After suffering a significant loss to Rosehill last week, the Sancta Maria College First XI girls were determined to come out firing against an aggressive and skilful Pakuranga side on Wednesday.
In their previous battle 2 weeks ago Sancta came out on top 2-1 in what was a very evenly matched game. The girls knew that their opposition would be gearing up for a revenge match but were determined to push for their second win of the season.
With injury and illness dogging the team’s steps, Sancta had a tough battle ahead as they started the game with the only 11 players available, which meant no substitutes. The girls knew that they had to start strong and aggressively and they certainly came out firing.
Pakuranga were left stunned for the first 10 minutes as Sancta pushed them off the ball, cut down their defence and mopped up the opposition’s attacking plays. Morgan Yate and Alice Stonehouse pulled out some stellar performances, out muscling the opposition and being a wall of indestructible defence at times.
Jade Faulkner’s athletic prowess gave the team a sense of security if ever a long ball was played through for Pakuranga and Abby Noble-Campbell was also not to be left out of the speed battle, chasing down her opposition winger and making a miraculous save with a flailing limb.
Magda Serewis was forced to leave the field after an injury to the knee, leaving Sancta with 10 vs 11 for 5 minutes of the first half. On her return to the field, Serewis made it known that she was a threat to be reckoned with, scoring from a beautiful Kristy Attenberger corner. 1-0 up with 10 minutes of the first half still to be played and Sancta never looked like letting up.
Some brilliant runs from Anna Jury down the left wing and Caroline Barbafiera on the right kept the Pakuranga defence under pressure and it wasn’t long before they broke. A superbly placed ball from Yate in the backline saw striker Sophie Ruka beat her defender in a display of skill and speed, before calmly slotting the ball past a dumbstruck keeper.
Being 2-0 up at half time can be almost more pressure than being 2-0 down as the girls knew they needed to maintain this lead against an opposition who were no strangers to making comebacks. Goal-mouth scrambles and wild clearances incited an element of panic within the blues. Pakuranga took advantage of this and slotted a long range shot to put the score at 2-1 with 15 minutes left to play.
A sense of urgency was felt in both teams and Sancta were finally able to clear their heads and start playing their game. The opposition were in a frenzy as they tried to break down the army of blue but to no avail, Sancta held strong.
Angela Misic consistently provided stability in the midfield and targeted Pakuranga’s skilful number 13, slowing her down and putting her under pressure. Ring in keeper Isabella Holt had the ball glued to her hands as the shots kept coming left, right and centre.
An injury to Jury with 7 minutes left to play saw the girls battle it out with only 10 on the field once again, but their spirit, passion and determination saw them home. With 2 wins under their belt the Sancta girls are looking to continue to build on their successes throughout the season.
