Leichhardt Saints have progressed to yet another grand final in the Grace Martin Trophy after a victory in a penalty shoot out.
Elsewhere, Strathfield FC lived to fight another day after defeating Hurlstone Park Wanderers in extra time.
Major Semi-Final: Leichhardt Saints 1-1 Concord (7-6 on penalties)
These two sides met for the third time this season as they contested the Major Semi Final in the Grace Martin Trophy.
It was a clear, cool and still Sunday afternoon at Strathfield Park with the all-weather surface in great conditions.
Straight from the kick off, Leichhardt Saints pressed forward with a tight midfield hungry for the ball and the backline looking to hit their forwards with direct passes. It was a great battle with Leichhardt successfully getting behind Concord’s defence early in the game to win multiple corners.
Concord were not to be outdone and had attacks on goal themselves with the best chance falling to Denise Chan: the midfielder attacking from wide but shooting straight to the Leichhardt keeper.
Teams went into the half time break at 0-0 but with Leichhardt Saints looking slightly the better team.
After the break, the momentum began to change with Concord starting to find feet with passes and wrestled back field position, however, Saints soon turned the match on its head when they took the lead.
It was a long range shot from Emily Farrington which broke the deadlock and sent the Leichhardt players into celebrations.
The lead was quickly under threat however, with Concord launching multiple unsuccessful attacks until a deft short pass from Chelsea Johnson into the path of a rampaging Mieka Figg was converted for the equaliser.
Neither team were able to grab a second goal in the remainder of the second half, or in 20 minutes of golden goal extra time so the match went to a penalty shoot out.
Leichhardt Saints were the victors, coming out on top 7-6.
Minor Semi Final: Strathfield FC 1-0 Hurlstone Park Wanderers (Golden Goal)
Semi-final action was fierce at Strathfield Park on an early Sunday afternoon. The weather provided a mixed bag of tricks, and the football was expected to be a tight tussle and it did not fail to deliver with both teams seeking to progress into the Preliminary Final.
At the start, it would be Strathfield FC that would bounce out of the box on the front foot with Hurlstone Park Wanderers relying on the heroics of their keeper early.
It never looked like being a high scoring game and fans got the sense that it would require a moment of magic from an individual from either team to secure their team’s passage onwards.
With Strathfield chipping away and constantly being denied, the first half ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Following the restart, fatigue and tired legs would prevail for both teams with Strathfield continually testing the Wanderers defence and Hurlstone Park looking to do the same back.
The tight tussle continued for the full 90 minutes before the full time whistle sent the game into golden goal extra time.
Six minutes into extra time and Beren Gungor provided the moment of magic: unleashing a stunning off a corner that went into the net and sent Strathfield to the second week of finals.
Finals Week 2
Preliminary Final: Concord v Strathfield (2:30pm Sunday 14 August at Strathfield Park 2)
Feature image credit: Photographed with Love
