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W-League Grand Final Preview: The Referee

**Above:** Rebecca Durcau – refereeing her third W-League Grand Final this Sunday. **Photo:** @WLeague

The best players want to play in the biggest games – and referees are no different. Which is why Rebecca Durcau is buzzing to have been appointed to referee in Sunday’s Westfield W-League 2021 Grand Final, when Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory at Netstrata Jubilee Oval.

It’s the third time Durcau has received the honour, recognition for her excellent season refereeing eight games in the Westfield W-League 2020/21 Season, and comes a year after she was appointed to the Westfield W-League 2020 Grand Final behind closed doors as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Durcau revealed she was called last Sunday by Strebre Delovski, director of refereeing for the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), to be told she would be in charge of the season’s showpiece event.

“It’s a really nice bonus after what’s been a choppy season because of all the issues associated with playing during COVID,” Durcau said.

“But though it sounds like a cliché, it’s just another game in terms of preparation – it’s the same effort to get everything right.

“You know the atmosphere will be there, and that passion levels will be higher because it’s a final, but at the end of it you want all the focus to have been on the game and hopefully no one’s talking about what we did.”

Joining Durcau will be Assistant Referees Laura Moya & Lauren Hargrave, Additional Assistant Referees Lara Lee & Isabella Blaess with Sarah Ho as the Fourth Official.

Durcau also officiated in the Westfield W-League 2018 Grand Final, and APL Commissioner Greg O’Rourke said her selection once again was fully deserved.

“We want the referee who’s most on top of their game to be in charge for such an important event, and you can see that Rebecca is in exactly that space,” said O’Rourke.

“Her third appointment to a grand final is testament to her professionalism and dedication, and I’m sure she will do her best to help produce a great game of football.”

WESTFIELD W-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL MATCH DETAILS

2009 – Queensland Roar 2 (Harch 6’, Butt 26’) Canberra United 0

Venue: Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane. Referee:Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,554.

Queensland Roar: Casey Dumont, Kate McShea, Karla Reuter, Clare Polkinghorne, Brooke Spence, Elise Kellond-Knight, Lana Harch (Ruth Blackburn 85’), Tameka Butt, Lauren Colthorpe, Courtney Beutel (Tashina Roma 84’), Ellen Beaumont (Stephanie Latham 75’).

Canberra United: Lydia Williams, Rhian Davies (Nicole Begg 80’), Amy Chapman (Ashleigh Sykes 46’), Caitlin Munoz, Sasha McDonnell, Ellie Brush, Grace Gill, Hayley Crawford, Cian Maciejewski, Kara Mowbray, Thea Slatyer.

**Above:** Queensland Roar celebrate Lana Harch’s goal in the first ever W-League Grand Final. **Photo:** Zimbio

2010 – Sydney FC 3 (O’Neill 66’, Walsh 73’, Rydahl 78’) Brisbane Roar 2 (Harch 14’, Butt 92’)

Venue: Shark Park, Sydney. Referee:Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 1,439.

Sydney FC: Nikola Deiter (gk), Teigen Allen, Servet Uzunlar, Heather Garriock, Julie Rydahl, Sarah Walsh (Brittany Whitfield 89’), Kylie Ledbrook, Cathrine Paaske (Michelle Carney 90’), Kyah Simon, Linda O’Neill, Leena Khamis (Catherine Cannuli 84’).

Brisbane Roar FC: Casey Dumont (gk), Kate McShea, Karla Reuter, Clare Polkinghorne, Joanne Burgess, Elise Kellond-Knight, Lana Harch (Courtney Beutel 72’) (Steph Latham 83’), Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Lauren Colthorpe, Ellen Beaumont.

2011 – Sydney FC 1 (Ledbrook 34′) Brisbane Roar FC 2 (Butt 10′, De Vanna 66′)

Venue: Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 1,872.

Sydney FC: Dimi Poulos, Teresa Polias, Danielle Brogan, Servet Uzunlar, Renee Rollason (Catherine Cannuli 76’), Caitlin Foord, Kylie Ledbrook (Linda O’Neill 90’), Lydia Vandenbergh, Teigen Allen (Nicola Bolger 68’), Kyah Simon, Leena Khamis.

Brisbane Roar FC: Casey Dumont), Clare Polkinghorne, Brooke Spence, Joanne Burgess (Karla Reuter 84’), Kim Carroll, Elise Kellond-Knight, Lana Harch (Lisa De Vanna 42’), Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Amy Chapman (Kennya Cordner 67’), Lauren Colthorpe.

2012 – Canberra United 3 (Heyman 10′ 55′, Sykes 17′) Brisbane Roar FC 2 (Gielnik 21′, Butt 63’pen)

Venue: McKellar Park, Canberra. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance:2,512.

Canberra United: Lydia Williams, Caitlin Cooper, Ellie Brush, Hayley Raso (Emma Kete 69’), Grace Gill (Caitlin Munoz 76’), Michelle Heyman, Nicole Begg (Sykes), Ashleigh Sykes, Sally Shipard, Taryn Hemmings, Jennifer Bisset.

Brisbane Roar FC: Casey Dumont, Laura Alleway (Olga Cebrian-Garcia 84’), Clare Polkinghorne (Ellen Beaumont 71’), Brooke Spence, Joanne Burgess (Emily Gielnik 21’), Kim Carroll, Catherine Cannuli, Lana Harch, Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Vedrana Popovic.

**Above:** Canberra United lift the 2021 W-League title. **Photo:** Zimbio

2013 – Melbourne Victory 1 (Larsson 41’) Sydney FC 3 (Bolger 25’, Kerr 48’, Simon 86’pen)

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,181.

Melbourne Victory: Brianna Davey, Danielle Johnson, Maika Ruyter-Hooley (sent-off 85′), Rebekah Stott, Laura Spiranovic, Petra Larsson, Stephanie Catley, Jessica McDonald (Jessica Humble 73’), Enza Barilla, Amy Jackson, Gulcan Koca.

Sydney FC: Sham Khamis, Teresa Polias, Elizabeth Ralston, Samantha Kerr, Nicola Bolger (Larissa Crummer 80’), Caitlin Foord, Renee Rollason, Annalie Longo (Brittany Whitfield 90’+3), Chloe Logarzo (Natalie Tobin 86’), Alanna Kennedy, Kyah Simon.

2014 – Melbourne Victory 2 (De Vanna 38’, Barnes 41’) Brisbane Roar FC 0

Venue: Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne. Referee: Casey Reibelt. Attendance: 2,504.

Melbourne Victory: Brianna Davey, Jessica Humble, Katie Hoyle (Emily Hulbert 77’), Stephanie Catley, Jessica Fishlock, Lisa De Vanna, Jessica Samuelsson, Emma Checker, Beattie Goad (Enza Barilla 92’), Gulcan Koca (Ella Mastrantonio 68’), Lauren Barnes.

