Hanwood has held onto their perfect start in the Leonard Cup despite being under pressure from Junee on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was an evenly matched game with both sides looking to create chances in what was building into a physical clash between the top two sides in the women's top division.
It took until the 39th minute for the deadlock to be broken when a long ball from Nicola Zanotto found Johane Oberholzer. Oberholzer was then able to play a ball across to Jorja Heffer, who made no mistake in handing the home side a 1-0 lead.
The lead was doubled just two minutes later, with Airlee Savage able to play in Heffer for her second to see Hanwood leading 2-0 at the break.
The Junee side signalled their intentions just a couple of minutes into the second half to pull one goal back and shortly after forced a sharp save from Maree Cirillo, which kept Hanwood in front.
With 18 minutes remaining in the game, Oberholzer let fly from out wide, and her looping shot found it's way under the crossbar and into the top corner with the Junee keeper having no chance to save it to make it 3-1.
Hanwood thought they'd extended their lead to three when Airlee Savage tucked home a cross from out wide, but Heffer was adjudged to be offside while influencing play.
Junee made sure it would be a tense final 10 minutes when they scored their second of the game to make it 3-2.
RELATED
The final 10 minutes didn't pass without incident, with the best chance coming after a goal line scramble which Hanwood was able to get away and hold on to ensure their perfect record remained intact with the 3-2 victory.
Hanwood coach Anthony Zuccato felt the physical encounter was just what he expected.
"They have always played the ball well and been able to string together passes and have been physical as well," he said.
"It is something that Junee has always done, and they do it well, and it was good to come away with the win."
The Hanwood coach praised the performance of Claudia Torresan off the bench but also pointed to it being a real team effort.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.areanews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News