Woonona Sharks edged past Thirroul Thunderbirds 1-0 on a chilly Tuesday night at Thomas Gibson Park.
Woonona dominated most of the chances, however, Thirroul’s late pressure almost saw the points shared.
Sinead Bailey scored the game’s only goal early in the first half, finishing off a well-worked move for the Sharks.
The match got off to an intense start as the teams fought for a grasp of control. Thirroul were willing to get the ball up the field quickly to generate some pressure on the Sharks’ backline. But the in-form visitors began to creep further up the field after the 10-minute mark.
Woonona found some joy down the left with Tess Stephen’s directness getting the side into the final third. And in the 14th minute, the Sharks made the most of this threat to take the lead.
Stephens raced down the left, getting to the by-line and driving the ball across the box where Bailey bundled home from close in.
The Sharks sought to build on this goal and half an hour in, Bailey had a chance for her second. The forward went through one-on-one with goalkeeper Lillian Iredale, but the latter stayed big and blocked the shot.
The away side then started funnelling the ball out to the right, where Jessica Beale used her trickery to get several dangerous deliveries into the box. However, the Thunder managed to clear the danger.
Four minutes before the break, Beale took aim from the edge of the area, the ball flying narrowly over the crossbar.
Thirroul’s desperate defending kept the deficit to a single goal as the teams went into the sheds at halftime.
Woonona came out of the break and resumed their assault on the Thunderbirds’ goal, but the finishing touches eluded them.
In the 67th minute, Jordan Wheatley almost curled a shot in from outside the box, but it fell wide of the left post.
A couple of minutes later, a giveaway in the Thirroul backline presented substitute Dharmini Chauhan with a shooting chance from the edge of the area. The forward’s strike was well-saved by Iredale, who got down low to her left.
Having soaked up Woonona’s pressure for most of the match, Thirroul had a late resurgence with a flurry of chances.
Seventy-seven minutes in, Grace Vaughan latched onto a pass in behind the Woonona backline, bearing down on goal and forcing Sharks’ goalkeeper Ivana Peric into an important stop.
Vaughan was proving difficult to handle for the Woonona defence and caused problems again seconds later. She twisted and turned in the box before skewing an effort wide of the left post.
The hosts had one final chance with two regular minutes to play. Ava Byrom took on a volley that looked like it had to be tipped around the left post by Peric.
Woonona held onto their slender lead to claim another three points, keeping their superb run of form going.
The side will host third-placed UOW on Sunday, while Thirroul are also at home against Albion Park White Eagles at the same time.
Report by Tim Gibson
Photos courtesy of Gragrapix
