SD Raiders 1 Blacktown City 0
A single goal midway through the first half from Cayda Oncu was just enough to divide two strong sides at Ernie Smith Reserve on Sunday in the Football NSW Girls Youth League 2 Under 18s. Despite a second half dominated by the visitors, SD Raiders survived an onslaught and the width of the bar came between Blacktown City and a share of the spoils on a gloomy Mothering Sunday. An entertaining game on a beautiful surface in South West Sydney ended in frustration for Blacktown as their efforts were completely in vain, the spectre of goalscoring continuing to haunt their otherwise positive campaign.
The lush green grass of Ernie Smith Reserve was in pristine condition as the players stepped out with their mums for this Mother’s Day clash in the shadow of the building works for the new SD Raiders club house, the scene set for an intriguing contest between two miserly teams. Keneesha Patrick-Ngo lined up in the Raiders goal behind her two central defenders Harper Ingham and Millie Brown, while a shuffle of the pack for the visitors saw Zoe Thompson partner Courtney Kitching at the heart of the City defence with Courtney Mackenzie in goal. City started the brighter of the two sides, Evdokia Papafilopoulos stealing the ball on the right, playing in Brianna Tinney who teed up Lara Green, but she chose not to shoot from distance and was closed down. Papafilopoulos then went in on Brown, the Raiders’ defender remaining on the ground, the hosts knowing that they were in for a battle.
A lovely ball from Tinney into the path of Green down the City left couldn’t unlock the door, the cross easy for Patrick-Ngo, and when Aurelia Smith freed the speedy winger again, there was no way past her defender. Midfielders Angelique Chowrimootoo and Lillian Munezero then took control, Angelique Zekyrias and Sofia Knezevic combining on the right, but Thompson did well to stretch and clear the dangerous cross. Munezero’s powerful passing was a little strong for her teammates, but when her sweeping pass found Zekyrias on the right, Emilie Chandran did well to clear up for City.
A neat move from the visitors then saw Tinney flick a ball into the path of Papafilopoulos, and the busy striker raced onto the ball and fired a low shot past the post. Midfielder Emily Jackson then embarked on a mazy dribble through the centre to feed Tinney, who dug out a shot from distance that Patrick-Ngo saved comfortably. Papafilopoulos failed to chase a loose ball in the penalty area, the ball holding up on the grass, and a good opportunity was lost, the City striker perhaps used to the slick artificial surfaces where the ball would run and run.
Raiders pressed, Knezevic playing in Rayann Shahin on the left, but the cross was cut out, before Mackenzie had hearts racing with a miskick from the back that happily landed straight at Smith’s feet and City could clear their lines. Ava Zaami then beat Chandran on the right, but Thompson was in the way as Raiders turned up the heat. A huge clearance from Rachel Fry then found Papfilopoulos in a good position. She played a one-two with Tinney, but the ball back went straight through to a relieved Patrick-Ngo. Green teed up Jackson for a thirty-yard screamer that Patrick-Ngo had to pull out of the air as it arrowed goalwards.
A good break by Knezevic on the right saw her tracked all the way by Thompson, who conceded the corner. A disastrous free-kick played across the back line then almost cost City dearly, Chandran dispossessed needlessly and Charlize Fulko advanced on goal, but shot harmlessly wide with Mackenzie exposed. Munezero then stole the ball from Lily Waterhouse, but her snapshot was harmlessly wide. Fulko did remarkably well to keep the ball in on the right and Knezevic raced away with the ball towards goal, but Jackson did well to force the ball away. Munezero then played a delicious ball through for Fulko to run on to; Mackenzie thought about coming out and then realised she had no option, smothering the ball at Fulko’s feet.
City then almost snatched the lead. Tinney went down awkwardly trying to intercept a pass from goalkeeper Patrick-Ngo, and while she lay in distress in an offside position, her teammates fashioned a great chance, Waterhouse racing down the right to flash a cross across goal, Papafilopoulos just unable to get on to the ball for the finish. The unfortunate Zaami limped out of the game, before a sweet turn by Shahin saw her hunted down by Thompson to concede another corner. Shahin herself took the corner from the left, Thompson half-cleared only to Shahin in acres of space, and her pinpoint cross found the head of Oncu whose close-range header gave Mackenzie no chance. Muted celebrations suggested that the home team were expecting more, but this was by no means a comfortable ride for the hosts.
