#BACKtoback. Royals win Cairns title once again!
We look back at our success in Cairns as we do it again in a 1-0 victory over hometown Cairns Vipers in the final!
Day 1: After arriving the night before, we were ready for action against Redlynch Redbacks.
We would start strong and race out to a 4-1 lead, but were ultimately pegged back by a determined Redbacks team, finishing the match in a 5-5 draw. This would mean each result after this was crucial in ensuring we would come top once again.
Final: Kingston Royals 5-5 Redlynch Redbacks
Goals: Leigh 2, Charlene 1, Louise 1, Shak 1
Day 2: After a relaxing morning of pilates and pool side vibes at our airbnb, we entered our next game knowing we needed to bounce back. Not before we took a day trip to Port Douglas, passed through some awesome nature and visited the local sunflower field (with sunflowers a plenty!). Later that night, we started strong against Hotdogs FC, racing out to a 3-0 lead.
We continued to play a high pressure game as we put the foot down from start to finish.
A 9-0 win put us back in contention for top spot.
Final: Kingston Royals 9-0 Hotdogs FC
Goals: Leigh 4, Manny 3, Louise 1, Shak 1
Day 3: After another relaxing morning of pilates and pool side vibes (common theme), as well as watching the morning train go past our backyard, we entered the final match against hometown favourites Cairns Vipers, knowing a win would send us top.
With a disciplined approach to the game, we nullified Cairns attacking threat whilst played fast and deadly counterattacking football. Goals from Charlene, Manny and Morgan would put us 3-1 up. As Cairns pushed harder for goals, their goalkeeper would leave the net exposed on two occasions, in which Louise McMullen would make no mistake in finishing into the empty net. A final score of 5-1 had us riding high on confidence heading into the weekends semi finals.
Final: Kingston Royals 5-1 Cairns Vipers
Goals: Manny 2, Charlene 1, Louise 1, Morgan 1
Day 4 (Semi Final): Feeling a little sore and tired, we knew we wanted to play a strong and disciplined game against Hotdogs, who were out for revenge. Despite not having it all our own way, we defended well, keeping a cleansheet, while we put the pressure on the Hotdogs defence, eventually running out 4-0 winners.
Final: Kingston Royals 4-0 Hotdogs FC
Goals: Manny 2, Louise 1, Leigh 1
Day 5 (Final): Once again, a rematch was scheduled against Cairns Vipers. Knowing how tight last year's final was and seeing Cairns improve throughout the tournament, we knew it would be a tough game. In what was a cagey match, both teams had few clearcut chances. In the dying minutes before halftime, a freak deflection off Leigh's bum would take us into the break 1-0 ahead. The second half remained cagey and while Cairns continued to play direct at the goals, our defence was stout. We could not ultimately finish any further chances that went our way which meant we would need to ride it out 1-0 until the end of the match. Relief would hit us on the final buzzer, as we ran out 1-0 winners, once again going undefeated and this time bringing home the $2,500 in prize money offered to the women's champions.
Final: Kingston Royals 1-0 Cairns Vipers
Goals: Leigh
Award Winners
Tournament MVP: Louise McMullen
Golden Boot: Leigh Perez - 6 goals
Final Stats
Goals scored: 24
Goals conceded: 6
Individual Stats (Goals):
Leigh 8
Manny 7
Louise 4
Charlene 2
Shak 2
Morgan 1
Played At: Redlynch Central Sports Stadium
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Day 1: After arriving the night before, we were ready for action against Redlynch Redbacks.
We would start strong and race out to a 4-1 lead, but were ultimately pegged back by a determined Redbacks team, finishing the match in a 5-5 draw. This would mean each result after this was crucial in ensuring we would come top once again.
Final: Kingston Royals 5-5 Redlynch Redbacks
Goals: Leigh 2, Charlene 1, Louise 1, Shak 1
Day 2: After a relaxing morning of pilates and pool side vibes at our airbnb, we entered our next game knowing we needed to bounce back. Not before we took a day trip to Port Douglas, passed through some awesome nature and visited the local sunflower field (with sunflowers a plenty!). Later that night, we started strong against Hotdogs FC, racing out to a 3-0 lead.
We continued to play a high pressure game as we put the foot down from start to finish.
A 9-0 win put us back in contention for top spot.
Final: Kingston Royals 9-0 Hotdogs FC
Goals: Leigh 4, Manny 3, Louise 1, Shak 1
Day 3: After another relaxing morning of pilates and pool side vibes (common theme), as well as watching the morning train go past our backyard, we entered the final match against hometown favourites Cairns Vipers, knowing a win would send us top.
With a disciplined approach to the game, we nullified Cairns attacking threat whilst played fast and deadly counterattacking football. Goals from Charlene, Manny and Morgan would put us 3-1 up. As Cairns pushed harder for goals, their goalkeeper would leave the net exposed on two occasions, in which Louise McMullen would make no mistake in finishing into the empty net. A final score of 5-1 had us riding high on confidence heading into the weekends semi finals.
Final: Kingston Royals 5-1 Cairns Vipers
Goals: Manny 2, Charlene 1, Louise 1, Morgan 1
Day 4 (Semi Final): Feeling a little sore and tired, we knew we wanted to play a strong and disciplined game against Hotdogs, who were out for revenge. Despite not having it all our own way, we defended well, keeping a cleansheet, while we put the pressure on the Hotdogs defence, eventually running out 4-0 winners.
Final: Kingston Royals 4-0 Hotdogs FC
Goals: Manny 2, Louise 1, Leigh 1
Day 5 (Final): Once again, a rematch was scheduled against Cairns Vipers. Knowing how tight last year's final was and seeing Cairns improve throughout the tournament, we knew it would be a tough game. In what was a cagey match, both teams had few clearcut chances. In the dying minutes before halftime, a freak deflection off Leigh's bum would take us into the break 1-0 ahead. The second half remained cagey and while Cairns continued to play direct at the goals, our defence was stout. We could not ultimately finish any further chances that went our way which meant we would need to ride it out 1-0 until the end of the match. Relief would hit us on the final buzzer, as we ran out 1-0 winners, once again going undefeated and this time bringing home the $2,500 in prize money offered to the women's champions.
Final: Kingston Royals 1-0 Cairns Vipers
Goals: Leigh
Award Winners
Tournament MVP: Louise McMullen
Golden Boot: Leigh Perez - 6 goals
Final Stats
Goals scored: 24
Goals conceded: 6
Individual Stats (Goals):
Leigh 8
Manny 7
Louise 4
Charlene 2
Shak 2
Morgan 1
Played At: Redlynch Central Sports Stadium
Cairns, Queensland, Australia