Brisbane Roar FC: Nadine Angerer, Laura Alleway, Brooke Spence, Kim Carroll, Elise Kellond-Knight, Katrina Gorry, Vedrana Popovic (Sunny Franco 83’), Tameka Butt, Hayley Raso, Emily Gielnik (Larissa Crummer 58’), Ayesha Norrie (Joanne Burgess 46’).

2015 – Perth Glory 1 (McCallum 63’) Canberra United 3 (Ochs 20’, Sykes 75’ 78’)

Venue: nib Stadium, Perth. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance:2,671.

Perth Glory: Mackenzie Arnold, Sarah Carroll (Carys Hawkins 62’), Bronwyn Studman, Shannon May, Alanna Kennedy, Caitlin Foord, Kate Gill, Elisa D’Ovidio (Gabrielle Marzano 73’), Collette McCallum, Shelina Zadorsky, Marianna Tabain.

Canberra United: Chantel Jones, Catherine Brown, Caitlin Munoz, Ellie Brush, Grace Maher (Julia De Angelis 53’), Michelle Heyman, Sally Rojahn, Nicole Begg, Ashleigh Sykes, Lori Lindsey (Grace Gill 91’), Stephanie Ochs.

**Above:** Canberra United after their 2015 Grand Final win in Perth. **Photo:** W-League

2016 – Melbourne City FC 4 (Beattie 32’, Little 54’, Goad 80’, De Vanna 95’) Sydney FC 1 (Simon 69’pen)

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,206.

Melbourne City FC: Brianna Davey, Jen Beattie, Laura Alleway, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley, Kim Little, Larissa Crummer (Marianna Tabain 67′), Jess Fishlock (Alexandra Chidiac 89′), Lisa De Vanna, Rebekah Stott, Beattie Goad (Amy Jackson 86′).

Sydney FC: Michelle Betos, Liz Ralston, Jasmyne Spencer, Teresa Polias, Nicola Bolger (Olivia Price 83′), Princess Ibini (Sunny Franco 63′), Natalie Tobin (Renee Rollason 74′), Alanna Kennedy, Teigen Allen, Kyah Simon, Leena Khamis.

2017 – Perth Glory 0 Melbourne City FC 2 (Fishlock 45+1′, Yanez 72′)

Venue: nib Stadium, Perth. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,591.

Perth Glory: Gabrielle Dal Busco, Sarah Carroll (Patricia Charalambous 75′), Kim Carroll, Alyssa Mautz, Nicole Sutton, Rosie Sutton, Vanessa Di Bernardo, Jaymee Gibbons (Shawn Billam 54′), Natasha Rigby, Sam Kerr(c), Arianna Romero

Melbourne City FC: Lydia Williams, Lauren Barnes, Teigen Allen, Laura Brock, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley (c), Jess Fishlock, Erika Tymrak (Melina Ayres 94′), Rebekah Stott, Marianna Tabain (Amy Jackson 68′), Beverly Yanez (Tyla Jay Vlajnic 87′)

2018 – Sydney FC 0 Melbourne City FC 2 (Fishlock 35′, Taylor 75′)

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Referee: Rebecca Durcau. Attendance: 6,025.

Sydney FC: Aubrey Bledsoe, Caitlin Cooper, Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Elizabeth Ralston, Emily Sonnett, Kylie Ledbrook (Rachael Soutar 75′), Teresa Polias, Chloe Logarzo, Lisa De Vanna, Leena Khamis (Remy Siemsen 66′), Princess Ibini (Julia Vignes 84′)

Melbourne City FC: Lydia Williams, Yukari Kinga, Steph Catley (c), Rebekah Stott, Lauren Barnes, Jessica Fishlock, Aivi Luik, Kyah Simon (Rhali Dobson 62′), Jodie Taylor (Tyla-Jay Vlajnic 90+2′), Ashley Hatch (Amy Jackson 84′)

**Above:** Melbourne City lift the trophy in 2018. **Photo:** Onceametro.

2019 – Sydney FC 4 (Huerta 6′, McCaskill 41′, 61′, Logarzo 70′) Perth Glory 2 (Kerr 23’pen, Mautz 68′)

Venue: Jubilee Stadium, Sydney. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance:6,127

Sydney FC: Aubrey Bledsoe, Sofia Huerta, Ally Green, Alanna Kennedy, Elizabeth Ralston, Danielle Colaprico, Teresa Polias, Chloe Logarzo (Amy Harrison 82′), Savannah McCaskill (Angelique Hristodoulou 90+2′), Caitlin Foord, Princess Ibini (Lisa De Vanna 75′)

Perth Glory: Eliza Campbell, Natasha Rigby, Jamie-Lee Gale, Katie Naughton, Kim Carroll, Shannon May (Caitlin Doeglas 67′), Alyssa Mautz, Nikki Stanton, Sam Kerr, Leticia McKenna (Alexia Moreno 75′), Rachel Hill

2020 – Melbourne City FC 1 (Steph Catley 15′) Sydney FC 0

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne. Referee: Rebecca Durcau. Attendance: (match played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions)

Melbourne City FC: Lydia Williams, Lauren Barnes, Emma Checker, Rebekah Stott, Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Aivi Luik, Yukari Kinga (Milica Mijatovic 67′), Emily van Egmond, Claire Emslie, Kyah Simon (Ally Watt 85′).

Sydney FC: Aubrey Bledsoe, Ally Green, Lindsay Agnew, Alanna Kennedy, Ellie Brush, Teresa Polias, Natalie Tobin (Amy Sayer 73′), Taylor Ray (Mackenzie Hawkesby 85′), Remy Siemsen (Princess Ibini 63′), Sofia Huerta, Veronica Latsko.

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Paige Walder: Graphics and Goal Assists

Whilst Paige Walder may be known to regular readers of Impetus for all of the high quality graphics and artwork she provides the site with via Graphics by PW, you might not know that she is also a footballer and recently joined Saltdean United of the London & SE Regional Premier (tier five). She spoke to Ben Gilby about her career and goals with the Sussex side.

**Above:** Paige Walder unveiled as a Saltdean United player. **Artwork:** Graphics by PW.

It was Paige’s graphics business that we started talking about. Graphics by PW has provided artwork for Chelsea and England star Fran Kirby for a while and the business has really taken off now as she explains: “Graphics by PW has been going great thank you, working for Fran has brought in other high profile clients like Sam Kerr, Maren Mjelde and a GB athlete named Lauren Jones. With high-profile clients comes high-pressure, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it and hope to continue to grow.”

Apart from her graphic designing work, Paige has just announced a return to playing football. I wondered how that came about. “Well, for the last two years I’ve followed my partner as she plays professionally across Europe. When the pandemic first hit we left Italy and have been in England ever since. I’ve missed playing so much over the last few years and feel like now is the perfect time to dust my boots off and see if I’ve still got it.”

