Gators Turn It Up To Eleven
Words: Matt Dorman
Image: The Gap FC
The Gap Women recaptured their most fearsome form with a dominant 11-0 defeat of SWQ Thunder Women at Walton Bridge Reserve on Sunday.
Gators stumbled to consecutive defeats in their past two matches but were untroubled by Thunder, who were unable to add to their two wins for the season.
Ruth Blackburn made the best possible start to her return from suspension with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match.
Victoria Stephenson then unleashed a shot into the corner and doubled her tally with a lifted finish to make it 4-0 after just 20 minutes.
Blackburn incredibly then completed a 22-minute hattrick by turning home Stephenson’s pass, and the winger joined her with a treble shortly after the half hour mark.
Megan Price next stepped forward to net the goal of the game from long range, while Stephenson found time to make it 8-0 before the break courtesy of another Bethany Ashton assist.
The damage continued almost instantly in the second half when Leah Curtis got in on the act with her fourth for the campaign.
Gators goalkeeper Hannah Smith-Roberts was not without her own work to do on debut, called upon to keep out Rosanna Berry’s goal-bound effort.
Any bright moments for Thunder were short-lived though as Curtis soon grabbed her second to extend the hosts’ lead to double figures.
Striker Bethany Ashton then netted a well-earned goal of her own to finally cap the scoring at 11-0.
Thunder did manage to see out the remaining half an hour without conceding further but were unable to sneak a consolation of their own.
Speaking after the match, Gators coach Rob Askew praised his team's early attitude.
“I think it was a performance we needed to produce. We obviously had two bad results in a row and I was really pleased with our first half,” Askew said.
Listen to the full post match interview below.
The Gap FC Women 11 (Ruth BLACKBURN 5’, 10’, 22’ Victoria STEPHENSON 15’, 20’, 33’, 44’ Megan PRICE 37’, Leah CURTIS 46’, 50’ Bethany ASHTON 56’)
South West Queensland Thunder FC Women 0
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