NPLW First Grade
ANUWFC 1- Tuggeranong United 0
NPLW Reserves
ANUWFC 3 - Tuggeranong United 0
State League 1
ANUWFC 4 - Bellamonaro 0
Our second game of the season was a fairly dominant performance. Bellamonaro had some really impressive players including their Goalkeeper. It took Mia to break their defensive line and square the ball right to Ash C’s foot who made the net bulge with our first for the afternoon.
Not long after Ash F got in behind and put a perfect cross across the box that Lena tucked away with her left foot bringing us 2-0 up. We maintained dominance throughout the first half often peppering the goal with many going wide or Ash F hitting the crossbar a couple of times.
HT came and we we’re feeling confident and comfortable. 2 minutes into the second half Ash F scored our third getting the goal she deserved after her beautiful crossbar challenges in the first half. Lena then struck again powerfully putting the ball passed the keeper.
After our 4th our fitness waned but our defence stood resolute and determined to keep a clean sheet shout outs to Taylar and Chloe who filled in as keepers and played a huge part in us winning 4-0. Happy coach can see the cogs starting to turn.
State League 2
ANUWFC 1 - Wagga City Wanderers 4
State League 3
ANUWFC 2 - Cooma 0
It was a solid first up hit out by the SL3 ladies. The score line is not a true reflection of the game. The team dominated vast periods of the game and through positive interchange of passes and attacking football created many good opportunities.
All players were strong in their respective positions and contributed to the win. A shoutout goes to Isha who scored both goals. The coach’s player of the match goes to Georgia Moffitt who was strong in defence and contributed well in attack through her passes out of the backline.
Great start ladies. A solid base to work from for the rest of the season.
State League 4 Strollers
Game rescheduled
State League 4 Runaways
ANUWFC 5 - Tuggeranong United 1
State League 5 Suban
ANUWFC 0 - Canberra Croatia 5
State League 5 Scooters
ANUWFC 4 - Woden Valley 3
It was the start of something new at Mint oval as the ANUWFC Scooters (formerly the Coconuts) took the field for the first time in the 2023 season on a classic cold, dreary, windy Canberra Sunday afternoon. Coming off a semi-final loss in 2022, the Scooters returned their coach and 11 players, so new additions were needed to help replace the talent lost.
Transfer business was conducted very early in the window with the signing of a forward in Beth from our (friendly) rival ANUWFC State League 5 team for an undisclosed transfer fee (believed to be in the millions, just don’t ask what currency), strengthening our ranks whilst weakening theirs. Making a triumphant return to football after a bout of the long Rona is Claire, who has promptly gone on holiday and missed our first game but never mind that, she adds quality and verve at the wingback position.
Almost as rare as a unicorn, Elise has joined the squad as a full-time goalkeeper and has already made an amazing start in goals (more on that later). Keeping to the strong ANUWFC tradition of having multiple players with the same name, Emily T has taken to playing centreback like a fish takes to swimming and Emily B brings plenty of pace and experience to our forward line. Returning to the club after years away in the dredges of Sydney, Penny adds passing quality in our midfield and judging from our preseason, plenty of goals from midfield. Indeed, we had lost a lot of our midfield from last season but luckily we have been able to add: Rhiannon- who is able to drive the ball from midfield and provide the team with impetus, Sarah- who is able to burst forward from midfield to find and get in good scoring positions (hint hint) and Tash- who brings a passing range that allows us to vary our attacks. Sophie represents another arrow to our quiver in attack, while the addition of Manny brings plenty of steel in the centre of our defence.
Somehow not yet sick of their coach’s constant singing and random and obscure pop culture references, I personally applaud the tolerance for pain of my returners! Back again and ready to bomb forward and slayyy from left back is Charlotte and in the backline, she is joined by the ever-versatile Kirsten, asked this year to play more centrally, something she’s as enthusiastic about as I am enthusiastic about eating fruit. Liv could give the Energizer Bunny a run for their money as she brings so much energy and composure to our backline and midfield. Saf is also back in the midfield with the necessary guile and skill to pull the strings from the 10. Silent assassin Zoe B is back on our flanks ready to deliver plenty of assists for our returning talis-woman Con, who is back after an ankle injury. Rose also returns to terrorize opposition fullbacks from the wing and will be looking to repeat as the team’s top goalscorer! 2023 Co-captains Caitlyn and Gini are back and ready to lead us to glory with Caitlyn raring for more action and is pushing more forward and Gini ready to be deployed all over the field and contribute both offensively and defensively. With a strong core of returning veterans and the welcome addition of even more youth and talent, the Scooters have been quick to gel on and off the field and look sharp and ready for the season!
