Steve Upfold posted on March 25, 2007 19:07
The ladies' first team opened their pre-season account in fine style at Pukekohe High School on Sunday, taking a 4-1 win over Papakura.
Rose Kraakman scored twice and with Sarah Holmes and Emma McCrory also hitting home, the Maroons completed a comfortable victory after falling behind to a well-taken early strike from the visitors.
After their trademark rusty opening, the ladies settled and began to spay the ball around with confidence and looked likely to get beyond the visitors at any stage with the midfield four linking well with Rose and Sarah in the attacking third of the field.
Having conceded the opener as they attempted to play the ball out from the back, the ladies switched on and scored four unanswered goals with Whippet's first-time volley from eight yards the pick of the bunch.
At the defensive end, the ladies were led by the calm and assured play of vice-captain Lana Morris and her central defensive partner Karla Shearer while goalkeeper Sonja Abbott made several brave blocks in one-on-one situations - the best of which saw her make a save with her face as she courageously raced out to smother a scoring chance for the visitors.
Youngsters Tania Shaw and Nicole Kraakman made their first appearances for the ladies' first team and looked more than comfortable making the big step up from the junior ranks.
The ladies' next assignment is a derby day showdown with Waiuku next Saturday where midfielder Alice Birch will log her first playing time of the season after missing Sunday's match through illness.
A big thanks must go to the LARGE group of supporters who turned out for the match. Great effort from the parents, friends and club mates!
Pukekohe 4 (Rose Kraakman 2, Emma McCrory, Sarah Holmes) Papakura 1
Pukekohe: Sonja Abbott, Kirsten Davey (Tania Shaw), Lana Morris, Karla Shearer, Kelsey Macdonald, Leanne Dodd (capt), Emma McCrory, Nicola Birch, Nicole Fricker, Sarah Holmes (Nicole Kraakman), Rose Kraakman.