Tasmania’s Women’s Super League round four has come and gone, and it was another great weekend! Beyond 90 looks back at all the action.

Ulverstone SC 1 (Lucy Reimer 29′) Clarence Zebras 1 (Selina Steventon 7′)

Clarence took the longest road trip in Tasmanian women’s football to get to Ulverstone Showgrounds. With three wins from three and midfielder Zoe Nichols leading the Golden Boot race (six goals), Zebras have already proven that they will be a real force this year.

Ulverstone on the other hand were looking for a good result after last week’s away trip to Warrior Park ended with Olympia giving true vindication of the ground’s name – they had a dominant 4-0 win over the Northern side. There were some shining lights from this defeat however, and the work-rate of defenders Lucy Reimer and Emily Nellis should be commended, but not even 2018 WSL Golden Glove winner Georgie Anderson could save them from defeat.

Zebras assistant coach Adam Powell was on the touchline due to head coach Chris Hey not being available. It didn’t take long for the in-form Zebras to get on the board as Ulverstone’s Emily Nellis gave away a penalty in the opening minutes with a handball in the box. Selina Steventon calmly finished her spot kick past Anderson.

Eli Crop and Lucy Reimer combined to score an equaliser for Ulverstone after half an hour of play. Crop sent in a cross to a waiting Reimer, who was able to slot it home.

Zebras were unable to sneak the winner despite having more shots on target, and the Eastern Shore side will rue their missed chances. Ulverstone on the other hand proved that they will not be a walk over team and one would imagine they will be very pleased to hold the title favourites to a point.

Ulverstone’s Shelby Aitken spoke to B90 after the match.

“It’s an awesome result for our club and being able to match it up with the ladder leaders. Our girls’ tenacity and commitment to the team structure given to us by our Coach Saul {Canales} was amazing. For me, coming back into the competition, I honestly was unsure of what the game’s future held as I wasn’t aware of the Zebras structure. Going into the game we all were determined, ready for action and our arousal and motivation showed it.”

Match of the Round: Kingborough Lions United v South Hobart FC

Kingborough Lions 2 (undetermined 20′, Laura Davis 89′) South Hobart 7 (Phoebe Djakic 3′, Niki Moutsatsos 7′ 41′ 48′, Eliane Fader 18′ 36′, Charlotte Ingram 68′)

The Lions returned to ‘The Den’ shell shocked after last weekend’s away day ended in misery and a 5-1 loss at Wentworth Park to Clarence Zebras. They were able to erase the Zebras’ clean sheet but it was little consolation for their efforts.

Kingborough’s unit is incredibly youthful this year and it is showing in recent weeks. Gone is the experience from Emille Tatton and Zoë Horgan who have moved to other pastures (Launceston City FC). Lions have a real look of promise however: you only need to look back to Round 1 and their 3-1 win on the road against Ulverstone. Holly Bonertz-Benn scoring on debut at just 15 years old is an incredible indicator that the youth can hang in the top tier.

Coming off a great maiden win last weekend away at Olinda Grove, South Hobart’s confidence was flowing. Phoebe Djakic proved to be the super-sub, scoring a brace in under three minutes immediately after Uni had pulled one back to make it 2-1.

Coach Craig Westwood has piled praise on his team and for good reason. Perhaps the biggest star at the moment for them is Bridie Cooling, who has taken a page out of Matildas and Olympique Lyon fullback Ellie Carpenter’s book. Cooling proved that defenders can make a real difference to the attacking play with two assists last week.

It’s not very often you come away from a road trip with seven goals scored, but South did just that!

Two consecutive errors by the home side in the opening minutes led to South having an early two goal lead. Djakic had earned a place in the starting XI this week and for good measure, Djakic appeared on the left of the box and was able to shoot past Lions keeper Erika Mackintosh for the opener. Niki Moutsatsos then spotted Mackintosh off her line and finished with a great chip over her head. Eliane Fader was the next to add to the scoring tally. She had already been applying a lot of pressure in the first half and was justly rewarded for her efforts, with lots of time to perfect her shot Fader did just that and slotted it home.

