Round eight of the Umbro Women’s Premier League Competition saw the battle for the top two take another turn as one team dropped crucial points this weekend.
The match of the round saw East Bankstown comfortably knock over Revesby Workers White as Easts move closer to the top two positions.
Elsewhere, Birrong Sports continue to show their resilience as they shared the spoils with Revesby Workers Maroon.
Georges River Thistle had a bye this round.
Match of the Round: East Bankstown 2-0 Revesby Workers White
East Bankstown were at their defensive best as they beat Revesby Workers White 2-0 at Crest Sporting Complex on Sunday afternoon.
East Bankstown headed into the game in 3rd place as they looked for a valuable three-points to push themselves closer to the top-two positions, while Revesby Workers White sat in 4th place as they looked for an important win to push themselves away from Birrong Sports sitting two points behind them on the ladder.
This match would see a completely different start to when these two sides met earlier this season as East Bankstown found the first goal of the game early.
In the 10th minute of the match, East Bankstown made a strong run down the right flank before a low driven cross found Chiara Nohra in the box who was able to tap the ball into the goal to give her side a 1-0 advantage.
Throughout the rest of the first half East Bankstown looked to create chances but were unable to convert as Revesby’s Louise Cousins was solid between the sticks as the teams went into the sheds at halftime with Easts leading the game 1-0.
In the second half Revesby Workers White looked to push players forward in search of an important goal, however, due to some strong defence by the East Bankstown defender’s, Revesby struggled to find chances to get shots on goal.
Revesby’s top scorer and stand-out this season, Karen Bennett was only able to find one shot on goal in the second half as some tight defending by East Bankstown looked to limit her chances in attack.
East Bankstown would finally have their second goal of the match in the 80th minute as Easts Samarah Bayrouti found space on the edge of the box before her shot was driven into the top right corner of the goal to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
In the end, East Bankstown’s were tough and resilient in defence as they cruised to an important 2-0 victory against Revesby Workers White.
East Bankstown will look to jump Revesby Workers Maroon on the ladder when they host them in Round 9 at Gosling Park, while Revesby Workers White will look to find their first win in five weeks as they take on Georges River Thistle at Padstow Park.
Revesby Workers Maroon 2-2 Birrong Sports
Revesby Workers Maroon dropped two crucial competition points, while Birrong Sports drew their third game in a row as both sides couldn’t be separated in a 2-2 draw.
Coming into this match Revesby Maroon sat in 2nd spot looking for a win that would bring them equal with 1st place, while Birrong sat in 5th position looking for an important victory to propel themselves off the bottom of the ladder.
Birrong Sports were without their starting goalkeeper Lauren Croucher as their number 7 Emma Pavez stepped up in goal for the match, while Revesby Maroon were also without their joint top goal scorer Mya Donnelly.
Birrong’s captain Juliana Dundovic opened the scoring early in the match when she found the back of the net in the 6th minute of the match to give the visitors a surprising 1-0 advantage.
Going a goal down early looked switch Revesby Workers into gear as they began to pile pressure on Birrong’s defence looking to find an equaliser.
Revesby’s Olivia Lambkin found the equaliser in the 13th minute of the match as her shot found the back of the net to bring the scores level at 1-1.
Olivia Lambkin then led her side to an advantage in the first half as she scored her second goal of the match in the 32nd minute to give Revesby a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
In the second half of the match Revesby Maroon looked to create a lot of shooting chances on goal, however, some heroics by Emma Pavez in goal kept Revesby Maroon at bay.
In another turn in events, Birrong Sports Juliaana Dundovic equalised for the visitors in the 70th minute as she scored her second goal of the match to make the game all square with twenty minutes remaining.
Revesby Maroon pushed players forward, however, Birrong Sports Emma Pavez was determined to not be beaten in goal as she held out the hosts.
Birrong Sports held on in the end as the game ended 2-2 with both sides sharing the spoils.
Revesby Maroon will play East Bankstown in Round 9 as they look to extend the gap between themselves and 3rd on the ladder, while Birrong Sports will have the bye in Round 9.
