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Ashy in Unlucky Draw with Sandringham |
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Written by Admin
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WPL Round 9 -18 May 2008
Seniors
 Ashburton retained 3rd position on the WPL ladder after an unlucky draw at home against a determined Sandringham. Ashburton started well with early chances generated by quick ball movement. Christine Pfeiffer played a one - two with Seyma Erenli and burst into the box, hitting her shot well only to be denied by Sandringham goalie, Peta Harman. The best chance of the first half went to Annabelle Gibney who, on a tight angle 9 yards out, shot the ball high over the bar. Unfortunately for Ashburton, with only a few moments to go before half time Rosie Buretta landed awkwardly and grimaced in pain. Play stopped and Rosie was taken off for treatment. With Ashburton down to 10 players, the Ashy team conceded a free kick 25 yards out. The free kick was not cleared and after a scramble Lucy Kapusta finished well for Sandringham. This signaled the end for Rosie whose injury appeared quite serious.
After the break Ashy came out firing and applied pressure to a stern defence. The equalising goal came from a very smart piece of play from Christine Pfeiffer who chipped the ball over the Sandy defence in the path of Annabelle Gibney. Annabelle controlled the ball in her stride and coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net. The equalizer lifted the spirits of Ashburton who were tenacious in their quest for a winning goal. To counter the increased pressure Sandringham put extra players behind the ball. A great chance was denied when Kristin Stensholt played the ball over the defence - Christine Pfeiffer ran onto it and, and to the relief of the Sandringham goalie the ball hit the top of the bar and resulted in a goal kick. Another opportunity arose shortly after this passage of play when Kelly Sandefur cut through down the left side on a 45 degree angle, hitting the ball with the left foot straight to the goalie. In hindsight a better option would have been to cut the ball back into the path of two waiting players.
At the end of the 90 minutes, Ashburton would have felt disapointed to draw this exciting game. The Ashy team dominated possession for long periods but were not able to kill off a determined Sandringham.
Photos from the game
Reserves
Despite kicking against a strong wind in the first half Ashburton created quite a few opportunities through the direct running of Francesca Marinucci and Danielle Jackson. The defence held up well with strong leadership from Steph Wood. Ashburton were continually creating chances, none better than when Kelly Sandefur strode through the Sandy defence and shot low only to be denied by an outstanding save by the keeper.
In the second half the Ashy team continued to pressure the Sandy defence in the quest for the opening goal. In the main, this pressure was generated by some excellent work from Paola Bernini and Kelly Sandefur. Finally with 20 minutes to go, Danielle Jackson goaled from a great header courtesy of a Paola Bernini corner.
Photos from the game.
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