They were minutes away from upsetting a Women's Division One powerhouse side. Now, Woonona aim to surge into finals contention.
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The Sharks played out a 3-3 draw with reigning premiers Albion Park on Sunday at Ocean Park. The hosts jumped out to a 3-1 lead at half time on the back of Ainsley Hawes's brace and a Rachael Daws goal.
But Park refused to give in, scoring two goals in the last 45 minutes - including one in the dying minutes - to clinch a point. It was a result that frustrated Sharks coach Michael Sutton.
"To be honest, I was a little disappointed. We dominated the majority of the game and then we were up 3-2 halfway through the second half," Sutton said. "But then we lost probably our best central defender in 'Tish' (Le-Tisha Kable) with an injury, and then conceded that last goal in the last three minutes."
However, the stalemate continues Woonona's mid-season resurgence after a slow start to 2021. The Sharks dropped three of their first four games, including a 3-0 loss to Park in round two, but haven't lost since April 25 to sit in fifth position.
"We've got a few new girls in the team this year and it's probably taken them a little while to gel together, and we're trying a new structure. About five rounds ago, that's when things started coming together," Sutton said.
"We definitely want to be in that top four and since about the Kiama game (Woonona won 2-1), everything just started fitting straight into place. The stuff that we've been working on has been coming through, and on Sunday it showed - especially in tough conditions. We played some really good football."
Sutton said a key to Woonona's improvement was focusing on defense and attack.
"It's a combination of the two. The majority of our backline are experienced and we've had them for a while, and they work really well together," he said.
"But it's the playing out from there as we come forward is what we've been working on a lot. And with that final third, everything just seems to be starting to click into place at the moment."
Round 12 of Women's Division One was disrupted by poor weather.
South Coast Flame secured their second win of the 2021 season with a 3-1 victory over Kiama at Ian McLennan Park on Friday night, while Shellharbour beat Thirroul 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. The Wollongong United versus University White, and Warilla versus University Yellow matches were washed out on Sunday.
The next round of competition begins on Wednesday night when Albion Park hosts Wollongong United at Terry Reserve.
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