Recent wet weather postponed all but two of Capital Football‘s Round 7 NPLW fixtures on the weekend, so we headed to McKellar Park to see ladder leaders Belconnen United take on equal-fourth West Canberra Wanderers.
Congratulations to Keira Bobbin for 100 games, may she fly down the touchline and terrorise defences for many hundreds more.
Other games from this round include:
Gungahlin United vs ANU WFC (full stream)
Canberra Olympic vs Canberra Croatia (postponed)
Tuggeranong United vs Majura FC (postponed)
For an alternate review of the round, check out the Capital Football article from Sam Watson.
Match of the Round: Belconnen United vs West Canberra Wanderers
Blue Devils coach Scott Conlon brought Maddie Sawkins into left back, and captain Lauren Preston into centre-back alongside Ailish McDonagh, leaving Madeline Steinacker on the bench. Pearl Tein started in midfield beside the hardworking Anneke Corry, while Alex Martens also took a spot on the pine.
Steve Rohan-Jones has a strong starting eleven, and it had a look of familiarity to it, welcoming back keeper Gabrielle O’Brien.
For half a game, this was a much closer game than the final score indicates, and it was an injury to O’Brien late in the first stanza that changed the game.
The Wanderers have sharp, willing options in midfield that can disrupt a team’s ability to play out from the back or through the lines, so the addition of the nimble Tein for the Blue Devils was valuable. There is also speed out wide (Zoe Halpin and Alex Gidis) that, when they drop back, can at times match the likes of Bobbin and Alina Roberts. Audrey Ward has impressed in the opening rounds and was everywhere again in this contest, leading the way in pressuring Belconnen midfielders and defenders alike. The Blue Devils, however, are a classy outfit and still had more of the ball.
Wanderers centre-back Olivia Hicks has grown in stature and confidence in her time at the club this year and last, and is now a go-to set-piece taker. That confidence was on full display in the 16th minute when she fired a free kick from 22 yards out into the top left corner, with keeper Matilde Laurel Tighe only able to get fingertips on the ball. Slightly against the run of play, the Wanderers held the lead.
The teams traded attacking opportunities over the next 25 minutes. Good moments for the Wanderers included important shot blocks from fullbacks Juliana Robertson and Hicks; Perri Nash’s delightful drag-back on Roberts; and some quick thinking by Halpin on a thrown-in that gave Tamara Cochrane a free run into the box (the shot was wide).
The home side had moments of their own, with shots by Tein and Bobbin, and through balls for Alyssa Di Campli just out of reach.
A wonderful piece of play by the Blue Devils in the 41st minute unexpectedly changed the game, with O’Brien sustaining an ankle injury after Bobbin’s dash and cutback found Roberts. The shot curled against the crossbar, with the injury occurring in the scramble that followed. The ankle was taped during a long break, but O’Brien was clearly hampered for the remainder of the half.
A lovely passing move between Tein and Di Campli sent Roberts into space in added time, with O’Brien in no shape to deny the bottom left corner finish to square the game up.
Does any defender in the competition anticipate the ball as well as Bronte Pyke? Pyke attacks the ball with all her experience, as much in the opponents’ penalty box as around her own. Isy Hindmarsh’s corner late in the half, right in the middle of the six-yard box, was difficult for O’Brien under duress, with the punched ball finding Pyke at the back post for an easy header. The Blue Devils led 2-1 at half-time.
With no backup keeper on the bench, Hicks took the gloves in the second half as O’Brien was fitted with a moon boot. The loss of Hicks from the backline was a blow to the Wanderers’ defensive resilience. Every Hindmarsh and McDonagh corner fell unerringly into the six-yard box, a nightmare for a stand-in keeper. Pyke forced the ball over the line from a McDonagh corner for her double and a 3-1 lead just ten minutes in.
Halpin occasionally found a way forward down the Wanderer’s left wing, but the sting had gone out of their game. Four minutes after Pyke’s double, Bobbin’s ball into the box was defensively fumbled into Roberts’ path for an easy finish and a 4-1 score-line.
Bobbin scored two goals of her own later in the game, the first after Roberts returned the favour with a toed-through ball. Hicks took a blow to the ribs competing with Bobbin for the goal, and another lengthy delay ensued. Hicks was helped from the field as another outfielder – Audrey McLaren – donned the gloves for the balance of the game.
McLaren was unable to stop a rampaging Bobbin late in the game in a one-on-one as Bobbin became the third Blue Devil to register a brace in this game.
Already short on goalkeeping stocks, Rohan-Jones has a real task ahead of him in the coming week dealing with the unfortunate injuries to O’Brien and Hicks. We wish both players well.
After the first full round, some breathing space is starting to appear on what was until recently a bunched ladder. The Blue Devils have opened up a six-point lead on their opponents, but there doesn’t seem to be much between the teams in positions two through five. We can’t wait to see where the second full round takes us.
>>> Full match timeline and team line-ups can be found here <<<
Final score:
Belconnen United 6 (Alina Roberts 51′ 63′, Bronte Pyke 54′ 59′, Keira Bobbin 72′ 88′)
West Canberra Wanderers 1 (Olivia Hicks 16′)
Around The Grounds:
Gungahlin United 9-0 ANU WFC
Ladder:
Next round:
