Ashburton United had some clinical finishing to thank as they secured a 3-0 Women’s Premier League win on Saturday afternoon despite being well held by opponents Casey Comets.
A goal either side of the break to young winger Melina Ayres put Ashburton in the box seat, before Laura Spiranovic added a third to give them an unassailable lead at Comets Stadium.
The contest, played out in perfect conditions in the states South-East, moved at a slower tempo for the majority of the contest, with both sides stretching their opponents with long, diagonal balls.
As such, the width of Ashburton’s Briar Palmer and Casey’s Katrina Avila came to the fore in the opening stages, the former however let down by her final ball.
Antonia Niteros flashed a volley wide within the opening 10 minutes, before Casey went close again through Avila, who bolted from right back, cut inside and eventually failed to generate the curl needed to sneak her shot inside the far post.
Niteros had another chance after stripping Holly Richardson of possession inside the Ashburton area, but her resulting shot floated safely over the crossbar.
Despite the half chances falling their opponent’s way, Ashburton had more possession and held the ball inside their attacking half without carving out any real opportunities.
This was mainly down to the defensive contributions of Raelynn Mikell and Rachel Binning who kept Laura Spiranovic incredibly quiet in the opening stages.
They had a couple of sights on goal beyond the half-hour mark, Christine Pfeiffer cannoning a shot off Anouk Meereboer from just inside the area.
Ashburton had their goal in the 38th minute with their first clear-cut opportunity of the contest, with Melina Ayres popping up with a classy finish across the face of goals
Georgia Cloepfil found space on the right and drove a cross along the edge of the 18-yard-box, with Avila missing the chance to intercept, leaving Ayres free to pounce with a first time shot.
The second half saw Casey keeper Alysse Brusamarello called into action, getting down quickly to hold a tame Cloepfil effort from a tight angle.
The winger caused more problems for Casey soon after, with her snapshot on 54 minutes striking the hand of Meereboer inside the area, but cries for a penalty fell on deaf ears.
United’s second goal again came through Ayres who profited from some confusion in the Casey defence in the 65th minute.
A clearance from Casey’s Mykaylin Rosenquist clipped the heel of Meereboer, sending the ball back towards goal, where a contest for possession saw the ball break in space for Ayres, who streamed through and finished low past Brusamarello.
Just two minutes later and the game was sealed through Spiranovic, who received a ball from Palmer before sending a shot past Brusamarello.
There were late chances for Liv Edwards – who fizzed a long-range drive just over the crossbar – and substitute Azize Erenli – sending an open header wide from a corner kick – to see out a low key affair.
Photo: Adrian Shaw
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Casey Comets 0 defeated by Ashburton United 3 (Ayres 38’ 65’, Spiranovic 67’) at Comets Stadium [HT: 0-1]
Casey Comets: 1. Alysse Brusamarello (GK), 16. Katrina Avilla, 6. Raelynn Mikell, 4. Rachel Binning, 14. Anouk Meereboer, 9. Chelsie Selleck (7. Sheridan Dudley 78’), 8. Shaunna Murray, 11. Sharnoah Hurley (5. Melissa Kirby 80’), 3. Laura Croft,, 2. Antonia Niteros (13. Amani Fazlic 88’), 15. Mykaylin Rosenquist
Unused Substitute(s): 10. Amy Radford
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
Ashburton United: 1. Melissa Maizels (GK), 2. Maria Patrikis (13. Azize Erenli 69’), 3. Holly Richardson, 5. Kristin Stensholt, 8. Briar Palmer, 14. Christine Pfeiffer, 19. Olivia Edwards (12. Amy Malander 81’), 4. Brittany Thomas (41. Jessica Miller 81’), 9. Melina Ayres (26. Bridie Kean 75’), 18. Georgia Cloepfil, 21. Laura Spriranovic (16. Rachel Jarvis 71’)
Unused Substitute(s): Nil
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil