Our U23s Lions Women secured the Premiership on the final day of the season before surging through the Semi-Finals and grinding out a hard-fought victory on the final stage.
Across a strenuous 27-game campaign, our Lions U23s Women performed admirably to fend off the threat of Eastern Suburbs and Gold Coast United, who were hot on their teals throughout the campaign.
It took victory on the final day of the season in a 6-0 showcase against Souths United to secure the Premiership. A strong first half in the Semi-Finals against Mitchelton earned us a place in the Grand Final, where we battled a robust Gold Coast United side in an end-to-end affair.
LIONS VS GOLD COAST UNITED: NPL U23s WOMEN GRAND FINAL
A well-worked set-piece early in the first half saw our Lions U23s complete the double while lifting back-to-back Championship trophies.
An immediate start saw our Lionesses burst into action, creating a plethora of chances before capitalising on a set-piece to force an early advantage.
With Scarlett Premerl and Chloe Dale standing over a deadball, the latter rolled the ball forward for Scarlett to bury in the bottom left corner from the edge of the box.
We came close to doubling our advantage, with Scarlett taking an exceptional touch to bring down an overhead ball before bearing down on goal and clipping her effort narrowly wide. Emily Clark rushed off her line to smother a dangerous counter before stopping an accurate shot dead on the goal-line with an outstretched arm.
Gold Coast United stepped up after the break, piling on the pressure as we held on to preserve our slender lead. The left peg spared us before the hour mark, with our Lions Women defending bravely to prevent United from threatening an equaliser.
The final whistle blew, crowning us Champions again.
HT: LIO 1-0 GCU
FT: LIO 1-0 GCU
Our Lions U23s Women are an exceptionally talented group, with players including Tia Appoo, Emily Clark, Scarlett Premerl, Ari Skeers, Sarah Bonifant, and Chloe Dale all earning minutes in our senior Lions Women side across the course of a difficult 2023 campaign.
We look forward to seeing their continued progress in 2024.
