South Coast Flame’s visit to Marrickville to take on St George started off slowly, with only the 15 picking up any points across the first four games. Our first grade finished the day strongly with a fantastic 4-1 win to hand St George their fourth-straight loss.

First Grade: St George FC 1-4 South Coast Flame

The Flame was burning bright after South Coast Flame FC stunned St George FC 4-1 at Fraser Park on Sunday afternoon.

St George FC were blown away in the first half. The hosts weren’t at their usual best and were left stunned by the visitors. They did find a late consolation goal through Alicia Lee to get them on the scoresheet on an otherwise bad afternoon.

For South Coast Flame FC, they made it back-to-back wins in impressive fashion. It was a captain’s knock from Emilia Skopal, who fired home a hat-trick alongside another striker from Caley Tallon-Henniker in the deserved win.

Both sides were keen to get three points in a vital clash so they game started off in a fast style between these two teams. Jordan Baker had the first chance for St George FC with her chip which was well recovered by Flame custodian Charlotte Palmisano.

St George FC kept pushing forward, looking to arrest their recent slide with the opening goal of the contest. Jasmine Maguire had a shot which went out for a corner which Baker then volleyed over the bar.

South Coast Flame FC were quite compact and solid in their work in the opening 15 minutes and found the opener. Caley Tallon-Henniker cut the ball back perfectly for Emilia Skopal to drive into the bottom corner to make it 1-0, Flame.

After the opener, the game settled into a rhythm. South Coast Flame passed the ball around well, looking for an opening while St George FC aimed to get back into the contest but were blocked at all the avenues.

The visitors doubled their delight just before the break. Once again it was neat work from Tallon-Henniker on the wing which opened space for Skopal to fire home. South Coast Flame FC took a 2-0 lead into the break.

Knowing they needed to fight a way back into the contest after half-time, St George FC almost had an instant response. Stood over a free-kick, Sarah Nachar rattled the bar then the follow up from Lara Nicholls was fizzed over.

Down the other end, the Flame were clinical with their chances. After assisting the first two goals, Tallon-Henniker got into the action. She weaved past some static Saints defenders before she fired it home to make it 3-0.

St George FC kept pushing forward to find something out of this contest. Nicholls flayed wide then substitute Morgan Maxwell headed wide from a corner. Time was starting to run out for the home side this afternoon.

The Saints did pull a goal back just before the game headed into injury time. The ball was put into the mixer by St George, then substitute Alicia Lee was on hand to bundle the ball home to make it 3-1.

There was some icing on the cake for South Coast Flame FC when Skopal completed her hat-trick to make it 4-1, finishing a fantastic afternoon for the visitors.

St George FC coach Mark Cupitt lamented another frustrating contest for his side who have started an alarming slide in recent weeks.

“We didn’t help ourselves tonight. It was disappointing for us. We started the second half well then conceded early which makes it hard. Now, we go back to the training field on Tuesday and do it all again.” said Cupitt.

For South Coast Flame FC coach Daniel Naumovski, he was delighted with the result and the way his side went about taking three points this afternoon:

“We executed perfectly. We were sound across the board against a good side. I think our all-round performance was the best this season. It feels good to win back-to-back, I think we have started to find our style of play in recent weeks.” said Naumovski.

Player of the week: Emi Skopal

Leadership and an inspiring performance against St George.

U/20: St George FC 2-0 South Coast Flame

South Coast Flame travelled north to face a strong St George squad. The hosts coming off a loss last week and the Flame looking to build off their 10-player victory last weekend.

St George started the game by controlling the ball and the tempo of the match and unleashing a barrage on the Flame goal as South Coast could not play through the Saints press. Tahlia Sharrock was busy in the opening 20 minutes and made three crucial saves to keep her team in the match, including a perfectly timed 1v1 with the Saints forward.

South Coast found themselves playing on the counter attack and through Emily Kostovski they found their best chance of the half on 25 minutes. Kostovski passed her defender on the by-line before cutting the ball back for Hazel Atkins. The goalkeeper spilling the cutback but Atkins wasn’t able to turn the ball into the open net.

As is with football, it is a game of taking chances and on 34 minutes, the Saints forward pounced on a Flame error and made no mistake from eight yards out, giving St George a 1-0 lead which they took into the break.

A tweak in formation from Flame and specific roles given to certain players saw the second half start slightly differently. Saints were struggling to keep the ball and play through the Flame mid-third press which resulted in some promising counter attacks from South Coast. The pace of Mia Riza in behind and creativity from Emily Kostovski proved to be testing the Saints and frustrating the home side.

