Match Report by Ryan Cropp (Football NSW):
An 88th minute Parramatta Lady Hawks goal ended the finals hopes of valiant Eastern UNSW Lions side at Melita Stadium on Saturday night.
Battling with 10 players for the best part of an hour, the Lions could consider themselves unlucky not to have forced extra time, having outplayed Parramatta for large periods in the 2-1 loss.
After a tense, evenly contested start to the game, Lady Hawks broke deadlock in the 17th minute with a cracking goal from Alicia Dudman. A nice lay back on the edge of the area was hit with venom on the half volley past the outstretched fingertips of Lions keeper Amanda Watson.
It was to be one of only a few real chances created in the first half, though Lady Hawks had more of the ball throughout. The Parramatta defence was typically steadfast, stifling almost everything the Lions threw at them.
The Lions were dealt a major blow in the 39th minute when they had a player sent off for dissent, forcing a reshuffle of their formation to an unorthodox 4-3-2 shape.
Surprisingly, this system seemed to work very well for the away side in the second period. The Lions looked much more lively going forward and on the whole probably had the better of their opponents.
Lady Hawks missed the chance to make it 2-0 when they hit the crossbar in the 56th minute, while the game continued to produce some very robust challenges.
On the hour, Lions under 16 striker Kristy Kunovski was played into space and hit an absolutely cracking drive from the corner of the box to bring her side level. Even more impressive was the cartwheeling celebration before she was swamped by excited teammates.
Down a player, the UNSW midfield was working extremely hard. Shani Lauf in particular put in a heroic shift in the center of the park, while the quick feet of Ashley Rabie troubled the Lady Hawks defence on more than one occasion.
Their industry went cruelly unrewarded though as another under 16’s striker, Bonaventura, came off the bench and showed excellent composure to score a sensational winner in the final minutes.
After some wild celebrations on and off the pitch, the home side held on to book a place in the Preliminary Final next week against Gladesville Ravens. It’s the least Lady Hawks deserve after the great season that they’ve had so far. UNSW bow out with their pride intact, remaining well and truly in the contest until the final whistle.
Congratulations to the Lions for performing so well during the 2011 season.
[via Football NSW]