Golden season for Queens Park
It has been a golden season for the Queens Park women’s football teams in the Southland competitions.
The club’s top women’s combination wrapped up the Kolk Cup competition along with the Ottley Challenge Trophy with a 2-1 victory over Southend United last Sunday, to go with the women’s Knockout Cup.
According to head coach Cory Johnson, teamwork was the key to success for the Surrey Park-based club, with Johnson and assistant coach Glenn Marshall getting the best out of the side’s squad.
Maryann Cant picked up the golden boot, scoring 18 goals as the competition’s leading scorer, as the team lost just one Kolk Cup match on their march to the premier title.
‘‘We are not really a team with the best players, so the success is really up to making sure the girls get put in the right places and doing the best that they can, I guess we have been lucky enough that everyone’s contributed and done the best in the positions we have put them in, so it was very much a team effort,’’ Johnson said.
‘‘We are not really a team gifted with talent as much as Thistle and Southend are, so we had to find other ways to win our games and I guess we managed to do that. It is quite amazing how well we did considering six girls had never played the sport before they joined this year so that has been pretty cool for them I guess.’’
Experienced captain Leeann Duston also helped with the team culture, while Johnson has been involved in a coaching capacity with the team for five years, so knows the players in the squad.
The Invercargill outfit’s job was made a lot easier with 2016 champions Queenstown leaving the competition to ply their
Dunedin Technical vs Southland United, Queenstown Rovers vs Roslyn Wakari.
Thistle vs Gore Wanderers, Waihopai vs Queens Park, Winton vs Old Boys.
Queens Park vs Thistle, Old Boys vs Winton Western.
Queens Park vs Thistle, Waihopai vs Southend United Green, Old Boys Black vs Old Boys Red, Southend United Black vs Western Rovers, Enwood vs Gore Wanderers.
Thistle vs Southend United, Queens Park vs Western Rovers. trade in the Southern Women’s Premier League against Dunedin clubs this season.
‘‘We came second last year to Queenstown, we didn’t lose to an Invercargill team last season, so there is no surprise to us how well we have done,’’ Johnson said.
‘‘We have been the best team in town for two years now, so I guess with Queenstown gone it has made it a bit easier to take silverware away.’’
Queens Park will be looking to also add the League Cup to their collection when they host Western Rovers at Surrey Park 4 on Sunday, while Thistle play Southend United in the other match.
Not to be outdone, the Queens Park Wyndham composite team secured the women’s division one title to go with the Knockout Plate.
‘‘As far as the other team goes Carl Lambert has been a massive part of that because he got this whole Queens Park Wyndham thing up and going, so it is down to him and his wife Leah,’’ Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Southland United will be searching for their third win of the season when they play Dunedin Technical at Tahuna Park in Dunedin on Saturday at 2:45pm.
The Luis Paiva-coached side have had mixed results in their first season back in the Southern Premier League and will be looking for an away win to advance from their seventh position on the table against sixth placed Tech.
The Queenstown Rovers host Roslyn Wakari in what shapes as an exciting match between second and third on the table.
In Southland’s Donald Gray Cup action on Saturday, Thistle host competition frontrunners Gore Wanderers, Waihopai and Queens Park meet in a Surrey Park derby, while Winton host Old Boys.