Sharks Women Cement Top Spot
Words: Matt Dorman
Deanna Thompson scored twice in the first two minutes to help Palm Beach SC Women to a 5-1 win over Peninsula Power Women at Mallawa Complex on Sunday.
Sharks rose to first last week and looked every bit worthy of their league-leadership as they led from start to finish.
Thompson’s spectacular start began by firing the hosts into a 1-0 lead in the first minute and she added another from the restart, latching on to Eden Jones’ through ball to again punish a shell-shocked Power.
Brittany Whitfield produced the visitors’ first shot on goal in the 18th minute but was unable to beat Bianca Warrener.
Though the two teams traded efforts, the afternoon belonged to Thompson as in the 15th minute she rounded the goalkeeper from Lauren Brown’s pass to make it a hattrick and 3-0 Sharks lead.
Only the crossbar could keep the striker from adding a fourth in the 37th minute and that proved potentially crucial as Power pulled one back a minute later through Brieanna Watt, who made the most of space at the top of the box.
The goalkeepers were regularly called into action after the resumption and in the 57th minute Bronte Rose extended Sharks’ lead to 4-1 after a one-two with Sachiko Tatsuoka.
Thompson continued to be a problem for Power throughout the final half hour and the 21-year-old increased her haul to four late in the contest, burying a lobbed pass to make it 5-1.
Speaking after the match, Sharks captain Tayler Stevens heaped praise on star striker Thompson.
“She is just crazy good. I don’t know how she does it, but she just goes through players like it’s nothing,” Stevens said.
Power captain Brittany Whitfield rued the harm done by her side’s slow start.
“Palm Beach definitely deserved the win. They started strong – straight away up 2-0 – so that really left us behind and we couldn’t really catch up unfortunately,” Whitfield said.
Listen to the full post match interviews below.
Palm Beach SC Women 5 (Deeanna THOMPSON 1’, 2’, 15’, 83’ Sachiko TATSUOKA 57’)
Peninsula Power FC Women 1 (Brieanna WATT 38’)
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