bottom corner, she’d have saved it.
3-3 (Liv Ellis, Boroondara Eagles) – SCORED: Slots it low to the left to keep the contest alive.
4-3 South (Saphri Lines, South Melbourne) – SCORED: Confidently taken penalty dispatched into the top left hand corner. Lanning dives the right way.
4-4 (Jess Tay, Boroondara Eagles) – SCORED: Put through straight down the middle. Land moves the wrong way.
4-4 (Frances Land, South Melbourne) – SAVED: The keeper steps up to take the fifth penalty with the chance to win the game off her boot. Poor penalty in truth which stays low and straight, right into the grateful arms of Lanning.
4-4 (Rani Cavarretta, Boroondara Eagles) – MISSED: Ball sails over the crossbar as she opted for power over placement from the spot.
5-4 South (Alex Cheal, South Melbourne) – SCORED: The game is won off the boot of the skipper, who leads her team in post-game celebrations. She stroked the ball into the bottom corner past the desperate lunge of Lanning.
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MATCH DETAILS:
South Melbourne 2 (Howes 70’, OG 96’) defeated Boroondara Eagles 2 (Boudreau 4’, 95’) 5-4 on penalties at Veneto Club [HT: 0-1, FT: 1-1, HT/ET: 2-2]
South Melbourne WFC: 1. Frances LAND (GK), 16. Lisa FARQUHAR (3. Jade FEAKES 98’), 4. Jessie PRITCHARD, 6. Alex CHEAL (c), 5. Natalie MARTINEAU, 17. Ali BAKER, 8. Carol HOWES, 12. Jamie POLLOCK, (18. Caitlin GRIESER 110’) 11. Saphri LINES, 10. Tiffany ELIADIS, 2. Brittany DUDLEY-SMITH
Unused Substitute(s): 14. Natalie BRAJANOVSKI, 31. Jasmine AREZZOLO, 7. Coco MAJSTOROVIC (GK)
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
Boroondara Eagles: 1. Anna LANNING (GK), 9. Alex GUMMER (c), 55. Jess TAY, 5. Sky JENSEN (3. Ally GAYFER 65’), 22. Liv ELLIS, 6. Aisling CALLAGHAN, 2. Sarah JACOBS, 15. Amy JACKSON, 31.Rani CAVARRETTA, 11. Aliesha NEWMAN (52. Amy MEDWIN 70’), 7. Taryne BOUDREAU
Unused Substitute(s): 88. Kayo KUGIMIYA, 12. Sarah PETTY
Yellow Card(s): Gayfer 105’
Red Card(s): Nil