U14 Girls | South Coast Flame 2 Camden Tigers 0 

The U14’s had their first-ever game at the Furnace on Friday the 18th of March and excitement levels were high as the girls prepared to play underneath the lights.

The theme of this contest was consistent from start to finish as the South Coast controlled more of the ball and looked to find a player facing forwards before executing killer passes beyond the orange backline.

This ultimately lead to the Flame breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute as Isabella Nitor drifted infield, beat her player and set Shaelyn Petkovski in on goal, the forward showed her class and slammed the ball into the roof of the net.

Despite Isabella Elsner and Grace Duggan threatening on numerous occasions, the Flame took a slender 1-0 lead into the interval.

After reflecting at halftime, the girls refined how they were going to break the line and threaten the opposition goal.

This led to an early flurry of attacks which culminated in Elsner entering the box on the left hand side and slotting it across the keeper into the bottom right corner in the 4th minute of the second half.

The Flame began to slow the pace of the game after doubling their advantage and Camden struggled to progress the ball into the South Coast Half.

Abigail Inman enjoyed a relatively quiet evening in goals and the game came to completion with the final score 2-0.

A thorough performance despite many players missing through injury and illness.

A special thanks should go to the GSAP girls playing up, who never looked out of place.

Player of the Week: Isabella Nitor 

Isabella has recently returned from a broken wrist. She has worked hard to ensure that her first official game for the Flame was a successful one. She was instrumental in creating chances over the course of the game and constantly found solutions to accomplish team tasks resulting in a very well taken assist for the Flame’s first goal.

U14 Girls | Hills United 5 South Coast Flame 0

A shorthanded South Coast Flame were given a very tough ask of travelling to Bella Vista Public School to take on a very accomplished Hills FA side.

The start of the game saw both teams attempting to attack with great pace and quick, early forward passes.

This theme continued for the first 15 minutes before Hills started to show their class and knock the ball around.

Approximately 20 minutes into the game, Hills found their first goal which was immediately followed by their second.

The Flame regained their composure and held them out for the rest of the half.

The start of the second half saw a resurgence from the Flame as they attempted to claw their way back into the game.

Zali Oliver tested the Hills keeper on a few occasions but the South Coast were unable to find the back of the net.

Despite the Flame looking to push numbers forward, Hills eventually regained their dominance over the ball and carved through to score their 3rd and 4th.

With legs tiring and the contest essentially dead, Hills finished with a flourish to score their 5th.

A very tough day after playing just 2 days before, a lack of legs was a clear factor.

Nonetheless, the Flame girls put in maximum effort until the final whistle and will learn from the experience.

Player of the Week: Mila Davidovic

Mila has been growing into her role over the past few weeks and has become a very influential figure in this young Flame backline.

She was excellent in her execution of her player actions on game day and her awareness was on show as she frequently covered for her teammates and won the ball back on numerous occasions.

This was further complemented by her ability to drive into midfield with the ball and ask questions of the opposition.

Well done Mila.

U15 Girls | South Coast Flame 4 Camden Tigers 0 & Hills United 2 South Coast Flame 1

After an impressive 4-0 win in our catch-up game against Camden on Friday night, our U/15’s made the trip to Bella Vista to take on a competitive and strong Hills United side.

A slow start from our girls saw Hills hit the lead early in the game, before they doubled their lead to make it 2-0 early-on.

The squad regrouped at half time and to the players’ credit, they fought their way back into the game in the second half.

Maddie Day was able to bring us a goal back to the good in the second half and despite creating numerous chances towards the end of the game to make it a nervous finish, we were unable to grab another goal and unfortunately suffered a close defeat against a quality side.

The squad will take plenty of lessons from the past weekend and we are sure that the last few games will only benefit us in the long run.

Player of the Week: Chloe Brown

Over the two games over the weekend, Chloe Brown was ever-present in our backline.

Chloe was always there to break down opposition attacks and was rarely beaten in a one-on-one scenario.