Chandran raced down the right to feed Tinney, and her shot stung the palms of Patrick-Ngo. Great play by Jackson in the corner saw her keep the ball in under heavy pressure, make her way to the byline and cross, the ball deflected behind for a corner. Incredibly neither the referee nor the assistant saw the obvious deflection and a goalkick left the City players incensed. They did eke out a corner moments later though as City turned the key, Jackson getting the ball back, and a piledriver from an acute angle was well fielded by Patrick-Ngo. City were piling on the pressure, and the half ended with Tinney teeing up Waterhouse for a strike, but Patrick-Ngo was right behind it.
With the rain starting to fall, the second half got underway at a frantic pace, Sarah De Sousa intercepting a ball and there was a suggestion of a foul on the edge of the area as she advanced, but the referee was unmoved. At the other end, City struggled to clear a bouncing ball and when Knezevic moved into position for a shot, a fabulous lunge from Chandran cleared the danger.
Mikayla Gadd raced forward and slipped a ball through for Thompson, who had moved into the striking role, but Patrick-Ngo had read the play and cleared, and the teams continued to trade blows, Chowrimootoo with a long-range shot that Mackenzie held. Thompson then raced onto a through-ball, a suspicion of offside not putting her off and she fired a shot into the side-netting as City edged closer, and a shot from distance by Green saw Patrick-Ngo show her impressive handling again. Thompson almost freed Tinney, the pass just delayed a little to allow the defence to regroup, then City almost equalised when Green took aim from 30 yards, her high shot looping over Patrick-Ngo and crashing spectacularly off the bar to excited oohs from the sideline.
Angelica Conate then coughed up possession coming out of defence, but the pacy Munezero couldn’t have expected Conate to catch her as she bore down on Mackenzie’s goal, a precision sliding tackle forcing the ball away for a corner. Chowrimootoo then turned and fired goalwards, an awkward spin on the ball almost catching out Mackenzie.
Green then battled furiously on the right, somehow riding a challenge to make it to the byline, but her cross could only hit Thompson’s legs and the ball was gratefully received by Patrick-Ngo. Kitching then rode two challenges and advanced up the left, her ball through just too far for Green on the chase, and City’s pressure was relentless. A corner on the left from Shahin took the pressure off momentarily, but Mackenzie fielded the cross and City were off on the attack again.
Another fabulous slaloming dribble through midfield from Jackson saw her lift a ball through for Fry, but the ball ran away from her, and some sparkling inter-play between Chandran, Tinney and Fry on the left almost unlocked the door. The final pass was the key, and Tinney did all the hard work to win the ball and advance, but her ball through was straight at Patrick-Ngo.
A fabulous attacking run by Jackson then saw her tease her defender and race to the edge of the area, the cut-back forced back by Thompson to Green, and a cheeky nutmeg gave her the chance to shoot, but this time the shot was high and handsome. Enterprising work from the dynamic trio of Chandran, Tinney and Fry on the left then saw Green pick up the pieces on the edge of the box, but again the shot was too high. Thompson and Fry then both passed up chances to shoot from the edge of the area, the insistence of getting closer to goal maybe the downfall for the visitors. The game was bubbling to its conclusion, the referee earning the ire of both benches with some inconsistent decisions, and the final whistle was met with stunned disbelief from the City players; they had done everything to find the equaliser but it just wouldn’t come, and the final whistle stopped their momentum in its tracks.
A frustrating game for Blacktown City. For all the sparkling football in midfield, the chances remain hard to come by, and the final ball seems to be their achilles heel. The league table confirms the issue, a return of one goal per game and a fourth 1-0 defeat telling its own story. SD Raiders will know that they were in a contest today, but they got their reward to take them into third place in the table.
Blacktown City take on Sutherland Strikers in a six-pointer next Sunday at Landen Stadium, while SD Raiders have their own key game with St George who sit level on points just behind them in the table. The quality of the football on show today was high, the endeavour from both sides commendable, and we look forward to seeing both of these teams progress as the league ladder takes shape. The future of Australian women’s football is bright.
Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there. Thanks for reading, and thanks for giving a like, a share and a comment wherever you clicked on the link. As always, any mistakes, any mistaken identity, any silly mistakes, let me know. See you all next week for more high quality football.