Hanwood defeat Wagga United 8-0 in Leonard Cup

The Griffith side welcomed Wagga United to Hanwood Oval for the clash and came away with an 8-0 win as well as one of their best goals of the season.

Kandice Bertoldo got Hanwood off to the perfect start with a goal in the opening few minutes and the script was set when Johane Oberholzer doubled their lead shortly after.

Hanwood wasn't willing to sit on their 2-0 lead and their pressure continued at its relentless rate.

About 20 minutes in, Oberholzer was played through and finished coolly past the keeper once again, sending the ball into the bottom right corner for her second goal of the game.

The dominant win entered blowout territory just minutes later, when Airlee Savage made her way into the box from the left wing and slotted the ball past the Wagga United keeper with her left foot.

The rest of the first half featured a myriad of missed chances from Hanwood's forwards, but their relentless finishing returned following the half time break.

Oberholzer continued to be the danger woman - even when not going for goal - when around 50 minutes into the clash the forward sent a venomous corner into the box, which the Wagga defense could only send into their own net.

Savage was played through one on one with the keeper a short time later and despite the keeper saving her first effort, the winger was able to recover, beat the opposition to the rebound and send it into the empty net to make it 6-0.

About 70 minutes into the game, Imogen Zuccato scored one of Hanwood's goals of the season.

Following a dangerous cross into the Wagga United penalty area, the ball fell out to Zuccato on the edge of the box.

A quick touch took Zuccato clear of any markers and she made the most of the space, sending an unsaveable curled effort into the top right corner with her left foot.

But Hanwood didn't stop to admire the beauty of the effort and just minutes later Jorja Heffer was adding to their lead with a good finish over the keeper's shoulder with the edge of her boot.

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Pat Cirillo was filling in as coach for the side and said the performance was the exact confidence boost they needed heading into finals.

"It was a pretty good game," Cirillo said. "The girls moved the ball around well and we're happy with the scoreline it definitely reflected the performance today."

"Having good wins like this is always important. It's a massive confidence boost and you need games like this.

"You're always going to have bad games where things don't go to plan but games like this are so important for giving the girls confidence heading into the back end of the year."

Cirillo said the highlight of the game was seeing the side stick to short passes and moving the ball along the ground to break through Wagga United's lines.

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