On Friday 30 August Football Victoria ran their annual Premier Girls Soccer tournament at the home of the Matilda’s Melbourne training base in Bundoora, La Trobe University precinct.
Schools from across Victoria, who like Clonard, were regional Champions came together to participate in this statewide event showcasing some of the best performed soccer schools in the state.
Clonard were placed in a pool of five schools alongside Braemar College, Emmanuel College, Mt Waverly College and St Francis Xavier. Games consisted of 2 x 15-minute halves.
Our opening game against Emmanuel was a tight affair with both teams setting up numerous opportunities to score. Zoe S continued her great form with plenty of possession through the middle of the pitch while Lucy S was strong in defence with India D riding shotgun making it hard for the Emmanuel strikers to break away.
With the game on a knifes edge it was Emmanuel who made the most of a long ball setting up a one on one with keeper Piper S who could not combat the strike. Just like that we were down 1 nil. Olivia K did her best to get Clonard back into the contest teaming with striker Anastazia S several times but unfortunately, we could not find the back of the net. Emmanuel kicked a late goal to clinch victory 2-nil.
While we were disappointed with the result, we knew we had enough possession to compete and score but were not quite good enough to capitalise on our opportunities.
Our next game was against a gritty Mt Waverly, Clonard was able to control possession mainly through the drive that Zoe, Lucy, Olivia provided through the midfield however like our last game we were not able to convert, we came agonisingly close hitting the cross bar an incredible 3 times through the boot of Anastazia S. Mt Waverly hung in and were able to convert one of the few looks they had at goal with a wonderful strike that left our goalkeeper Piper S reeling. As a team we pressed a little too high and to Mt Waverley’s credit they were able to get out the back and take their chance. We went down 1 Nil.
Our third game against Braemar College was a dour affair with both defences controlling the game. Olivia K, India D and Ava H were able to thwart many a Braemar attack and thus set up numerous offensive bursts. A standout solo effort from Anastazia up front gave Clonard the ascendency before a late Braemar goal equalised the match. The game concluded 1All.
Our final game was against St Francis Xavier College, and we were determined to finish strong. The game was a free-flowing affair with both offences dominant. However, it was Lucy S who opened up the scoring with a run and strike goal from the midfield. St Francis Xavier quickly capitalised from a defensive mix up and equalised the contest.
The second half opened up further with some tired girls taking to the pitch. As a result, defensive efforts began to dwindle allowing goal scoring to take over and it did. Olivia added 2 goals that put Clonard in front which was followed by another goal from our gun striker Anastazia. St Francis Xavier were able to add two more goals to their tally also. We came out 4-3 victors and happy to head home with a win.
As a team we were able to take so many positives from the day including exposure to higher performing teams and another opportunity to play together and further our development. The girls represented the College wonderfully well and should be very proud of the way they played and more importantly with the way they conducted themselves.
Thank you and Well Done.
Alex Tortora
Coach
