The Cootamundra Strikers women’s team will be looking to reverse the 5-0 scoreline from their loss to Junee last weekend when they play the Jaguars again in this weekend’s major semi-final.
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The girls had a chance to claim the minor premiership with a win last weekend but lack of numbers and injuries sustained during the game allowed Junee to take the title.
Co-coach Luke Dickinson only had a 13-woman squad at kickoff and within the first ten minutes that number was down to 11 with Alana Simmons and Elizabeth Carter sustaining injuries.
“We had no subs for basically the whole game and that’s what cost us,” Dickinson said.
“They had a squad of 16 and kept rotating fresh players.”
In what may prove to be a huge blow for the Strikers, Simmons has possible ligament damage in her knee and may miss the rest of the season. Physio sessions during the week will reveal the extent of the damage.
Carter aggravated an existing hamstring injury and has until kickoff to determine her fitness.
The team will be bolstered by the return of captain Erin Boxsell who will play in the major semi.
The 5-0 result from last weekend is not a true representation of how evenly matched the sides are.
The Strikers finished in second, just four points behind the Jaguars.
Both teams have dominated the rest of the competition all season but Junee has proved to be the Strikers’ bogey team having beaten Cootamundra in all three of their regular season encounters.
That said, if the Strikers play at their highest level they are entirely capable of knocking off Junee.
The Strikers came close to beating the Jaguars back in round 11 when they had the lead for the majority of the game but conceded two late goals to give Junee the win.
Dickinson has been working on his side’s defence to avoid this happening again.
“We’ve been working on our structure at the back and making sure we cover in defence. If we do that there’s no reason we can’t beat this side,” he said.
Whatever the result, the Strikers season will not end this weekend.
The loser of the major semi plays the winner of the minor semi in the qualifying final in two weekend’s time.
Henwood Park play Tolland in the minor semi for a spot in the qualifier.
The Strikers have dominated both of these teams all year having beaten Henwood Park three times and Tolland twice.
The qualifier will also be played at O’Connor Park so the Strikers will have home ground advantage.
A grand final appearance seems like for the girls, whether they win this weekend or not.
