Willowburn and USQ advance to grand finals
Willowburn and USQ first through to grand final
The Willowburn women’s juggernaut rolled on at the weekend.
Facing rivals Rockville, the Magpies booked their place in the grand final with a convincing 3-0 win.
Willowburn set the tone early with two goals in the first eight minutes of the game.
Chantal Frohloff opened the scoring in the fourth minute, before an own goal in the eighth minute and an Esther Ritchie strike shortly before half-time sealed Rockville’s fate.
With his team’s unbeaten record intact, Willowburn coach Steve Pennells was delighted with the result and his team’s performance.
“We had spoken a lot about how important the first 20 minutes would be,” Pennells said.
“Last week we spoke about it and during our warm-up the focus was completely on the game.
“We wanted to start strong, take control of the game and that’s exactly what we did.
“The girls were switched on, focused and energetic.”
Despite having the game all but sealed by half-time, Willowburn maintained their pace and pressure in the second stanza.
“It was a good game from both teams – especially when you consider it was quite muddy under foot,” Pennells said.
“They (Rockville) tightened up their defence in the second half and pushed a few more into midfield which broke up our rhythm a little bit early on.
“But we still created plenty of chances and the commitment was still there.”
Ahead of the finals, Willowburn will now turn their immediate attention to recovering from the weekend.
“The time off will be good – a few of the girls picked up small injuries so they’ll have time to recover,” Pennells said.
“Aside from that we will train as usual and throw in an extra session this weekend to keep our match fitness.”
Rockville will now play Gatton Black for a spot in the decider.
USQ FIGHTBACK
A goal down at half-time, minor premiers USQ fought back to secure their place in the Premier Men’s grand final at the weekend.
Willowburn’s Brodie Welch had his team flying high with a 31st minute goal and the Magpies threatened to run rampant in the first half.
“Willowburn started the game a lot better than us,” USQ coach Matt Proctor said.
“They really took advantage of some internal problems we had.
“Mat (Eilers) kept us in the game with some very important saves – especially just before half-time.”
Admitting his team was lucky not to be down by more than a goal at half-time, Proctor said his team’s focus at the break proved to be the difference maker.
“There wasn’t any ranting or raving,” he said.
“I identified the problem and the boys really took it upon themselves to fix it.
“It really was a game of two halves. I thought we were the better team in the second half and I can’t recall Mat (Eilers) making a save.”
Goals to Ben Adams (47th) and Brendan Willmot (49th) sealed USQ’s 2-1 comeback victory.
Willowburn now face Rockville for a place in the final.