First Grade: Sutherland Shire FA 2-0 South Coast Flame

In the final game of the round, Sutherland Shire FA ran out 2-0 winners against South Coast Flame FC on Sunday night at Kareela Oval 3.

This result made it back-to-back wins for Sutherland Shire FA and helps them bridge the gap to Central Coast Mariners in eighth spot. The hosts will have a catch-up game vs SD Raiders FC on Thursday night to look forward to now.

Sutherland Shire FA’s goals were scored by Violet Keelan in the 2-0 success. The young side have shown in recent weeks they have started to find their groove which will delight coach Jon Long as his side stuck to their task and kept possession well.

South Coast Flame FC will be disappointed to not take home any points tonight and see the side leap above their opponents from tonight. The Flame will be left to play spoiler for the rest of the remaining weeks now.

U/20: Sutherland Shire FA 0-2 South Coast Flame

A cold, wet and windy Sunday evening saw South Coast Flame travel north for the F6 derby where they faced a youthful Sutherland Shire FA squad.

The first half was an even contest with the main battle being in midfield. Flame kept possession well in patches but lacked the final spark in the final third to break the deadlock. Sariah Wilson tested the goalkeeper from range and Emily Kostovski’s 1v1 effort was smothered by the retreating Sutherland defender.  Other than a long range free kick for the home side, it was a rather uneventful first half.

After the break, South Coast began to find their groove again as they were starting to break down the Shire defensive line with killer passes in behind for Sam Shallcross and Emily Kostovski. On 53 minutes, a Sariah Wilson corner found Kostovski on the near post who guided the low corner past the goalkeeper and into the net to give the away side the lead.

The Flame midfield of Brooke Love, Lili Rosandic and Sariah Wilson were taking over the game and starting to control the tempo. Again it was the Wilson and Kostovski combination that provided South Coast with their second goal. Wilson slipped a tidy reverse pass through the defensive line, and as the Shire keeper rushed out to collect, Kostovski was first to the ball and poked the ball between the goalkeepers legs and into an open goal to grab her brace.

Flame looked in total control for the remainder of the game as they showed great composure when playing out from the back. Hayley Cowie put in a strong cameo appearance and helped relieve the pressure with some great hold-up play in the #9 role.

South Coast Flame running out 2-0 winners – a well deserved result and promising step forward heading into next weekends clash with league giants Central Coast Mariners.

Player of the week: Lili Rosandic, Sariah Wilson, Brooke Love

The midfield trio were instrumental in the 2-0 win. Each player compliments each others game and against Sutherland showed that when they all connect, they are a versatile and creative unit. Well done girls!

16 Girls: Sutherland Shire FA 0-5 South Coast Flame

A cool and clear evening in Kareela saw the South Coast Flame travel up the M1 to take on Sutherland.

It took 40 minutes for the Flame to break the deadlock, as Alivia Beath broke through to score the Flame’s first of the evening with the last kick of the first half.

Flame would introduce U/15’s players Kaitlyn Elsner and Indiana Garvin into the match as the game went on, with both players putting in great performances.

Flame were on top for the majority of play, and were only moments away from being rewarded in the second half.

Maddison Day would go on to score her third hat trick in as many weeks, in a blistering 15 minute spell. Beath would compliment Day’s hat trick with a brace of her own to round out a resounding 5-0 win.

The Flame are on a hot streak in the U/16’s, with goals flowing freely. They face a massive test next weekend against Central Coast Mariners

Player of the week: Chelsea Newell

Cheese put in an outstanding performance at left fullback in what was one of, if not her best performance of the year.

15 Girls: Sutherland Shire FA 1-1 South Coast Flame

A calm winters afternoon welcomed the South Coast Flame to Kareela Oval, as they prepared to face table-topping Sutherland Shire.

With several players missing and numerous others under illness or injury clouds, this game was set to be a real test for our girls.

For the first 10 minutes of the contest, the Flame had the better of the play. The girls showed their intent against a top side.

Adversity struck the side as a couple of forced substitutions due to illness and injury meant that we had to use all three of our U/14’s substitutes within the first 25 minutes. 

Sutherland took the lead in the 26th minute after their striker was able to peel away from our defenders and receive the ball in the box – calmly slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.

From here onwards, Sutherland took control of the game, and it became a matter of survival for the Flame heading into half time.

As the second half came around, the Flame knew that they were in for a physically demanding half – with the girls defending with all their heart in the second stanza. U/14’s players Mila Davidovic and Grace Manzau made up half of our backline after featuring for the U/14’s in the earlier fixture, and held firm to keep Sutherland out.

The Flame’s persistence in defence was rewarded in the 43rd minute as U/14’s player Amalia Harb was able to put the ball away off an attacking corner, giving the Flame hope that they could get a result out of this game.

Whilst the Flame created a few half chances, it was Sutherland who controlled the majority of the ball and peppered the Flame’s defence.

The Flame held out the Sutherland attacks to earn a 1-1 draw against a side well in contention for top of the league, showcasing that this Flame squad can compete with any side in this competition when they come together as a team.

While this game wasn’t the Flame’s best from a football perspective, it was certainly their gutsiest performance of the year.

Special mention must go to Amalia Harb, Isabella Elsner, Mila Davidovic and Grace Manzau who put in enormous shifts for our side after featuring in the earlier U/14’s game.

Player of the week: Mila Davidovic

Coming up to sit on the U/15’s bench, Mila Davidovic was expected to be eased into the game as it went on. However, she was quickly called upon relatively early in the contest and slotted straight into the backline – in a game where the backline was constantly tested. Mila put in an immense defensive performance at right fullback and helped our girls earn a point.

14 Girls: Sutherland Shire FA 2-0 South Coast Flame

The South Coast Flame travelled up the highway to take on the competition’s top side in Sutherland Shire, at their alternate venue in Kareela Oval.

The home side looked to flex their muscles early on by a flurry of direct attacks. The Flame managed to repel this early pressure but Sutherland began to slow the tempo down and maintain more of the ball. This was a real theme of the first half as they began to switch the ball with regularity. Despite some strong defensive organisation from the Flame, the defences were breached in the 18th minute when the home sides number nine picked up a loose ball in the box and slotted it in the bottom right corner. This breakthrough clearly affected the Flame as they struggled to regroup and the competition’s premier side showed their ruthlessness by capitalising with their second goal in the 23rd minute. The Flame girls weathered the remainder of the storm to enter the break two goals down.

The second half saw somewhat of a resurgence for the Flame as a tactical switch saw them become slightly more ambitious in possession. Grace Duggan was a constant threat on the left hand side and frequently found herself driving forward in possession. This was supported by Isabella Elsner and Eliza Bell who found far more success playing progressive passes than they did in the first half. This improvement with the ball at their feet was also matched by the teams defensive actions out of possession. The defensive organisation was taken to another level and despite the home sides best effrots, they couldnt find a way through the Flame wall in the second half.

This performance is a fantastic indicator of the progress that the U/14’s have made as a team. They showed terrific persistence to execute their defensive actions throughout the game and were probably unlucky not to get on the scoresheet themselves.

Player of the week: Eliza Bell

Eliza has shown vastly increased knowledge of her cues in possession when playing as a number six. She was influential on game day and frequently found moments to receive on the back foot and play progressive passes. She was also crucial to the team’s performance out of possession as she constantly prevented forward passes to the opposition forwards.