Belconnen United 6 (Michaela Day 19’ 29’, Jessie Rasschaert 57’, Leah Carnegie 79’, Keira Bobbin 87’, Maddy Whittall 90+1) def. Woden-Weston 0
By Rhyan Misner
Belconnen United put in a dominant performance to see off Woden-Weston 6-0 and claim the 2019 Women’s Federation Cup at Deakin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Devils had their sixth consecutive Federation Cup to aim for while Woden-Weston had not let inconsistent league form derail their cup aspirations, with a convincing win against Gungahlin and a one-goal semi-final victory over Olympic landing them a spot in the final.
The opening exchanges were tense and physical by both sides who were looking to establish some early momentum in an important affair and was a seesawing encounter early.
The deadlock was broken by Belconnen in the 19th and the final had its first goal.
When a ball to the back post found Bronte Pyke there was plenty of contact with a defender and the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty.
Michaela Day calmly slotted home into the bottom right corner with Woden-Weston goalkeeper Cristina Esposito committing to the other side.
Ten minutes later Belconnen had their second goal and control in the final; some creative interplay on the edge of the box sent Day in on goal where she used the same composure to nicely finish past the onrushing Esposito into the far corner to make it 2-0.
Belconnen went into the halftime break with a deserved two-goal advantage, while the Wanderers were looking for a spark that had helped them early but dissipated as Belconnen took over.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first, neither side being able to create clear goal scoring opportunities.
It didn’t take long for Belconnen to score their third and establish firm control on the final when a beautifully flighted corner was headed into the goal from Jessie Rasschaert in the 57th minute.
Woden-Weston made substitutes in a big to swing the tide of the game and add some extra energy to claw themselves back into the game against a strong Belconnen.
But United had one hand on the trophy when they scored their fourth goal with just over 10 minutes remaining, as Leah Carnegie’s well struck effort from outside the area deflected off a defender and looped over Esposito and in.
A thoroughly dominant performance from Belconnen was capped off in the final minutes when they scored their final two goals inside the dying minutes.
Keira Bobbin chipped Esposito from inside the area after being sent through before Maddy Whittall made no mistake with a tidy finish at the end of a run.
That was a wrap on a match where the score did not necessarily reflect the balance of play, but Woden-Weston will now turn their attentions back to the league and a clash with Canberra FC, while Belconnen United have the week off with a bye.
