UNIVERSITY YELLOW v WOLLONGONG UNITED | WD1 ROUND 8 | MATCH REPORT
University Yellow secured a 3-1 home victory over Wollongong United at Kooloobong Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides set an intense tone right from the beginning of the round eight fixture.
The Unicorns had their first chance at goal after a rebound ball landed at Kya Godbier’s feet in the centre of the 18-yard box before her shot went wide of the mark.
In the 20th minute, Wollongong United’s captain Rikki-Lee Wardle scored a fantastic goal – picking the ball up just beyond the halfway line before unleashing a long-range effort that goalkeeper Elle Coleman simply couldn’t keep out.
University began to pile on the pressure with Cayla Bec sending a ball over the top of United’s backline for Katia Turner who was fouled as she was about to shot leading to a penalty being awarded.
Defender Rilee Wagner stepped up to the penalty spot, but she was denied by Caitlin Lewis who palmed the shot back to Wagner who wasn’t able to capitalise on the rebound.
With five minutes to go in the first half, United had a few chances through Teisha McKenzie and Wardle but could not bag their second goal.
In the 44th minute, the Unicorns had their last chance at goal before the half-time whistle with Caitlyn Zamuner sending a ball into Turner before she struck her shot wide.
University found their rhythm in the second half with the Unicorns equalising six minutes in when Elise Battin played through Turner who made up for her early miss by picking out the bottom corner.
United were valiant in attack, however, they couldn’t avoid going behind soon after when Tahlia Petrovski took on the line before setting up Turner who did well to secure her second of the afternoon.
Within a couple of minutes University all but wrapped up the points when Godbier’s cross found Mia Saverino who showed composure before tapping the ball into the back of the net.
With 20 minutes to go, Wollongong United’s winger Caitlin Cardwell broke through the Unicorn’s defence, but she couldn’t find a way past Coleman.
The Unicorns could have extended their advantage through shots from Turner, Petrovski and Lisa Tolson, but the three goals was ultimately enough to secure the three points in a fiery affair.
Uni Yellow remain in second place ahead of a trip to South Coast Flame next weekend while Thirroul at Thomas Gibson Park is next on the cards for United.
University Yellow: 3 (Katia Turner 51’ 60’, Mia Saverino 63’)
Wollongong United: 1 (Rikki-Lee Wardle 20’)
University Yellow: 1. COLEMAN Elle, 70. SAVERINO Mia, 14. WAGNER Rilee, 7. BATTIN Elise, 88. GODBIER Kya, 3. BROWN Rhianna, 18. TOLSON Lisa, 69. SEBBEN Kate, 87. PETROVSKI Tahlia, 13. TURNER Katia, 20. BEC Cayla, 16. CLARK Lilliana, 80. CARTER Lexi, 50. CRIGHTON Lucy, 23. ZAMUNER Caitlyn
Wollongong United: 1. LEWIS Caitlin, 2. MCKENZIE Teisha, 3. JACKSON Xanthe, 4. BOURKE Sophie, 5. PRESTON Cassandra, 7. WARDLE Rikki-Lee, 8. JOVANOVSKI Jada, 9. PETKOVSKA Cassandra, 10. GORGIESKI Kristen, 11. PETROVSKA Aleksia, 12. CARDWELL Caitlin, 13. MCLINTOCK Shannon, 14. PHAN Linh, 15. SANDS Brittany
Date: 23 May 2021
Venue: Kooloobong Oval
Referee: Stuart Bell
Report by Alison Dinh, on Twitter @alisondinh_
Photos by Richie Wagner
