South Wallsend coach Brad Parkes said losing becomes a habit but hopes the Wolves can break their winless streak when they play their third game in eight days on Wednesday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Herald Women’s Premier League’s fifth-placed side have not won since beating New Lambton 6-5 on May 12 and failed to ground the third-placed Eagles again in a 1-0 loss at Walker Fields on Sunday.
The result came as the competition’s three top sides all continued to charge towards the finals with respective victories while the bottom three remained locked in a battle for fourth spot with four rounds remaining.
“I thought both teams matched each other and they pinched one and we didn’t,” Parkes said. “We compete against everyone, which is what’s most frustrating. Not winning can become a bit of a habit and I think the girls are a little bit frustrated.
“But they’re not playing badly. We’ve only been beaten by Merewether 3-2, Warners Bay 3-2 and then 1-0 today.”
Parkes described the rescheduled match with sixth-placed Adamstown midweek as “a massive game for us”.
A win will move the Wolves into fourth and they will be boosted by the return of strike weapons Sass Seaborn, Erin Wilson and Maryjane Mason, who were all out on Sunday.
Parkes also hoped to give Jets defender Gema Simon more game time after she played 40 minutes from the bench against the Eagles.
New Lambton’s Keelan Hamilton said “it wasn’t pretty” but was happy with the effort in what both coaches described as “tough conditions” under foot on a muddy Walker Fields.
“It was one of those days where it was a battle and you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and win the battle, and we did that and I thought we thoroughly deserved three points,” Hamilton said.
The Eagles led 1-0 at half-time after Joey Burgess cut the ball from the byline to the top of the box where Carson Mcgovern fired it into the crossbar then headed home the rebound.
Jenna Kingsley scored a hat-trick, taking her season tally to 25, as Warners Bay overpowered Adamstown 6-1 at Adamstown Oval and moved to within one victory of securing another minor premiership.
The Panthers hold a seven-point lead over second-placed Merewether but United, who have three games left compared to Warners Bay’s two, can mathematically still overhaul the ladder leaders.
Warners Bay led 2-0 at the break then 4-0 before Adamstown found the back of the net through Lauren Allan.
Nadja Squires produced a match double for the Panthers and Sophie Stapleford also scored.
Merewether were missing key personnel as they beat fourth-placed Wallsend 2-1 at The Gardens.
United coach Cassie Koppen described it as “a really big effort” without starting players Rhali Dobson, Jamee Ellis, Sarah Hartree and Leah Guiffre.
“Everyone stepped up today and we’re very happy to get the three points,” Koppen said post-match.
“We had to make a lot of changes and adjust the way that we played a little bit. We sat back and absorbed a bit of the pressure so we could get through the 90 minutes and I think it worked well for us.”
Indianna Asimus opened the scoring from long range around the 15-minute mark but Wallsend hit back with a long-range effort of their own through Libby Copus-Brown midway through the half.
The defending champions took the lead when Nicki Jones scored from close range just minutes before the break.
Round-17 results:
Warners Bay 6 (Jenna Kingsley 3, Nadja Squires 2, Sophie Stapleford) defeated Adamstown 1 (Lauren Allan) at Adamstown Oval. Half-time: Warners Bay led 2-0.
New Lambton 1 (Carson Mcgovern) defeated South Wallsend 0 at Walker Fields. Half-time: New Lambton led 1-0.
Merewether 2 (Indianna Asimus, Nicki Jones) defeated Wallsend 1 (Libby Copus-Brown) at The Gardens. Half-time: Merewether led 2-1.
Points: Warners Bay 32, Merewether 25, New Lambton 24, Wallsend 8, South Wallsend 7, Adamstown 5.