Blacktown City 1 St George 1
The penultimate round of the Football NSW League One Women’s Under 20s threw up a crunching encounter between two mid-table teams that hinged on a moment of pure controversy. After Hayley Reynolds had fired Blacktown City ahead ten minutes before half time, there were barely 60 seconds before goalkeeper Emma Kociper was taken out fielding a cross from a sweeping St George attack, and Sasha Stanger Lekosis took full advantage from the ensuing scramble to shoot into the empty net with the home team’s goalkeeper clearly hurt on the ground. The under-fire referee almost lost control of the contest as passions ran high, but tempers had cooled by the second half and an entertaining match ended in handshakes and smiles as Blacktown City’s final home game of the season ended all square.
A strong breeze at Landen Stadium gave the home team a chance to use the advantage, and they were off to a fast start, Issy Saunders playing a neat one-two with Brianna Tinney and firing a shot into the side netting. This was always going to be a tight contest though, the two teams separated by only four points and four places in the table, and St George flexed their muscles when Alana Kozul raced into the box, fed Amy Bennett who teed up a shot from Hannah Kim from the edge of the area, but the effort lacked venom and Kociper pounced on the shot.
Kozul then won a corner on the St George right, Lily Stark meeting with a header at the near post, but the ball was well wide. A raking ball from Annabelle Gerard then found Niamh Nolan racing down the right, and she won a corner off Stark. The corner from Emily Jackson saw Lily Thompson rise, but her header was easily saved by Arabella Penfold in the St George goal.
There was a heart-stopping moment for Gerard soon after when Lekosis found space on the right to fire in a stinging cross and the Blacktown captain sliced the ball towards her own goal, Kociper doing well to prevent the own goal with a reflex save. Jasmine Sidoti and Lekosis then combined on the right of the City penalty area, Lekosis firing wildly over.
City then had a great chance when a deep free kick from Gerard sailed over the St George defence; Saunders was the only one reading the flight of the ball as it caught the wind and she strode on unchallenged, firing in a powerful shot that smashed off the outside of the post to safety. The referee was pulling up cheap free kicks while missing the big hits, but St George couldn’t profit from a generous free-kick on the right and the score remained goalless.
When Jackson played in Saunders again on the right, the pacy winger cut in, but the choice to shoot with the right foot only saw a toe-poke straight at the keeper with no power behind it. Great work by Lucia Franulovic then saw Saunders fire in a rasping shot that whistled wide. The pressure continued, Reynolds and Tinney combining on the left, a big switch from Tinney finding Saunders in space, but the shot was weak, and St George got away with leaving the back door open.
Kozul then won a corner on the right. From the cross, Kim fired in a low shot that saw Kociper unsighted, but she managed to bundle the curling effort past the post with an unconventional save. A dreadful free kick from Stark bobbled well wide, and when Lekosis made a darting run into the area, Abby Duggan was there to sweep up. The tide was turning, and Kociper was forced into a fabulous low save with Lekosis free in the box to fire in a scorching effort.
City again threatened when Tinney took advantage of the breeze and raced onto a long ball, but her shot was smashed over the bar. Franulovic was then furious with the referee when she was being held right in front of the match official, the whistle eventually sounding accompanied by a frustrated yell and an angry glance from the busy midfielder. Gerard won another corner, Jackson lifting the ball in and Tinney smashing a deflected shot wide for another corner. Saunders took the corner this time and when the ball was recycled, the defence was prised open to leave Reynolds in space. She had time to control and fired in a low shot that Penfold blocked, but the ball rolled out of her grasp and into the goal for a dramatic opening goal.
The dust had barely settled when Duggan was taken out, the City midfield caught upfield, and an expansive move saw a dangerous cross fired in. Kociper rose under pressure to palm away the ball but was flattened in the follow through and looked in trouble on the ground. Play continued though and the ball worked out to the edge of the area where Lekosis was one of two free players, and she fired the ball into the unguarded net with the City defenders calling for the game to be stopped.
With Kociper given extensive treatment and helped off the field with a knee injury, that gave the crowd and the indignant bench plenty of time to let the official know their thoughts on the sequence of events that led to the equalising goal. Coach Jake Gomez pleaded the case for a free kick and was swiftly shown a yellow card in the unwinnable argument with the unmoved official.
