The final matches for the SEWFA season were played out at Blue Lake Sports Park last Saturday in warm weather which suited spectators, but made playing conditions difficult, especially considering the wind factor, with 7 of the 8 goals of the day scored at one end of the pitch.
Wanderers took out the Under 14 Grand Final, while Palace came from behind to take out the Seniors game. SEWFA took out the exhibition match against a side from Warrnambool.
Under 14 Grand Final
The Under 14 Grand Final commenced at 12 noon with Wanderers and Villa taking to the park.
League champions Villa set about making it a clean sweep but a strong defensive effort from Wanderers denied several goal scoring opportunities. Kate Lehmann and Monique Sims were able to construct attacking moves for Wanderers but some fast back-tracking put them under pressure and saw the ball cleared away from danger.
Villa were able to work themselves into attacking positions often during the first half, with Monique Ianella and Mikayla Atwell forcing saves from Emily Aston in the Wanderers' goal.
Neither side could edge in front during the first half and as the second half commenced, the blustery conditions increased creating havoc with goalkicks and causing through balls to speed away from chasing forwards.
With the game looking like a draw and with spectators and coaches considering another round of penalties to decide the match, Jasmine White was able to collect the ball on the left and struck it well to clinch the match and victory for Wanderers.
Mayoress Jaime Perryman was on hand to present Wanderers' players and coach Warren McCallum with the prized trophy and medallions after the match.
Exhibition Match - SEWFA v Warrnambool Wolves
The exhibition match played between SEWFA's Best of the Rest and Warrnambool Wolves demonstrated the depth of SEWFA sides coming away with a 3-1 victory.
Despite the lack of training or playing together as a team, communication and understanding was evident as SEWFA set the standard early with a goal resulting from some quality passing and distribution.
The strong Warrnambool side sought to even the ledger but SEWFA were quick to close down passes and force errors. Eventually a clean finish saw the game back to level pegging before half time.
Jess Martin-Brown and Sharni Leggett worked hard in the middle of the park and both were able to attack free space in front of them to gain ground and momentum during the game. The warm weather saw coaches use the interchange bench wisely as the match wore on and SEWFA were able to effectively use the wind in the second half to score twice more.
Keisha Seiler was able to claim her second, whilst Karen Panagopoulos finished off a Leonie McCallum free kick to seal the match.
Coach for the Warrnambool side, John McMillan, said after the game that his side didn't play well in the wind, and they will be keen to turn the tables on the SEWFA combination side next time they meet.
Seniors Grand Final
Following the National Anthem sung by Hannah Bruhn, the youngest SEWFA players, the Junior Development Squad, escorted finalists Palace and City onto the pitch. With large supporter bases present, both sides brought an air of determination and resolve to the pitch knowing it would be another epic battle.
Tania Grant roused her team and the crowd early as she claimed the first goal in the opening stanza of the match. Counter attacks on the City goal were easily accounted for by the Birch sisters and Eleni Kourmouzis, who refused to concede ground, forcing long range shots invariably collected easily by goal keeper Lauren Lowe.
An underhit pass in the Palace backline collected by City and driven towards goal forced a heart stopping diving save from Olivia Pratt to edge the ball around the post to keep the score at 1-0 at the half time break.
Revitalised after a well earned drinks break, players took the pitch with renewed energy. Tenacious defending from Chelsea Dickins and Donna Pratt thwarted any further attacks on the Palace goal. A good clearance found Kale Pedlar, who made no mistake in front of goal.
At the full time whistle, with the score tied, extra time was required to try to find a winner. With just 5 minutes each way, there was little time to build play with each team pumping the ball forward in the hope of finding a team mate's feet.
In the second half of extra time, in a crowded 18 yard box, 11 year old Imogen Pratt was able to collect the ball and score a much celebrated goal for Palace. Despite desperate last minute urgency from City in the dying moments of the match, they were unable to regain ascendency and Palace emerged as premiers for the third successive year.