All I’ve ever wanted was to inspire a fashion trend, especially if it’s Hawaiian/floral shirts.
So, we were as ready as we ever could be for our first game against Woden Valley Soccer Club (WVSC), opponents that we were well prepared for from the season prior. Being WVSC’s only women’s state league team, the WVSC team contained a lot of talent and were not to be underestimated. It had rained buckets earlier in the morning and the long grass would cause plenty of players to lose their footing including a spectacular fall to the floor by Caitlyn, who showed us how not to fall with grace. However, the Scooters started brightly and looked calm in possession especially when playing out from the back and we were able to find our wingers in plenty of space with Sophie, Gini, Rose and Caity constantly getting the better of the WVSC fullbacks. Leading the line was Beth, who fired an early warning shot to WVSC with a quick turn and shot inside the box looked destined for the bottom corner but was well saved by the keeper.
In midfield, Tash and Penny played with plenty of discipline which allowed Saf and later Sarah, the freedom to make runs into space. WVSC had early chances through their forward play, but their shots were saved easily by Elise, and they were otherwise kept in check by our centrebacks Liv and Kirsten. Our work on throw ins during the week paid plenty of dividends as Charlotte, Kirsten and Zoe consistently delivered balls for our wingers to break onto. The breakthrough came when Charlotte showed tremendous composure to find Gini down our left-hand side and pushed forward inside dragging away a defender, providing space for Gini to drive forward wide with the ball down the left. The team pushed forward in numbers to support Gini and the ball in from Gini on the left looked to have missed Beth in the middle, only to find Rose bursting in from the right forward position, who finished with aplomb! Unfortunately, WVSC were quickly able to peg us back quickly as their forwards combined to finish deftly past Elise. To go from the jubilation of taking the lead and then conceding so quickly could have been devastating for a lot of teams, but the Scooters showed plenty of grit and character to…AHHHHHHHH THERES A WASP, WATCH OUT FOR THE WASP ON THE BENCH AHHHH. Oh nice, 2-1 up for the Scooters as Tash whips in a corner that Gini finishes with a volley, allegedly. In our defence, wasps are scary, bees are our friends, save the bees. The Scooters quickly followed up the goal with another as a ball in the box found Sarah alone in time and space to put past the WVSC goalkeeper for her debut goal! 3-1 Scooter halftime lead!
The second half saw a shift not only in the momentum of the game, but also the direction and strength of the wind. Suddenly the WVSC long high balls from deep threatened us as their keeper kept getting plenty of purchase on her boots from the back. They could not go through our midfield as Rhiannon, Sarah, Penny and Tash rotated and complemented each other well to control the midfield for large parts of the game, so instead WVSC went over our midfield. WVSC’s forwards then exhibited some clinical finishing as they had two bottom corner finishes that you just have to credit their forwards for. 3-3 with about 25 minutes left to go, momentum had left us, and things were not looking good for the Scooters. However, there was no panic, there was a job to do. Situations like these are why having a balanced squad is important, players that are so versatile and can flexibly play multiple roles to suit the situation. For example, in the game Gini went from left wing, to striker, to right wing and back throughout the forward line. It was at 3-3 that another tactical switch was made, and Gini was brought back out to the right wing in order to terrorize the WVSC left back. Beth, with her ability to hold the ball up and play simple one-twos came in as striker and combined with Gini to put her through on goal and Gini got her brace. 4-3 up. However, we knew the finish would not be easy having already been pegged back twice, from 1 goal up and then from 2 goals up. Manny was brought on as a defensive midfield to help break up WVSC attacks. Even though we were up, there was no intention to park the bus and we kept attacking and were almost rewarded as our midfielders kept playing Sophie, Rose and Gini through on goal and except for some truly exceptional goalkeeping from WVSC, we could have scored a few more to ease ourselves. Thankfully, Liv expertly marshalled the backline along with Caity, Kirsten and Charlotte and we saw out the 4-3 win. All in all, the team showed plenty of promise with the way we played out with composure from the back, constantly finding our wingers like Zoe, Sophie, Gini, Rose and Caity in plenty of space, and attacking and defending solidly as a team for 90 minutes, hard to ask for much more.
What a start to the season, to win was great, to pick ourselves up after giving up the lead twice was fantastic, to play the football we wanted to as a new team was absolutely amazing, it was truly the start of something new.
Goals: Rose, Gini, Sarah, and Gini
State League 6 Sharkies
ANUWFC 3 - Bellamonaro 0
State League 6 Kartapillars
Bye