The game almost turned again when a ridiculous clearance from a short goal kick was intercepted by Saunders, but with her confidence perhaps knocked by the previous events, she chose to pass instead of shooting, and Tinney was forced to make the most of the hospital pass, ending on the floor in agony. Saunders and Gerard were incensed once more, the captain defending her troops against the increasingly agitated official.
Half time had ticked over as Tinney received treatment, and the players made their way to the changing rooms as the referee called on crowd control to calm the unimpressed spectators. Absolute comedy scenes at Landen Stadium for this final home game of the 2024 season, an unprecedented level of furore for an Women’s Under 20s game.
The second half was in its infancy and Blacktown had come out firing. Saunders was freed on the right and she played in the perfect low cross for Tinney, racing in under a challenge, but she could only get the slightest touch when anything more substantial would have resulted in a definite goal. The follow up from Saunders ended up in the side-netting.
St George were keen to hit back at the other end, Duggan forced to head behind as Chloe Ryan lifted a long free kick into the area. Bennett rose for the header but copped a knock for her troubles, another delay in the game as she received care from the physio ahead of yet another corner.
Tinney then dished out her own rough treatment, sending Stark to the floor with a wild challenge to earn a deserved yellow card. The crowd was playing the part of the pantomime audience, and the referee was jeered as he got in the way of a ball. This game of a thousand injuries then took another twist as Courtney Mackenzie, deputising for the injured Kociper, got down well to block a shot but took a boot to the head, another long delay as the young keeper was cleared to continue.
The game had become a midfield tussle. Great play up the left by Nolan saw her combine with Reynolds, and Tinney did well to flick a pass in to Jackson, who fired in a shot that flew past the post. Jackson then set Tinney away on the left to win a corner from Sienna Borrill. Saunders lifted in a dangerous corner that was headed away at the near post, the City corners failing to make any impression.
Thompson was penalised for going through the back of Borrill, which led to Maiya Perdikaris smashing in a shot from distance, but Nicola Ciocca got her head to it to divert the ball for a corner.
Saunders raced up the right onto a ball from Aurelia Smith and won a corner. This time Jackson went short and Saunders lifted in a cross, but Penfold was alert. Another lengthy stoppage saw the City physio invited back onto the field to check on Reynolds after she had self-inflicted a falcon of such ferocity that the great Mario Fenech would be nodding with approval. A firm ball to the eye was enough to keep the speedy winger on the ground for some time, and City showed their naivety when the game restarted, allowing St George all the time in the world from the drop ball to fire in a cross instead of being in their opponents’ faces and forcing them backwards.
Eliza Mok was left free on the left to fire in a shot as St George ended the game on the attack, but Mackenzie saved, and when Victoria Falas raced onto a speculative through-ball, Mackenzie hesitated and cleared the ball straight into Falas, the ball bouncing just out of her reach and wide of the open goal. The final whistle was a relief; this mid-table end-of-season encounter had ‘draw’ written all over it, but the only surprise was the manner in which the scores were levelled in the first half.
Well done to both sets of players for maintaining control after a first half littered with incident, and this result sets up an interesting end to the league season next week. If St George can hold Bankstown in their final game of the season, then Blacktown City will have the opportunity of a top-half finish if they can get a result at Camden as the curtain comes down on the 2024 season.
One more game. A season of promise, and a massive improvement on the previous season, the Blacktown City girls will look back on this year with mixed feelings. Goals have been hard to come by, despite the defensive stats being impressive, and the bloated squad with first grade players taking Under 20s spots on many an occasion has left some team members with limited game time. Contrast those frustrations with the warm feeling of family that has been nurtured within this group of footballers by superstar manager Ange Franulovic and the senior players and the overwhelming feeling is that the season has been a success. Coach Jake Gomez will be taking charge of Blacktown’s final Under 20s game next weekend before his move to NPL1 and we then enter the unnerving and stressful period where players find out their future direction in football as the league structure is altered.
Thanks for your readership. We’ll be at Rone Dine Memorial Reserve next Sunday to bring you the action from the final round ever of the FNSW League One Women’s Under 20s. Make sure you like, share and tell all your friends and family about this news feed, and we’ll keep bringing you the best coverage of NPL.
