The Palerang United women played in the Grand Final in Canberra last Sunday in what was a replay of last season’s Grand Final against Belwest. Last year Belwest won the Grand Final 5 – 3 in a highly entertaining and thrilling contest so Palerang United were out to go one better than last year and finish off the season with a victory. The game started well for Palerang United with an early attacking raid on the Belwest goal however the Belwest saved the shot. Belwest boasted a lot of experience in their defence and played conservatively and with patience to slow down Palerang’s attack and as the game went on a real arm wrestle developed between the two teams. Neither team were creating a lot of scoring chances, however Palerang United’s defence was outstanding and Belwest found it hard to penetrate the strong defence of Brooke Clarke Jaye Coble Hollie Wells and Keely Howard. Palerang United played great field possession that saw a series of brilliant corners taken by Matilda Corby who was terrorising the Belwest defence with quality deliveries only to see them either hit the post from shots on goal or the ball pinball its way away from goal. Kaitlyn Harrison and Dale McDonald were covering a lot of ground wide in midfield as the first half ended with a 0-0 scoreline.
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Halftime chat was based on patience and belief that if we stuck to our game plan then we would finish stronger and get the win but not to be complacent. Palerang United started well in the second half with a shot on goal almost immediately after the kick off when some neat passes from Emily Malone and Lauren Campbell found Kaylah Jullienne in open space. Belwest battened down the hatches though and defended brilliantly thwarting each Palerang attack as their goal keeper found herself getting busy. Courtney Doyle played deep from midfield in a sweeping roll and was starting to find a little more space to be creative but with each opportunity created on the Belwest defence, Belwest seemed to find a way to block a shot or force a bad pass and keep the game scoreless. Tamara Roberts was strong in defence putting her body on the line several times and Phoebe Lang ran herself ragged up front but the game was looking at finishing as a draw in normal time. In the final couple of minutes though Emily Malone put in a run down the right side of the field and sent a quality ball that was too good for everyone and could have finished the game if it had found a striker on the end of it. Full time and the stalemate remained and two 10 minute halves of extra time was needed to see if either team could manage to get a winner before a dreaded penalty shoot out.
Palerang United once again started strongly and surely a goal would be coming our way soon. Kaitlyn Harrison found herself with a little bit of open space just outside the goal box and smashed the ball at the goal. The ball slammed into the leg of a Belwest defender and hurtled towards the goal, wrong footing the Belwest keeper a squeezing into the right hand corner of the goal and the massive crowd went off in support of Palerang United who had just taken the lead with 15 minutes to go. Belwest then upped the tempo of the game and pushed forward in an attempt to get back into the game but Phoebe Lang was outstanding in goal and played with authority owning her goal box and thwarting each Belwest attack. Once again Courtney Doyle was terrorising the Belwest midfield with some awesome dribbling skills and was close to scoring a second goal late in the game. Finally though the game came to an end and the swelling crowd cheered with delight as it was confirmed that Palerang United had won the game. Final score 1-0 but wow what a tense game.
So what a season! Pre-Season Champions winning the Heather Reid Cup in March, Minor Premiers winning the competition by 4 points and Premiers taking out the Grand Final. Well Done Ladies! You have been a joy to be around and i would like to thank you all for such a fun year!
A massive thank you to Corinne Howard who has been a brilliant manager and has made my job as coach so easy. Also a massive thankyou to all the Parents, Boyfriends and extended families who have supported this awesome group of ladies throughout the season and also to the big crowd of Braidwood diehard soccer fans who made the trek to the game to cheer the ladies on!
So the tradition of success has continued for the Braidwood Junior Soccer Club’s competitive arm of the club. In 2011 as the Braidwood Bullants men were Minor Premiers in the STFA. In 2012 the Braidwood Bullants men were STFA Premiers and our u15s were Association Cup Champions and Runners up. In 2013 in Capital Football our Palerang United U13 boys were Premiers and our Women were Runners up. In 2014 our Palerang United Women are Pre Season Heather Reid Cup winners Minor Premiers and Premiers and our U15 girls are Runners Up! Congratulations to all of you involved and I wonder what 2015 will bring?
Pictured are Palerang United Women’s –Premiers ...
Back row – Tamara Roberts, Kaylah Jullienne, Kaitlyn Harrison, Emily Malone, Lauren Campbell, Dale McDonald, Hollie Wells, Keely Howard, Matilda Corby, Coach Mark Roberts
Front Row – Phoebe Lang, Courtney Doyle, Jaye Coble, Brooke Clarke
