The Southern Tablelands United Under 16 girls squad had the honour of representing the STFA at the 2019 Kanga Cup. The girls performed well and did their association proud.
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The team:
Centre backs - Jane Percell and Lydia McConaghey. Both very pacey and work well together, extremely hard for opposition to break down, both read play very well.
Outside backs - Bridget Latham, Ellie Cook, Angela Woodward, Amelia McConaghey. A hard working group, always looking to get wide and turn defence into attack.
Centre midfielders - Jess Eddy (captain), Hollie Sasse (vice Captain), Charlotte Baragry, Martika Walker-Shaw. Very creative midfield, hardworking, link well together and always looking play in teammates, control the play but are always ready to defend.
Outside midfielders - Logan Ravasz, Taylor Spence, Rheanna Webb. Link really well with backs and other midfielders, very attacking players, create a lot of chances for strikers, not afraid to attack the goals.
Strikers - Paula Sapio, Mekensie Perkins. With Mekensie's speed and Paula's ball skills, this pair are a real handful for any opposition.
With our star goalkeeper, Makayla John, out for this tournament a special thank you to our stand in goalkeepers Martika Walker-Shaw, Charlotte Baragry and Rheanna Webb, who all shared the duty.
The girls were drawn in Group B and were pitted against some top sides.
The first game started at 8.30am against the Canberra Olympic NPL side.
Our girls started this match strongly and dominated the much-fancied and very physical premier league side for most of the first half.
We had eight to 10 corners in a row and really pressured the opposition, which paid off when Martika slotting home a goal to lead 1-0.
However, the opposition, who didn't get a corner at all in the first half, had several breaks against the run of play and were very clinical in front of goal, where they slotted three goals from three shots.
The second half was much the same, we started well and got back to 3-2 when Paula secured our second, but clinical finishing from the other side saw us go down 6-2 in a game we certainly deserved a result in.
The second game saw us play the Woden Western Division One side.
We started slow in this game as it was our second of the morning, and we were up against a fresh team.
An even first half saw both teams create chances. Woden had the better of the possession in this half, however a goal from Mekensie Perkins gave us an early lead.
Woden fought back and equalised late in the half. The second half was a different story, as our girls attacked at every chance and played great team football.
A goal from Paula Sapio and a second for Mekensie saw us come away with a deserved 3-2 win.
In the third game, we came up against the Tuggeranong United NPL side.
It was another very physical, tight game against a fast and strong premier league team, but our backs and midfielders worked tirelessly to keep them at bay while our strikers wrought havoc at every chance they got.
Tuggeranong scored early, but the girls lifted and equalised through Mekensie before half time.
The second half was much the same in a very fast game from one end to the other. Tuggeranong struck again to lead 2-1, but this again lifted our girls who equalised with Mekensie's second goal.
We pressured the opposition for the rest of the game and almost scored the winner with only a few minutes left when Paula's shot glanced the upright after some great combination play form our midfielders.
A draw was a good result in a very tough game.
In our fourth game, we took on Northbridge, another very physical team.
The girls really stood up in this game against a side which had breezed past all other opposition to lead the group.
This team had not had a goal scored against them the entire competition, until they met us.
Northbridge dominated for most of this game, but our girls toiled hard and never gave up, which resulted in several opportunities to score goals. Paula duly obliged and put two past the opposition keeper.
Our backs worked extremely hard in this game against fast and talented opposition, and kept us in the match, until the last few minutes when a couple of late goals saw us go down 5-2 to a strong outfit.
This was by far the hardest game, but the girls stood strong and really gave it to Northbridge, who had to work extremely hard to get a result against us.
Our girls finished in third place in a really strong group and have done themselves, their club association and parents proud.
The fifth game was a third place consolation match against third-ranked Pool A team, Woden Western NPL.
With injuries and some very tired legs, we decided to go out and have some fun in this game and let our backs play forward and forwards in the backs.
The girls still put everything into the game and played some great football. However, the opposition took advantage of out of position players and led 3-0 at half time.
The girls decided they wanted play in their usual positions in the second half and really gave it to the NPL team.
When Jess Eddy scored, it looked like we might get back into the game but ran out of time.
It was a great match again and a great tournament for the girls who continue to improve every game.
The girls have come a long way this year and are really proving to be a force to be reckoned with.
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