**Above:** Paige in action for Sussex. **Photo via:** Paige Walder.

The club that Paige is joining are one who are hugely successful. “Saltdean United are a great club with big ambitions. The manager, Joe McTiffen actually coached me back in my teenage years. He’s asked me every year since he started the team to go and play for him and he’s finally got his way, persistence is key, haha. On a serious note, since starting in 2015 they have been promoted time after time and show no signs in stopping anytime soon and I’d love to be a part of that success.”

Paige has a strong history in the women’s game in Sussex, as she explained to me. “I started football at 12 years old but only began to take it seriously when I turned 16 and was scouted by Brighton and Hove Albion. After four seasons there and I stayed down south and joined Lewes whilst playing for the Sussex county team also.”

Since joining Saltdean United, due to the pandemic, Paige has only just been able to physically meet up with her team-mates.

**Above:** Paige (right) in action for Lewes against Portsmouth. **Photo via:** Paige Walder.

“We’d been doing zoom HIIT sessions every week and had our first training session back on 29th March… I’m was 99% sure that our first session was going to include some sort of fitness testing which I was really excited about!”

We closed our chat by looking at what Paige’s immediate and longer term aims for her return to the sport: “A personal aim for me will be to get on the assist sheet as much as possible as a central midfielder. With regards to the team I would love to help them gain promotion up to the third tier of English football and with the squad we have I’ve got a great feeling that big things are going to happen for this club.”

One thing is for sure, Impetus will be following Paige’s progress closely…and readers will no doubt see more of her amazing artwork on our site in the very near future!

W-League Grand Final Preview: Sydney FC

In the second of our three part preview of this weekend’s W-League Grand Final, Kris Goman looks in depth at Sydney FC.

**Above:** Natalie Tobin, who has been in top form for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Sydney came into the finals series as Premiers after leading the table for the bulk of the season. With losses only to Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar, who were both knocked out of the finals, and a single nil all draw to Canberra United, they are in a strong position to take the championship this weekend.

Despite being a young team, the core of the team have played together for a couple of years now and the new players for this season have gelled well and quickly.

Unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks, Sydney have lost two key players in Ellie Brush and Cortnee Vine to season ending injuries.

The loss of Vine in particular has been felt. Responsible for four goals, three assists and twenty chances created, she was a penetrating force on the left for Sydney and fed a lot of balls to Remy Siemsen.

**Above:** Princess Ibini (right) – part of Sydney FC’s solid attack. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

There’s still plenty of solid attack though in Princess Ibini, Remy Siemsen, Allira Toby and Rachel Lowe. Saying that, other than Ibini’s penalty, the forwards haven’t scored any goals in the last four matches.

Siemsen has been stranded up field a lot and is often caught offside. Recent matches have seen her facing the wrong way a lot and passing back more than going forward. Yet when she gets the ball in the right space, she is deadly.

Ibini has upped her work-rate lately and is dropping back into defence a lot more, tackling more, intercepting more, shooting more. And when she shoots, she’s shooting missiles. On target missiles usually.

**Above:** Remy Siemsen (right) in action for Sydney FC at Perth Glory earlier in the season. **Photo:** Tom McCarthy.

But the overriding factor for Sydney is their defence. They have the lowest number of goals conceded this season and there’s not a weak link at the back. While Ellie Brush is a huge loss, she has been more than ably replaced by Natasha Prior, who has just returned to the league after a serious concussion injury in 2019.

**Above:** Ally Green – an impressive performer for Sydney FC this season. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Combined with Natalie Tobin, Charlotte Mclean, Ally Green and Angelique Hristodoulou, who are all in top form, it’s a pretty formidable team at the back capable of bringing it forward as well as keeping it out. And that’s certainly going to be required to keep the likes of De Vanna, Ayres and Cooney-Cross under control.

And that’s not mentioning Jada Mathyssen-Whyman, who has been a rock at the back, coming equal first for clean sheets and having the least goals conceded by a margin of five goals. Along with a few saves of the round, she’s had an outstanding season.

**Above:** Jada Mathyssen-Whyman has had an impressive season in goal for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Sydney’s last two games before the Finals were against Melbourne Victory and Canberra United and only Kyra Cooney-Cross was able to broach the defence with a spectacular rocket in the dying minutes of that game against Victory. Both teams had more possession than Sydney and, to be honest, looked the better teams but simply couldn’t get through the defence to score.

To win the championship, Sydney need to defeat both these teams again. Canberra are now taken care of so it’s just Melbourne Victory left to overcome. They seem to have their measure in defence but will need to step up in attack.

**Above:** Teresa Polias (jumping) – who will be aiming to celebrate once more on Sunday after the Grand Final **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Midfield will be key, as it always is. With Teresa Polias leading the charge here, ably supported by Clare Wheeler, Mackenzie Hawkesby and Taylor Ray, they need to ensure the forwards get good balls and they get them in spaces they can shoot from. Or alternately, do what they did last weekend and let the midfield, and even backs, shoot. The Hawkesby, Wheeler and Green goals last weekend were all glorious. They played exciting football and took the chances that were offered. The final being a home match for Sydney should give them a slight advantage although it’s likely a few fans will make the journey from Victoria to offer some support to Melbourne Victory.

No doubt Ante Juric will have been fine-tuning the attack to address the lack of recent goals from the forwards. We’ll soon see if Sydney can take the long awaited double and lift the championship trophy for a record equalling fourth time.

STILL TO COME: We feature Grand Final referee Rebecca Durcau.

W-League Grand Final Preview: Melbourne Victory

Over the next few days we will be looking ahead to this weekend’s W-League Grand Final. Today Kieran Yap looks in depth at Melbourne Victory.

**Above:** Lisa De Vanna – hoping to be celebrating with her Melbourne Victory team mates on Sunday. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

Melbourne Victory fans would have been justified entering 2021 with cautious optimism. The lineup that began the first game of the current season looked very different from the one that was beaten by Sydney FC in the Semi-Final of 2020 but despite losing some very big names the club under the leadership of Jeff Hopkins has taken that next step and made the big game. With only 90 minutes remaining between hope and glory, lets take a look back at what made the season what it was.

New Faces:

A big part of what carried Melbourne Victory to second on the table last season was the defensive pairing of Laura Brock and Jenna McCormick. Any attackers good enough to get past the two Matildas at Centre Back then were faced with the challenge of Casey Dumont. The shot stopper had a stellar campaign and was recognized by supporters as the Victory Vikings Player Of The Season, all three of these stars needed to be replaced for 2021. Brock and McCormick departed for Europe and Dumont was cruelled by injury before the league began. Filling their shoes was a tall order and Victory has achieved it excellently.

The current defensive partnership of Claudia Bunge and Kayla Morrison has formed a ruthlessly miserly unit and the recruitment of Argentina International Gabby Garton has been a masterstroke. The new look Victory defence took a few games to click but since round five they went on to concede just five more goals for the rest of the season.

