Words: Garry McKenzie

Palm Beach SC Women kept pressure on the top two with an emphatic 9-0 win over Souths United SC Women at Mallawa Complex on Sunday.

Hat tricks to Deeanna Thompson and Lauren Brown were the highlights of the game which also saw Laura Sevil, Sachiko Tatsuoka and Taylor Stevens get on the scoresheet.

Third-placed Sharks remain four points behind leaders The Gap FC Women but with a game in hand, ensuring a tight finish to the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland Women's Premiership race with two rounds remaining.

Winless Souths had shown signs of improvement in recent weeks in narrow losses to Western Pride FC Women and Sunshine Coast Women but never recovered after conceding two goals within the first three minutes.

Brown won a contested ball near the top of the box and calmly shot just inside the right-hand post to top open the scoring.

From the kick-off the ball came to Brown on the left whose cross allowed an unmarked Sevil to tap home from within the six-yard box.

The next twenty minutes were predominantly played within the Souths half with Latham and Thompson twice denied by the goalkeeper.

Thompson finally got her reward when she beat her marker at the top of the box and shot past the goalkeeper to make it three.

Five minutes later Sevil’s fierce drive was saved but Thompson was on hand to double her goal tally with a simple tap-in.

The half time break did little to stem the flow of goals as Kiri Dale’s cross allowed Brown a point-blank header to make it five-nil.

Dale was again provider when her cross was met by Tatsuoka, whose dipping shot hit the underneath of the crossbar and crashed in.

Thompson sealed her hat trick three minutes later when she met a free kick on the run and smashed home from the top of the box.

Brown’s hat trick soon followed as she stole the ball from a defender and produced a back heel which deceived the goalkeeper.

Captain Taylor Stevens completed the scoring just before full time when she turned a corner inside the top left hand corner.

Speaking post-match Sharks player Kiri Dale, in her last game for the club before heading to the US, was happy in the way the team retained possession after taking an early lead.

 “We got a lot of goals which is what we need - it’s going to be the decider between the top teams, “ Dale said.

Palm Beach SC Women 9 (Lauren BROWN 2' 48' 87', Laura SEVIL 3', Deanna THOMPSON 32' 37' 61', Sachiko TATSUOKA 58', Taylor STEVENS 90')
Souths United FC Women  0