Mittagong were knocked out of the women’s reserve grade football competition after they were defeated 1-0 by Moss Vale. 

Mittagong coach Thomas Goodman said his team had a good match despite the loss. 

“They played a well apart from the goal against us. We weren’t quite settled when they got that goal early on and that gave them the advantage,” he said. 

Goodman said the team showed a lot of skill in the match despite being unable to hit the back of the net. 

“We played ball for ball, we tackled really well and we tried to keep them away from the ball. The girls played a hard match but the other team are just that bit more experienced.”

Goodman said the team has shown a lot of growth in their skills across the year.

“Look they got better and better and they became a lot more confident. They started off rusty and couldn’t score goals, but they’ve learnt to press better and they became more intense about their games.”

The standout match for Goodman was Mittagong’s game against Crookwell, who remained undefeated all season. 

“We played them and lost 6-1. But the fact that the girls were able to get even one goal was great, it was a fantastic match for our girls.”

Moss Vale White coach Stewart Davidson said his team had a great match against Mittagong. 

“We were very in control of the game. The girls were very focused and they played a very hard match,” he said. 

Ali Kroger scored for the team, but Davidson said the team had more opportunities to score that they weren’t able to capitalise on. 

“We should have scored another couple, the opportunity was there but we just couldn’t get to it.”

Davidson commended Sarah Ryan-East and Maddison Shelton on their efforts across the season. 

“These girl played for the under-15s and they stepped up for us. They’ve played a really outstanding season.”

After their win Moss Vale progressed to the grand final, which they will play against Crookwell. 

“It’s going to be a tough game. They are undefeated so we will have to work very hard. We had a tough game against them in the semi-final, at 2-2 all I thought we could snake a win but we weren’t able to do it. Hopefully this week is different.”

Davidson said he is confident Moss Vale can take the premiership victory. 

“Plenty of teams go through to the grand final undefeated and then get knocked off. I’m confident in our girls but it will definitely not be easy.”