CAPITAL STEAL THE POINTS TO MAINTAIN TITLE CHALLENGE

 

Capital's Kayley Ward battles for the ball TJF Photos

CAPITAL 1 WaiBOP 0

ISPS Handa Womens Premiership

Saturday 21 November, 2020

Petone Memorial Park

Att : 100ish

Football is a simple game, you need to score more goals than the opposition to win. Thats what Capital did on a very windy day at Petone Memorial Park on Saturday. On the balance of play it could be said that Capital burgled the three points and WaiBOP will be very disappointed they didn't pick up at least one point.

It was the type of wind that a lightly weighted pass for a player to run on to would be picked up and the player would have to be Usain Bolt to reach the ball before it ran out for a goal kick!

This led to quite a few balls, particularly from Capital, getting played to the opposition as the players were trying to get the right weight on the ball and not hitting it hard enough.

Capital won the toss and elected to go with the wind behind them in the first half, this seemed a good option as it was likely that due to the wind the majority of the game would be played in the WaiBOP half and it was ideal to have shots from 20-30 meters out giving that the wind would carry the ball. While this may have been the plan it didn't eventuate for Capital thanks to a well organised defence and midfield, who just weren't giving Capital any time to attempt any shots.

PIC : Capital's Michaela Robertson on the ball Photo TJF Photos

Capital probably have two of the fastest players in the league this year in Michaela Robertson and Kayley Ward but they don't seem to have worked out how to use them together, with Robertson being pushed back into a deeper lying position in more of midfield than up front. It left Ward up front, although she never really got to show her pace as she was continually being caught offside by the WaiBOP defence which captain Michaela Foster was marshalling extremely well.

The wind eased off a bit in the second half, although not by much and it still had a major affect on the game. Despite the conditions the game was quite open as both teams tried to break the deadlock. Capital came back into the game more in the second half especially with Charlotte Wilford Carroll starting to have more influence on the midfield. It did look as if the game was heading for a draw, which neither team wanted but would probably have been a fair result, when 16 minutes from time Wilford Carroll had a shot from just outside the penalty area, it wasn't the best strike but it had enough on it to take a deflection and fall at the feet of Kayley Ward who slotted in her sixth goal of the season and gave Capital a 1-0 win.

Despite the win, Capital actually drop a place on the league table to fourth on goal difference thanks to Northern's 4-1 win over league leaders Auckland on Sunday. They have two games left away to Central next week and then a tough game home to defending champions, Canterbury United Pride the week after. 

FOR PHOTOS FROM THE GAME CLICK HERE