Seniors
ROUND 1 of the South East Women’s Football Association kicked off on Saturday with the only game in Mount Gambier played between Gambier Centrals and International at Blue Lake Sports Park.
Centrals started the game well as it kicked into the breeze, creating several chances before it broke through to score the first goal of the game after a play down the right hand side which saw Paris Ackland finish off to break the deadlock.
Centrals 13 d Inter 0
Ackland was in outstanding form throughout the preseason cup tournament and it was not long before the star was also involved in the second goal for her side, this time setting up Tracey Long who converted for a 2-0 lead.
With Inter playing with only nine on the field, the Hockey sisters April and Charli worked hard along with Ella Doody to try and find a foot hold.
However, it was Centrals which continued to control the game with Ackland, Long and Tess Andrews continuing to create chances.
Both Long and Ackland were in top form and found the back of the net on several occasions.
New recruit Alix Lescure made an immediate impact scoring on her debut and linking up well with Wanita Robinson and Long, enabling Centrals to go into the break with a 10-0 lead.
The second half saw Centrals make several changes with Long and Kendell Saffin given a rest and Keisha Seilor moving forward and Andrews dropping to centre back.
Inter also made several changes moving players around and trying to use the speed of Doody and the creativity of Sophie Charlton at right back.
With a goalkeeper change in the second half by both teams, Inter rallied to concede only three goals for the term to go down 13-0.
For Centrals Ackland finished with four, while Long had three and Andrews, Lescure, Skye Robertson, Kiah Connolly, Robinson and an own goal rounded out the scoresheet in an impressive performance for the 2017 runners-up.
United 4 d Millicent 2
MILLICENT hosted reigning premiers United for the opening round of the SEWFA premiership season on Saturday.
Despite valiant efforts, the 2017 champions proved too strong, as United settled quickly in the first half, which saw Millicent having to defend for long periods at a time.
But the Millicent backline held strong and it was not until the one minute into injury time in the opening term that United broke through to score its first goal.
The second half saw Millicent determined to take the game up to United, but 10 minutes in a long range shot converted the visitor’s second.
Not to be outdone, the Millicent forwards combined well and broke through for their first, with the game then becoming an exciting end to end flow.
Both sides pushed hard, but the strength of the United team was too much for the determined Millicent and the final score saw a 4-2 victory in United’s favour.
Goals – United: Ella Firth, Lauren Frost, Kate Payne, Anna Smith; Millicent: Lilly Izzo, Annaleise Canala.
Portland 6 d Wanderers 0
PORTLAND hosted an under-staffed Wanderers side on Saturday, with the home team taking control of the game from the start as it worked its way towards a 6-0 win.
Moving the ball around well, Portland kept play in Wanderer’s forward half, with the first goal of the game seeing Lisa Stockman convert a free kick.
Some effective passing saw the ball go from centre back Katie Aldridge, who then crossed to April Antony before Tracy Jensen finished off the play with goal number two.
Another solid play in the midfield saw Chloe Booth and Kaylee Whitfield team up to score the third for the match.
With only minutes before half time, Ebony Butcher caught the keeper off guard and slotted in Portland’s fourth goal to give it a comfortable lead going into the break.
Wanderers’ defence fought hard with Leonie McCallum strong as sweeper moving the ball forward every chance she had and Nadia Metzger working well to contain the Portland attacks.
The Wanderers team came out from the break with a focused defence and were able to keep the scoring opportunities to a minimum with only two players, Ali Mitchell and Chloe Booth finding the back of the net to give Portland its eventual 6-0 margin.
Under 15
United 7 d Millicent 1
UNITED came out strong in the Under 15 clash against a Millicent team which was two players short on the pitch.
Initially Millicent lacked control, but it slowly started to improve despite the circumstances.
However, the United defence proved tough to break through.
Millicent’s game improved in the final five minutes of the first half and on into the second half, with number of impressive runs by players, assisted by solid ball work and good attacking.
There were a number of goal opportunities, but in the end the full-strength of United was too much and it ran away with a 7-1 win.
Next Saturday will see teams play at Blue Lake Sports Park, with the Under 15’s games between United and Apollo City, plus Centrals and Millicent kicking off at 12 noon.
Then at 1.20pm the Under 12 development teams will take to the pitch, with the senior matches between United and Apollo City, plus Centrals and Portland kicking off at 1.20pm as well, before Wanderers take on Millicent at 3pm.
