Virginia Climb To Sixth
- Will Gallett
- May 12, 2017
- 3 min read
Virginia United 2 (Fornataro 53’, 83’ pen) The Gap 1 (Biba 75’ pen) HT: 0 – 0 Played at Albert Bishop Park
The opening 45 minutes wasn't much to be savoured for with neither side being able to carve out dangerous chances. Without usual striker Georgia Harper, The Gap seemed to be missing the same level of threat up front. It was The Reds who were arguably the better side for much of the opening period, having the better of possession and the chances in the opening 40 minutes. The best of them came when Monica Tracey stepped up to take a set piece, but Jessica Anderson in The Gap goal, needed only to shuffle a few steps to the right to catch comfortably. Anderson and her opposite Amelia Bradley, didn't have much to do for their sides and were required only to collect heavy touches or passes in their penalty area to quell the oppositions attack. As the half waned, the final 5 minutes of the period saw The Gap really begin to attack the Virginia goal. Lauren Askin had the Gators best chance of the half after she found the ball in a dangerous area in the box, but she couldn't find the finish to put her side ahead, firing over the bar. What we'd seen so far hadn't quite been spectacular, but the opening goal of the match was exactly that. She'll probably say it was a shot but Rebecca Fornataro's miss hit cross from almost the goal line, managed to find its way into the back of the net swirling over the head of Anderson. But the Gap got their chance to retaliate when a fairly innocuous challenge bought down Juliana Silva. Besa Biba stood up to convert with an excellent driven penalty into the bottom right corner. Virginia weren't disheartened though and Lacey had another strike go close to finding the net, this time clambering a shot into the bar. It was back and forth from here with both sides getting at each others defence on the break. But Virginia were the ones rewarded for their attacking intent, when Referee Georgina Adnum levelled the penalty ledger, awarding the Reds a spot-kick for handball, with just under 10 minutes to play. Fornataro stood over the dead ball and got herself a brace getting past Anderson despite The Gap custodian guessing the right way. The Reds secured their second win of the season after continuing to defend well and hold off a fleeting Gap attack desperate for an equaliser in the dying minutes. With their second win of the season over a decent scalp, the three points could really be huge when it comes down to the end of the season. Continuing to grind games out and get results at home like this will be vital if United are to prolong their stay in the Mt. Franklin Women’s Premier League. They leapfrog their opponents from tonight and move into 6th on the ladder and will remain there heading into Round 8.
Coaches Remarks:
Jordan Leatherdale (Virginia): “We were really pleased with the performance. It was gutsy, we managed to nullify a very attacking Gap team. A good team going forward, with some really good players. It’s a result that helps us bounce back from last week’s loss to Peninsula Power. It’s a lot more what we expect as performance, from individual players who are now stepping up into the BPL”.
Kelvin Wheeler (The Gap): “We didn’t perform well in the end today, but I don’t feel like we deserved to lose it. We battled out, got back into the game after going one down but we just couldn’t hold onto it”.
Match Stats:
Overall Possession: 56%-44% Shots on Target: 7-6 Shots off Target: 8-1 Corners: 5-5 Free Kicks: 5-3 Offsides: 5-0 Yellow Cards: 0-0 Red Cards: 0-0
Team line-ups
Virginia United: Amelia Bradley, Courtney Mitchell, Stephanie Sexton, Natalie Gutierrez, Chloe Hill, Rebecca Fornataro, Monica Tracy, Jamie-Lee Stephens, Jessica-Lee Langham, Juliana Gorizia, Kate Tully, Alora Sylvester, Erin Foran, Grace Henderson
The Gap: Jessica Anderson, Lauren Askin, Besa Biba, Tiffany Dibley, Jamie Dillon, Jessica Hogg, Sarah Miller, Juliana Silva, Peri Warwick, Georgia Bailey, Kirsty Muir, Erin Sandford
REFEREE: Georgina Adnum
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