Words: Michael Flynn
Additional Reporting: Melanie Guy

A last-gasp injury time strike from skipper Tayler Stevens has seen Souths United Women sneak a 2-1 win against Sunshine Coast FC Women at Kawana Sports Precinct.

The early morning kick-off benefitted the hosts as they took the lead via a stunning long-range strike from Martha Bensted midway through the first half.

Souths restored parity before the break when Fire’s Isabelle Neill turned in an own goal, however Fire continued to frustrate their opponents before ultimately cracking in the final minute when Stevens converted the decisive goal amidst a goal mouth scramble.

The win marks a league double for Souths over Fire this season, and extends their unbeaten run to seven matches to stay in touch with league-leaders The Gap FC Women.

Key Moments

13’ – CHANCE FOR SOUTHS – Meaghan McElligott fashions space just inside the penalty area to get a shot away, however Fire goalkeeper Katie Offer has it covered with a solid save

18’ – GOAL FOR FIRE – Martha Bensted delivers an inch-perfect finish from outside the penalty area that sneaks in between the crossbar and stretched Souths goalkeeper Bianca Warrener

24’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – Samara Christmas seeks to convert with a free-kick however Warrener is up to task with a full-stretched diving save

35’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – Christmas supplies Kirra Guy inside the penalty but her low, angled attempt goes just wide of the far post

42’ – GOAL FOR SOUTHS – Isabelle Neill attempts to clear Deeanna Thompson’s free-kick away from danger but gets the kick all wrong and inadvertently turns the ball into her own net

51’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – Kirsty Clifford’s midfield ball releases Guy one-on-one with Warrener, however can’t find the target with her shot

57’ – CHANCE FOR SOUTHS – Ayesha Norrie pounces on a Fire error and bears down on goal by her low shot is well saved by Offer

73’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – Clifford feeds the ball into the feet of Tegan Buhmann on the six-yard box, however

89' GOAL FOR SOUTHS – Souths push numbers forward and Fire look to diffuse a goal mouth scramble before Tayler Stevens gets a decisive touch to drill the ball across the line

What They Said

“I thought the way we set up worked a treat, we had to defend for long periods of the game which I thought we handled quite well. To go one-nil up against a team like Souths just shows you how far we have come as a team. It was disappointing to concede the own goal just before half time, but again we defended really well. Obviously then conceding again 3 minutes into injury time knocked the stuffing out of us, and I think a fair result would have been a draw.“ – Tom White, Sunshine Coast FC Women coach

“I think Fire played really well. They were organised and packed the midfield against us and it made it difficult to break them down. The wind as well didn’t make for good football but at the end of the day I was just happy to get the three points. We had players that had to travel three hours to get to the Sunshine Coast, so it definitely made it a lot harder with the early kick-off.“ – Gary French, Souths United FC Women coach

Match Details

PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues Women’s 2016 – Round 13

Sunday, June 12
Kawana Sports Precinct, Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast FC Women – 1 (Martha BENSTED 19’)
Souths United FC Women – 2 (own goal 42’, Tayler STEVENS 90+3’)

Match Centre - http://bit.ly/1U7qH4K

Match Officials - Vicky CLARK (referee), Laura KRAUSE (assistant), Sarah PRATT (assistant)