Lili Rosandic entered the field and had an immediate impact setting up the best chance of the half. After some tidy combination down the left side, Rosandic curled in a 40 meter switch-ball with found the feet of Emily Kostovski 1v1 with the Saints goalkeeper. Unfortunately Kostovski’s shot found the outstretched glove of the keeper and Flame were still looking for their equaliser.

With the clock winding down, Flame switched off from a short-corner by St George. The Saints player arrowed in a shot from the corner of the penalty area into the path of another St George player who poked the ball in off the cross-bar to give St George a 2 nil lead, sealing the 3 points for the home side.

Player of the week: Bethany Horton

Bethany was given a specific marking job on St George’s most influential player and in the second half did not give the Saints playmaker a kick; marking her out of the game. Bethany was focused, determined and her ability to out-muscle and time her tackles to perfection gave her side the boost they needed in the second half. Outstanding defensive display Beth!

16 Girls: St George FC 4-0 South Coast Flame

After some impressive results in recent weeks, the Flame faced a different challenge in St George.

The South Coast girls started the game with the better of the play and looked dangerous when they were able to get their forwards in possession. Despite the early opportunities, St George began to maintain possession and the Flame couldn’t relieve the pressure and largely found themselves trapped in their own half.

St George eventually broke the deadlock and this clearly rattled the Flame as St George added two more quick fire goals before the half time interval.

The South Coast girls came out of the half a different team and just like the first half, enjoyed the better of the early exchanges. Clear cut chances fell to Maddison Day and Alivia Beath but the home sides number 1 was efficient in her work and denied the visitors. As the Flame kept pushing to find a way back into the game, a neat counter attack ensured that St George effectively killed the tie before it got going as they ran out 4-0 winners in a game in which they were very clnical although the scoreline was not entirely reflective of how the game played out.

Player of the week: Claudia Reilly

Claudia was tasked with handling a very quick, technical winger on game day and was largely efficient in ensuring that the opposition had very little success attacking down the flank she occupied. In possession, Claudia was vital in creating space for the Flame to build up possession and her ability to play with minimal touches is improving rapidly in recent weeks. Well done Claudia.

15 Girls: St George FC 1-1 South Coast Flame

The U/15 Girls looked to build momentum after their win last weekend at home, and were desperate for three points against a quality top-four side in St George. With a few little injury and illness concerns throughout the weekend and during the game, the Flame showed grit and determination from the get-go.

The Flame started in a very positive manner, however an early moment of lapsed concentration whilst defending a cross inside our own penalty box led to our girls conceding an early penalty. 

Ciara Wade stood up to the task brilliantly and pulled off a fantastic save to continue her brilliant run of form over the last few weeks.

The Flame took the lead off a free-kick around the 25th minute mark, after Maddie Steele managed to draw a brilliant foul on the edge of the box before Indianna Garvin sent the ball into the top right-hand corner from the dead-ball.

Unfortunately the Flame conceded a sloppy goal just five minutes later. A cheap turnover of possession in our defensive third was punished by the St George attack, and we were back at level-pegging.

The Flame regrouped at half-time, resulting in a slight tactical change to combat St-George’s use of their two attacking midfielders.

The Flame had a few injury issues to different players in the second half, however the squad continued to fight hard for a result against a top side in St George. The deadlock could not be broken and we left Fraser Park with a point.

Player of the week: Abbey Haley

Abbey was desperate in defence over the entire 70 minutes. She was always there in the heart of the defence to clean up the St George attacking raids and was determined to help her side grab a result against a top-four side. Grit and determination was the theme of this game, and Abbey epitomised this.

14 Girls: St George FC 5-0 South Coast Flame

It was always going to be a tough task as the South Coast Flame travelled to Marrickville to face a very strong St George side.

The first half started very competitively as Amalia Harb broke down the right hand side of the field and fizzed a ball across the face of the goal in the first minute. As the half progressed, St George grew into the game and began to dictate the tempo. This resulted in a goal coming from the home sides right sided attacker.
The Flame defence held firm to ensure that there was no further damage leading into the half time break.

St George came out in the second half with clear intent to maintain possession and play forward passes at the earliest opportunity. This resulted in an impressive period in which they added three more goals.
The South Coast girls saw some joy in the final 15 minutes but their misery was compiled as St George added a fifth.

Player of the week: Eliza Bell

Eliza returned to the side this week after absence for the previous game. She had success getting herself on the ball facing forward and was one of the few players that looked to threaten the opposition with killer passes and smart one touch play. Well done Eliza.