by Ben Gilby (25/5/25)
Above: Perth SC’s returning A-League Women star Tijan McKenna in action at Murdoch University Melville today. Photo: Rob Lizzi.
Football West Academy 2-3 Perth RedStar
Perth RedStar held off a comeback from the Football West Academy (FWA) to claim the win in the round’s opening game at Hay Park in Bunbury on Saturday night.
RedStar handed a first NPLW WA start to Young Matildas and Perth Glory goalkeeper Jess Skinner, who would be facing her former side. It was the defending champions who were the fastest out of the blocks and dominated the opening 20 minutes or so of the proceedings.
In-form Renee Leota was a player possessed in this spell and at the creative heart of everything RedStar were imposing on their teenage opponents.
The first real opportunity came after 11 minutes when Sarah Carroll fed Caitlin Doeglas out on the left. The former Perth Glory attacker saw her deflected shot roll agonisingly wide of the right-hand post. Shortly afterwards, it was Carroll’s turn to go close as she sent a curling effort wide of the same piece of woodwork.
RedStar hit the front with 22 minutes played. Andreia Teixeira’s crossfield ball from the right flank was deflected up and across to Jayna Ridley, who worked her way free from a sandwich of Harper Collinson and Marley Barlow before cooly sending a finish from a central position around 15 yards out.
The Academy responded well, and Sakura Leong became the focus of their attacking play. She was able to get behind the RedStar defence on the right on regular occasions. From one such opportunity just before the half-hour mark, she pulled a low cross across goal for in-form Cate McAuliffe, who couldn’t get her shot on target.
Seven minutes before the break, RedStar mounted an attack with Carroll getting in behind the teenage side’s defence, but her shot was wide. However, from the resulting goal kick, the defending champions immediately put the Academy under pressure in trying to play out, and as a direct result, Ridley found Leota, who in turn played in Carroll in the box. Her low shot into the net doubled RedStar’s lead.
FWA gained a crucial foothold in the game just seconds before the interval, and it was the result of yet another probing run from Leong to the right of centre. Released by McAuliffe, Leong played in yet another dangerous low ball into the mix, and at the second bite, Klaudia Houlis swept the ball home from close range. Game on at the break.
The drama continued after the interval as Caitlin Doeglas spurned an opportunity to re-establish her side’s two-goal advantage from the penalty spot, and RedStar were made to pay in the ultimate way with 65 minutes played.
Teixeira played a low pass back to Skinner who was well outside her box, but a combination of taking her time to make the clearance and a rapid closing down attempt from the Academy saw Skinner’s pass go straight to Houlis who lobbed her former team-mate from around 30 yards, with the ball nestling in the net to bring the scores level.
Parity lasted for 11 minutes before RedStar regained their lead after a sequence of events where, initially, there looked to be absolutely no chance of a goal being scored. The FWA had the ball comfortably on the left-hand flank. Ridley pushed up to close down the space available to her teenage opponents, and in doing so, forced a pass back that agonisingly rolled straight into the right-hand corner.
There was still time for one further goalscoring opportunity, and it came with the very last kick of the match. Emily Garnett released substitute Theodora Mouithys, who broke through one-on-one with Skinner, but the RedStar keeper made a superb low block to ensure her team held onto the lead, and just seconds later, the three points.
This was a thrilling encounter between two excellent sides. The outcome means that RedStar have now won three in a row in a serious statement of intent to those who thought they were not quite the side they were.
For the Football West Academy, their six-match winning run that started the season has hit the buffers with successive losses to top-four rivals Perth SC, Balcatta Etna, and now Perth RedStar. Next week’s trip to Fremantle City now looms as an important staging post in their campaign.
Teams: FOOTBALL WEST ACADEMY: McGreadie-Cole, Williams-Jones, Collinson, Barlow, Johnson, Leong, Houlis, Heys, Kuzamba, McAuliffe, Dalton. Substitutes: Dumont, Santos, Garnett, Brady, Borg (GK), Mouithys.
Scorers: Houlis 45+1′, 65′.
PERTH REDSTAR: Skinner, Monteiro, Dunn, Teixeira, Doan, Coleman, Bennett, Carroll, Doeglas, Leota, Ridley. Substitutes: Woolley, Bellanca, Continibali, Lornie, Mogridge, Finnegan, O’Donohoe.
Scorers: Ridley 22′, Carroll 38′, Own Goal 77′.
Referee: Samir Omar.
Fremantle City 1-3 Balcatta Etna
Balcatta Etna came from behind to record an impressive victory at Hilton Park this afternoon.
Whilst the character shown by his side in making the comeback will please head coach Pete Rakic, the win was marred by Mia Britton being stretchered off with less than five minutes remaining.
Freo hit the front with 12 minutes played in impressive style. Sophie Meaden gathered possession on the left and fed Janice Kiama in the middle of the pitch. Kiama drove through the centre and played a perfectly weighted ball through to Leyna Wood, who came onto the pass at the back post to fire home.
Balcatta levelled nine minutes later as Rachel Jarvis played a lovely ball through to Jamie-Lee Gale with the outside of her foot. Gale advanced and played in a cross for Abbey Meakins to head home at the back post.
