By Sarah Bailey
Strong play secured victory for the women’s team and both U14 girls’ teams on Saturday.
With the spirit of the Matildas firing the Healesville women, they came out against KCSC Ladies Pride with steely determination and grit to get a win. It was a tough first 20 minutes, with every goal attempt seemingly missing the mark and a responsive opposition goalie ready for an attack.
It took Healesville’s super-speedy right-winger to make the initial break with a fabulous strike into the back of the nets. After that, it was on, with a peppering of goals from an unrelenting but always good-natured Healesville side and impressive displays from some previously quiet achievers.
Standout Caroline Moura smashed the second goal into the nets off a terrific header from a corner cross by always-steady Kiera Steventon, who got her own hat trick during the game. Relative newcomer Rachel Clark didn’t miss the opportunity to shine with her first 2 goals of the season. Ava Holman had an impressive game, first working together with our super-captain Sarah Cunnian to score off a throw-in from the mid and then demonstrating her adaptability, moving to the defence for her first sweeper role. Last but not least, Cunnian steadied the team with 2 goals.
Shout out to co-coaching Campbell duo Courtney and Maddie at the helm, who was not afraid to take some risks, bringing enthusiasm and providing important advice to bring home the 10-0 win. It means a climb back to second on the ladder for the women heading into the back end of the season.
It was famine to feast for Healesville’s U14 (Red) girls, with a 6-0 win away against Mooroolbark.
The team were switched on from the start and worked well together to give themselves numerous opportunities in attack. Mia in goal and Ella and Hana in defence denied the opposition any opportunities in attack. After several corner kicks, Olive volleyed a difficult cross to put our team 1-0 up. The joy on her face was quite special to see.
An injury to Isla, who had been working hard in midfield, forced a few on-field changes at the start of the second half. With Evie moving to centre forward, the game suddenly took on a whole new perspective. Evie turned on a master class, with some wonderful skills that had our supporters cheering for more. In a 12-minute purple patch, Evie scored a hat-trick, with each of the 3 goals better than the one before.
Not much could be better than that display, but the girls weren’t done yet. A well-struck 30-plus-metre free kick from Melita in our defensive half saw Healesville go 5-0 up.
Despite all the excitement, there was still one more surprise in store. Evie wove her way through the opposition midfield and defence to score yet again, giving her a 4-goal haul.
The 6-0 result was a really solid effort that saw all of Healesville’s forwards and midfielders take multiple shots on goal.
A special mention goes to Eloise, who – playing on her birthday! – controlled the game as a central midfielder. Isla and the team gave her a rousing ‘Happy Birthday’ send-off in the centre of the pitch.
Inspired by the World Cup, Healesville’s U14 girls (White) went on the attack early. Away against Berwick, they produced some great passages of play and were rewarded with 2 early goals. Berwick kept pushing with attacking plays, but these were well-defended by Healesville’s backline. Scoring 3 more goals with some beautiful through balls, Healesville finished the game with a 5-0 win.
Healesville’s U9 white knights beat Mooroolbark 2-1 at Mt Evelyn in a chaotic small-pitch, group-hug game. Noah scored 2 for Healesville and the team played well together.
Croydon away proved to be challenging for the U9 Redbacks, who were defeated 4-1. The game was a competitive battle from the start. The Redbacks looked like the dominant team throughout, with more possession and some excellent link-up play, but unfortunately, Healesville had fewer chances on goal. Isaac and Ash provided some excellent defensive cover throughout the game, and Arlo put the Redbacks on the score sheet with a well-deserved goal.
After the long drive to Berwick, the U10 Redbacks were met with sunny skies and a 3-0 first-half deficit against Berwick Thunder. At half-time tactical changes led by Isla Larkin-Flood, Ruby Russell and Paige Psathas paid off and got Healesville back in the game. The Redbacks scored 2 goals that could’ve been 5 or 6, and the team finished with a 3-2 loss after a brilliant second-half performance.
Healesville’s U10 Whites were outgunned by a strong Berwick side playing on their home deck, who converted regular entries in their attack. Ardi Campbell was the sole Healesville scorer, taking the team to half-time at 3-1 with something solid to pin their hopes on.
In a tough game that tested Healesville’s resilience, Berwick Spirit found yet another gear in the closing half to get the win 9-1, despite Healesville fighting on with plenty of spirit themselves. An amazing one-hand save from Harley was the highlight of the day.
Healesville’s U12s played at home to the Blackburn Servals in the second contest in a row in the reverse fixture.
For Healesville, the first half was much brighter than the grey skies above, but despite numerous attempts, they just couldn’t convert their chances into goals. A 2-goal lead at half-time would have been fair after hitting the woodwork twice and having 3 or 4 other near misses, but the game remained 0-0.
Blackburn came out stronger in the second half to make a more even contest, but Healesville was still looking the better team.
Taking chances is a must in sport and, while Healesville couldn’t convert more chances in the second half, Blackburn took their first opportunity of the match to lead 1-0. Healesville pushed for an equaliser but was hit on the break late in the game to suffer an undeserved 2-0 defeat.
Healesville seniors put in a great performance against a high-flying Blackburn side and were unfortunate to concede the 1st goal in an even opening 15 minutes. But Healesville didn’t let their heads drop, and a great through ball by Ben Maunder saw Stephen Newton beat the keeper to the ball and slot home his 1st goal for Healesville.
On the stroke of half-time, some good fortune for Blackburn yielded them a 2-1 lead.
After the break a youthful Blackburn took control of the game. A dogged Healesville stayed in the contest and created a couple of great chances to equalise but didn’t convert. A 3rd goal for Blackburn with five minutes to go sealed the 3-1 victory for the away team.
After some solid performances over the last few weeks, the Healesville reserves were up against a Blackburn team that put 14 goals past them in their last meeting.
A very positive start from Healesville came undone when Blackburn scored 2 quick goals before adding a 3rd just before half-time.
With two new players and three U14s making up their squad, Healesville showed signs of fatigue early in the second half, while Blackburn’s youthful side constantly made interchanges and was looking likely to score every time they surged forward.
A goal for Blackburn 15 minutes into the second half opened the floodgates, and they went on to score a further 5 goals for a 9-0 victory.
Positives for Healesville were a 5-goal-better deficit than the previous outing and the performances of new guys Falk Wicker and Joe McLachlan.
