Nepean FC 0 Blacktown City 3
A hastily arranged change of venue to overcome yet another rainy week in Sydney gave Blacktown City the opportunity to play on the fantastic surface of Jamison Park in South Penrith, and they triumphed over Nepean to continue their aspirations of a top-half finish. A close-range header from Brianna Tinney gave City the lead, and a rasping effort from livewire Issy Saunders had the visitors up 2-0 at the break. A second half, that saw Nepean come back strongly in the wintry drizzle, remained goalless until the very last kick off the game as Hayley Reynolds sprung the offside trap to race through and complete the scoring. Blacktown reacted well to the threat from the home team, and this result brings retribution following the opening day hiccup at Landen Stadium.
The beautiful surface of Jamison Park warmed the arriving City players as they stepped into the bitterly cold July evening, but they knew they had a job to do against a stubborn opponent who took them all the way back in March. City were on the front foot straight away, Reynolds racing up the right to feed Saunders, but the shot was well saved by Samantha Callaghan. Another expansive move moments later saw Reynolds and Saunders combine, Abby Duggan raced up the left and delivered a dangerous low cross that fellow full-back Aurelia Smith was a whisker away from connecting with. Sam Wickremeratne’s clever chip was then just too long for Tinney as Blacktown stamped their authority on the game.
Nepean did boast a very lively forward line, and Aaliyah Kennedy found room on the right to test the City defence before Tinney upended her opponent in the middle of the park to slow down the game. The insistence of Nepean playing out from the back was working, despite some heart-stopping close-calls as Tinney closed down Callaghan, and City won a corner when Sienna Bell’s challenge ricocheted off a defender. Emily Jackson’s inswinging corner saw Tinney rise to meet with a header, but it was glanced wide of the target.
Annabel Femia was running the Nepean midfield, and it was her good work that saw Caitlin Abbass release Kennedy on the right but the City defence scrambled well. City then struck as Reynolds raced away after two defenders missed a through ball. Reynolds won the corner, Jackson fired a fizzing ball into the six-yard box and Tinney was first to the ball, guiding her header into the net and wheeling away in celebration. Was this the first goal that Blacktown City have scored from a corner all season? It was definitely coming, and Tinney was making sure she was connecting with every header.
Saunders smashed a shot straight at Callaghan from a wide free-kick on the right, Tinney released Reynolds, who was having a field-day on the right, and Tinney raced on to meet the cross, but Callaghan was there to smother. The game had opened up, and Abbass was becoming a threat up the Nepean right. But the next chance fell to Blacktown, and once again it was Reynolds, galloping up the right to the byline, and her cross sparked a furious scramble in the area which the Nepean defence did well to force away with Tinney and Saunders circling like vultures.
Abbass then found space on the left and swept in a cross that City goalkeeper Emma Kociper intercepted and gathered at the second attempt with Kennedy in attendance. Kennedy then raced onto a Kyla Grosse pass that tied Annabelle Gerard up in knots, and she advanced on goal but fired wide with the goal at her mercy, a great chance spurned by the home team. Great skills by Arlo Hamel then set Grosse away, and she fed Kennedy, but the low shot was saved by Kociper. City had to be alert and they knew they were in a contest.
Reynolds’ dominance of the right hand side continued as she swung in another cross that was just too long for Saunders, and Tinney intercepted Callaghan’s clearance to feed Wickremeratne, but her shot lacked power and Callaghan could breathe deeply with the ball safely back in her hands.
A cheeky push by Tinney as she made room to control a high ball was seen by the referee, and the expert whistler also kept his eye on a Nepean player who controlled a stray ball from the neighbouring game and tried to play on as if it was hers. An unfortunate slip on the slick surface by Gerard saw Kennedy race away, but Duggan was quickly on the scene to clear up the danger.
The end-to-end action continued as Reynolds combined with Bell to feed Wikremeratne, but again the shot lacked power and Callaghan was right behind it. Zaynab Zahid then played in Kennedy, who raced through, but Duggan was again quick to react to close down the danger, coach Jake Gomez having reacted to the danger of the swift forward line by shuffling his pack. Megan Lyne then fed the sprightly Abbass on the right who couldn’t find room for the cross; City were living dangerously.
