Annerley Edge Out Resilient Pine Hills
Annerley 1 (Smith 22’) Pine Hills 0 HT: 1-0 Played at Victoria Terrace Field
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie took her toll on Elder Oval as the fixture had to be moved across the road, but Annerley still managed to hold on and leave Pine Hills winless from their first two in the only match from Round 3 in the Mt. Franklin Women’s Premier League. The smaller field the fixture was forced to be played on didn’t play into either team’s strengths as neither took a stronghold on the match. Pine Hills set out with the intent to play out from the back and use their keeper Kathleen Paige as much as possible. At times it invited a lot of unwarranted pressure on the Hill backline and Annerley coach Anthony Costa was quick to instruct his front 3 to press as soon as they could. It was Pine Hills though, who had the first big chance of the game when Fern Doyle got on the end of a long ball but was unable to provide the finish to put her team ahead, lobbing the ball over the bar. Annerley had six corners in the opening 20 minutes of play but couldn’t manage to get on the end of any of them to test the Pythons custodian. They did finally break the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Donna Smith provided a cool finish into the far left corner. The Northside outfit didn’t drop their heads after going down and were probably unlucky to go into the break a goal behind, arguably having the better of the chances in the opening 45 minutes. As the second half began, the Pythons were again creating chances. They found themselves with a corner in the 52nd minute and Cassie Val had the ball land at her feet but she volleyed over the bar to deny her side a deserved equaliser. 15 minutes later and it was the bar that denied Shanae Houlden for the visitors as they continued to search for the goal that would level the contest. Annerley missed the chance to put the game to bed with 10 minutes remaining when Gabrielle Hein was one on one with Hills keeper Paige but she shot wide of the right post. Another corner and another near miss for Pine Hills, this time it was Fern Doyle who got her head on the end of the set piece but her effort grazed the post on its way out for a goal kick. It was a battling affair in Greenslopes, but Annerley will be pleased they’ve got three more points on the board and all eyes will be looking forward to their next game against league leaders Mitchelton. Pine Hills were much better than they were against the Gap in Round 1 and shouldn’t be too disheartened by the loss. Taking anything from Annerley at home is some feat, and a feat they probably deserved to achieve.
Coaches Remarks:
Anthony Costa (Annerley) “I think it was a very scrappy game, I don’t think either side really took control. I think playing on the smaller field didn’t suit either team. We didn’t play the ball anywhere near as good as we did against Souths. Credit to Pine Hills they play a system that makes it difficult for us, but I’ll take the 3 points.”
Ben Fuhrmann (Pine Hills) “We’re frustrated but, it was an improved performance. The next couple of weeks are going to be important for us because of the start we’ve had but to come to Annerley to only lose 1-0 is a good result. It wasn’t a great surface to play on and we tried to adapt as best we could. Yeah the first round against the Gap was disappointing and I think today was much improved and the Girls probably deserved something. It will be a big game against Easts next week.”
Match Stats:
Overall Possession 49% - 51% Shots on Target: 9 - 9
Shots off Target: 6 - 10
Corners: 11 - 5
Free Kicks: 2 - 2
Offsides: - 1 - 1
Yellow Cards: 0 – 0
Red Cards: 0 - 0
Team line-ups
Annerley: Gemma Layfield (GK), Georgia Appelhof, Jaymee Birleson, Cindy Carroll, Annika Coyne, Courtney Donsky (McNamara 73’), Gabrielle Hein, Mollie O’Connor, Maddison Rejtano, Donna Smith (Welsh 86’), Rebecca Sweeney (Deegan 53’)
Subs: Kate Deegan, Mariko Kirkcaldie, Rachael McNamara, Melissa Pirlo, Daisy Welsh.
Pine Hills: Kathleen Paige (GK), Laura Bryant, Ellie Carpathios, Fern Doyle, Laura Dunne, Sarah Fuller, Shanae Houlden (77’), Stephanie Lloyd, Caitlin O’Halloran (83’), Hanna Sherman, Cassie Vial
Subs: Jade Baker, Emma Cantrell, Lois Strachan, Megan Weir REFEREE: Allan Eedy
