Titles leave a trail of wounded

Teo Pellizzeri

June 10 2008

Shepparton News

An injury-plagued weekend at the Victorian Country Championships is likely to impact on the women's North Eastern Soccer League as club action returns this weekend.

Cobram forward and fourth highest goal-scorer in the women's league Tania Doyle is one of the players in a race to be fit to play.

Doyle, with seven goals in nine matches, limped out of North Eastern's campaign on Sunday morning in the team's 9-0 win against Moama-Echuca with a foot injury.

The midfielder-forward hurt ligaments on the top of her right foot and will need to wait for swelling to subside before receiving treatment to the injury.

Cobram takes on Shepparton South this weekend, the only team that did not have a player in the women's representative team.

Shepparton forward Samantha McIntosh played with shoulder ligament damage sustained during the tournament, but is likely to strap the injury and play against Cobram Victory on Sunday.

Shepparton United is suffering from having had so many representatives as it prepares to play Numurkah.

Forward Jess Theobald played out the championships on an injured ankle after being hurt in the opening game on Saturday.

The 21-goal forward said her and her teammates from the representative team were easing their way towards the weekend.

Megan Carr and Vanessa Loverso left the field in Sunday's final with injuries, while Holly Dimstas played after a number of heavy knocks through the tournament.

``It's hard to know if there's any ligament damage in my ankle or if it's just a strain at this stage,'' Theobald said.

``It wasn't a concern I'd taken into the weekend, so to get hurt in the first game wasn't great timing.''

Numurkah's only representative in the women's team Gabby Gasparroni failed to take to the field at the weekend as she sat out with a knee injury, while Tatura's Rosemary Scrimizzi will battle a knee injury as the Ibises prepare to play Kyabram.