MATCH REPORT | Eastern Suburbs 5 v Birkenhead United 0

After the heartbreak of going out of the Kate Shepherd Cup on penalties on Thursday evening, Eastern Suburbs ladies were in need of something to lift their mood, and this game delivered that as Claudelands offered very little threat despite the much changed suburbs line up.

Suburbs started slowly – it was almost as if they were still thinking through that bruising Thursday night encounter and still expecting their opponents to pressure them aggressively as Glenfield do. However, this didn’t happen and they soon realised they had much more time on the ball against bottom of the league Claudelands. Suburbs midfield began to dominate the game and their attacking duo of Jade Parris and Hannah Pilley were able cut through the Claudelands defence almost at will.

After a few unsuccessful attacks involving intricate passing and runs down the flank, Jade Parris decided the best course of action was to take on defenders herself straight down the middle. It was one of these powerful runs that provided her first goal, out-sprinting the defenders and shooting from the edge of the penalty box. The Claudelands keeper stopped the shot but couldn’t gather the ball and Parris had continued her run to pass the ball into the net from the rebound.

A few minutes later Suburbs got their second, again through the middle as Parris threaded a well weighted pass to Hannah Pilley who calmly side footed past an on-rushing goalkeeper into the corner of the net.
The third goal was almost a copy of the first, as Parris again held off a number of Claudelands defenders to power through and finish well.

With the score at 3-0 at half time and with Suburbs in full control, the supporters were looking forward to a goal fest in the second half. However, Claudelands had changed a few things at half time and began closing Suburbs down much quicker. They also managed a few attacks of their own through their pacey forwards who caused Suburbs a few problems at the back.
The Lilywhites finally regained their composure halfway through the second half and Parris again found herself running onto a through ball from Pilley which she dispatched into the corner of the net.

Shortly after this another run down the right wing by Pilley resulted in a firmly struck cross hitting a defender and wrong footing the keeper for an own goal.

During the final 15 minutes of this match Suburbs huffed and puffed but couldn’t break down the battling Claudelands defence. They were restricted to a number of long range shots that struggled to make an impact against the strengthening wind.

It was good to see some new faces being introduced to the Suburbs team as the match wore on. Ruby Rimmer and Ella Russ, both reserve team regulars, came on as second half substitutes and made good contributions.

To be fair, the result should have been much more emphatic than this given Suburbs dominance of this game and the number of chances that went begging, but at the end of the day they will be happy with the three points and a relatively relaxed match after their recent exertions.

MATCH REPORT | Western Springs 1 – Eastern Suburbs 3

Eastern Suburbs battled through to win a hectic game under floodlights at a chilly and foggy Seddon Fields on Friday evening. As always, it took a while for the suburbs ladies to settle on the fast artificial turf and the first twenty minutes were unstructured and messy. The swirling fog that drifted in and out from the nearby bay made things problematic for both teams and at times it was difficult to see what was happening on the other side of the pitch. Suburbs were also without a few of their regular players due to other commitments and so it was a different line up to usual.

Despite the untidy start, Suburbs managed to force a few corners and after 20 minutes one of these was floated in by Jade Parris, causing some panic in the western springs defence. The loose ball was jabbed home by Rebekah van Dort.

After this, Suburbs settled into their stride and began playing some more flowing football, keeping the pressure on the Springs midfield and defence. After half an hour they had another goal from close range as Molly Bryans managed to get her foot to the ball during some frantic defending by Springs.

Western Springs were much more organised in the second half and suburbs struggled to get out of their own half for long periods. Springs dominance was rewarded after ten minutes as they forced a corner which was forced over the line by Rebecca O’Neill and this gave them encouragement to push even harder during the remainder of the match. Suburbs managed to withstand the pressure although there were some heart stopping moments as Springs created chance after chance. Suburbs keeper, Corina Brown made a number of athletic saves to prevent the home team getting on level terms including one that seemed goal-bound when she just managed to tip it onto the cross bar.

With five minutes to go and still under pressure, Suburbs managed to break out of defence and release Hannah Pilley down the right wing. Her cross found Amber Whitley who made no mistake from close range.

Although it was not a classic performance, Suburbs will be happy to come away from Seddon Fields with this result as these Friday evening games always seem to present them with some problems. They can now take the weekend off and wait for the other results to come in.

