The women’s team has booked their place in the grand final after a hard-fought 3–0 victory against Waratahs White in the major semi final.
Coach Mitchell Thompson said the players went in with confidence after a dominant season.
“After finishing minor premiers and unbeaten all season, we were confident going into the match against rivals Waratahs,” he said.
“We would have liked to play them last week to see how we were going, but due to a washout round that didn’t happen.”
The match started as expected with intensity from both sides.
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Waratahs pressed hard early, forcing the women to hold firm under pressure.
“The game started as we expected with a tough grind and we were under the pump with some attacking plays from the opposition,” Thompson said.
“We held strong with great defence and quality saves from Linda in goal.”
“Nil all at half time.”
Supporters filled the sidelines on a sunny afternoon, creating a big-game atmosphere.
The defensive stand in the opening half gave the side a platform to work from after the break.
With the score still locked at 0–0, the coaching staff made some changes.
Amelia was pushed up front while Courtney B moved into midfield.
That shift immediately helped create attacking chances.
“Focusing on attacking the ball, we started to turn the momentum and we were unlucky not to score with a lovely shot that hit the crossbar from Courtney B,” Thompson said.
Waratahs nearly stole the lead on a counter attack, but Karly Woods produced a desperate clearance off the line.
According to Thompson, that moment sparked the entire team.
“Waratahs counter attacked and nearly scored only to be denied by a desperate Karly Woods to clear the ball off the line,” he said.
“This effort turned the game and inspired the team.”
Minutes later, the breakthrough came when the side was awarded a penalty.
Karly stepped up with confidence.
“We were awarded a penalty which Karly stepped up from a long way out and struck it beautifully to sail over the keeper’s head and in the net,” Thompson said.
“This was the goal we needed to push on.”
From there, the floodgates opened.
With Milly combining well up front alongside Tay and the midfield, two more quality goals were scored to seal the 3–0 result.
The performance of Milly, who was shifted into a striking role, was one of the highlights of the afternoon.
She scored twice and was later voted players’ player by her teammates.
“A big congratulations to Milly who at first wasn’t confident in playing up front,” Thompson said.
“After her teammates voting for her to receive the players’ player and finishing off two great goals, I think she did an awesome job.”
Thompson also paid tribute to the squad members who didn’t get many minutes on the field but remained committed to the team’s cause.
“A special mention to Dani and Cassie who didn’t get a lot of minutes off the bench,” he said.
“Your understanding and support does not go unnoticed by everyone, so I thank you for that.”
With the win, the women have secured a week off before the grand final, giving them time to recover and prepare.
Thompson said the group is determined to go back-to-back.
“We are looking forward to the week off to recover from a tough game and fine tune our skills,” he said.
“We will be back to full strength and be ready for another grand final and hopefully fulfil our goal of going back to back.”
Thompson also acknowledged the effort behind the scenes that made the day such a success.
“I just want to thank the soccer committee for putting on such a great day for the teams,” he said.
“Great job.”
The women now turn their focus to the grand final in a fortnight, where they will chase the ultimate reward for an unbeaten season.