It was some relief then, not long before the half-time break, that City notched a second goal. Bell showed industry on the left of the City attack and fed Saunders inside. The in-form striker rode a challenge and unleashed a rocket, the ball hitting the back of the net with force past the unlucky Callaghan, who had no time to react. What a finish, and what a boost for City, finally turning their enterprise into goals. An immediate response from Nepean saw Abbass rampage down the right before cutting in, but the low shot was easily saved by Kociper and the half-time whistle allowed the players to regroup and get warm in the changing rooms on an increasingly chilly evening.
City came out firing in the second half. Jackson released Saunders, but her dinked cross found no one. Reynolds repeated her first-half repertoire, racing to the byline to cross, where Saunders miskicked spectacularly, but when the ball was forced back in by Reynolds, Tinney fired just over the bar under pressure.
Jackson played in Saunders with a neat ball that resulted in a corner. Jackson went short this time and Saunders fired over from the angle. Niamh Nolan and Reynolds combined to tee up Tinney, who won yet another corner. This time the cross was cleared as Nicola Ciocca challenged, and Saunders jinked past two defenders to fire a shot just past the post. This was total dominance by the visitors, and Nepean were hemmed into their own half. Lily Thompson’s expert through ball the found Saunders, who was happy to win another corner, but this time Callaghan was adjudged to have been fouled when the ball was swung into the penalty area.
Reynolds was released by Tinney and raced away down the right. Her low cross was just ahead of Saunders, who picked up the ball wide on the left and took on her defender, a suggestion of a foul in the penalty area waved away by the referee. Another good run by Tinney then saw Saunders take the ball on, Callaghan producing a fine save to keep the score at 2-0.
Ciocca was commanding in defence – when she shouted for the ball, she was winning it – and when her header found Lara Green, the winger took on the Nepean defence on a dramatic solo run, almost squeezing through to get a shot away before being crowded out.
The arrival of drizzle gave the game an even more wintry feel, and with it went City’s ascendency of the game. A wild slash sent a ball out for a corner to Nepean, which was easily dealt with, but when the ball was eventually returned up the field, Kennedy had dashed clear, but the offside flag was up. Grosse fired in a shot from distance that Kociper saved, and moments later Abbass let fly from a similar position, again Kociper standing her ground well to show safe handling.
The game was disintegrating with the weather. Ciocca was checked by Kennedy who had tested the patience of the referee and was booked. City had introduced Alex Attard in an attempt to stifle the home team, who were looking the most likely to score the next goal. A comedic push in the back by Green was spotted by the referee and a long ball found Kennedy, who took advantage of a slip by Ciocca to fire in a shot, Kociper saving down low. Nepean were on the hunt.
Kennedy was a constant thorn in the City defence, and when Gerard got nowhere near a header, she was away. Ciocca chased her down, but she still managed to get a shot in, Kociper equal to it on the greasy surface. The moment everyone had been waiting for saw Jess Harkin enter the field for her first appearance of the season, and she was straight into the action, fouling her midfielder as a welcome present. Kennedy’s effort from distance bounced easily through for Kociper.
The game had become scrappy. Green had to reach to make a header that would have seen two Nepean players spring the offside trap, and from there, Saunders gave us a lovely moment of skill in midfield to turn and slide a ball through for the on-rushing Reynolds. The pacy forward took a touch and smashed a shot just over the bar, and that looked like being the final chance of the evening. However, with the referee looking at his watch, a speculative long ball from Nolan found Reynolds, whose control seemed to take her by suprise, and she advanced to beat the advancing Callaghan with the last kick of the game, City grabbing their third goal as the final whistle sounded, the players all congratulating Reynolds for capping off a five-star performance.
Nepean had battled valiantly in the second half here at Jamison Park this evening, but a superb first-half showing by Blacktown City gave them an unassailable lead which was only embellished in the final moment of the match. City have rejoined the pack at the top end of the table, but with many wash-out games to be played, they may find themselves off the pace again very quickly. A home game against the team just above them in the ladder, SD Raiders, could be a pivotal moment as the season enters the home straight. Nepean’s startling loss of form has seen them slip to within three points of the bottom of the league, but on tonight’s showing they should have no problem picking up further points to steer themselves the other way.
We have eight rounds remaining of the 2024 season. Have Central Coast Mariners left it too late, will Hills United slip up, and can Mt Druitt keep up the pace to hunt down first place? The excitement continues, stay tuned!
Thanks for reading. A thoroughly abysmal set of photos in the low light with an inappropriate camera, hopefully there’s a few in there that paint the picture of a wet and miserable night out on the park. More football to come! Like and share and get everyone reading all about the League One Women’s Under 20s.