By Joe Rosedon 25/6/24
Above: Brunswick Juventus celebrate Emily Keppens’ goal.
Round 14: Brunswick Juventus 5 Calder United FC 0
An inspired Nicole Cooper performance gave Brunswick Juventus a critical 5-0 win against relegation rivals Calder United. A hattrick from Cooper plus goals from Emilie Keppens and Holly Boldiston contributed to the thrashing of Caulder United
After an understandably nervy opening 15 minutes, Akeisha Sandhu edge of the box volley for Calder was the first instance of a goal scoring opportunity but her effort wasskewed wide.
Brunswick answered back. Roise Wild powered forward from the back, crossed to the back post for Alyssa Smith. Smith gently rolled the ball to Melindaj Barbieri who fired over.
Calder should really have opened the scoring soon after. A hopeful ball over the top dropped kindly for Oliva Anderson but her tame attempt could only find the grateful hands of Maggie Byrne in the Brunswick goal.
They would rue this miss and it was Cooper who would punish them. After exchanging a one-two, Cooper drove into the box, got the bobbling ball under control and with a composed finish, gave Brunswick the lead.
Cooper almost got her second instantly, capitalising on a sloppy back pass but could not convert past Natalie Picak, her attempt straight at the goalkeeper
At the start of the second half, Calder would not be so lucky the second time around . A launched ball from Wilde left Picak in a state of indecision between committing to coming for the ball or hanging back. Cooper was quick to punish, getting to the ball first and poking home to double the lead of the home side.
Two then became three, Cooper completing her hattrick. Cathrine Forte-Oddo’s deft flick on set Cooper away. Her pace was too much for the Caulder defence to handle, racing into the box. Her shot did get a touch from Piack but on its way through but Cooper did enough to get her third goal of the game.
Cooper, who had the game of her dreams, made the fourth for Brunswick. Cooper was slipped into the left-hand channel and looked up to see Keppens in space in the box. Cooper squared it and Keppens did the rest, slotting home to make it 4-0 and grabbing her first goal of the season.
Brunswick rounded off the scoring from a harshly given penalty. Adelyn Ayton looked to have won the ball from Boldiston with a last-ditch tackle however the referee disagreed, pointing to the spot. Boldiston did the honoursherself, squeezing the ball underneath Piack to complete the rout.
This victory has moved Brunswick out of the relegation zone for the first time since the opening few weeks of the season whilst Caulder now find themselves bottom of the table, two points behind Bentleigh Greens in 11th place.
Both teams next games in the league are against fellow strugglers Bentleigh. Brunswick face them at home first next weekend.
It will then be Caulder’s turn the weekend after and will be desperate for any points possible.
Follow Impetus on social media –
Twitter (X): @impetusfootball TikTok: @impetusfootball
Facebook: @impetuswomensfootball Instagram: @impetusfootball
impetusfootball.org 