An emotionally charged game on Sunday at the E&D Litis Stadium in Perth saw the Northern Redbacks cap off its trophy-laden history with a fifth NPLW Night Series title. The Redbacks staged a dramatic come-from-behind win to beat nearest neighbours Balcatta Etna 4-2 in extra time.
Going into the game, Redbacks had an opportunity to make a final mark on the women’s game in WA before joining forces with ECU Joondalup to become Perth RedStar FC, but standing in their way were last season’s Night Series title winners, Balcatta Etna, who have over the years proven to be a tough nut to crack for Redbacks.
Balcatta Etna started the brighter of the two teams and in the third minute, a deep cross from the right by Kimberley McCartney deceived Redbacks keeper Shivani Battaglia and drifted into the far corner of the net to put her team 1-0 up.
The lead was doubled in the 14th minute when a misplaced back pass by Andrea Texiera beat Battaglia and all of a sudden any hopes of a fairy tale finish for Redbacks were looking most unlikely.
The game then changed its complexion in the 28th minute when Redbacks captain Shawn Billam hit a low drive from outside the box. This bobbled in front of Balcatta keeper Gabby Dal Busco and found its way into the net to make the score 2-1.
This galvanised the Redbacks and they pushed for an equaliser, but couldn’t quite apply the finishing touch to their attacks and the score ended 2-1 at the break.
The second half saw Redbacks continuing to press their opponents and Balcatta were left with only scraps of possession. The arrival of Renee Leota and Jacinta Coleman at the break further increased the territorial advantage that Redbacks were enjoying, and the Balcatta defence was placed under enormous pressure as they tried to maintain their lead. Dal Busco was working overtime in goal as corner after corner was sent in by Carla Bennett.
The pressure eventually became too much and a huge scramble on the line in the 77th minute after yet another Redbacks corner saw the ball bundled in to level the scores.
Redbacks then threw everything at Balcatta as they tried to find the winner and they should really have clinched the game in the dying minutes, but Olivia Wood blazed her shot over the bar from just outside the six yard box.
The game then moved into extra time, but within a minute of the restart last season’s joint NPLW Golden Boot winner, Larissa Walsh, raced on to a lovely through ball from Leota and finished with aplomb to put Redbacks ahead for the first time in the game.
Balcatta now had to try and rescue the game, but this left them open to the counterattack and with just a minute to go Bennett played a neat one-two with Walsh before curling a left-foot shot past Dal Busco to seal the win and mark the end of an era for the sole women-only club in WA.
Bennett was awarded the Tracey Wheeler medal as player of the match. It was fitting that the holder of the record number of appearances for Northern Redbacks (270) would be the scorer of the last ever goal for the club.
