A ruthless Thirroul Thunderbirds dispatched Warilla Wanderers 8-0 on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Gibson Park.
Wilful weather meant that this Round 10 match was the first of the competition for both sides this year.
Cara Baker’s early goal and an own goal to Freja Cianchi sent Thirroul into halftime with a two-goal advantage.
Six second-half goals including three in the first 10 minutes ensured the Thunderbirds went to the top of the table.
The hosts got off to a fast start with Baker’s long shot from a central position outside the box beating the keeper seven minutes in.
The Thunderbirds continued to ask questions of the Warilla defence and just after the half-hour mark, the side doubled their lead.
A cross from the left-hand side was bundled into her own net by Cianchi who was unable to clear the ball as it rolled into the goal.
The hosts continued to threaten; having a strong finish to the half creating several chances.
Chloe Hocking in the 37th minute, saw a shot from the left of the box batted away at the near post by Wanderers’ goalkeeper Grace Oshannessy.
Three minutes later Claytyn Gehrke saw a shot fall just over the crossbar from the edge of the box.
With three minutes to go in the half, some combination play between Gehrke and Hocking culminated in the latter’s shot curling wide of the left post.
Thirroul went into halftime 2-0 up creating plenty of chances throughout the half.
It was much of the same story in the second half with the Thunderbirds in control of the match.
Only two minutes into the second half, Thirroul had a third as Grace Vaughan was played in behind the left channel and had a shot that beat the keeper at the near post.
The hosts continued to score adding two more goals before the hour mark.
In the 50th minute, Nicole Lacunza’s header was unable to be prevented from crossing over the line and four minutes later, Hocking sent a composed finish into the bottom-left corner.
Hocking nearly had a second a couple of minutes after; however, her shot from the middle of the box was saved by Oshannessy.
Oshannessy made another save in the 62nd minute as Vaughan was played through one-on-one with the keeper saving from a tight angle in the left of the box.
The Thunderbirds added three more goals in the final 20 minutes of the match.
In the 73rd minute, Baker picked up her second goal of the match with a curling strike from the edge of the box finding the top right corner.
Gehrke’s deflected shot from the edge of the box looped over the keeper and into the goal two minutes later to make it seven.
With 11 minutes to play, Kaitlin Mott’s shot from the right of the box fell back to her after Oshannessy’s save – making no mistake the second time around for the hosts’ eighth.
In the 88th minute, Mott was denied a second with an effort cannoning off the crossbar.
The match finished with a second-half goal-glut guiding the Thunderbirds to victory.
Thirroul is scheduled to travel to Kiama next Sunday while Warilla host Bulli.
Thirroul Thunderbirds 8 (Cara Baker 6’ 73’, Freja Cianchi OWN GOAL 33’, Grace Vaughan 47’, Nicole Lacunza 50’, Chloe Hocking 54’, Claytyn Gehrke 75’, Kaitlin Mott 78’)
Warilla Wanderers 0
Thirroul Thunderbirds: 1. ORVAD Ashleigh, 2. MAR Keely, 3. HOCKING Chloe, 4. MEUSBURGER Asha, 5. LACUNZA Nicole, 6. BAKER Cara, 7. WARD Kirsten, 8. VAUGHAN Grace, 9. RYAN Jamie, 10. GEHRKE Claytyn, 11. MOTT Kaitlin, 12. BOWEN Hannah, 14. MCALPINE Elise, 16. GEHRKE Mala, 17. IRELLY Jessica
Warilla Wanderers: 1. OSHANNESSY Grace, 2. MARTIN Erin, 3. CARBONE Katie, 4. KOSTOVSKI Mikayla, 5. SHARROCK Tanika, 7. SMITH Chloe, 8. GONZALEZ Kari, 9. FLEMING Mykenzie, 10. CARBONE Emily, 11. KRYIACOU Irene-Maree, 12. CAMPBELL Lily, 13. CIANCHI Freja, 14. BAKHTIARI Ernika
Date: 29 May 2022
Venue: Thomas Gibson Park
Referee: Demi Goddard
Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