**Above:** Catherine Zimmerman in action in the Melbourne derby earlier on in the season. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

Up the other end American attacker Catherine Zimmerman has gone from a virtual unknown at W-League level to being a vital part of the Victory attack, she has been a mobile, skilful player who floats between either flank and is deadly close to goal as her finish in the Semi Final and decider in a 1-0 win against Adelaide show.

Prodigal Stars

**Above:** The ever-reliable Angie Beard. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

Three of the biggest signing announcements for Melbourne in the pre-season were the returns of Angie Beard, Kyra Cooney-Cross and the legendary Lisa De Vanna.

Victory fans still pining the loss of goal machine Natasha Dowie were instantly given hope when the first images of De Vanna appeared on social media. What she has done in her long career is well known, but after a year in Italy with Fiorentina, it had been a little while since Aussie fans had seen what she can do. She sent the fans and the competition a strong reminder with a brilliant solo goal against Melbourne City in which she dummied over the ball and ran half the field to score and was ominously dominant in the semi-final last weekend.

Fullback and captain Angie Beard has been one of Melbourne’s most consistent performers for this campaign. She has been essential to that strong defense and offered a consistent threat going forward. Her ability to surge past defenders and whip in crosses has been a reliable and dangerous part of Victory’s attacking plan and helps pin back opposition wide players.

**Above:** Kyra Cooney-Cross (second left) – a sensational season from the 19 year-old. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

The return to the club of Kyra Cooney-Cross was a great signing, after enjoying a breakout season in 2020 with Western Sydney Wanderers, the young attacker came home and took on more responsibility in the midfield. Playing behind the front three and supported by Amy Jackson and Annalie Longo in midfield, Cooney-Cross has been given the license to create and has the skills to make the most of it. She has the passing range of Emily Van Egmond and De Vanna-like close control, the number seven in navy blue is a potential match winner.

How they got there

Victory’s season is best typified by a strong defense and an unpredictable attack, the long term signing of Melina Ayres was justified with the forward enjoying her best season to date in the W-League and the side was able to keep six clean sheets for the season on the way to a third place finish. They won three times by scoring only once and have developed a good balance between attack and defence. The 6-0 loss to Brisbane was not so much a warning sign as it was a wakeup call and they went undefeated until the final round where they met Grand Final opponents Sydney FC

Why they can win

**Above:** Melina Ayres has been in rich goal scoring form in recent weeks for Melbourne Victory. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

It’s tempting to just start rattling off names to justify why Victory can win, they have players with pace such as Polly Doran, (a revelation at right back) they have players who can belt in a long range screamer like Barbieri or Cooney-Cross and they have the current in form center forward in Melina Ayres, hot off a semi final hatrick. Victory stumbled when it mattered against Sydney in the Premiership decider two weeks ago but it was only one of three losses for the season. The two goals conceded were from preventable set pieces and Cooney-Cross’ late consolation screamer was a reminder that goals can come from anywhere in this squad.

The players are in form, in sync and in the best position in years to claim a Grand Final win.

STILL TO COME: Between now and the Grand Final on Sunday, we’ll have an in-depth look at Victory’s opponents Sydney FC by Kris Goman and a feature on Grand Final referee Rebecca Durcau.

Irish Women’s National League Week Two

Ciarán Duffy of Post to Post Sport rounds-up all the goings on in Week Two of the Irish Women’s National League, with Shelbourne heading the early season table and Limerick’s Treaty United involved in another goal fest.

Saoirse Strikes Sends Shels Top

**Above:** Emily Wheelan and Jess Ziu celebrate for Shelbourne against Cork City. **Photo:** @Shelsfc

Shelbourne kept their 100% record intact and gained their second clean sheet as they moved top of the Women’s National League. Saoirse Noonan scored twice against her old club at Turners Cross as Noel Kings men secured a comfortable win.

It took just three minutes for Shels to take the lead as Emily Whelan found the net after taking the ball off a defender and shooting home. Just moments earlier, she had a thunder bolt shot cleared away. Shels continued to put Cork under pressure, having most of the possession. They made that tell again at the fifteen minute mark when Noonan scored against her old club. Cork were able to hold out Shels for the rest of the half. The Munster side created a few chances in the second half, but were unable to find the net. They did however limit Shels to a handful of chances. Noonan struck again late on to seal the win for Shelbourne. In two weeks time Shels face Peamount in a game that sees the top two from the past two seasons go head to head. Cork City 0-3 Shelbourne.

Galway Best Bohs To Climb To Second

**Above:** Rachel Kearns – scorer of four goals in two games for Galway. **Photo:** FAI

Despite a good Bohs performance Galway claimed their first win of the season.

Rachel Kearns scored her fourth goal in two games as Galway took control with half hour gone. Kate Slevin scored five minutes later to send Galway into the break in a strong position. Linsey McKey made it 3-0 at the hour mark with a composed finish, shooting into the bottom corner to put her side in firm control. Chloe Darby got one back for Bohs with 20 minutes to go to give them a glimmer of hope. The Gypsies had chances late on to reduce the deficit but couldn’t take them. Chloe Singleton was dismissed for receiving a second yellow late on. Galway 3-1 Bohemians

Resilient Waves Earn Point Against Wexford

**Above:** Celebration time for DLR Waves against Wexford Youths. **Photo:** @DLRWaves

A tactically mature performance saw a young DLR Waves side frustrate Wexford Youths and earn a point at the UCD Bowl.

DLR started the game with high intensity and pressed Wexford into mistakes. Carla McManus took advantage of a defensive lapse and won the ball deep in the Youths have and firing into the bottom left corner. Waves disrupted Youths from there making it difficult for them to create much. Wexford had a few chances either side of halftime, but DLR defender Jess Gleeson was outstanding in defence with Eve Badana, who has been called up to the Ireland squad to train, solid in goal. Wexford eventually made their pressure tell, teenage sensation Ellen Molloy found captain Kylie Murphy who scored with one touch. From there Wexford had the better of the chances but Waves had opportunities to grab what would have been a deserved winner. In the end a draw was probably a fair result with both sides showing quality. DLR Waves 1-1 Wexford Youths

Athlone And Treaty Share Spoils In Hectic Thriller

**Above:** Treaty United’s Rebecca Horgan. **Photo:** finalwhistle.ie

A frantic game saw game saw both Athlone and Treaty secure their first point of the season.

Both sides scored early with Nerney netting for the midlands side before Rebecca Horgan equalized four minutes later. The other Horgan sister put the Limerick side ahead as Aoife scored just three minutes later. There’d be a penalty to cap off a mad 10-minute spell with Donohue converting to put Athlone back on level terms. Rebecca Horgan got her second with nine minutes left in the half to ensure Treaty went in ahead. The second half just had the one goal as Keogh equalized for Athlone. Treaty would find themselves down to ten women for the last twenty minutes as Slattery was shown a second yellow. There have been fifteen goals in Treaty United’s first two games of the season. Athlone Town 3-3 Treaty United

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	GF	GD	Pts
1	Shelbourne	2	2	5	+5	6
2	Galway	2	1	6	+2	4
3	Bohemians	2	1	7	+2	3
4	Peamount United	1	1	1	+1	3
5	DLR Waves	1	0	1	0	1
6	Wexford Youths	2	0	1	-1	1
7	Athlone Town	2	0	3	-2	1
8	Cork City	2	0	3	-3	1
9	Treaty United	2	0	5	-4	1

This coming weekend is an international break.

