Lennox Head Sharks have been crowned Champions of the NSW north coast after a thrilling extra-time win over Urunga Raiders in Coffs Harbour. The women’s team from Lennox Head defeated Urunga 2-1 in the second period of extra time after the teams were locked at 1-all after 90 minutes. Conditions at BCU International Stadium were perfect for the match which brought together two teams who were undefeated in their local competitions and it proved to be a tight contest. The match started at top speed with Urunga putting the first shot on target within 30 seconds of kick off. The opening period was truly end to end, but the opening goal game in only the 10^th minute when the Lennox defence curiously opened right up to allow a Urunga mid field ball to travel unchallenged up the middle. The Lennox Head sweeper was caught on the right hand side of the pitch when Urunga’s Lauren Green sprinted onto the ball unopposed to slot home the opener. Within two minutes of the restart the Sharks could have been back on level terms with a well taken shot from close range, however the Raiders’ keeper Jessica Snow was perfectly positioned to make the save. Urunga was dominating large parts of the first half through right winger Georgia Myles and striker Tjirra Francis, but the famed Lennox Head defence held firm. The Sharks were holding the ball for long periods as well, mainly through midfielder Amanda Brett and Jaime Picken on the right hand side. One nil to the Raiders at the break. Urunga changed their formation for the second half with Tjirra Francis dropping back into the midfield and Skye Pettit moving to the front line. This was perhaps the crucial move of the match because the longer the game went on, the more it looked like a Lennox Head goal was coming. In the 50^th minute, Urunga’s Belinda Moore, who was a standout player for the Raiders was put through for a one on one with the Lennox Head keeper Riley Harrison. Harrison’s technique was excellent all night and here she pulled off a save which was crucial for keeping the Sharks in the match. Significantly, in the 70^th minute Urunga’s Lauren Green was forced to leave the field with an ankle injury. This seemed to take the sting out of the Urunga attack and, even though Belinda Moore dominated the midfield for Urunga, from here the Raiders didn’t often look like increasing their lead. There were chances, however, in particular to Heidi Francis from 30 metres out. Francis hit a thunderbolt which, had it been on target, would have been near impossible to stop, but flew to the left of the goal. In the 65^th minute Belinda Moore attempted an over the shoulder volley and only succeeded in hitting Sharks’ defender Margo Rollison in the face. Rollison, thankfully,  recovered to play on. Lennox Head closed in for the kill. It almost came in the 80^th minute after a fumble by Urunga keeper Jessica Snow resulted in the ball dropping in front of Angela Graham, who could only push it wide. The equaliser finally came in the 82^nd minute through Chelsea Graham. Graham weaved her way through a tired Raiders backline, fired the ball to the left, it hit the post & went in. So to extra time they went; two 10 minute periods, in which Lennox Head looked the stronger. In the 105^th minute, Urunga was forced to make a goal line clearance during a massive scramble, but it only delayed the inevitable. The winner came in the 108^th minute, two minutes before a penalty shootout was due. Amanda Brett, who had toiled hard for Lennox Head all night in the midfield, struck the ball from just outside the goal area and it was celebration time. Only Samantha Snow’s shot one minute from time threatened to bring on the penalty shootout, but it was not to be for the Raiders. 2-1 the final score to Lennox Head. This was a game which truly could have gone either way. At times both teams looked dominant, however, if the statistics could be found, they may well show Lennox Head had more of the ball, perhaps. Usually a team with that much ability and that much ball will win and so it proved on the night.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 10:08 am and is filed under Competitions, headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.