Ben Gilby provides a full report from the game of the week, plus all the details from the other matches in Western Australia’s NPL Women’s competition (14/8/23).
Above: Hyundai NTC’s hat-trick hero Tanika Lala in action yesterday against Perth SC. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Rob Lizzi.
Perth RedStar 3-3 Balcatta Etna
Perth RedStar clinched their second successive NPLW WA championship with a combination of this draw and defeat for Perth SC, but Balcatta Etna deserve plaudits for coming from 3-1 down to earn a point at RedStar Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Both these teams had been in action in midweek with Carlos Vega Mena’s side were involved in an incredible game on Wednesday against top four challengers NTC which they won by the odd goal in nine, and Balcatta played as late as Thursday when they saw off Subiaco 4-1. Therefore, it was to the visitors’ credit that they hit back from a two-goal deficit against the champions.
Balcatta went ahead after eight minutes in some style. RedStar’s leading scorer Reina Kagami tried to hook the ball clear, only for it to fall perfectly for Lauren Continibali to take a touch and fire high into the net.
Yet, as is their wont, RedStar hit back quickly. Just three minutes later, Kagami took the ball out to the left before playing it in for Sophia Neal to lift home first time in the box. Within three minutes, the hosts hit the front, with Kagami the provider once more. She gained possession and drove forward before playing in Jayna Ridley outside her to place a low shot into the corner.
It became 3-1 in stoppage time at the end of the first half as Ridley’s high ball through found Neal who took a touch between two defenders before pouncing from the edge of the box.
However, any thoughts of a routine win for RedStar were washed away in the second half. Just after the hour mark, Monique D’Opera’s high ball in from the right was tough for Andreia Teixeira and Abbey Woolley to deal with, and Monique Prinsloo, back after missing last week’s loss to Fremantle City, turned in a low volley at the right-hand post to pull the visitors back to 3-2.
Then, into stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes, Balcatta completed their comeback as Prinsloo acrobatically found Tia Stonehill who advanced and slotted under Maya Diederichsen in the RedStar goal to seal Etna’s point with her 20th goal of the season.
Main report of the week
Hyundai NTC 4-1 Perth SC
NTC picked up an impressive win over second-placed Perth SC at E&D Litis Stadium yesterday, thanks to a Tanika Lala hat-trick and a piece of sensational individual brilliance from Ischia Brooking.
Ben Anderton’s teenage charges went into this encounter on the back of yet another midweek catch-up game which saw them defeated 5-4 in a thriller with league leaders Perth RedStar.
The Azzurri‘s Gemma Craine was in vintage form in the first half with powerful, pacey runs along the right, and just after the 20-minute mark, from one such attack, the Derbyshire-born attacker let fly with a shot that bounced into the arms of NTC keeper Lilly Bailey.
Shortly afterwards, the visitors conjured up three further opportunities. First, Poppie Hooks headed over from a corner that came in from the left. Then, Jaime Duncanson powered a drive towards goal from the edge of the box that Bailey put out for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, the ball was headed goalwards but bounced off of the post.
With half an hour on the clock though, Perth SC were left to rue those opportunities as Goldfields nugget Tanika Lala pounced. With the ball played up to her, Perth’s defence initially looked to be able to cover the danger, but in idiosyncratic style, Lala won possession, motored away into the box, and unleashed a powerful finish.
Just before the interval, the visitors had a real chance to equalise as Bailey’s attempted clearance from a passback went straight to the advancing Judy Connolly who squared for Duncanson who saw her shot go agonisingly wide of the left-hand post.
Chances took a while to came after the interval, and indeed it took something extremely special with 57 minutes played for the NTC to increase their lead. Junior Matilda Brooking gained possession on the left and used outrageous skill to break through the close attention of Perth defenders to fire home an absolute stunner.
However, the visitors rallied, and within 11 minutes handed themselves a lifeline as Connolly’s free-kick out on the left came in for Poppie Hooks to fire in a shot that deflected back to her from a home defender allowing the second attempt to hit the back of the net.
Any hopes of a recovery for Pete Rakic’s team were shattered though within six minutes. There was a warning sign just before as Brooking saw another long-range curler go out for a corner. But, then a long ball through released Lala to place a shot under Bennett for 3-1.
In the closing stages, it was the NTC who looked to add to their target. Brooking found substitute Cate McAuliffe who fired wide. As the clock rolled onto 90 minutes, Lala completed her hat trick when she powerfully headed home Georgia Cassidy’s corner from the right to take her recent tally to five goals in the last five days.
This was an impressive win for the NTC who continue to successfully navigate their never-ending run of catch-up matches. Indeed, Ben Anderton’s team were the only team in the top four to win this weekend as they look to push higher up the ladder before the regular season’s end.
Teams: HYUNDAI NTC: Bailey, Johnson, Anderson, Marwick, Cuthbert, Cassidy, Brooking, Johnston, Archibald, Lala, Tana. Substitutes: McAuliffe, Garnett, Collinson, Phillips, Healy, Longmore.
Scorers: Lala 30′, 76′, 90′. Brooking 57′.
PERTH SC: Bennett, Bohm, Marshall, Henderson, Papalia, Hooks, Godding, Connolly, Flannery, Duncanson, Craine. Substitutes: Meakins, van Heurck, Caceres, La Monte, Phillips, Cook, Zampogna.
Scorer: Hooks 68′.
Weekly Wrap
Murdoch University Melville 8-0 Curtin University
Round 19 got underway on Friday night as Murdoch University Melville (MUM FC) earned a comprehensive victory over bottom club Curtin University at Besteam Stadium with Kathryn Schubert hitting a hat-trick and teenage sensation Jess Johnson scoring two and providing two assists.
The game was essentially decided in a spell of four goals in nine minutes in the first half. MUM FC hit the front with nine minutes played when Johnson’s cross was rolled back for Sam Mathers to roll the ball home. Within two minutes, it was 2-0 when Johnson broke through and rolled the ball home.
It was 3-0 shortly afterwards when Johnson’s corner was headed home by Clara Hoarau at the near post. Less than 60 seconds later, the hosts were on target again as Katie Schubert profited from a Curtin defensive tangle to roll the ball into the net.
The flurry of scoring then went on pause until three minutes into the second half when a corner on the left resulted in a one-two on the edge of the box with Schubert lifting the ball home. Another corner on 65 minutes saw the scoreline go out to 6-0 when the ball came back in for Hoarau to slot into the far corner.
It was 7-0 with 11 minutes remaining as Bonnie McQueen played a ball through for Johnson to run in for an easy finish. The scoreline was complete with two minutes of normal time remaining as 19 lifted a pass in for Schubert to turn several defenders and fire home to complete her hat-trick.
Fremantle City 1-2 Subiaco AFC
Subiaco gained an outstanding victory on Saturday afternoon as two goals from former Perth Glory legend Marianna Tabain aided them to a 2-1 win at top-four side Fremantle City.
It took the visitors only four minutes to hit the front as Tabain fired in at the second attempt. She doubled hers and Subi’s tally before the break after volleying home after Savannah Oolsthorne provided yet another assist this season.
Fremantle hit back Mikayla Lyons got a late consolation as she turned in Abbey Green’s cross with two minutes remaining.
This defeat, Freo’s third in their last five matches, is a blow to their hopes of finishing second with closest rivals Perth SC having a game in hand on Faye Chambers’ port city side.
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. DON’T MISS our brand new TikTok platform @ImpetusFootball too!
impetusfootball.org 