Under-16 girls go undefeated

THE improvement in the Central Queensland under-16 JPL girls team can be judged by the side going through the carnival at Norbridge Park unbeaten.

The local girls expected Wide Bay to be the biggest hurdle of the four-day carnival and that was the way it went, with only one goal separating the two teams in both matches played.

Central Queensland beat Wide Bay 3-2 in the first-round match of the four-team series.

When the two sides met again yesterday, CQ won again, this time with a 1-0 score line.

Coach Dennis Jeffries was not exactly over the moon with his team's display, saying they were lethargic after their good win on Tuesday against North Queensland.

“We didn't play with the same intensity,” Jeffries admitted.

“I had to have a polite chat at half-time.”

Jeffries reckoned the one-way conversation with the team did raise the performance, and it produced one moment of magic with the winning goal.

“It was a great goal,” he said in admiration.

Hayley Hooper centred the ball from the right and found striker Sophie Moran, who touched it back to Rachel Withroos.

The midfielder still had work to do when she took the ball in stride, beating two opponents before smashing her shot into the top of the net.

Jeffries said Withroos, fellow midfielder Kaitlin Radstaak and fullback Nicole Smith were the picks of the game.

With the pressure off, Central Queensland went on an afternoon rampage to thrash South North Queensland by 7-2.

Abbey McDonald proved she's a dangerous striker by netting five goals for the game, which CQ led 4-0 at the interval.

Her “twin striker” Sophie Moran was also on target as the local team ended its program in style.

“It was a nice way to finish,” Jeffries said.

The JPL girls get back to the local league at the weekend when they meet Frenchville.

The CQ under-14 team showed improvement again when going down 2-0 to North Queensland in its final game of the carnival.

In the first round of games, CQ was hammered 5-1 by the same opposition.

Players from the carnival named in Queensland squads will be notified later this month.