Goals Aplenty as Bulldogs Make Winning NPLW Return
Image supplied by Alan Minifie
Capalaba FC made an emphatic return to the National Premier Leagues Women’s season with a 9-2 rout of Moreton Bay United on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs were dominate from the opening whistle at John Fredericks Park as they put the bottom-of-the-table Jets to the sword with a relentless attacking intent that saw five players find the back of the net for the first time this season.
Experienced W-League attackers Stephanie Latham and Whitney Knight both netted hat-tricks to firm the Bulldogs’ hold on sixth on the league table, while Matildas representative Amy Chapman posted a treble of assists.
The result ends the Bulldogs’ two-match losing run prior to the COVID shutdown and marks’ the club’s first ever win against the Jets.
Threatening from the opening whistle, the Bulldogs’s took less than a quarter hour to commence the scoring spree when Kaitlyn Torpey converted a vicious volley from Amy Chapman’s floated free-kick.
Knight opened her account on 26 minutes by delivering the telling touch to a goal mouth scramble before adding the Bulldogs’ third on the half hour with a composed finish after bringing down a Torpey cross.
The outcome was all but decided a minute later when Latham netted her first – expertly picking out the top corner of the goal from 20 yards out as Chapman notched another assist.
Natasha Wheeler became the fourth scorer for Skie Hanifin’s side by nodding home from a corner shortly after, while Latham made it six at the break with another well-placed finish from the top of the box – against supplied by Chapman.
After the restart, Latham was the first to secure her hat-trick – tucking away into an empty net on 66 minutes after Torpey and Jets’ goalkeeper Rosalie Peterson tangled at the near post.
A foul in the box on Gabrielle Green allowed the Jets to pull a goal back from a Darcie Wilson penalty kick shortly after, but it largely remained one-way traffic for the hosts.
Knight wrapped up her own three-goal haul with a quarter hour to play with a deft finish into the bottom corner with the outside of the boot.
There was further consolation for the visitors when a defensive error from Isabelle Ward opened the door for Jessica Gienitz to capitalise on a one-on-one with Bulldogs’ shotstopper Georgina Worth.
However, the hosts reasserted their dominance to ice the result in the final minute when substitute Eloise Wadsworth’s follow-in run punished a parried stop from Peterson at point-blank range.
Speaking post-match, attacker Torpey said while there was plenty to like about the team’s performance – there is still plenty more to come as the team continue build their on-field chemistry.
“We’ve definitely still got a lot to work on. It’s so early in the season and we have so much potential,” Torpey explained.
“You can see we move the ball and combine well in patches and I can’t wait to play more games with this team. It will be amazing once we really get used to each other on the field.”
Torpey, who has played four seasons in the W-League with Brisbane Roar, also said it was good to break through for her maiden goal for the club.
“In the last couple of friendly games I had a bit of curse and couldn’t score. So it feels really good to now get one now and hopefully there will be more to come,” she concluded.
The Bulldogs next travel to ninth-placed Souths United on Sunday, knowing another win could potentially move them to fourth on the NPLW Queensland table.