It was a beautiful day for football down at Ian McLennan, the home of South Coast Flame. South Coast had another tough day in the office this weekend going down 3-1 to Mt Druitt Town Rangers.

In the early minutes of the game Mt Druitt tested Flame goalkeeper, Ciara Wade. After winning the ball out wide we saw some quick combination play between Leena Khamis and Rosaria Galea ending in Galea pulling off a shot inside the box headed for the top corner. However, Wade made a full stretch save pushing it out for a corner.

In the 12^th minute we saw Khamis driving into the box and if it wasn’t for a siding tackle from Alexis Malizis to block her shot, we may have seen Mt Druitt open the score line.

In the 18^th minute Flame had their first opportunity at taking the lead. After Emily Kostovski was taken down in the final third Sariah Wilson stepped up to take the free kick. A left foot bullet into the bottom corner beat the goalkeeper although unfortunately hit the inside of the post and spun across the goal line before being saved off the line.

For the following minutes Mt Druitt maintained attacking pressure, entering the 18-yard box on multiple occasions. Eventually, a deflected shot from Renee Houliaras bounced up and hit the hand of one of the Flame defenders in the box resulting in a penalty. Galea stepped up and sent the ball into the back of the net taking Mt Druitt into the lead in the 26^th minute.

However, the goal seemed to kick Flame into gear. A change of possession centrally saw Sofia Kent play the ball into Kostovski who turned her player before playing a penetrating ball beyond the Rangers back line. Wilson met the ball at speed, driving into the box and placing the ball into the bottom corner, evening the score line for her team.

In the 34^th minute it seemed as though the away side was ready to take the lead once again. After an effective one-two combination between Galea and Khamis, Galea was left open to take a shot just outside the box. However, another impressive save from Wade pushed the ball over the cross-bar keeping her team in the game.

Just before the half time whistle Wilson was back in shooting range after another free kick was awarded inside Flames final third. This time she just couldn’t quite get the ball on target just tipping over the cross bar.

The entertaining half of football ended with a 1 all draw.

Entering the second half Mt Druitt came in firing, placing the home side under pressure. Mt Druitt seemingly maintained a high proportion of possession and their attacking creativity was on display throughout the half.

In the 56^th minute the away side was rewarded for their diligent approach. After an effective high press resulted in an intercepted pass, we saw Caitlin Campbell in free space on the edge of the box. She managed to slot the ball beautifully into the bottom corner and take her team into the lead.

Just two minutes later Mt Druitt followed up with another goal. A long-range diagonal ball from Campbell split straight through Flames defence and onto the feet of Rita Boateng. Boateng drove into the box, drawing the keeper and slotting the ball into the back of the net.

The away side did well to maintain their lead and shut down Flame counter attacking runs to finish the game with a 3-1 lead.