The following weekend the Women’s National League returns.

Next Fixtures

Saturday 17^th April

Bohemians v Cork City (14:00)

DLR Waves v Galway (18:00)

Peamount United v Shelbourne (18:00)

Sunday 18^th April

Treaty United v Wexford Youths (14:00)

Post to Post Sport’s domestic football podcast comes out every Thursday covering Women’s National League as well as the League of Ireland. You can get the podcast on most platforms by searching Post to Post Sport or by going to PostToPost.Sport.Blog and clicking latest episodes.

The Offside Trust: Making Sport Safer For Children

Ben Gilby touched base with The Offside Trust‘s Alan Arber to find out more about the organisation who are supporting survivors of child sexual abuse in sport and are doing everything possible to ensure that sport is safer for the young.

In November 2016, British football was rocked by a series of high-profile revelations regarding child sexual abuse. Several former professional players bravely waived their right to anonymity to speak out about their past abuse.

A number of those involved decided to set up The Offside Trust, an organisation committed to supporting survivors and working to make sport safer for children.

Former professional footballer Steve Walters, who played for clubs including Crewe Alexandra and Northwich Victoria is director of The Offside Trust.

The organisation works with and supports fellow survivors. In addition to Steve, the Offside Trust family includes other ambassadors such as Gary Cliffe (former Manchester City youth player), Dion Raitt (former Peterborough United youth player), Alan Arber (former Norwich City Reserves player), Callum Hancock (Professional boxer) and the late Billy Seymour, who played for Coventry City and Millwall.

The organisation aims to end abuse in sport, so kids can be kids and to support the healing journey for survivors of abuse.

The Offside Trust already has the support of clubs, players and former professionals throughout the sporting world and focus on all sports. The organisation works alongside governing bodies, charities and organisations that deal with safeguarding.

**Above:** The Offside Trust’s stand at one of their Awareness Days. **Photo via:** Alan Arber.

Over the past five years, The Offside Trust has supported and spoken confidentially to over a hundred survivors of abuse, many of whom never disclosed their abuse to anyone previously. Additionally, they have striven to ensure that safeguarding is at the top of the agenda of every sport both nationally and internationally.

Their work has identified inadequacies that exist on numerous levels and are working with relevant organisations to build suitable solutions. Crucially, the organisation has listened to; believed and supported each and every victim and survivor who has contacted them. Pre-Covid, the Trust had been able to organise various support events for survivors, including Offside Trust weekends hosted by Crystal Palace, Everton, Portsmouth, Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers men’s clubs.

In the coming months, The Offside Trust are focusing on directly engaging with and educating young people and parents as key stakeholders in the safeguarding process as well as working alongside internet and technology bodies to campaign around grooming and internet safety. Allied to this, the organisation is working to develop support resources for family, loved ones and supporters of survivors.

One of the ambassadors for The Offside Trust is Alan Arber who uses his role to raise awareness in East Anglia. Alan talked to us about his experiences and the outstanding work he is doing for the organisation.

“One of the big issues I had regarding my abuse was the total lack of support I could access from day one. Myself and my wonderful volunteer Barry Howard developed a strategy to ensure that everyone who needed support in East Anglia knew where to find it and had people to talk to on the bad days – something which I never had until now.”

“We started out by sending a tweet to all the local clubs in the Norfolk area asking if they would like to support our work and allow us to get the word out via the medium of non-league football.”

“I was contacted by Mulbarton Wanderers FC and met the chairman Duane James who agreed that they would support our work. Every Mulbarton team from under sevens through to men’s, ladies and veterans would wear The Offside Trust logo on their shirts and the club put up a sponsored board.”

**Above:** Alan Arber pictured at Mulbarton Wanderers FC who are supporting The Offside Trust. **Photo via:** Alan Arber.

“This created quite a stir and many teams got in touch regarding working with us and many meetings ensued. We introduced the idea of Awareness Days where we would visit clubs to allow people to talk to us face to face and discuss any issues they had.”

“Our first Awareness Day was at Great Yarmouth Town FC and it was an excellent success. We spoke to many people about our work and most importantly one person came forward with abuse issues who we were able to direct to the right support and advice. A bucket collection also raised £100 for the Trust.”

“From this first Awareness Day, we were contacted by many clubs and leagues to ask how they could come on board and one such club was Shrublands FC, a club in Gorleston. I went to meet Andy Hannah the general manager of the club and he invited Shaun Platten to the meeting who was chairman of the Norfolk Suffolk Youth League. So successful was this meeting we were invited to their next meeting and I spoke for the first time publicly about my abuse and what we were doing to raise awareness and offer support to the league.”

“From this small start we really started to pick up pace and phone calls never seemed to stop regarding clubs and leagues wanting to come on board. Darrell Hibbert of East Point Sports has been wonderful in helping us get the correct merchandise which we sell on the Awareness Days to raise funds for our work. We sell mugs, beanie hats, corner flag sets, medical kits, water bottles and our popular Captain’s Respect armbands which has recorded sales of over a hundred. Our aim is for the armbands to be worn worldwide.”

**Above:** The Offside Trust’s Captain’s Respect armbands. Photo via: Alan Arber.

So, from little acorns grew a wonderful and sometimes taxing and stressful array of meetings and awareness days meaning the Trust name was well and truly out there in Norfolk.”

“With a growing number of their clubs on board, I was invited to speak to the Norfolk Sunday League. This was a league I played in for many years so to stand in front of people I knew for over thirty years and detail what had happened to me was somewhat harrowing and caused quite a stir with some members of the committee who knew me personally and had no idea. They asked me to do the League Cup draw at the meeting and we are now working on ideas to get the word out to all Sunday League clubs.”

Our next challenge was to get the largest youth league, the Combined Youth Football League, who have over seven thousand young players on board. I met chairman Darren Iles and within five days they announced that we were their official partner and we are working with them now to look at their safeguarding policies and seeing if we can help them get them even tighter moving forward.”

“In December 2019, we received an approach from Suffolk FA requesting a meeting in early January 2020 to look at working with them moving forward. I met James Morley and from this meeting plans were put in place to work together attending events and cup finals where we could display our Offside Trust stand.”

“The final event that we attended before the coronavirus put life on hold, was a conference held by Norfolk FA at the University of East Anglia which involved various safeguarding officers from across the region, including many local safeguarding officers from clubs in Norfolk and Suffolk.”

