Mosman leapfrogged Manly Vale back into top spot of the MWFA Premier League Women’s with a momentous 3-2 victory at David Thomas on Sunday afternoon.
James Spyrakis’ side continued their outstanding 2020 campaign, bouncing back from a surprise draw with Beacon Hill last weekend to secure a second victory of the season over their nearest contenders Vale.
The Whales found themselves 2-0 up at the break thanks to goals from Arabella Baker and Ash Hewson.
Manly Vale pulled one back through a Sam Spackman penalty early in the second half as the match shaped up as a scrappy midfield battle.
Phoebe Pincus made the next breakthrough for Mosman, tapping home a parry from the Vale goalkeeper to restore some breathing room for the visitors.
Georgia Goulding slotted home a free kick from the edge of the area inside the final 15 minutes but her effort was to prove nothing more than a consolation as the visitors held on for a vital victory in the race for the league title.
Mosman coach Spyrakis lauded his team’s effort.
“We needed to come out 100 miles an hour from the start and to their credit that’s what the girls did,” he said.
“A couple of times earlier in the season we’ve had a slow start and had to play from behind, but the start of this game we said to them how ‘we can’t afford to have that today’.
“The last couple of minutes were a bit nerve-racking but we stayed strong and 3-2 in the end was a pretty fair result for the game.
“It was purely down to the hunger that the girls showed, winning every first ball and second ball so I can’t fault their efforts in any way.”
2020 has seen Mosman’s new coach Spyrakis oversee a significant turnaround in fortunes for a side who finished second-bottom last season.
“For a team who obviously didn’t do too well on the table last year to still be undefeated and two points clear on top at this stage of the season is massive,” he said.
“There a couple of new girls who have come in but for the most part, the spine of the team is pretty much still the same and this week they really put a marker down to show we’re not a halfway team, we’re going to go all the way.
“It’s a real statement to the rest of the competition but also just a massive confidence boost for the girls just to reiterate to ourselves that we have the mentality and ability to be champions.”
The result means that only two points separate first and second with four rounds of the season remaining.
In other matches, Beacon Hill finally secured their first three points of the season with a 2-1 triumph over Manly Allambie at Millers, Pittwater accounted for Brookvale 3-0 while Wakehurst and Seaforth played out a 0-0 stalemate.
