Pembroke Old Scholars Girls Soccer Club v Flinders Flames Div 2 - Community Cup Match Report 12th May 2013

POSGSC made their debut in a Cup competition today hosting Flinders Flames from Division 2 at Park 17. It was expected to be wet and windy with a maximum of 18 degrees Celsius but turned out to be beautiful weather with the sun peeking through the clouds for most of the match.

 

In what was expected to be a tough encounter, Coach Weng Wong altered the POSGSC line-up with a slightly more defensive formation. The girls came out fired up and put in a dominating first-half performance.

 

Midway through the first half, a diagonal through ball from centreback Katie Budenberg sent winger Emily Gilbert free of the last defender. Gilbert cut in from the right and finished with aplomb past the keeper.

 

This gave the girls even more confidence as they continued to dominate the match. Budenberg and fellow centreback Young Nang Jung were making key interceptions in defence with sweeper Emma McBean making vital stops when needed. Defensive midfielder Lauren Lepore has come into form the last couple of matches and today was her best match to-date, adding a steeliness to the midfield.

 

Just before half-time the Queens extended their lead with a clinical finish from playmaker Jakarra Hill after an assist from striker Sarah Lowe. Hill, who picked up last week's Best-on-Ground award for POSGSC, was playing up to her usual high standards - taking on players, looking for the killer pass and tracking back to help out in defence.

 

Unfortunately it turned out to be a game of two halves as the Flames came out wanting to get themselves back into the match. Straight from kick-off they won a corner and with the ball ping-ponging around inside the 6-yard box it was a Flames player who got the vital touch putting the ball into the back of the net.

 

Pembroke had a chance to make it 3-1 and make it difficult for the Flames' comeback when Hill drew two defenders before playing in Gilbert who was 1-on-1 with the Flames' keeper. With the goal gaping at the far post, Gilbert mishit her shot and it flew wide past the near post.

 

With time running out, Wong took off striker Lowe and replaced her with defensive midfielder Edwina Williams hoping to shut down the Flames attacks. However the Queens conceded a corner with only a couple of minutes remaining and as the corner came in, a Flames player had lost her marker and ran straight onto the ball, rifling it first time past keeper and captain Amy Wiseman into the back of the net for the equaliser.

 

Suddenly the wind was knocked out of the Queens' sails but it was important for the girls to lift their heads and see out the match as they went into extra-time with two 10-minute halves to be played. Wong reverted to his starting line-up as he looked to get the girls playing like they did in the first-half.

 

Five minutes into the first half of extra-time though and it was the Flames who took a 3-2 lead when their right-winger was not picked up and finished coolly into the far-post in an identical situation to that of Gilbert's miss.

 

Pembroke were not going to go down without a fight however and 3 minutes later they were back on level terms when Hill returned the favour to Lowe, playing her in with a through ball. Lowe managed to hold off the defender and slotted it in to the corner. Unfortunately for Pembroke though, Hill went off soon after with an old knee injury.

 

The sides then swapped halves as they went straight into the second half of extra-time. Unfortunately it was the Flames who took the lead again with only a few minutes left to play. They then started wasting time making constant interchanges but Pembroke still had an opportunity to take the match into penalties when Lowe found herself free behind the defence and the keeper stuck in no man's land. Lowe shot first time but could not get enough lift on the ball which found its way straight into the keeper's hands.

 

So POSGSC bow out in their first ever Cup match but can definitely hold their heads up high having given a Division 2 team a run for their money. If the girls can keep this sort of form up for the remainder of the season they are definitely in with a chance to compete for the Women's Collegiate Division title.

 

McBean was picked as Best-on-Ground by Wong for today's match and receives a $25 voucher courtesy of POSGSC's major sponsor The Kensi.

 

Next week will see POSGSC travel to last year's third place finishers Mercedes Old Scholars for another tough match. Mercedes recently held St Peter's, 7-0 victors over POSGSC, to a 0-0 draw. Hope to see all POSGSC supporters out for that match! Kick-off at 3pm on Sunday the 19th of May.

 

English League Championship Final Day

Heading into the final day of the English League Championship, several teams had so much to play for. Hull City and Watford were fighting it out for the second automatic promotion spot into the Premier League; Crystal Palace, Bolton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City were looking to seal a Playoff spot; and several teams were still in danger of falling into the last two relegation spots where they would follow Bristol City into League One.

