A freezing Friday night at the Kennel saw Barkerettes (eighth) host Uni (second). The squad was the same as for the 2-4 loss at Aspendale, except for the absence of Eleanor Ridley.
Uni began the better side, and after five minutes a corner from the left was sliced towards goal by a Barker defender, causing no end of trouble for keeper Ash Barrueto, but the ball was finally scrambled clear. At the other end, the Uni keeper looked shaky as she spilled a Barkers cross from the left, but nobody got on the end of it.
Both sides were playing a high tempo game with some good passing on display, so it was no surprise that the deadlock didn’t last long. On 21 minutes, Barkers had a throw-in on the right at halfway, the ball was played infield to Jones, who played a quick one-two with Kelly Butera before scooting clear of the defence and slipping the ball into the net for the opener and 1-0 Barkers.
On the half hour, Jones was again clear and took the ball past the keeper, but her shot was cleared off the line by a defender. The resulting corner came to nothing, then Uni broke quickly down the left wing. A lovely turn took the winger past the defender, and she crossed into the centre, where a forward took a touch, turned and slotted the ball home to make it 1-1.
Barkers’ heads didn’t drop though, and soon Emily Stokes was flying down the right wing. She cut inside but shot wide. Then, Amy D’Ortenzio put a perfectly-weighted ball through for Jones, who ran clear and put the ball wide of the keeper to restore the lead at 2-1.
Two minutes before the break, this good work was almost undone. Uni had a free-kick in the attacking half on the left. It found its way through the wall, and mayhem ensued, but when a Uni forward had the ball a couple of yards out with the goal at her mercy, Barrueto threw herself at the ball and single-handedly preserved the lead with a brave save. Half-time: Barkers 2-1 Uni.
Two minutes into the second half, a Uni corner on the right was too hot for Barrueto to handle, but Miranda Jackson was on hand to boot the ball to safety. After some early Uni pressure, Barkers played themselves into the half, but neither side created much until just after the hour, when Charlotte McCullough was put through. She shot from the edge of the box and the keeper gathered.
The best chance of the half came 12 minutes before the end. Jones took the ball down the right, got to the byline and cut in, before hitting the ball across the Uni goal. It was inches from McCullough’s boot, and had she connected it would almost certainly have been a goal. Full-time: Barkers 2-1 Uni.
This was Barkers’ best result of the league season, as a couple of weeks ago, Uni were top and unbeaten. At the halfway mark, Barkers are seventh in the 10-team ladder. Next is a week off, then a trip to Collingwood City.
