4-2 may have been the result but it barely tells the story of strength, determination and passion brought by a spirited Divas outfit. Some of whom had just met minutes earlier.
A staggering 11 Divas made their senior debut in round one Including two U/16 starlets Jasmin Lillywhite and Abigail Maye.
A beautiful autumn day at Baldivis Reserve. The home team got the go ahead goal through a stellar long range effort midfielder Georgie Gninnutt. The superb high floating effort was too good for the Mandurah keeper.
Baldivis had the ascendancy for much of the match before a well worked goal from Mandurah striker Casey Hughes pulled terms level again. Hughes piled more misery on the home side as CB Martina Conway-Mortimer left the pitch to seek treatment, scoring two more goals for the visitors before the break including a great solo effort with seconds to spare in the half.
The Divas came out in the second half continuing to dominate the run of play before a strike again from Hughes put Mandurah up 4-1.
The Divas fight wasn’t over. A move in formation and bringing Phoebe Carey onto the pitch saw the Divas once again pile on the pressure.
In a powerful display in her return from ACL surgery Sasha Wayne made a skilful solo run before burying it past the Mandurah keeper to make the final score 2-4
Goals BDFC G.Gwinnutt, S. Wayne 1 MANC Hughes 4
Best Divas G.Gwinnutt, P.Carey, O.McConnon, J.Lillywhite