By Emma Burke
The Heidelberg United Women’s team have suffered their second loss in a row following a narrow 0-1 defeat at the hands of Calder United at Olympic Village.
The top of the table clash was entertaining to say the very least and kept fans and foes alike on the edge of their seats for the full 90 minutes.
The only goal of the game came early in the first half through Adriana Taranto, where she was able to fire off a low, driven shot from the top of the box that keeper Melissa Maizels was unable to get to in time.
From there it was an end-to-end battle between the two teams, with the contest becoming increasingly physical as the minutes passed – as you would expect from a top of the table clash.
The Bergers worked tirelessly in their defensive half to keep the visitors from scoring again and did so impressively when defender Eve Tiktikakis made a goal line clearance off a corner play.
The second half of the match was just as exciting as the first, as the tension rose between the two teams.
It boiled over early within 10 minutes from the break, as Felicity Georgopoulos got into an altercation with Harriet Withers, resulting in Georgopoulos being thrown to the ground and three yellow cards was presented all up following consultation from the referees
Heidelberg were given a golden opportunity to level up the score when a penalty was awarded for a handball in the box, however captain Stephanie Galea was unable to convert from the spot, as Alyssa Dall’Oste made the right guess when diving to block the shot.
A few substitutions lead to a change in formation towards the end of the game, as a backline of three defenders allowed the Bergers more freedom to work through their attacking plays.
Despite the change, Heidelberg were still unable to make the most of their chances and the game ended in a loss, the second in as many weeks.
Moving onto round 12, Heidelberg will be looking to return to their winning ways when they play host to the visiting South Melbourne FC in another big derby. The match is slated to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, June 18.
Match Details:
Heidelberg United 0 – Calder United 1 (Taranto 19′)
1 – Melissa Maizels (GK)
4 – Danielle Wise
6 – Felicity Georgopoulos (8 – Kathryn Vlahopoulos 85′)
7 – Stephanie Galea ©
9 – Keely Lockhart (11 – Sophie Papalia 70′)
10 – Rebecca Burrows
14 – Tijan Mckenna
16 – Isabella Wallhead
18 – Eve Tiktikakis
23 – Grace Jale
22 – Elwen Parbery (25 – Miette Georgio 45′)
Subs not Used
20 – Natasha Stathopoulos (GK)
3 – Maxine Diblasi
29 – Caitlin McDonald
