15 Girls
Pittwater RSL 3 v Emu Plains 0
Pittwater RSL triumphed in a wet encounter, courtesy of a second half blitz.
The Northern Beaches side were on the front foot in the early stages. With ten minutes played, Maya Atkinson’s free kick caused havoc in the Emu Plains penalty area and Emilia Lawrence’s shot was saved by Emu Plains shotstopper Andi Simmons. A minute later, Pittwater had another chance after Andie Bonasera played a dangerous through ball – Lily Fowler saved the day for Emu Plains with two perfectly timed tackles.
Emu Plains nearly caught their opponents napping on 17 minutes as Rachel Turner looked to outrun the defence, but Pittwater goalkeeper Matilda Warren took charge to snuff out the danger. Warren’s services were required again in the 26th minute when she punched a corner kick away from the goal, with Emma Garvey’s follow up shot going wide.
It was Bonasera’s turn to go close in the 31st minute. She broke free on the right side of the penalty area and blasted the ball, drawing a fine save from Simmons. Then with the last kick of the first half, a loose ball fell for Pittwater’s Kiah Saunders, however she could not keep her shot down.
Pittwater opened the scoring four minutes into the second half when Chloe Currie intercepted the ball, found space, and curled a beautiful 25 yard shot into the bottom corner.
Chasing a second goal, Pittwater kept up the pressure and on 43 minutes Georgia Calleia tried her luck from outside the area, firing the ball over the crossbar.
In the 51st minute, Maya Atkinson gave Pittwater a 2-0 lead with a moment of magic. Atkinson stepped up for a free kick which seemed too far out to cause any problems, but her strike had the perfect trajectory to loop above the goalkeeper and over the line.
Emu Plains will still be wondering how they did not score on 59 minutes. Zara Stanford’s persistence led to a big chance and as Pittwater hesitated, Stanford’s shot on the turn hit the post. Turner appeared to have the goal at her mercy as she chased the rebound, only to be denied by Indianna Cameron’s wonderful goal-saving tackle.
Pittwater weren’t fazed by that defensive scare, sealing the win two minutes later. Currie showed a great turn of pace to beat a defender and slotted the ball in from a tight angle to make it 3-0 – a brilliant individual goal that had their fans singing in the rain.
Match Stats
Pittwater RSL 3 (Chloe Currie 39’ 61’, Maya Atkinson 51’) v Emu Plains 0
Pittwater RSL: 1. Matilda Warren, 2. Star Howell, 3. Brianna Laforest, 4. Tiana Walsh, 5. Mia Links, 7. Georgia Calleia, 8. Kiah Saunders, 9. Chloe Currie, 10. Emilia Lawrence, 11. Indianna Cameron, 12. Maya Atkinson, 13. Zara Humphrey, 14. Asha Bouveng, 17. Tasha Lillycrop, 28. Andie Bonasera
Emu Plains: 50. Andi Simmons, 4. Skye Haladus, 5. Claire Nicholls, 9. Lucy Geyer, 14. Rachel Turner, 15. Zara Stanford, 17. Brianna Atkins, 18. Mia Jones, 19. Emma Garvey, 20. Ella Tykvart, 26. Alyssa Merriman, 27. Jessica Van Den Brink, 43. Lily Fowler
