2009 ROUND 3

LUSC Women vs Bundoora Utd 2-2

Goals:

Holgate, Rosie (1)
Pettit , Tory (1)

Goals Assists:

Pettit, Tory (1)

Go Back to Women's First Team Page here


Quality Football from the Latrobe Uni Womens Soccer Team

Playing their first home game of the season, the La Trobe Uni Womens team faced high flying Bundoora in what ended up being a pulsating game and one which showed the football quality of the Latrobe team. Disappointingly no FFV referee showed up to officiate and it was going to have ramifications throughout the 90 minutes. A large crowd in attendance witnessed a fast paced high energy quality match.

Bundoora came out of the stronger of the two sides and were immediately putting pressure on the Latrobe defence. Their first real chance was almost gifted as Hannah Matthew-Prosser, in goals, fumbled the ball but quickly grabbed it at the second attempt, denying the Bundoora forward from latching onto it.

The Latrobe defence were playing nervously and struggling to contain the Bundoora attacks. Some clever play got through our defence and the shot easily beat Hannah. It was 0-1 after only 12 minutes. Lisa Doyle, playing her first game, defended well and stopped a threatening attack but still Bundoora had the edge. Splitting the defence the Bundoora forward’s shot went just wide.

But then Latrobe shook off their early nerves and began to get back into the game. Nice interpassing and holding onto the ball enabled them to move the ball up the field. Tory Pettit received the ball and her shot was well saved by the Bundoora keeper, parrying it over the bar. Tory took the resulting corner and swung a vicious cross. The keeper couldn’t handle the pace of the ball and it dropped into the goals. It was 1-1 and it took Latrobe only 6 minutes to equalise.

Now it was all Latrobe. Jenna Carson played the ball to Tory who passed it onto Nicole Mills. Her shot went wide. The ball was won back and this time Tory found Rosie Holgate in a threatening position but she was blocked. Bundoora had a chance to score when a lovely turn left our defenders stranded but the shot was brilliantly saved by Hannah. Immediately Latrobe replied with Tina Schmidt finding Justine Marum who shot across goal. Rosie raced in but missed a golden opportunity to score.

Then Bundoora were given the first of the highly dubious decisions as a free kick was awarded against Latrobe. Justice was done as the resulting shot went well over. Another free kick was well saved by Hannah. Jenna was outstanding in the middle of the park as she fought tenaciously, winning every tackle. She played a pass to Nicole who fed Tory, but her shot went over. Rosie regained the ball and worked her way through. Her cross was dropped by the keeper and Justine latched onto it, only for the shot to be charged down.

Bundoora were flustered as the first half ended.

The second half was only a minute old when Latrobe played some brilliant football. Melanie Meehan was outstanding in defence, curtailing every effort of her opponent and then launching a counter attack. Justine received the ball and quickly played it to Tory, who in turn passed to Rosie. She found Tina but her shot went over. The move brought applause from the crowd who were being entertained by this creative Latrobe side.

The passing and movement of Latrobe was now affecting Bundoora and the start of the cynical challenges began to creep into the game. Tina was chopped down but no free was given. This was followed shortly after with another challenge from behind on Tory. The free kick was reached by Tina but she couldn’t convert.

Then Latrobe again attacked with Nicole passing to Tory. Tory turned and gave the ball to Rhiannon Streitberger. Her effort was cleared for a corner. The corner was floated in and Rosie was first to it. Her shot hit the cross bar and dropped in. Tina made sure with her header putting the ball in the back of the net. Latrobe were 2-1 up. Bundoora responded with aggressive tackles and two Latrobe players were hobbling on the field, having been subjected to rough treatment. The ‘referee’ was now ignoring the tackles from behind and awarding questionable free kicks to Bundoora, which began to unsettle the Latrobe side, not to mention the crowd. He spoke at length with two Latrobe players in separate incidents and there was a danger that the Latrobe girls would lose their composure.

Melanie Meehan was defending with real passion and refused to yield. Even when her opponent went past her, Mel raced back and won the ball repeatedly. Rosie was coming more into the game and her darting runs and passes were splitting the defence of Bundoora. Another excellent venture by Latrobe had Nicole on the wing and her delivery into the penalty area just eluded Rosie and a certain goal.

But Bundoora were not giving up. They kept pressing their attacks though Hannah was equal to the challenges, collecting many loose balls in the penalty area. Another rough tackle and it effectively reduced the movement of a Latrobe player in the middle of the park for the rest of the game.

It began to increase the tension as both sides had chances and time was ticking away. Latrobe were desperate in defence and Bundoora were launching everything they could. In the meantime Rosie again weaved her way through the defence and her pass to Justine had a little too much weight to it. Nevertheless Justine managed to get a foot to it and it hit the crossbar.

Jenna copped another tackle to the ankle and hobbled off. Bundoora took advantage of this and with their next attack managed to beat the defence and place a shot that just rolled in just wide of Hannah. With only 2 minutes to go it was 2-2. Now both sides incredibly raised the tempo even further. Another rough tackle on Tory, effectively ended her contribution. With time ticking away it was clear that both sides were exhausted.

The final whistle was greeted by a cheer and applause from the crowd who were thoroughly entertained.

Latrobe Uni Captain Mel Meehan said “I thought we played very well last Sunday despite the difficult playing conditions. It was unfortunate that we did not have an official referee and that instead we had a parent from the opposition as ref. While having an FFV referee may not have changed the final score, it would have prevented some of the rough play that was exhibited on the field. We rose to the challenge of playing Bundoora and we kept fighting for the whole game. We also did not turn on each other when things got tough, especially when they scored their second goal. That is a testament to the character of our squad.”

Jenna Carson added “I had heard that Bundoora was a very tough team to play and was nervous for Sunday's game. Once we got on the field though, our team proved that we had what it took to deliver an exciting and challenging game. I think we had a lot of excellent plays and believe everyone was more than happy with our performance. I thought we had the game, but unfortunately in the last 5 minutes Bundoora managed to score. I think it's safe to say everyone was sore after such a challenging match!”

Coach Victor Sekulov said “We always knew that Bundoora were technically a great side and possibly the best in the league. So we had to counter that by being tactically clever. We outsmarted them for large parts of the game and in the process played quality football. Our players outshone their opponents, many who came into the game with high reputations.”

“Being a goal down I was concerned about the character of my players but they showed it to me, their opponents and the large crowd that witnessed a great game of football, by coming back and then taking the lead. And they did this with two key players missing, having to deal with some atrocious tackling, particularly tackles from behind and very biased refereeing especially when our opponents fell behind.”

“Unfortunately we could not hold onto the lead as the rough tackling was taking its toll on the players and I had to make changes not at my choosing. It unsettled the squad and they took advantage of that and equalised shortly after.”

“One of my aims when I came to this club was to ensure we played intelligent and entertaining football and in the process earn respect. On Sunday, Latrobe Uni Womens soccer club did just that. The girls walked off the field with their heads held high and achieved a result all the more credible with what they had to deal with. We have made the rest of the competition take notice.”

Next week’s game is against the other favourite for the title – Western Eagles. Currently sitting in 2nd spot, the Eagles have not lost a competitive game in over two years. Victor Sekulov commenting on the game said “The 2009 draw is really not to our advantage. Having to face tough teams in a row is difficult. We have a number of players with bruises and injuries after the weekend’s game, so we need to refocus and plan our strategy to deal with a squad carrying a number of injuries going into this crucial game and mount a challenge against another quality side. Once again, I believe Latrobe Uni will step up to the challenge.”