The brave Breakers U13 girls and their hardy parents ventured to the cold, windy and wet West Lakes home of the Jaguars on Sunday.

The girls’ teeth were chattering as the whistle blew for the start of the game and although Taylor Perry got herself into a good position in front of goal early, the Jaguars had the best of the early play, pushing the Breakers into uncharacteristic defensive mistakes.

Lucy Boundey, again standing in for injured goalie Ella Keam, took a few attempts to find the ball during her first save but managed to reach behind and lock it down after testing some early nerves.

The Jaguars looked dangerous though, pushing the defence of Hannah Rowlands, Lokke Rennerts and Bethany North hard, as they were forced to repeatedly put the ball out to stop a run of attacks.

As the weather deteriorated, it almost became too cold to take notes and several umbrellas were lost to the cause on the sidelines.

Coach O’Donnell, trying to get some oomph back in the girls’ game, sent Nuala Davis on.   She lifted the midfield, getting the ball up to Kayte O’Donnell who neatly passed across goal to Nila Mohring, who was just short of getting there before the goalie.

The Jaguars jumped on the goal kick and Boundey found herself one-on-one with a thundering attack and no chance of saving a well-placed volley.

Another goal to the Jaguars only minutes later was thankfully called offside but the Breakers were looking vulnerable.

Boundey made another save but then another one-one-one contest gave the Jaguars their second goal.

With just seconds to go before halftime Taylor Perry got onto a great shot and was unlucky to see it just go wide.

The second half saw the Jaguars again start strongly and a shot into the side of the net gave the parents another scare.

Some hard work by Alana Anderson won a corner for the Breakers and the girls started to play with more self-belief, despite attacking into the strong wind.

Zara Yates won possession with some tough pressure and excellent passing from Mohring to O’Donnell almost saw Anderson score and claim the $25 bribe on offer from her family.

Nuala Davis also came oh-so-close to scoring and then some hard work by Abby Ellis paid off with a pass to O’Donnell and finally the Breakers got their first goal.

Only minutes later it was Ellis again who broke through, getting a shot through a scrimmage of players in front of the goal for the Breakers’ second.

With the score locked at 2-2 the crowd was on tenterhooks. Rennerts and Amber Kim kept their heads under pressure and played some excellent defence to stop the Jaguars getting another chance on goal.

The game ended in a draw; a great effort by the girls to come back from 2-0 down in very tough conditions. 

Next week the girls are back at home, against Adelaide University. A win will secure them the Runner Up trophy for the season.

** The Breakers are looking to field girls’ teams in the U9, U11, U13 and U15 age groups in the 2022 season.   

Games are played on Sundays and training is twice a week.  It’s a great, supportive, inclusive environment and if you are interested in finding out more contact 0421 496 755.