Wind Up
SEWFA's season will conclude this Saturday with presentation night at Casadio Park from 5:00 pm, with all grades congregating to announce trophy winners and celebrate season 2009.
Wanderers took out the Under 14 Grand Final, while Palace came from behind to take out the Seniors game. SEWFA took out the exhibition match against a side from Warrnambool.
Under 14 Grand Final
The Under 14 Grand Final commenced at 12 noon with Wanderers and Villa taking to the park.
League champions Villa set about making it a clean sweep but a strong defensive effort from Wanderers denied several goal scoring opportunities. Kate Lehmann and Monique Sims were able to construct attacking moves for Wanderers but some fast back-tracking put them under pressure and saw the ball cleared away from danger.
Villa were able to work themselves into attacking positions often during the first half, with Monique Ianella and Mikayla Atwell forcing saves from Emily Aston in the Wanderers' goal.
Neither side could edge in front during the first half and as the second half commenced, the blustery conditions increased creating havoc with goalkicks and causing through balls to speed away from chasing forwards.
With the game looking like a draw and with spectators and coaches considering another round of penalties to decide the match, Jasmine White was able to collect the ball on the left and struck it well to clinch the match and victory for Wanderers.
Mayoress Jaime Perryman was on hand to present Wanderers' players and coach Warren McCallum with the prized trophy and medallions after the match.
Exhibition Match - SEWFA v Warrnambool Wolves
The exhibition match played between SEWFA's Best of the Rest and Warrnambool Wolves demonstrated the depth of SEWFA sides coming away with a 3-1 victory.
Despite the lack of training or playing together as a team, communication and understanding was evident as SEWFA set the standard early with a goal resulting from some quality passing and distribution.
The strong Warrnambool side sought to even the ledger but SEWFA were quick to close down passes and force errors. Eventually a clean finish saw the game back to level pegging before half time.
Jess Martin-Brown and Sharni Leggett worked hard in the middle of the park and both were able to attack free space in front of them to gain ground and momentum during the game. The warm weather saw coaches use the interchange bench wisely as the match wore on and SEWFA were able to effectively use the wind in the second half to score twice more.
Keisha Seiler was able to claim her second, whilst Karen Panagopoulos finished off a Leonie McCallum free kick to seal the match.
Coach for the Warrnambool side, John McMillan, said after the game that his side didn't play well in the wind, and they will be keen to turn the tables on the SEWFA combination side next time they meet.
Seniors Grand Final
Following the National Anthem sung by Hannah Bruhn, the youngest SEWFA players, the Junior Development Squad, escorted finalists Palace and City onto the pitch. With large supporter bases present, both sides brought an air of determination and resolve to the pitch knowing it would be another epic battle.
Tania Grant roused her team and the crowd early as she claimed the first goal in the opening stanza of the match. Counter attacks on the City goal were easily accounted for by the Birch sisters and Eleni Kourmouzis, who refused to concede ground, forcing long range shots invariably collected easily by goal keeper Lauren Lowe.
An underhit pass in the Palace backline collected by City and driven towards goal forced a heart stopping diving save from Olivia Pratt to edge the ball around the post to keep the score at 1-0 at the half time break.
Revitalised after a well earned drinks break, players took the pitch with renewed energy. Tenacious defending from Chelsea Dickins and Donna Pratt thwarted any further attacks on the Palace goal. A good clearance found Kale Pedlar, who made no mistake in front of goal.
At the full time whistle, with the score tied, extra time was required to try to find a winner. With just 5 minutes each way, there was little time to build play with each team pumping the ball forward in the hope of finding a team mate's feet.
In the second half of extra time, in a crowded 18 yard box, 11 year old Imogen Pratt was able to collect the ball and score a much celebrated goal for Palace. Despite desperate last minute urgency from City in the dying moments of the match, they were unable to regain ascendency and Palace emerged as premiers for the third successive year.
Wind Up
SEWFA's season will conclude this Saturday with presentation night at Casadio Park from 5:00 pm, with all grades congregating to announce trophy winners and celebrate season 2009.
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