Hills United 1 Blacktown City 0
A goal deep into the second half of an absorbing game at the home of Football NSW saw Hills United maintain their unblemished record against a hard-working Blacktown City on Tuesday night. Valentine Park was on a knife-edge until Charlotte Mear beat the offside trap and rounded goalkeeper Courtney Mackenzie to grab the only goal of the game. Up until then, Blacktown had soaked up the pressure but couldn’t find the sprinkle of magic to unlock the Hills defence for the first time this year. A great advert for Girls Youth football tonight, and both teams could go on to have very productive seasons.
A hastily arranged Tuesday night fixture saw two form teams meet, Hills having kept clean sheets in every game this season while City were coming off the back of an excellent win against St George. With the return of Zoe Thompson into the City squad for her first appearance of the season, City went into the game confident but aware that the task may prove to be one step too far. The expert defence of goalkeeper Harkeerat Bhari behind Samara Chiert and Ava Ayres were eyeing off another shut-out, but the game started with City on the front foot.
Liliana Waterhouse was tenacious in the tackle on the left for Blacktown, but couldn’t get past the last defender, Emilie Chandran did well to force her attacker to concede a goal kick, but Dominique Ashton was meanwhile down on the floor in anguish. The central defender was helped from the field to be replaced by Thompson and City’s stocks were depleted almost immediately.
Hills looked impressive in possession, Chiert to Mear, who crossed well, Mackenzie able to field the ball well in the Blacktown goal. The lively Amelie Armstrong cut inside to fire in a shot which flashed wide of the post, but City were giving as good as they got. Waterhouse was foraging up the left before Emily Jackson placed a delightful through ball into the path of Sienna Bell, but goalkeeper Bhari was swiftly out. It was the little things that City were doing well, Chandran making a great clearance as the game threatened to open up on the right, and Jackson picking the pocket of Addison Xerri to set up an attack.
Armstrong and Makiah Bardsley combined on the right, Thompson conceding the corner, and when Mackenzie couldn’t hold the ball from the cross, a scramble saw Aurelia Smith ease her defender off the ball to allow her goalkeeper to snuff out the chance. Armstrong versus Chandran was a great battle on the Hills right, but from a clearance, Jackson swept a long ball out to Lara Green racing up the right hand side. Some clever juggling held up play while the cavalry arrived, and her ball in was just too strong for Smith who had darted into the box looking for a chance.
Smith and Chandran played their intricate football on the left to make advances before Bell released Rachel Fry with a superb ball to try her luck before the ball was cleared. City just couldn’t get into the Hills penalty area, and Hills broke upfield, Armstrong racing through to fire in a shot that was saved by Mackenzie and when the ball popped out favourably to the Hills player, Thompson launched herself to block the shot with the goal unguarded. A potentially match-changing moment.
Keeva LeMaire took a big hit to the head as Mackenzie went for the big clearance from point-blank range, Angelica Conate did well to step in front of her player to win a free kick which allowed Green to race up the right and beat her player, but Bhari was there to cut out the danger. The City defence was resolute, although Mackenzie’s pass to Conate was drilled with venom and Waterhouse had to be alert to help out her defender to clear the danger. A corner was blocked brilliantly by Conate, and City threatened to break, but Armstrong and Sydney Miller conbined well to play their way out of trouble.
The closest City came was a peculiar moment when a long punt from Mackenzie was headed down by Evdokia Papfilopoulos and Green launched an up-and-under which was going towards goal, but Bhari kept her concentration and fielded the bomb to preserve her team’s perfect record. Another good win by Papafilopolus saw Sarah De Sousa embark on a Messi-esque run through the defence, weaving past players at will, but the ultimate shot had no power and Bhari was able to field easily. Positive signs going into the break, but the game was poised and could go either way very quickly.
A harsh handball against Xerri presented City with an early chance in the second period, Jackson’s ball in was into the perfect spot for mayhem, and Bhari avoided a collision with Courtney Kitching by dummying the ball out for a goalkick. Hills looked frustrated as City badgered them in midfield, keeping them hemmed in tightly, although a booming speculator from the Hills left saw Mackenzie misjudge the generous bounce, and she had to scramble back to prevent an embarrassing goal.
The tidy Hills defence then creaked as Bhari’s clearance was picked up by Papfilopoulos, who sent the ball back with interest, but Bhari saved easily. Jackson was brought down in the middle of the park, but Kitching was too hasty with the free kick, but Waterhouse intercepted the clearance and shot just wide of the goal. Hills were shaking. City were pressing. Green was being a nuisance, blocking two clearances that could have gone anywhere as the Hills defence struggled to regain their composure.
Waterhouse then fed Smith who slashed a shot well wide, Chandran was brought down on the left, Kitching firing towards goal but Bhari again had her eyes firmly set on the ball and pushed it away before pouncing on the loose ball. An intricate one-two between Papfilopolous and Smith saw the City midfielder touch the ball around Bhari, but the wily goalkeeper stuck out an arm and dragged the ball back into her grasp with the goal untended. Had City used up all their chances? A long range effort from Miller tested Mackenzie, but City continued to create openings, De Sousa working hard to feed Waterhouse who was tackled well.
The big crowd at Valentine Park appreciated the next move as Conate’s crunching tackle prevented a Hills attack on the left; she was up in an instant to clear the ball away to roars of approval from the main stand. Miller was determined to shoot from distance, her shots not getting much purchase, but the intent was there.
Mackenzie was taking no chances, making a number of long clearances to clear the danger, but she could do nothing as a cross landed at Mear’s feet, but the striker fired disappointingly wide. A momentary lapse of concentration was all it took for Hills to grab the vital goal. Hills went straight down the middle of the park and Mear was released clean through. Mackenzie had committed early to the danger, but was beaten to the ball, Mear taking care to roll the ball into the net for 1-0, and then completely mobbed by her teammates.
Chandran and Smith then combined to sweep a ball out to Green, but she couldn’t get a cross in. Thompson moved up front in search of an equaliser, but City were striggling to get the ball out of their half. Anyka Chand raced back to foil the pacy Green who threated to break up the right, and the final minutes of the game were nothing short of frantic. Kitching played a long ball to Waterhouse, who checked back to cross in for Fry, and the City striker was close to getting a touch ahead of Bhari. Mikayla Gadd battled hard to concede a corner; a Hills player was stranded on the ground, but play went on. When Hills tried to play the ball out, a miskick saw it stay in play and City were off on the attack, amidst appeals to put the ball out. Gadd was then caught in possession but Kitching was strong and cleared the danger. City rushed to see if they could fashion a final chance, but the whistle beat them, the arms went up from the yellow shirts and Hills had won the battle.
Hills rejoiced in their derby victory, while City licked their wounds. Bell had been prevented from coming back on after taking a knock to the head, and Ashton was hobbling badly, not the best result from a tough midweek game ahead of another important derby game on the weekend. This was a tough one to take for City, but they definitely showed a resolve and fight that could have earned a result tonight. Hills should be too strong for Marconi next weekend, although some trading of results has seen some interesting scorelines so far this season. City play Blaktown Spartans at the home of Western Sydney Wanderers, a Blacktown derby that could be an indicator of where City will be heading in this inaugural Under 18s season in 2025. Stay tuned for more!
Thanks for reading. Photography at night has never been a strong point, we look forward to a sunny game next weekend. We think we’ve worked out who the mysterious number 65 was, they were down as 34 on the team sheet – they must have forgotten their shirt. Very hard to tell the numbers apart in the low quality light, it might not have even been Charlotte Mear that scored the goal. Let me know, please!