United continue winning ways!
Eash Norrie scored the winner against Logan, her first goal for the club (photo Kyoko)
Gold Coast United continued their undefeated season with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Logan yesterday, maintaining their place at the top of the Football Queensland National Premier Leagues Women’s ladder.
With five wins and a draw from their six outings in 2020, United’s experienced players stood tall in a solid team performance.
Centre-back Ellie Fryer opened the scoring for the home side on 21 minutes when she climbed highest in the box to head home a Rie Kitano corner, Ellie’s second goal of the campaign.
One nil at the break in a tight first half.
As expected, Logan came out in the second half with all guns blazing. When former Gold Coast United striker, Meg McElligott, squared things up early, a tight contest turned even tighter.
But United responded shortly after. Zoe Corbett’s incisive run on the right and pin-point cross found Eash Norrie free just inside the box, her assured left-foot finish put the home side back in front.
Some dogged defending from United, including a goal line clearance from Fryer late on, saw United clinch a crucial three points against a formidable Logan line-up that included six current or former WLeague players.
Post game United coach Alex Bundalo praised his players for a committed, team performance and conceded that, “you don’t always win pretty.”
“Sometimes you just have to grind things out, work hard, stay focused.
“And we did exactly that today.”
Momo Hayashi & Ellie Fryer celebrate after Fryer opened the scoring for United (Kyoko)
Reluctant to single out any one player Bundalo did acknowledge that his central defensive pairing, Fryer and Hayashi, stood tallest for United with Fryer’s contribution, at both ends, earning her the Player of the Match, edging Momo who was also outstanding. Not far behind that pair was Eash Norrie who scored her first goal and bossed the midfield in her first full 90 minutes for the club.
Next game
A short turnaround sees the Women take on Souths United on Tuesday night on the synthetic at Runcorn. Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
