IN A thrilling extra-time encounter, the Urunga Raiders triumphed 2-1 over Coffs City United Lionesses to secure a spot in the HIT105.5 Women’s Premier League Grand Final.
Despite finishing as Premier, six points clear at the top of the table, Urunga’s victory was far from a foregone conclusion.
The Women’s Premier League has seen the tightest competition in years, and just weeks earlier, the Lionesses had handed Urunga a 3-0 defeat during the regular season.
From the first whistle, it was clear this would be a high-octane affair.
Ally Gadd struck on the stroke of halftime to give the Lionesses a 1-0 advantage, sending them into the break with the lead.
But the Raiders weren’t done.
With ten minutes remaining in regulation, Bronte Wall found the equaliser, forcing the match into extra time.
After 109 minutes of intense finals football, it was Urunga captain Bre Martin who emerged as the hero, scoring the decisive goal to seal her side’s place in the Grand Final.
The Lionesses, however, aren’t finished yet.
They’ll get another shot at the Grand Final, facing the Boambee Eagles, who triumphed 3-0 over Woolgoolga in the elimination round.
The two teams were separated by just three points in the table, with the Lionesses finishing second, just ahead of the third-placed Eagles.
Going from the table, the Lionesses have the slight edge, but finals football is a different beast.
Boambee has goal-machine Kylie McDonald, the league’s top scorer with a staggering 27 goals this season.
McDonald is the red hot favourite for this year’s Golden Boot, leading second-placed Kate Fry from Urunga by ten goals.
With home advantage, the Lionesses will host the Eagles on Friday, 5 September at 6:45pm, in what promises to be a classic.
The Grand Final will be played on Saturday, 13 September at C.ex Coffs International Stadium.
By David WIGLEY
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