Eight minutes before the break, the visitors hit the front when Meakins was on target from the penalty spot. Her low shot found the right-hand corner despite the best efforts of home goalkeeper Megan Phillips, who got a hand to the shot.
Balcatta sealed their win with 85 minutes played after a superb move. Carys Davis won possession and played the ball back to Alyssa van Heurck inside her own half to drive a ball forward for Zoee Spadano and Davis to combine, with the latter finding Gale who advanced to slot home the third.
Balcatta have responded well to their 5-0 loss to Perth RedStar three weeks ago, recording successive wins ahead of UWA-Nedlands’ visit to Home Group Stadium next weekend.
Murdoch University Melville 0-8 Perth SC
The Azzurri ran out comfortable winners at Besteam Stadium this afternoon to go top of the NPLW WA ladder.
A first-half blitz of four goals in 12 minutes plus three more in another 12-minute blast after the break laid bare Perth’s superiority. However, it was not all good news, with key midfielder Daisy McAllister being stretchered off early in the second half after an aerial collision with home goalkeeper Kaitlyn Mohan.
Perth Head Coach Tom Glavovic added newly returned A-League Women stars Tijan McKenna and Georgia Cassidy to his starting line-up.
It’s been a tough start to the campaign for Murdoch University Melville (MUM FC) boss Steve Atkins. He’s lost a number of first-team players and has had to call up a raft of youngsters from the club’s U21 set-up, making cohesion and competitiveness a challenge. Those more senior players will return gradually over the coming weeks, but it’s left the side doing it tough.
The visitors hit the front just 10 minutes in when a corner came in high from the right. Flannery hit a shot which came back off a MUM FC defender and fell perfectly for Kim McCartney to fire into the roof of the net.
The Azzurri doubled their lead with 20 minutes played as McKenna sent a stunning lofted shot into the net from the right-hand side of the penalty area.
Three minutes later, it was 3-0 as Mathers drove the ball across the box from the right for Flannery, who was coming in at the back post to fire home.
Shortly afterwards, Cassidy threaded a centimetre-perfect pass through for McAllister, who saw her shot roll narrowly wide of the right-hand post.
Perth had better luck on the half hour when Kim McCartney fired a trademark free-kick into the net from the left of centre at the edge of the box.
The spell of four goals in 12 minutes concluded as Hannah Collins dispatched a fantastic first-time shot as the ball came across to her from the left.
Whilst the early exchanges of the second half saw the hosts have their best period of possession all game, midway through the second half, Perth stepped it up once more with another rapid-fire burst of goals beginning in the 68th minute. McKenna found Boehm out on the left flank from the centre of the park to lift in a high ball for Louise Tana to direct a first-time low volley into the goal.
It was 7-0 with 11 minutes remaining when Cassidy’s high corner from the left was headed home by Mathers at the back post.
The scoring was completed eight minutes from time when Mathers’ corner in from the right found Boehm completely unmarked at the back post to come in and hit a side-foot volley into the net.
The Azzurri made the most of Football West Academy’s defeat yesterday to earn top spot in the NPLW WA ladder as the mid-point of the season approaches.
Subiaco 2-3 UWA-Nedlands
UWA-Nedlands gained a superb win at Rosalie Park to increase the gap between themselves and Murdoch University Melville at the foot of the ladder.
The visitors took the lead just before the quarter-hour mark. An excellent passing move earned them a corner on the left. Emily Dinsdale sent it in for Andrea Preitao to head home at the back post.
UWA-Nedlands went 2-0 up on 28 minutes when Chloe Gaspar sent a superb free-kick arrowing into the top left-hand corner from over 25 yards.
However, Subi came out firing after the interval and got a goal back less than a minute after the restart. Jaalah Rudd took a throw-in on the left and found Tabain. The pair played a one-two which ended with the former A-League Women attacker firing home from inside the box.
With eight minutes remaining, the visitors restored their two-goal advantage when Chloe Gaspar floated in a free-kick from the left, and the ball fell for Dinsdale to lift it into the net in front of Subiaco keeper Monique Todd.
Subiaco grabbed a glimmer of hope in the final minute when Tabain pounced to get another one back after the visitors failed to clear, and Greta Bailey threaded a pass through.
Going into the round only outside the top four on goal difference, this was an extremely disappointing outcome for Subi. Conversely, UWA-Nedlands’ superb battling spirit and decent goalscoring record earned them a second win of the season.
Ladder
Perth SC P8 Pts 20 GD +20
Perth RedStar P9 Pts 19 GD +24
Football West Academy P9 Pts 18 GD +9
Balcatta Etna P7 Pts 13 GD +5
Subiaco P8 Pts 10 GD +1
Fremantle City P8 Pts 9 GD -2
UWA-Nedlands P9 Pts 6 GD -21
Murdoch University Melville P8 Pts 0 GD -36
Round 10 Fixtures:
SUNDAY: Balcatta Etna v Murdoch University Melville, Fremantle City v Football West Academy, Subiaco v Perth RedStar, UWA-Nedlands v Perth SC.
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