“I was asked to close the event with a thirty minute presentation and was given a standing ovation which was truly moving. We were invited to attend the Norfolk Senior Cup Final at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City FC and to receive an award for our work.”

“The Norfolk FA have named us as their community partners and we will work with them on safeguarding literature. Norwich City FC have donated signed merchandise to us as well, which was fantastic.”

**Above:** The Norfolk FA have named The Offside Trust as an official community partner. **Photo via:** Alan Arber.

“One of the most wonderful occasions since getting involved was a fundraising match played against a team from the Channel Four television programme Hollyoaks. This came about after they included a storyline about abuse in sport. The match was played at Chester FC’s Deva Stadium in front of a thousand people. It was the first time that all the survivors had been on the pitch at the same time. Former players such as Trevor Sinclair, Dele Adebola, Lee Trundle, Rhodri Giggs – Ryan’s brother – and current Tranmere Rovers Women player Chelcee Grimes all gave up their time to play and support the event.”

“It is important to emphasise the success of our Awareness Days. Since January 2019, we have held twenty when we’ve turned up with our stand. At eighteen of those events, people have approached us for help. We are not qualified to support people ourselves, but we are able to signpost people to the correct places for help, whether it be ChildLine, Barnardo’s, Mind or Calm.”

It’s desperately sad that organisations such as The Offside Trust are needed, but the work they are doing and the awareness they are spreading is nothing short of outstanding.

If you, or anyone you know could have experienced any of the issues mentioned in this article, among the groups you could contact are:

The Samaritans: 116 123 (24 hours).

NSPCC Football Hotline: 0800 023 2642.

NAPAC (Supporting Recovery From Child Abuse): 0808 801 0331.

The Calm Zone: 0800 585 858.

Male Survivor UK: 0808 800 5005

Childline: 0800 1111.

Survivors@Mcr (Twitter).

@1in6UK (Twitter).

The View From France

Jean-Pierre Thiesset rounds up all the actions from the sixteenth and seventeenth weeks of action in D1 Arkema, French women’s football’s top flight.

Round Sixteen:

The match between Issy and Paris FC was been cancelled due to Covid19.

Reims won 2-1 at home against Le Havre. Goals from Sonia Ouchène (33) and Melissa Herrera (74) for Reims; Goal from Ashley Clark (41) for Le Havre.

Bordeaux won away from home 2-1 at Fleury. Goals from Inès Jaurena (12) and Ghoutia Karchouni (19) for Bordeaux; Fleury replied with a penalty from Dominika Grabowska.

Soyaux and Guingamp were not able to score and finished 0-0 at Soyaux.

Paris St Germain won away from home against Montpellier 3-0 with goals from Nadia Nadim (24) and Irene Paredes (60 and 65).

Olympique Lyonnais won away from home against Dijon 3-0. The goals from Saki Kumagai (24), Catarina Macario (55) and Melvine Malard (79). Notably, there was a first goal in D1 Arkema for Macario.

In the battle between Paris SG and Lyon for D1 Arkema title, both won 3-0 away from home and Paris SG is still one point ahead of Lyon.

Round Seventeen:

**Above:** Melissa Herrera – two goals for Reims. **Photo:** Linea de Gol.

Paris FC v Fleury and Guingamp v Olympique Lyonnais were cancelled due to Covid19 cases at Paris FC and Lyon.

Bordeaux consolidated its third place in the table by winning 1-0 at home against Issy. Goal from Katja Snoeijs (12).

Dijon continued to secure its place in the middle of the table by winning 2-0 away from home against Le Havre who are last in the table. Goals for Dijon came from Sh’Nia Gordon (18) and Solène Barbance (20).

Reims won away from home against Montpellier 4-0. Goals for Reims from Melissa Herrera (4 and 30), Kessya Busy (63) and Sonia Ouchène (67). Montpellier continue to lose despite a squad of good players and have definitively lost any chance to achieve a Champions League spot by finishing third in the table.

Paris St Germain won at home against Soyaux 7-0. Goals from Marie-Antoinette Katoto (10, 61 and 74), Paulina Dudek (40), Formiga (45+1), Grace Geroyo (63) and Kadidiatou Diani (66). It was an impressive game by Paris SG who never gave Soyaux a chance to score. Marie-Antoinette Katoto with her three goals is now in first place in the D1 Arkema scoring charts.

The D1 ARKEMA table now looks like this:

Ruthless Sydney See Off Green Machine

Sydney FC 3-0 Canberra United

Report by Ben Gilby with EXCLUSIVE photos from Kogarah by Kris Goman.

**Above:** Sydney FC celebrate Mackenzie Hawkesby’s opening goal. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Premier Plate winners Sydney FC took their place in the W-League Grand Final against Melbourne Victory after a 3-0 win over Canberra United at Kogarah in front of a good crowd in the Semi-Final earlier today.

With Sydney naming an unchanged starting eleven from their final regular season game against the Victory in midweek all of the pre-game headlines surrounded Canberra United.

The W-League’s all-time leading goal scorer Michelle Heyman was ruled out completely for Canberra United due to a quad injury. She was replaced in the starting line-up by Demi Koulizakis whose only previous W-League goal came seven years ago for Western Sydney Wanderers.

**Above:** Canberra United fans represented in the good crowd at Kogarah. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Despite this, it was Canberra who started on the front foot. With just twenty-seven seconds played, their Kiwi star Paige Satchell escaped down the left and played a dangerous ball in towards Nikki Flannery who couldn’t quite connect and Sydney were let off.

In these opening ten minutes Canberra were profiting from being allowed more time on the ball by their hosts. Conversely, when the Sky Blues were in possession, there was always at least one Lime Green shirt snapping at the heels of their Sydney opponent. The other consequence of this was that Canberra were totally dominating possession.

With twelve minutes gone, Sydney fashioned their first dangerous opportunity. A delightful long ball from Teresa Polias found Rachel Lowe who was one on one with visiting keeper Keeley Richards, but the Canberra custodian came out bravely to gather possession.

**Above:** Canberra United goalkeeper saves bravely at the feet of Sydney FC’s Rachel Lowe. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Sydney earned their first corner shortly afterwards when sixteen year-old defender Jessika Nash put the ball out. Polias’ flag kick was cleared. Lowe then played a clever ball through which Laura Keir did well to prevent falling into Princess Ibini’s path. It did though roll the way of Remy Siemsen who blazed over the bar.

Sydney were finally exerting some consistent pressure and on the quarter of an hour mark they showed the vital importance of turning pressure into goals – something which Canberra failed to do in the early exchanges.

Clare Wheeler was found on the left and played a beautiful ball in to Mackenzie Hawkesby at the back post. Her first time volley flew across Richards and into the net.

After twenty minutes, 21 year-old Bianca Galic released Satchell on the left. Sydney defender Natalie Tobin just couldn’t catch her, but equally, none of Canberra team mates could match Satchell’s pace to get up to support either, consequently the Football Ferns star’s effort was saved by Jada Mathyssen-Whyman.