Her dynamic forward runs to join the midfield in attack has made her both an attacking and defensive threat.

U16 Girls | Hills United 1 South Coast Flame 0

The South Coast Flame travelled to Bella Vista Public School which has been a fixture full of goals and close battles in recent times.

The Flame were in control from the off and looked to keep Hills moving with frequent switches of play.

As the game progressed, Hills began to show some superiority in the wide channels as they pressed in numbers and attacked quickly.

This is how they found the opening goal. In the 20th minute, a mishit clearance forced Ciara Wade to make a terrific save, unfortunately the ball rebounded to the Hills forward who found the back of the net.

The Flame were not discouraged from this moment and continued to ask questions of the Hill backline through diagonal switch passes.

In the 30th minute, this lead to a penalty being awarded to the Flame for handball in the box.

Despite sending the keeper the wrong way and striking it firmly, the ball rebounded off the post and was sent over the bar on the follow-up attempt.

Positive signs but the sides entered the break with a slight advantage to Hills.

The second half started how the first finished, with the Flame in the ascendancy and looking to find a way to restore parity.

Gemma Bishop was a constant threat and found delicate killer passes to Alivia Beath and Maddison Day who both forced incredible, athletic saves from the Hills number 1.

It was clear that Hills had addressed their defensive solidity at halftime and were very successful in stemming the flow of chances as the half progressed.

Sam Shallcross found herself 1-on-1 with the Hills keeper with a few minutes to play but recovering pressure from the opposition defenders forced the shot wide.

In what will no doubt be a frustrating result for the Flame, Hills ran out 1-0 winners.

Player of the Week: Layla Pierags

With many teammates missing through illness and injury, Layla stepped up and took responsibility in a new role.

She was extremely effective with her attempts to win the ball and organised the backline with constant communication.

This resulted in a vastly improved defensive performance in comparison to the week before.

Great leadership Layla, well done!

U20s | Hills United 2 South Coast Flame 0

South Coast Flame looked to make it three wins on the spin with their third away game in a row, this time to old GCL rivals Hills United.

South Coast had a horrid start as they gave away possession and free kicks cheaply in critical areas of the field on multiple occasions.

This resulted in the goal of Tahlia Sharrock being bombarded for the opening 20 minutes.

Two defensive errors within this time were punished by the Hills attack as Flame went 2-0 down early.

Hills were bullying South Coast out of the game and controlling the majority of the ball early on.

A cynical challenge on Hayley Cowie saw her withdrawn from the field with a back injury and later taken by ambulance due to the injuries suffered.

Hayley’s withdrawal saw a resurgence from Flame as they were not going to go down without a fight.

Brooke Love was instrumental in midfield and Cowie’s replacement Hazel Atkins began to show her class and break open the Hills defensive line.

Mia Riza saw her shot saved from close range and soon after Bethany Horton’s right foot shot stung the palms of the Hills keeper.

As the second half started, South Coast took control of the ball and began to create chances early on through Sienna Humphrey on the right wing.

Unfortunately, the Hills defence stood strong and cleared any attempt from the Flame attack and kept their lead intact.

The game took a turn when the Hills United captain was given a red card for her second bookable offence.

As a result, Hills set up their low block and allowed Flame to have possession in front of them.

As the ambulance for Hayley Cowie arrived, the game was stopped and didn’t restart due to time elapsing.

A loss for the girls away, but this game put things into perspective that there are much bigger things than football.

All our attention turns to Hayley Cowie as we wish for a positive diagnosis and a speedy recovery.

All of us at Flame are fighting with you Hayley!

Player of the Week: Hazel Atkins

Hazel Atkins came into the game against Hills FC as a substitute and changed the tempo of the game immediately.

Determined in defence, the small stature of Hazel was no barrier as she took the game to the larger, more physical opponents of Hills United and showed her class with the ball at her feet and her intelligent football brain.

First Grade | Hills United 4 South Coast Flame 0

No match report made available.