Murdoch University Melville 0-5 Perth SC
Report by Ben Gilby, photography from Rob Lizzi (25/8/24)
Above: Perth SC celebrate after scoring at Murdoch University Melville today. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Rob Lizzi.
Perth SC produced an extremely impressive performance, with Georgia Cassidy having a hand in four of their five goals at Murdoch University Melville this afternoon.
The Azzurri were on the front foot from the start. Attacks were being focused along the left-hand side, and it took just six minutes for the opening goal to come from this channel.
From a throw-in midway into the MUM FC half, Ella Lincoln picked up possession as Ana Denona lost her footing and advanced towards the edge of the box. Looking up, the league’s top scorer saw Georgia Cassidy in space 12 yards out and fed the Young Matilda who finished with aplomb.
Lincoln was dropping out towards the left in order to make the most offensively of the opportunities being generated. It was allowing her to link up with Sam Mathers with the pair being a constant thorn in the hosts’ side in these early exchanges. This partnership not only allowed the pair spread the play, but to advance into the box to get shots away.
The first half chance for the hosts came 12 minutes in as Taylor Reid was found with a long ball, but Perth keeper Stacey Cavill came out to gather.
Moments later the visitors pushed forward again. Cassidy’s high ball into the box from the right found Charli Wainwright who was brought down by Danielle Brown on the left-hand edge of the box. The referee did not hesitate to award the penalty. Up stepped Lincoln to dispatch the spot kick to the left of centre.
Perth SC were maximising possession. Quick offloads were forcing MUM FC to clock up the yards in fruitless chasing of the ball. The Azzurri were calm in possession, not forcing it, and confident to spread the play gradually across the pitch before upping the speed and intensity to get the ball into the box. All things added together, it was fiendishly hard for the hosts to gain any consistent possession, and the longer that went on, and the longer they were being pulled around the pitch, the less fuel would be in the MUM FC tank.
With 26 minutes played, the visitors extended their lead further with another move of quality. Baxter Thew fed Wainwright ahead of her in the centre of midfield. The young star beat Reid to find Cassidy outside on the right. The Perth Glory youngster pulled another quality ball into the box. Epril Nossent couldn’t make contact with her header at the near post, but Sam Mathers was coming in at the back stick to guide the ball home.
The Azzurri continued to push forward and with seven minutes remaining of the half, a long sweeping move ended with Daisy McAllister slamming a shot from the left-hand side from 20 yards that was well gathered by Annabel Cook in the home goal.
Just four minutes later the visitors had better luck with another excellent move. Lincoln turned and advanced towards goal before laying off to McAllister centrally positioned outside her who in turn found Cassidy on the right wing. Cassidy pumped another dangerous ball in which rebounded back off the angle of bar and post. The home defence could only clear as far as Mathers on the edge of the box to the left, and she sent a low shot in that bounced in front of Cook and into the net to send Perth SC in at the break 4-0 in front.
Danielle Brogan’s side continued their offensive dominance in the second period. Lincoln was brought down on the edge of the box on the left. Cassidy’s high curling free-kick came back off the bar for Murdoch University Melville to clear.
Within six minutes Cassidy was at it again with a set-piece that Cook failed to gather at the cost of a corner.
Whilst the chances, more intermittent than in the opening 45, were still going Perth’s way, the home side had slightly more of the ball but were hampered by turning over that possession regularly under pressure from the Azzurri. They did carve out an opportunity on the hour mark when Ellis Glanfield broke through, but couldn’t get enough power in her shot to beat Cavill.
With 23 minutes remaining, McAllister was brought down around 25 yards from goal to the left of centre. Up stepped Kim McCartney to rifle a sensational free-kick high over the wall and into the left-hand corner of the net.
There were two further chances for the Azzurri to extend their lead further. First, Cassidy let fly with a long-range power drive that was blocked by Cook and cleared by her defence. Then, just before the final whistle, McKenna broke through and fed Nossent outside her on the flank. Play was then gradually transferred to the opposite wing via Cassidy to Wainwright who delivered a perfectly weighted ball for substitute Hannah Insch to break through and lift the ball over Cook, but the home defence managed to scramble the danger away.
Perth SC were relentless in their approach to this game, and there were signs in the first half in particular that an excellent partnership is beginning to bear fruit between Lincoln and Mathers which can only bode well for the Azzurri in the continued absence of Jess Flannery with the State Cup Final and Top Four Cup ahead.
This was a tough outcome for Murdoch University Melville, and with UWA-Nedlands picking up an excellent point at Fremantle City today as well, the gap between the bottom two is down to three points, with UWA-Nedlands having a game in hand.
Teams: MURDOCH UNIVERSITY MELVILLE: Cook, Burdett, Brown, Sabean, Eastman, Patience, Reid, Gomez Basallo, Denona, Baldin, Glanfield. Substitutes: Baiamonte, Ellis, Ajarmakana, Hoath.
PERTH SC: Cavill, Marshall, Thew, Nossent, McCartney, McAllister, Wainwright, McKenna, Cassidy, Lincoln, Mathers. Substitutes: Bohm, Papalia, Insch, Harvey, Hannan, Johnston.
Scorers: Cassidy 6′, Lincoln (pen) 15′, Mathers 26′, 42′. McCartney 67′.
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