The Mindil women went into the match against Litchfield placed 3rd on the table only by goal difference to 2nd placed Uni Rangers. With 1st placed Casuarina had the bye, it was an opportunity for the Mindil team to go top of the table. Our bench was depleted as a result of sickness, injuries and working commitments but the vibe in the change room was one of excitement knowing that the win would give us a very good chance of grabbing the top spot. With that in mind and in an attempt to lift the goals for and against on the table, coach Clay Fredericks made a bold move and played a very attacking 3-3-4 formation.
The girls started well against a very young and determined Litchfield team who were looking for their first win. The game was being evenly contested in the midfield and it wasn't until the 30min that a nice pass from Central Midfielder Tahnee Bates found striker Hannah Graham. Hannah turned at the top of the eighteen yard box and with a clinical left foot strike smashed the ball into the back of the net. That was Hannah's 4th goal of the season and that seemed to spark the Mindil team into action.
A nice through ball from Pauline McKeever to new player Chelsea Griese almost saw her score on debut.
The consistently strong backline of Loz, MC and Imogen were again proving tough to beat with several Litchfield attacking moves defused. It was in our backline that our second goal came from, with MC winning another challenge and passing the ball to Tahnee. Tahnee quickly moved the ball wide to Kia McGregor (Best on Ground) who ran the ball down the wing. The ball was crossed into the middle and found Hannah, and after a quick one two with Chelsea, Hannah slotted the ball past the keeper for number 5 of the season and gave Mindil a 2-0 advantage.
Three minutes later a great run from Megs down the left side saw the Mindil girls win a corner. A short corner move between Hannah and Pauline saw Hannah stroll into the 18 yard box and smash the ball towards goal only to have a Litchfield player handball in the box, PENALTY!!! Instructions from the bench called for Loz to kick the penalty. Loz stepped up confidently and smashed the ball. Unfortunately it was at the cross bar and Litchfield quickly cleared.
Now 2-0 is a dangerous lead to have as it creates complacency and that's what seemed to happen as the Mindil girls lost their urgency and intensity. We started to play a little casual and this proved to be costly when a miss hit goal kick found an unmarked Litchfield striker, who with a well hit strike found the net and pulled one back for Litchfield. It was 2-1 at the break and some harsh words were warranted by coach Clay.
The start of the second half saw a change in formation to a traditional 4-4-2 giving Mindil more options through the midfield. The instructions from Clay were "lift your intensity, urgency and get your heads up to find our players feet". This had immediate impact with Chantelle "Tots" McCann scoring her first goal of the season 2 mins after the kick off. It was a Brazilian style short passing move that started just outside the 18yard box and found Tots who calmly blasted the ball into the net from 6yards out for a 3-1 lead.
The Mindil backline held firm again and again continually stopping Litchfield attacks. Mindil created several chances through the second half with Megs, Tots, Pauline and Hannah all going close to increasing our score line. It wasn't until the 78th minute did we again find the net through debutant Chelsea Griese. Chelsea after winning the ball from a defensive error, played another one two with Hannah and found herself one on one with the keeper. Chelsea's low drive gave the keeper no chance rippling the net and giving us a 4-1 lead.
Litchfield drove forward in an attempt to salvage something from the game. This proved fruitless as the Mindil Defence held firm clearing the ball each time.
The referee blew the final whistle and Mindil celebrated knowing that we would be at the very least equal top depending on later results. The Mindil girls played very well with only some minor lapses that will be worked on this week during training. Great on ground performances from Tahnee, MC, Imogen. Megs (Nanna) and Hannah also played very well, but the best on ground was Kia, who played her guts out and didn't stop running in the midfield.
While drinking sponsorship drinks at the KO Sports bar, word came through that Marrara and Uni Ranger played a 1-1 draw. This meant that the Mindil Tigers Women's team were on their own at the top of the Table 1 point clear that added to the celebrations.
Not bad for a team who are in their debut season!
