Things are drawing to a close at the NJC for our Under 14 and Under 15 Girls teams. They have both performed well according to reports from up North. More on this with their return to Canberra. Final positioning will be confirmed today and while neither team will win its age group, we all hope that some of the ACT girls makes the "All Stars" teams for the final exhibition game. More to follow as soon as we get it.
Two parents (Eddie Senatore and Simon Kravis) of players in both teams have kindly forwarded the NPL progress reports from Day 3 of competition.
Day 4 Results
- ACT Under 14s - Draw 1-1 (ACT v NSW Metro)
- ACT Under 15 - Win 5-1 (ACT v Tasmania)
Westfield Football Federation Australia National Youth Championship for Girls BCU Stadium, Coffs Harbour
Thu 14 July 2011
The ACT Under 14s drew 1-1 with NSW Metropolitan this morning in a fast, open game with strong competition for every loose ball. The ACT defended resolutely, with midfielder Julia de Angelis providing the defensive linchpin with tireless running and concentration and striker Caitlin Cantrill harrying the NSW defence with her speed and footwork.
The game opened with a period of complete dominance by NSW, who had yet to concede a single goal in ladder games in the Championship. Despite this impressive record, their performance had been inconsistent with the team failing to extend a massive 5-0 first half lead against Victoria in the second half. In the first 10 minutes NSW had four shots on goal, two from free kicks conceded in sometimes desperate defence, with NSW midfielder Alycia Macqueen orchestrating attack after attack. ACT at this stage looked as though they would be chasing the remainder of the game, but an innocuous seeming pass from Ruth Kravis near the half way line initiated a twisting run from Caitlin Cantrill that finished with a narrow-angle shot slipping past the NSW goalkeeper to give the ACT a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. NSW pressed hard in response and sent a shot over tha bar after 30 minutes, but the short-passing ACT game allowed them to retain the initiative.
The second half opened dramatically with a clumsy tackle from the ACT resulting in a penalty after 3 minutes, but ACT keeper Georgina Worth parried the kick from Hayley Evans. ACT striker Caitlin Cantrill collected a yellow card soon afterwards, and NSW drove a free kick into the ACT net but the goal was ruled offside. NSW piled on the pressure with a stab from Ruby Mosca at a well-placed cross just missing the ACT goal, but the ACT defence worked well. A fine high save from Georgina Worth kept NSW from equalising at 15 minutes, but but a few minutes later a short pass found Rhianna Pollicina unmarked in front of the ACT goal and she slammed home an equaliser. The period after this saw both teams and many spectators throw all their efforts into clinching the game, but the 1-1 score remained at the final whistle.
The ACT Under 14s will be placed 3rd or 4th in the Group A ladder, depending on the results of games played on Friday.
The ACT Under 15s faced Tasmania later in the day. The Tasmanian team this year came exclusively from Hobart, with a population of just over 200,000 people.The team had played together in the Southern Premier League in Tasmania this season, and this cohesion helped them to deflect the ACT for the first half, assisted by poor finishing from the ACT strikers, and give them a 1-0 lead at half-time when Bella Young tapped home a well-delivered cross from speedy striker Stacia Hutchinson. The second half saw ACT assert themselves with an equaliser from Eloise O'Brien from a Thalia backhouse cross after 2 minutes. This was followed by a strong solo run and finish from Olivia Gurney to take the score to 2-1, with a further two goals from Thalia Backhouse and another from Olivia Gurney. The ACT defence faced little challenge in the second half, but Emma Kirk and Siena Senatore were effective in stopping Tasmanian attacks and the game closed with a final scoreline of 5-1 to the ACT.