Hay Park 2 beat Dunsborough 0

Hay Park, the unbeaten leaders of the Women’s Premier league, was made to fight for their 2-0 victory over the rapidly improving Nina’s Dunsborough Diamonds in a league match at Hay Park on Sunday.

The last time these two met in Dunsborough, Hay Park had inflicted a 5-0 drubbing to the Diamonds.

Hay Park 2 beat Dunsborough 0

Hay Park, the unbeaten leaders of the Women’s Premier league, was made to fight for their 2-0 victory over the rapidly improving Nina’s Dunsborough Diamonds in a league match at Hay Park on Sunday.

The last time these two met in Dunsborough, Hay Park had inflicted a 5-0 drubbing to the Diamonds.

At half-time Hay Park had established a 1-0 lead courtesy of a scrappy goalmouth scramble at the 21st minute mark.

A mark of Dunsborough’s competitive nature can be gauged by the little amount of work that goalkeeper Stacey Rouse was called on to perform in the first-half.

However, the strong breeze played havoc with attacking football and in the second-half Rouse was called on to work overtime to keep her goal intact.

It was unfortunate that the Diamonds were without a number of players with influential captain Dene Mayers and the club’s top goalscorer Narelle Jeffery missing as was Mia Halse while there were a number out with illness.

“We certainly missed these players but we were well served by winger Jane Hayter who with Brooke Johannessen sweeping were outstanding,” said coach Steve Palmer.

Palmer, however, picked out Rouse as his “Chicken Treat Player of the Match” with a second-half performance that bordered on the miraculous.

“The improvement in the girls this year competing in the Premier league for the first time has been remarkable,” said Palmer.

He admitted that Dunsborough had created few chances in the second-half and that Hay Park had scored their second goal midway through the second-half when Rouse was left in a one on one situation.

“A mark of the spirit among the girls was that they lost but they came off smiling knowing that they had fought really well against the best team in the South West,” said Palmer.

Chicken Treat Player of the Match: Stacey Rouse