WA Football Commission

Angels defeat Sharks at ATOM StadiumMonday, May 30, 2016 - 9:49 AM

Star forward Aleisha Duncan has booted 5 goals to help the Perth Angels to a 32-point win over the East Fremantle Sharks in Round 8 of the West Australian Women’s Football League Reserves on Sunday.

The Angels led at every change at ATOM Stadium to record an 8. 12 (60) to 4. 4 (28) victory, claiming their fifth win of the season and moving them up to third on the ladder.

Perth’s defensive pressure was on display, as East Fremantle struggled to move the ball out of their own half.

A dominant third quarter by the Angels was the difference, scoring 15 unanswered points and holding the Sharks scoreless for the entire term.

Angels Coach, Brad Lukosius, was very pleased with the team’s effort after a slow start.

“Early I don’t think we were mentally switched on and working hard enough, they did have more players around the ball.”

“We focused on running hard and matching them and being accountable. We started congesting it a bit for them and the flipside was we started to use the footy and transition it forward and kick some goals and it was a really good win,” he said.

It was a tough day for East Fremantle Sharks who started strongly but couldn’t keep up the tempo throughout the match.

East Fremantle Coach, Wendy Booth, said injuries had impacted the team.

“Its been tough, we had ten changes this week so its always hard when you are turning over half of your players. But the second half were better, the girls worked on what we wanted them to work on so there were definitely some positives out of the second half.”

Both teams were placed on equal points coming into the fixture and each side was looking to consolidate third position on the ladder.

Each team was looking to start strongly but it was East Fremantle who fired first. Sharks forward Julie Nichols kicked the opening 2 goals to get the Sharks off to a 12-point lead in the opening minutes.

Booth said, “We wanted to try and hit them hard early and get some scores on the board but unfortunately we weren’t able to sustain that structure for the whole game.”

The Angels defensive pressure began to show as East Fremantle struggled to get the ball out of their back half and use their spread effectively.

Lukosius stated, “The last thing you want to do is give them a 2-3 goal lead and give them plenty of run. But our loose players started to have an impact and we started to find space.”

Despite dominating possession, wayward kicking from the Angels resulted in only a quarter time lead of 2.6(18) to 2.1(13).

The Sharks came back firing and retook the lead at the start of the second quarter with Maisie Glen kicking a goal for a one-point lead.

However, the Angels began to dominate possession and proceeded to pull away on the scoreboard, with Aleisha Duncan kicking 2 goals to give the Angels a 17-point buffer going into halftime.

After the half it was all the Angels as they held the Sharks scoreless for the entire third quarter. Carolyn Ruoss led the Perth defence, stifling East Fremantle’s attack.

The Angels midfield was outplaying the Sharks and Perth Angels star Jennifer Homes showed her class providing run through the centre and kicking the first goal of the third quarter.

Perth had ground away to a 32-point lead by three quarter time.

East Fremantle forward Katelyn Murray kicked the first goal of the fourth quarter, bringing some life back into the contest before Aleisha Duncan sealed the match with her fifth goal.

Next week, the Perth Angels take on the league leaders Joondalup while East Fremantle verse The Thunderbirds.

Goals:

East Fremantle: Nichols 2, Murray 1, Glen 1.

Perth Angels: Duncan 5, Homes 2, Wiseman 1.

Best:

East Fremantle: Nichols, Murray, Glen, Maher

Perth Angels: Duncan, Homes, Thomas, Ruoss

Article: Cam Inglis