REIGNING Women’s Premier League champions Urunga celebrated Female Football Week in style, overpowering Woolgoolga Wildcats 4-0 on a chilly Friday night away from home.
Kate Fry struck twice inside the opening half hour as the Raiders made the perfect start in Woolgoolga.
The Wildcats refused to go quietly however, launching a series of attacking raids that forced Urunga goalkeeper Jess Snow into a string of outstanding saves.
Any hopes of a Woolgoolga comeback were extinguished just before the break when Bre Martin produced a clever toe-poke finish to hand the Raiders a commanding 3-0 half-time advantage.
The contest opened up in the second half with play flowing end-to-end, but Urunga’s defence stood firm before Juniper Doye capped the performance with a close-range tap-in after an excellent point-blank save from the Wildcats goalkeeper.
Urunga coach Trevor Martin reflected on the match.
“Woolgoolga had taken points from Coffs in an earlier round and so we expected a competitive matchup,” he said.
“It took a while to settle in.
“Woopi seemed to be focused on a compact defensive block and counter attack philosophy, and it was by way of a penalty that Urungas Kate Fry opened the scoring.
“She bagged a second 10 minutes later and Bre Martin got a third before half time.
“Woopi were dangerous on the counter though, their number 9 getting through on a few occasions to set up one-on-one opportunities against our keeper Jess Snow, but despite hitting the post she couldn’t find the back of the net.
“Urungas Juniper Doye, helping Kate Fry’s far post shot into the back of the net, nabbed the fourth goal midway through the second half.
“It was a solid performance from us, controlling the game for the most part.
“Defensively we were up to the pace of their counters and although we were probably not at our potential I was very happy with the game we put together.”
The victory leaves the Raiders on top of the table with a perfect 12 points from four rounds.
Elsewhere, Coffs City United Lionesses defeated Northern Storm 4-1 to move level with Woolgoolga in joint second on six points.
For round 6, the Wildcats host Northern Storm while Urunga travels to Boambee on Friday 15 May as the Women’s Premier League continues after a successful Female Football Week.
By David WIGLEY
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.