Kingborough looked to have awoken shortly after. Kate Bonertz-Benn headed to the goals and there was a real scramble from both sides to get the final touch. Ultimately it was the Lions who made their own breakthrough this time and they got on the board, despite us all not knowing who to credit for it! However, the comeback didn’t last long when a deflected long ball landed at Fader’s feet – getting past defenders on both sides she was able to beat Mackintosh in the bottom corner.

Lions striker Laura Davis then found herself on the wrong end of a collision in the middle of the field. The aftermath showed Davis clutching onto her arm and she had to leave the field for treatment. With Davis off the field, having a numbers advantage was in South’s favour as Fader sent in a looping cross to Moutsatsos, who completed her brace in style. Davis was able to return to play but only to hear the half-time whistle.

Moutsatsos completed her hat-trick mere minutes after play’s resumption, sliding her shot past the keeper. Charlotte Ingram was the next to score after a tidy assist. Djakic was on a tight angle and cut it back to an unmarked Ingram, who had no troubles finishing. Lions’ Amy Ollington was able to score a great consolation goal before the full time whistle. Set up by Davis who had eased past a charging defence into the penalty area, she calmly passed to Ollington who tapped in a nice goal.

During the second half Lions’ Phoebe Clifford was stretchered off with a bad injury.

“After a few x-rays which ruled out a fracture (thank goodness), but I have a grade two ligament strain/tear and will be on crutches for at least a week or two. Recovery is looking to be 3-6 weeks depending on how smoothly everything goes, won’t be rushing anything though,” Clifford said.

B90 also spoke to Moutsatsos after the match.

“I’m very proud of our whole team’s performance today,” Moutsatsos said.

“We were lucky enough to get a couple of early goals which then lifted us for the rest of the 90 minutes. There was great ball movement from our keeper to the defence and midfield which then made it possible for us forward players to attack on goal. The result shows just how well our newly formed team is improving week-by-week.

“I thought that Kingborough put in a great effort for the full game and had some moments where they caught our team off guard. It was a very exciting game and I’m looking forward to playing Kingborough once again.”

Olympia Warriors 9 (Inocent Michael 2′ 28′, Bonnie Davies 4′, Charlotte Chambers 36′, Olivia Bomford 45+ 2′ 47′ 69′, Madi Chambers 66′, Leah Gubb 90+1′) defeated University 0 at Warrior Park.

Olympia Warriors have been close on the tail of Clarence Zebras. Their next test against University was a match that could have already been won on paper, but to quote the late Nottingham Forest Coach Brian Clough, “We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass.”

With Warriors’ Bonnie Davies second in the Golden Boot race with four goals and keeper Jenna Farrow yet to concede in three games, their confidence was flowing. Meanwhile, University had a promising scoreline temporarily at 2-1 last week after a wonder free kick from Olivia Young, but Phoebe Djakic’s brace in a matter of minutes spelt defeat for the Bees and it was back to the drawing board. With a goal difference of -11 and sitting at the bottom of the table, it would be hoped that UTAS could turn their form around.

Having an early lead seemed to be the trend for Round 4 when Olympia scored two in the opening minutes, Inocent Michael and Bonnie Davies both getting on the board. Olivia Bomford scored a lovely hat-trick while Charlotte and Madi Chambers also scored past keeper Rhiannon Steele. Olympia Coach Alastair Russell opted to substitute Farrow for second choice keeper Monique Pinkiewicz, who made her WSL goalkeeping debut in the second half. Pinkiewicz has previously been a fullback in other games. This move proved to be a stroke of genius as both players kept clean sheets. Leah Gubb topped off the Warriors’ day by continuing her scoring form with two goals in two weeks.

B90 spoke to Bomford after the match.

“We’re really happy with the performance today,” Bomford said.

“We know how crucial goal difference is because of the situation we faced in the final game of the season last year, so to score nine today is a huge positive. We keep improving week by week, and players are really stepping up and having a great impact.

“Our focus moves to next week’s game against Clarence Zebras. We know it’s going to be a battle, so the days leading up will be all about being physically and mentally prepared to go out and play our best game. We’re excited for the game and we’re going to really bring the fight to them.”

TABLE

WSL Round 5 Fixtures

South Hobart v Ulverstone, University v Kingborough, Clarence Zebras v Olympia