By Julian Trantino

 

A nine-goal extravaganza between the South East Cougars and North East Diamonds in the under 17 girls competition, saw girls football at it's best, with wonderful skills and athleticsim on display.

Indeed it was a match for the football purists - a beautiful, free-flowing game in which the play switched from end-to-end quicker than an NBA basketball match.

 

It was no wonder both coaches were working the interchange bench  – both teams were physically spent having mustered three impressive goals apiece in the first half.

 

The black-and-white striped Diamonds made life difficult for the linesman with countless through balls, teaching their counterparts a thing or two about attack and flair.

 

In the end, it was the all conquering Diamonds who romped home 6-3 winners in a fantastic spectacle led by hat-trick star Morgan Anderson, whose first goal was an absolute blinder, and two classy finishes from Lia Privitelli.

 

The Cougars scrambled and battled and with a 2-0 lead in the first minutes seemed primed to ruin the Diamonds’ now undefeated season.

 

But it was obvious luck wasn’t on their side when a pin-point shot destined to be an equalizer was denied by a superhuman, cat-like reflex save from ‘keeper Cassandra Dimovski.

 

In what has been a successful VCL season so far for girls football, Sunday’s match proved a testament to its vast improvement. The silky skills, efficient finishing and intricate passing of both sides wowed the crowd and the enthusiasm of the girls was second-to-none.