Old Yarra building “team DNA” despite loss: Div 2 Women’s Round in Review

An exciting round four of Division 2 Women’s featured some great matchups — this is how it played out.

Old Camberwell 1.3.9 def Hampton Rovers 0.6.6

Old Camberwell took on Hampton Rovers at Castlefield Reserve for Round 4. Conditions were wet, which made scoring difficult throughout the game.

After a hard contest with great pressure applied from both sides, Old Camberwell were able to come away with the win with some magic from Bridget Facey.

Old Camberwell coach Nick Hooper said “it took a Bridget Facey fend off in the goal square to create the room needed for the game’s only goal, to give us a hard-fought victory”.

MCC 4.2.26 def UHS-VU 0.4.4

UHS-VU came into the round undefeated as they did battle against MCC, who were looking to redeem themselves after their first loss of the season at the hands of Richmond Central the week prior.

It was a dominant opening quarter for MCC, kicking the only two goals of the quarter through Alexandra Mori and Lola Callan.

MCC were able to apply good pressure, holding UHS-VU down to only four points, and another two goals finished off the final term with another goal to Lola Callan, who was back in the team after injury.

“We were able to successfully implement our method for longer periods of time this week, which resulted in our best win of the season against a strong opponent,” MCC coach Sebastian Mueller said.

“We learnt a lot from our last game and worked hard to transition the ball with more control and composure out of our backline, setting us up with more dangerous opportunities in front of goal.”

Beaumaris 3.3.21 def Richmond Central 2.3.15

It was off to William Street Reserve for a massive top two clash with Beaumaris looking to chalk up their third win of the year against a strong Richmond Central side who came into the contest without a loss.

The conditions once again made it difficult to score, but as the weather cleared the game opened up. Richmond were able to insert themselves into the contest in the second half with the backline stepping up, led by Isabella Rao in game 100.

Beaumaris were able to convert their forward entries kicking a goal in each of the final two quarters to come away with the win by six points in a close game.

Beaumaris coach George Kappa said it was “a tough and physical encounter that was worthy of a top two clash”.

Caulfield Grammarians 4.10.34 def Old Yarra 1.2.8

Caulfield and Old Yarra faced off in an afternoon match to close out Round 4, with both sides looking for their first win of the year after struggling early in the season.

Caufield moved the ball forward early and after a few missed opportunities they were able to kick two goals in the first term. In the second quarter, Caufield continued to make their mark on the game kicking another goal seven minutes in, making it difficult for Old Yarra’s backline who were under fire.

Old Yarra were able to gain some momentum back with better ball use and hit the board with their only major of the game.

“One of the biggest improvements this week was our ability to be cleaner with the football,” Old Yarra coach Bree Pascoe said. “By using the ball more effectively and maintaining possession for longer periods, we were able to take pressure off our defenders and give them a well-deserved rest after a number of tough weeks.”

“While the scoreboard may not have reflected the effort and improvement, the team is beginning to gel and we are starting to play the style of football we want to be known for, showing real glimpses of our team DNA”.

Kate Caughey’s performance in the ruck stood out for Old Yarra, providing a presence on the field that made life harder for Caulfield.

“Old Yarra’s strength and height troubled us all day but with Bella Bez and Alyssa Bernardo patrolling the half back line, we made scoring for them difficult,” Caulfield coach Lach Worthy said.

“Addy Taylor and Jess Van Es stood out in the midfield and Lauren Yarrow was dangerous up forward. Overall, it was a good day with still plenty to work on”.