The side from the national capital were responding well to going behind with Galic playing a particularly prominent role in this period. Nikki Flannery’s run in behind the Sky Blues’ defence saw United awarded a corner.

**Above:** Paige Satchell, whose pace was one of the bright spots for Canberra United in the semi-final. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Canberra were earning back to back corners and throw-ins in the danger zone but could not capitalise.

Instead, it was Sydney who threatened once more. Natalie Tobin got clear along the left and found Siemson who in turn played in Ibini. The Sydney striker got away from Nash and knocked in a low ball towards Rachel Lowe who would have had a tap in if Canberra had not managed to scramble the danger away.

With ten minutes of the half remaining Sydney had another great chance. Siemsen played in Tobin who came up from the back and found herself on the left hand side of the box. She fired in an effort that Richards got down well to save.

**Above:** Natalie Tobin (right) who got in a fierce effort for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman,

Seven minutes before the break, Canberra created their best chance so far. Emma Ilijoski released Maher on the left. Polias looked to have cleared the danger and passed to Natasha Prior who clearly wasn’t expecting the ball to come her way and played a panicked ball back towards Mathyssen-Whyman which Flannery intercepted and hit an effort which the Sydney keeper had to deal with at the cost of a corner.

With seconds left of the first half, Canberra keeper Keeley Richards caused a heart-stopping moment for her team when she came out of her box to clear but the ball bounced off of her chest and into the path of Siemsen who couldn’t profit.

The visitors had the bulk of possession in the first half, but could not find the final passes and quality finishing to convert this into goals on the scoreboard. Canberra finished the half having played twice the number of passes that Sydney did and had over two thirds of the possession – yet it was the hosts who were leading 1-0.

Sydney began to get on top as the second half opened. Clare Wheeler got past several defenders in to the box before edging wide and pulling a ball across towards Siemsen who was not able to get a shot away as Kendall Fletcher collided with her own goalkeeper Keeley Richards who needed a prolonged period of medical attention to ensure that she was in a fit state to carry on.

On the hour mark, Satchell released Koulizakis who returned the favour to the New Zealander, but her shot was immediately swallowed up by a group of Sydney defenders and another Canberra opportunity was gone.

Again, Sydney emphasised the importance of taking chances when they come your way shortly afterwards. Nash lost possession and Sydney’s Teresa Polias fed Ibini who played a pass out to Charlotte Mclean. Her ball in found Wheeler who turned and hit a low volley goal wards. The ball deflected off of Lauren Keir and into the net to double the Harbour City side’s lead.

With just under twenty minutes left, the outcome was decided in magnificent style. Sydney gained possession just inside the Canberra half. Ally Green was in space and surged towards goal and unleashed a thunderbolt from almost thirty yards that flew into the top left hand corner.

**Above:** Sydney FC celebrate Ally Green’s thunderbolt which sealed their 3-0 win. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

The remainder of the game rather petered out as Sydney didn’t want to over-exert themselves in order to preserve energy for next weekend. Canberra did fashion one further opportunity with five minutes to go when Laura Hughes got in and fired an effort which referee Isabella Blaess ruled that Jada Mathyssen-Whyman got a hand to and pointed for a corner. The danger was cleared and Sydney were home and hosed.

Sydney’s win sees them make a fourth successive W-League Grand Final and their eighth in total. They have a chance to make amends for last season’s defeat in the decider when they face a #BigBlue showdown against Melbourne Victory at home next Sunday.

Mackenzie Hawkesby, who scored the opening goal said: “It was a good goal. I saw the ball coming and thought I’d make a run and it fell to me. I got a good touch on it, so I was happy with that. We defended really well and did a good job on the counter attack.”

**Above:** Mackenzie Hawkesby, whose opening goal set Sydney on their way. Photo: Kris Goman.

Canberra United have had an excellent season and played some wonderful football at times. They may be left wondering what might have happened if Michelle Heyman, who scored almost half of their goal tally in the regular season had been fit to play. Yet, Sydney finished top of the table for a reason and they have proved that they are capable of taking chances when they come – a sign of a champion team.

Teams: SYDNEY FC: Mathyssen-Whyman, Mclean, Tobin, Prior, Green, Polias, Hawkesby, Wheeler, Lowe, Siemsen, Ibini. Substitutes: Campbell (GK), Toby, Hristodoulou, Ray, Rule.

Scorers: Hawkesby 15, Wheeler 64, Green 73.

CANBERRA UNITED: Richards, Keir, Nash, Fletcher, Ilijoski, Galic, Maher, Hughes, Flannery, Koulizakis, Satchell. Substitutes: Jones (GK), Goldstein, Taylor-Young, Rasschaert, Grove.

Referee: Isabella Blaess.

Attendance: 2,044.

Bell’s Bullet Sends Boro Into Round Three

Middlesbrough 3-1 Hull City

By Graham Falk

**Above:** Millie Bell celebrates her stunning strike to give Middlesbrough the lead yesterday. **Photo:** @BoroWomen

A 35-yard Millie Bell strike capped off a superb return to action for Middlesbrough Women as they beat Hull City 3-1 in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Second Round.

An early strike from Katie Thompson (20) was cancelled out by Faye Dale (39), Millie Bell (81) and Eve Marshall (88) as the Teesiders ran out clear winners.

Going into the game, Middlesbrough manager Steph Fairless handed Katrena Morrison her first senior start and also selected Emily Marsh, Faye Dale and Savanna Robson in the starting line-up.

In a typically cagey start, Katie Thompson’s over hit free kick almost looped into the Boro top corner, before the Hull winger made no mistake only a minute later, tapping home after Rosie Todd had saved her first effort.

Hull almost went further ahead on 34 when Emily Smith seized on a slack pass, but she fired over from 10 yards out.

It was Faye Dale who would punish Hull moments later as she latched on Katie Wilson’s superb through ball and rounded ‘keeper Abi Wallace to net her first senior goal for the club.

**Above:** Faye Dale, scorer of Middlesbrough’s opening goal. **Photo:** @BoroWomen

If the first half was an even affair, then the second half belonged to Boro. Wing-back Millie Bell going close twice from long range, including a free kick which pinged off the base of the post. It was third time lucky for Bell, however, as she blasted home a 35-yard rocket nine minutes from time to fire Boro into the lead, minutes after a Tigress counter attack saw the pacey Smith hit the outside of the post.

Super sub Eve Marshall would seal it at the death, feeding off Rebecca Olley’s pin point ball to cut inside and fire beyond Wallace in the City net. The win extends Middlesbrough’s season for at least another week, as the team welcome Wem Town to Bedford Terrace in round three next week.

Teams: MIDDLESBROUGH: Todd, Wilson, Marsh, Morrison, Robson, Cassidy, Bell, McQuade, Dixon, Dale, Olley. Substitutes: Newton, Marshall, Hebb, Maxwell, Boyle.

