Having played in the B-division for the last few seasons, coming up against the Waikato champions in our first game back in the A-division was always going to be a big ask!!
Being the first time our team had played together just added a little to the pressure. That being said, the girls went out in good heart and played with commitment and tenacity. Dio were dominant from the opening whistle (scoring in the second minute) but our girls worked well and made Dio work hard. Dio kept us in our half for much of the first third of the match, scoring a further three goals.
After about fifteen minutes our combinations kicked in and we penetrated Dio’s half creating half chances but not converting. We picked up again after half time and the game moved from end to end. Dio were the more polished and did a better job of converting their opportunities into 5 goals.
A satisfying performance with promise of development to come. A number of players performed well, but based on this and her high work rate “player of the day” went to Jade Henley-Smith.