MATCH REPORT | #Lilywhites 5 v Hamilton Wanderers 2
Eastern Suburbs won this entertaining encounter courtesy of a well taken hatrick from Jade Parris and two goals from Hannah Pilley. Suburbs never really looked like losing this after scoring a couple of early goals, although Hamilton came back strongly in the second half and caused some panic in the suburbs back line.

Heavy rain fell on Madills Farm just before kick off and continued for much of the first half making the pitch slippery and fast. This may have contributed to some early mistakes from the Hamilton team and they also seemed slow to get going, perhaps feeling the effects of their long bus journey. After just 26 seconds, the Hamilton defence failed to deal with Amber Whitley’s cross and in the resulting confusion Jade Parris poked the ball past the keeper.

Suburbs maintained the pressure and continued to benefit from some loose Hamilton play, and within 8 minutes of the start they were 2-0 up after Jade Parris threaded a ball through to Hannah Pilley who finished calmly into the bottom left corner of the net.

Hamilton launched some attacks of their own but the suburbs back line of Rebekah van Dort, Kate Carlton and Leah Mettam coped well and, when in possession, they stroked the ball around nicely. Kate Seater occupied the space between defence and midfield and coordinated most of the suburbs creative play in the first half.

The third goal came as Jade Parris again found herself in space just outside the box and fired a firmly hit shot past the outstretched keeper.

3-0 down at half time, the Hamilton coach looked frustrated and whatever he said during his half time talk, it certainly seemed to fire up the Hamilton girls. They looked much more organised and energetic in the second half and they had soon reduced the deficit to two goals when their centre forward turned neatly at the top of the penalty area and unleashed an unstoppable shot past Corina Brown in the suburbs goal.

Hamilton were looking dangerous and they were also benefiting from a strengthening wind at their backs. This helped them keep possession in the suburbs half for long periods but it also left them vulnerable to quick breaks by the fast eastern suburbs forward line. This is exactly what happened mid way through the second half when Hannah Pilley broke away at speed, her initial effort being saved by the keeper. Fortunately, Amber Whitley was following up and fired a shot against the post which rebounded back to Pilley who buried it into the top of the net. Another quick break lead to the fifth goal (and Jade Parris’s hatrick).

This should have made the last 20 minutes relatively comfortable for suburbs but they lost some concentration and conceded a goal straight from the kick off as the Hamilton forwards ploughed straight through with minimal resistance.

From then on it was a matter of suburbs holding on against wave after wave of Hamilton attack. Fortunately they did this but not without some heart-stopping moments and some problems clearing the ball against the strong wind.

This was a good result for suburbs against a Hamilton team which has been difficult to beat all season. The Hamilton girls had a long journey home to reflect on how different it may have been if they hadn’t conceded those two early goals.

The #Lilywhites came out second best in this top of the table clash with Glenfield Rovers on a cold and wet afternoon at Madills Farm. Despite a high work rate in midfield and plenty of possession, Suburbs just couldn’t break down the well organised Glenfield and they succumbed to two well executed goals in the first half.

Suburbs dominated possession for the first twenty minutes and had a couple of decent chances but failed to capitalise. Glenfield then showed what they can do by breaking out of defence and flowing forward in a coordinated move along the left wing which culminated in Geena Gross squeezing the ball home from a tight angle.

The second goal came in similar circumstances 10 minutes later, this time a fast break away catching Suburbs by surprise and a well weighted cross was headed in firmly by Dayna Stevens.
The second half followed a similar story with suburbs working hard but Glenfield dealing with the threat with relative ease. Glenfield players are all fast and fit and they use this to their advantage by pressurising opponents into making mistakes and then breaking away with speed.

Glenfield looked dangerous in attack and created some chances in the second half but player of the day, Rebekah van Dort, and her defence coped well with the threat.

The suburbs midfield of Jeongwon Shin, Molly Bryans and Lucy Carter worked tirelessly but found themselves closed down very quickly and unable to release the ball forward.

The rain started to fall heavier as the second half wore on and this seemed to weigh on suburbs as they failed to make a significant impact on the Glenfield goal.

These two teams are battling it out for top spot in the league and the matches between them are always keenly contested. Unfortunately for suburbs it was Glenfield who came out on top today but they remain in contention and they will be keen to ensure they stay on the shoulder of the league leaders over the next few weeks.