A dominant display by Perth RedStar saw the league champions secure their second successive League and Top 4 Cup double at the State Football Centre on Saturday. RedStar beat Perth SC 4-1 thanks to goals from Olivia Wood (2), Abbey Wooley and Reina Kagami, with the latter being named Player of the Match.
Perth SC earned the right to play in the Grand Final after beating Hyundai NTC 3-0 on Wednesday night, so this was going to be their third game in six days. Perth RedStar, on the other hand, had six days to prepare following their 5-1 defeat of Perth SC in the semi-final last Sunday, and were rightly installed as favourites.
RedStar were soon into their stride and opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Kagami hit a superb left-footed strike from the edge of the box that gave Rebecca Bennett in the Perth SC goal no chance. This was another excellent goal to add to the Japanese midfielder’s highlight reel and was greeted with great excitement by her teammates and the RedStar fans.
Pete Rakic’s side knew they had a tough hill to climb, but with Gemma Craine and Ella Lincoln they certainly had players capable of turning the game. Craine in particular was a handful, with the RedStar midfield and defence quick to get players around Craine to restrict her marauding runs. Craine’s ability to run at defences and keep them on the back foot almost paid dividends in the 23rd minute when she forced Maya Diederichsen into a smart save following a rasping shot from just outside the box, after she was released by Lincoln’s clever through ball.
RedStar’s press was starting to exert more pressure on Perth, who were having to work overtime to get space on the ball. Their front three had to drop deeper in search of touches and as a result Perth were struggling to get any clean and prolonged possession.
RedStar had a great chance to double their lead in the 31st minute when Sarah Carroll forced an error from the Perth defence and played the ball to Renee Leota. Her flicked header into space encouraged Carroll to continue her run and she broke free of the defensive cover, only to hit her shot just over the bar.
Another chance for RedStar came in the 34th minute when they forced Perth into turning the ball over on the edge of the box. Chiori Ikeda pounced to feed Jay Coleman, who beat a defender on her way into the box before finding Leota. Her first-time left-foot shot was saved well by Bennett, turning it around the post for a corner. Ikeda floated the resulting corner kick into the middle and Leota, positioned in front of Bennett on the goal line, headed the ball into the net. However, the referee spotted an infringement and disallowed the goal.
Despite all the pressure, RedStar knew that Perth SC posed a significant threat and in the dying minutes of the first half, the Azzurri nearly manufactured an equaliser. Some great footwork by Lincoln saw her break free into the RedStar penalty area, but her near post shot was just wide, rippling the side netting and leaving the score 1-0 at halftime.
The second half saw the game continue in much the same vein as the first with RedStar squeezing Perth and forcing mistakes, whilst the Azzurri were not able to get enough players forward on the break to sustain any meaningful pressure on the rock-solid RedStar defence.
In the 51st minute, Olivia Wood nearly doubled RedStar’s lead when Leota’s lofted through ball put her through for a one-on-one against Bennett. She opted to try and lob the keeper but Bennett was able to get a hand on it and push it away from the goal. Wood got to the ball first but Judy Connolly cleared from the resultant shot.
The game then swung decisively in Redstar’s favour when they scored their second goal in the 55th minute. Wood pounced on a poor pass across the face of goal by the Perth defence, and although her initial attempt was saved by Bennett the young striker reacted quickly to lift the ball over the prone keeper and make it 2-0.
Any faint hopes Perth SC had of getting back into the contest were then killed off during a five-minute spell late in the game.
In the 85th minute, Kagami opened up the Perth defence with a delightful through ball for substitute Abbey Wooley to run onto. She rounded the keeper and hit a left-foot shot into the net to make it 3-0.
A minute later Wood had a chance to make it 4-0 but Bennett produced another fine save to deny her. The reprieve was short-lived though when Wood showed great feet from a pass by Wooley to find space in the box, before despatching a right-foot shot into the corner of the net for RedStar’s fourth goal of the game.
Perth SC grabbed a consolation goal in injury time when Craine picked the ball up inside her own half. She went on a long run before slipping the ball out to Emily Henderson on the right-hand side of the RedStar penalty area. Henderson squared the ball into the six-yard box where, despite the efforts of the RedStar defence, it was squeezed over the line by Craine, who had continued her run into the box.
Click here for all the goals from the final.
This was an impressive performance by the league champions and the victory means they are the first team in the NPLW era to retain the league and cup double. They are now the most successful NPLW team with 3 x Top 4 trophies, 2 x league titles, 1 x State Cup and 1 x Night Series cup to their name.
Perth SC can be proud of what they have achieved this season, showing they are capable of playing bright and attacking football. Earlier in the year, Perth claimed their first trophy of the NPLW era by winning the Night Series.
The U21 Top 4 Cup was also won by Perth RedStar, who beat league Champions Balcatta Etna 2-1 after going a goal down. Nicole Smith scored for Balcatta Etna, whilst a Charlotte Taylor penalty and an own goal earned the victory for RedStar.
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