By Peter Stephenson
Barkerettes (second) hosted local rivals Lilydale Montrose United (tenth) in Women’s State 3 South. With three games remaining, they needed to stay ahead of Endeavour and Aspendale to reach the promotion play-off. It was also the day the club celebrated 20 years of senior women’s football, so for the second game in a row, the women had a decent crowd behind them.
The first chance came on six minutes when Kelly Butera hit a long shot over. Then on 17 minutes, Lisa Walsh hit a shot which LMU keeper Melanie Closter gathered at the second attempt. In a scrappy opening, further chances fell to Butera and Courtney Wipperfurth, but Closter was untroubled.
Until, that is, seven minutes before the break, when Barkers won a free-kick about 25 yards out. Butera hit the ball over the wall but was denied by the crossbar. Half-time came with the score 0-0. This was not much of a spectacle, as Barkers were content to shoot from distance, and the shots either went wide or straight to Closter, whose positioning was sound.
The second half began with Barkers continuing to shoot from too far out – would they ever break the deadlock? Just before the hour, Walsh was caught offside on the left wing – free-kick to LMU. From the free-kick, LMU dangerously played the ball across the top of the box. It fell to Jones, who hit a first-time pass to D’Ortenzio. She ran into the box, held off a defender and smashed the ball home for the opening goal.
Two minutes later, a Butera free kick went to the far post, where Barrueto headed wide. Then with 15 minutes to go, Walsh had a shot blocked, and D’Ortenzio hit the rebound wide.
You always felt that one goal would be enough against LMU, but with nine minutes to go, the game was settled. A through ball from D’Ortenzio for Walsh found her just onside despite muted LMU protests, and she ran clear and slotted home to make it 2-0.
After the champagne and caviar of the Endeavour performance, this was stodgier fare. However, a local derby changes the dynamic. Finally, it would be remiss not to give some credit to LMU. Although they barely troubled Barkers keeper Ashleigh Fraraccio, they had no bench and never gave up. With two games to go, Gippsland have clinched the championship, but Barkers stay second, in the box seat for the play-off position.
On Saturday afternoon, the men (fourth) visited bottom side Heatherton United, entertaining slight hopes of promotion. These were dashed as a goal from Geordie Scott was cancelled out by a Heatherton penalty and the game finished 1-1. The reserves was somewhat farcical, as Barkers demolished a makeshift Heatherton side 12-0 to record their biggest victory for 39 years.
In junior football, this week’s winners were Boys’ Under 14 (5-0 v Knox City) and Girls’ Under 13 (3-1 v Manningham United). Next week, the men host Doncaster Rovers (Esther Park, Saturday 1pm/3pm) while the women have a week off for a catchup round. See you down the Kennel!