 

Hull ended up drawing 2-2 with champions Cardiff City in a dramatic finale! They missed a penalty in the 4th minute of second-half injury time which would have sealed the win and instead conceded a penalty at the other end which Cardiff dispatched for the equaliser. Watford could not capitalise however, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at home to Leeds United who really had nothing to play for. Gianfranco Zola's men's jobs were not made any easier when they had to play the last half hour with 10 men thanks to Troy Deeney's sending off. Zola will now have to guide Watford through the playoffs if he is to see himself managing in the Premier League next season.

 

Bolton looked to have stayed in 6th place on the table, the last playoff spot available, with a 2-2 draw at home to Blackpool who, like Leeds, did not have much to play for. However, football can be such a fickle game and with both Forest and Leicester nipping at Bolton's heels, it was Leicester who put the dagger into the hearts of Bolton fans when they scored an injury time winner for a 3-2 away win over Forest.

 

So the playoffs will see Watford versus Leicester and Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace over two legs with the winners going on to face each other at the final in Wembley Stadium to be the third promoted team into the Premier League.

 

The final will be a battle of two Chelsea old boys in Zola and Gus Poyet, with Poyet's Seagulls hitting the jackpot that comes with playing in the Premier League.

 

At the other end of the table though, Wolverhampton Wanderers were always going to struggle to escape relegation as they needed two other results to go their way but that did not matter as Wolves suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Seagulls to condemn to life in League One next season. After three seasons in the Premier League, Wolves have now embarrassingly suffered their second straight relegation after they finished dead-last in the Premier League last season. Can they stop this downward free-fall?

 

Barnsley looked like they were going to be the third team relegated when they could not hang onto their 2-1 lead away to Huddersfield Town and conceded an equaliser in the 81st minute. At the time, Peterborough United were leading 2-1 at Selhurst Park and Millwall was clinging onto a 0-0 draw at Pride Park Stadium. Barnsley really needed to find a winner!

 

Although Derby ended up scoring with 5 minutes left to defeat Millwall 1-0, it was the events at Selhurst Park that changed everything! In the last 7 minutes, Palace managed to score two goals for a 3-2 win that meant Peterborough dropped into that final relegation spot! Needless to say, Socceroo Mile Jedinak won't be welcome in Peterborough anytime soon as it was he who popped up with the winner for Palace!

 

So I guess the saying is true, "Don't count your chickens until your eggs are hatched"! Football is a funny old game and you never know what is going to happen whilst there is still time on the clock!

 

Pembroke Old Scholars Girls Soccer Club v Westminster Old Scholars - Match Report 28th April 2013

POSGSC got off to a slow start today and allowed Westminster to score their first goal this season in the 15th minute, however the girls then started to shift up gears and managed to pull back an equaliser in the first half. Jakarra Hill with an exquisite diagonal through ball for Amelia Bressington to run onto and Bressington finished with aplomb after using her strength to hold off... her marker chasing back.

Although Westminster continued to pressure POSGSC, Young Nang Jung stood tall in goals, rushing off her line several times and playing the Sweeper Keeper role to perfection. The first half then petered out to an end as both teams made a raft of interchanges with the scores locked at 1-1 as the teams headed to the changerooms (well, POSGSC sheltered under their marquee whilst Westminster headed to the shade given by the trees).

Perhaps the coach's half-time talk had an effect as POSGSC came out dominating the second half. A 3-goal blitz in 6 minutes took the wind out of Westminster's sail and effectively killed the match off.

In the 60th minute Sarah Lowe set up Chelsea Salagaras inside the penalty box and Salagaras fired past the keeper who was rooted to the spot.

2 minutes later Hill won a free-kick just inside the opposition half and knowing that the Westminster keeper was susceptible, coach Weng Wong gave Katie Budenberg licence to shoot despite the distance! Up stepped Budenberg who gave it all she had from 55-yards out and the ball sailed over the keeper's head into the top-right corner!

In the 64th minute Sarah Lowe pounced on the left edge of the 18-yard box to lash home a shot into the keeper's far-post corner.

And with 10 minutes remaining, Hill won another free-kick right on the edge of the area. She dusted herself off to take the kick and fired it into the defensive wall. Lowe though showed her typical striker's poaching skill by swooping on the rebound and firing home her 2nd goal of the season.

So 5-1 it finished, giving POSGSC confidence heading into next week's tough roadtrip to Birdwood Park to face another Women's Collegiate Division favourite Torrens Valley.

But for today, the players and coach could enjoy lunch at their sponsor The Kensi.