Scorers: Dale 39, Bell 81, Marshall 88.

HULL CITY: Wallace, Pedersen, Jackman, Symington, Pegrum, Tanser, Martin, Bott, Thompson, Smith, Acroyd. Substitutes: Cooke, Oxley, Brannigan, Walby, Westmorland, Padget.

Scorer: Thompson 20.

Dramatic End Leaves Tractor Girls Feeling Blue

Billericay Town 2–1 Ipswich Town

By Ben Gilby

**Above:** Billericay Town celebrate Therese Addison’s winner with two minutes of normal time left. **Photo:** @BTFCWomen

Two goals from Therese Addison, with the second coming just two minutes from the end of normal time, ensured Billericay Town created a minor surprise by defeating their fellow FA Women’s National League Division One London & South-East side Ipswich Town.

Ipswich, who had progressed to the fifth round of the competition last season and earned a trip to FA Women’s Super League side Manchester City in the process, now face a long wait before they can take out their frustrations out on the FA Women’s National League in the new season.

The Tractor Girls threatened early on with Natasha Thomas finding Anna Grey on the left hand side. Her cross rebounded off of the Essex side’s defender Esme Lancaster for a corner which the hosts dealt with.

It took five minutes for Billericay to get out of their own half, but when they did, they threatened Ipswich. An early cross in from Zoe Rushen found Therese Addison, but she was adjudged to be offside before getting a shot away.

Grey continued to threaten down the left, but Lancaster continued to prove she was up to the challenge after putting in a magnificent challenge to clear the danger, when anything less than a perfectly timed tackle would have resulted in a penalty.

The home side got their first shot in on goal thanks to a free kick after Addison was fouled around ten metres inside the Ipswich half. Up stepped Ellie Jeffkins with a shot from extreme long range which bounced wide of the left hand post.

Billericay were more in the game now and were trying to play some easy on the eye triangular passing in the build-up. Unfortunately from one such move, Jay Blackie lost possession to Natasha Thomas who shot from distance and Amy Mullett pushed it over the bar. From the resulting corner, Lucy Egan’s effort came back off of the bar.

Ipswich built the pressure and continued to earn corners at regular intervals.

Sixteen minutes before the break, the Tractor Girls took the lead that their pressure deserved, and it was their stand out player Anna Grey who delivered a sensational goal. She hit an effort from over twenty-five yards which dipped over Mullett and into the net. A classy finish from a classy player.

**Above:** Anna Grey – a superb goal for Ipswich Town. **Photo:** Ipswich Town Women.

Yet, Ipswich’s lead lasted for no more than ninety seconds and it was another absolutely magnificent goal. A free kick for Billericay on the right from Danica Dougal was headed across the box to Therese Addison. She was surrounded by two Ipswich defenders, but turned and hit an instant shot which flew into the net.

The visitors responded well and came close on several occasions. Grey caused more havoc down the left with ten minutes of the half remaining and earned her side their sixth corner of the afternoon. Shortly afterwards, Paige Peake found Grey once more and her low ball in found Thomas, who was less than five yards out from the goal line. It needed a mere tap to go in, yet somehow the Ipswich forward managed to lift the ball over the bar.

With the clock ticking towards the forty-fifth minute, Ipswich thought momentarily that they had regained the lead as Grey’s low ball in from the left was tapped home, but the assistant referee had his flag raised.

With the last kick of the first half, there was another golden opportunity. A free-kick was awarded to Billericay five metres out from the ‘D’ to the left of centre for handball. Addison hit a scorching effort which came off of the top of the right hand post before the half-time whistle went.

The second half began with a bit of a chess-like exchange with the only immediate opportunity coming via Anna Grey who played a ball in which eventually found its way to Lucy Egan who fired an effort from thirty yards over the bar.

Ten minutes into the second period, another long range effort from Therese Addison, this time from almost forty yards, flew just centimetres over the bar.

Billericay continued to press and a free-kick rebounded off of the knee of visiting keeper Lucy Williamson for a corner. A viciously in swinging corner saw Williamson forced to push it out for a second one which the Suffolk women cleared.

As the game entered its last quarter of an hour, chances were few and far between. Ipswich did earn their tenth corner of the game after Grey’s shot was deflected out. The set piece came in and was headed wide by Lucy Egan.

The match looked to be heading towards extra-time, but, with two minutes of normal time left there was a dramatic turn of events.

Amy Mullett’s goal kick was collected by Jay Blackie in midfield. She eventually found substitute Paige Clemenson on the right wing who got free and played a ball across the box. Ipswich had plenty of defenders between the ball and Billericay’s sole attacker Therese Addison, yet somehow a swing and a miss later, the ball fell perfectly for Addison who simply could not fail to score.

**Above:** Therese Addison slots home the winner with two minutes of regulation time left. **Photo:** @BTFCWomen

The drama continued as almost ten minutes of stoppage time was played. Ipswich, as you would expect pressed. Page’s cross was met on the volley by Maddie Biggs but it went just wide of the right hand post.

The Essex side almost saved their visitors when substitute Kerry Stimson’s header back towards goal needed a diving palm round the post by her own keeper Mullett.

Six minutes into stoppage time, Ipswich were awarded a free kick just outside the box after a foul by Lucy Jones who was yellow carded for Billericay. Paige Peake’s free kick curled over.

With almost a hundred minutes played Clemenson got through again and tangled with Grey in the box. The Billericay substitute went down but the referee waved away penalty claims and blew the final whistle.

It was an excellent result for Billericay Town who now go on in the competition. Ipswich Town, after two frustrating seasons which has seen their hopes of promotion into the third tier taken away from them due to coronavirus, now have a long summer ahead of them before competitive action resumes.

**Above:** The Billericay Town squad celebrate together after the game. **Photo:** @BTFCWomen

Teams: BILLERICAY TOWN: 23) Amy Mullett, 3) Ellie Jeffkins, 4) Lucy Jones, 5) Danica Dougal, 6) Courtney Lumley, 7) Jay Blackie, 9) Therese Addison, 10) Robyn Moody, 13) Zoe Rushen, 14) Esme Lancaster, 22) Georgie Morton Substitutes: Alex Baker, Edita Dobreva, Paige Clemenson, Lily Price, Teni Charles, Connie Forman, Freya Fuller, Millie Stacey, Kerry Stimson.

Scorers: Addison 31, 88.

IPSWICH TOWN: 13) Lucy Williamson, 3) Eva Hubbard, 4) Blue Wilson, 6) Lucy Egan, 7) Natasha Thomas, 11) Anna Grey, 15) Molly Sutherland, 17) Sophie Peskett, 19) Abbie Lafayette, 24) Paige Peake, 30) Lucy O’Brien. Substitutes: Sasha Adamson, Georgia Allen, Zoe Barratt, Maddie Biggs, Olivia Billson, Lindsey Cooper, Amanda Crump, Ellie Rossister, Paige Wakefield.

Scorer: Grey 29.