The girls teams continue to lead the way with impressive showings again last weekend.

14 GIRLS (DREW 0-0)

No report provided

15 GIRLS (WON 3-1)

Torrential weather conditions at Lily’s Football Centre made for an interesting matchup as South Coast looked to continue their strong start to the season with a win over a strong Blacktown squad.

Flame started the stronger and had some good patches of possession and were creating a number of good chances in and around the Blacktown penalty area. Lauren Brooks and Bethany Horton both saw one-on-ones saved by the City goalkeeper, whilst Anabell Suthers was close on two occasions, but with no end result.
South Coast would make their pressure pay, as Caitlin Russell’s corner was deflected into the Blacktown net by the defender on the front post to give Flame a 1 nil lead. A mix-up at the back gave Blacktown City a chance just before the break, but their shot clattered into the post and away to safety.

Blacktown started the stronger in the second half and began to ‘bully’ the Flame through midfield and at the back. The slippery conditions contributed to an un-characteristic error from the Flame goalkeeper, gifting Blacktown a way back into the game.
This wake-up call pushed the Flame girls on, and they fought their way back into the lead. Ruby Blanch delivered a peach of a free kick which landed on Bethany Horton’s head, her header falling to Lauren Brooks feet in the 6-yard box who scored into an open goal and gave South Coast a 2-1 lead with 15 minutes to go.

With the clock winding down, Flame were awarded a free kick on the corner of the penalty area, Lili Rosandic stepping up and curling the ball over the goalkeeper and into the side netting to give South Coast a deserved 3-1 win.

Thank you again to the U14’s who stepped up and played with our team. Jessica, Alivia and Melody did a great job in dire conditions and against a much larger, physical side than their own.

Player of the Week: Lili Rosandic

Lili has been focused on refining her variety of short and long passing techniques and further developing her game in the final third. Against Blacktown City FC, Lili defended well when called upon and scored a fantastic free kick.

17 GIRLS (WON 3-0)

The heavens really opened up just in time for our warmup on Sunday, but that didn’t affect the attitude of the team. While we were comfortable in possession, it was pleasing to see how hard we worked across the park to win the ball back quickly.
Our ball movement through the midfield is improving every week, and this led to us creating a number of good chances in the first period.
We went into half time up 1-0, which may have been a blessing in disguise. The girls knew that despite having the upper hand, the game was far from over. The response was excellent. Our movement off the ball went up a notch, as did the quality of our passing. Before long we had two more goals in quick succession, the second of which was an absolute belter from Sariah Wilson, which bent from well outside the back stick and into the side netting.
We probably should have converted more of our chances in the end, however given the conditions it was a pleasing performance.

Player of the Week: Brooke Love

Was assured and composed on the ball in central midfield, which helped to control the tempo of the game. Brookes decision making was excellent particularly with respect to unlocking a defence that sat deep for long periods of the game.