Ravens rocked as Canaries pull off upset
Canaries showed last Saturday they still have the attacking power to play with the top teams in the Ladies? A league as they pulled off a 3-0 upset victory over Ravens.
Until then Ravens had only been beaten by Swallows ? who remain undefeated and likely unshakeable at the top of the table with 36 points ? and the win was only Canaries? third of the season.
Both teams were down a player from the start and the feeling was this was always going to be an open game.
Canaries enjoyed several opportunities in front of goal during a fast-paced first half and, after several close efforts, Lisa DeSilva put one shot away to hand them a 1-0 lead.
The Yellows defence proved solid, continually repelling Ravens? attack.
A second goal from DeSilva and a third from Rhonda Rawlins wrapped up a memorable victory for Canaries.
Ravens are now mired on 27 points, meaning Swallows essentially wrapped up the title on the weekend with their 5-0 win over Cardinals.
Both teams have just three games left to play.
No other A team is anywhere near the top two sides so the rest of play this season will be about scoring some consolation wins and setting up for the end-of-season Knock-Out Cup.
Canaries? B squad also scored a win over Ravens on the weekend.
Canaries were carrying several injuries but these seemed to be forgotten as they got off to a great start with two early goals from Sheona Griffiths, who was suffering from a broken toe.
Canaries dominated much of the attacking play and went 3-0 up before the half with Amy Stone connecting with a Christine Pauwels effort right on the post.
Canaries? guest goalkeeper Vicky Johnson had a strong game allowing regular ?keeper Tami Ray to enjoy a rare game on the open pitch.
In other B play, Cardinals shook up the title race with a 2-1 win over Swallows who were holding precariously on to the top slot.
Cardinals started off running hard and much of the early action was in front of the Swallows net.
This work finally paid off when Kascia White, on the left post, sneaked past the Swallows defence to tap the ball in and put Cards ahead by one.
Swallows fought back hard but Cardinals remained one up going into half-time.
Swallows won a handful of short corners early in the second half, which they were able to turn into the tying goal.
But this only served to motivate Cardinals as the Reds worked hard to get play out of their end.
A scramble in the D resulted in Laurel Powell just getting a stick on the ball on its way through to give Cardinals their second goal.
Cardinals? defence continued to fight hard to hold on to the lead in the final minutes of the game with Holly Augustus coming up with a nice save right at the whistle to ensure victory.
Both Swallows and Cardinals are now tied at 26 points in the B league but there are three other teams within challenging distance so the B title remains an open bet.
The Men?s league remains a race to the finish but with a decisive 4-0 win over Rebels on the weekend, Panthers look strong at the top with 26 points.
Simon Farrington picked up two goals in Panthers? march for the win while Donnie Madeiros and Nicholas Chlebek added one each.
Chameleons? 2-1 win over Police Polecats on Sunday ensured they are also contenders. They hold second place with 22 points.
Stevie Moreton scored both goals for the Reds following an early successful short-corner conversion with a second-half penalty stroke.
Trevor Powell pulled one back for Polecats but it was too little, too late.
There will be no play this weekend as the league breaks for the Easter holiday.