Day 2 Results
- ACT Under 14s - Draw 3-3 (ACT v Northern NSW)
- ACT Under 15 - Loss 3-1 (ACT v Queensland) - this was a cross over game with a very strong Group A team. ACT reported to have played well.
Westfield Football Federation Australia National Youth Championship for Girls BCU Stadium, Coffs Harbour
Tue 12 July 2011
The second day of the National Youth Championship for Girls saw the ACT Under 14 team play host team Northern NSW in the early afternoon in a gritty game that was more a contest of individual skills than strategic play. The game ended in a 3-3 draw in which the speed and determination of the ACT team matched the greater power and physicality of NNSW, whose players mainly towered over their ACT counterparts. Julia de Angelis and Bridget Calabria were able to maintain the momentum of the ACT team under sometimes daunting pressure.
ACT started strongly and quickly went ahead through Hayley Armstrong striking from the middle of the defensive line. Maddie Whittall followed up with a near-miss after the ball escaped from a crowded midfield, but NNSW responded with a powerful strike from Kally Ann Lewis that was just over the bar. Tulia Palozzi tucked away a rebound a few minutes to equalise, but ACT took the lead again when Hayley Armstrong took a very slim opportunity to slam home a short pass into the bottom corner of the net. ACT had the better of the next period of play, with the threatening NNSW strikers receiving little service from their midfield.A poorly timed ACT tackle in their penalty area escaped penalisation but resulted in a marked increase in the roughness of play. Tulia Palozzi brought the score level again at 2-2 when she netted for NNSW from a penalty area melee and striker Kally Ann Lewis received a yellow card soon afterwards.
This did not prevent her from picking up a loose ball and driving it home to put NNSW into the lead 3-2, and she would have extended their lead further but for an excellent save from ACT keeper Jessica Giovinazzo. ACT substitute Caitlin Cantrell's speed allowed to intercept a poor goal clearance and equalise the score at 3-3. The last 15 minutes saw missed opportunities at both ends, with Jessica Giovinazzo making some dramatic last-ditch saves from the feet of oncoming strikers, but with neither side able to grasp victory.
The ACT Under 15s played Queensland, widely regarded as the powerhouse of women's football in Australia. Queensland prevailed 3-1, with the ACT strugling for cohesion in the later part of the game after a good start, with three shots on goal narrowly missing their mark in the first 20 minutes before Thalia Backhouse slipped the ball over the Queensland goalkeeper to give ACT a 1-0 lead. This advantage slipped away a few minutes later when Queensland's Kate Archibald converted an angled free kick unnecessarily conceded by the ACT on the right wing just outside the penalty area to bring the score to 1-1. The ACT played strongly, with defender Siena Senatore managing to thwart the Queensland attack through the centre and Natalie de Marco sending the ball just wide of the Queensland goal after an excellent build-up just before the break.
However, after the break Queensland asserted themselves more, and only excellent goalkeeping from Phoebe Worth stopped Queensland from going ahead in the first 10 minutes, but Amber Maxwell eventually sent the ball past her to give Queensland a 2-1 lead. A tiring ACT team were not able to maintain pressure when they they were able to get the ball forward, despite having a number of chances, and Lucy Iannou sealed the match for Queensland with 5 minutes to go with a 3-1 final scoreline.
Despite the loss, the ACT Under 15s can take credit for holding a team drawn from a much larger pool of potential players for the majority of the game.
Both the Under 14s and Under 15s take on Victoria tomorrow morning.