WU20 PENNO Vs Sydney Uni 1

WU20 -R14 25 Jul 2026 Sat - 09:00 am - MKO lower
G B Score PENNO 0 1 1 Sydney Uni 1 11 13 79					G B QT ST 0 0 0 0 2 4 16 16					G B QT ST 0 0 0 0 4 1 25 41					G B QT ST 0 1 1 1 2 5 17 58					G B QT ST 0 0 0 1 3 3 21 79
Best Players Amber Reveley Sierra Timms Mollie Faehrmann Scarlett Castles Tessa Mcleod Remy Ally

Knowing just how much the girls love an early morning start, Mike Kenny Oval decided to greet us with a crisp four-degree morning. A light frost covered parts of the ground, and the excitement amongst the group... well, let's just say it was impossible to contain!

USYD have been one of the benchmark sides throughout the competition and, with two strong teams in the league, we knew this would be another significant challenge.

Q1 – Fast... but fast enough?
Our focus before the bounce was simple: think fast and start fast. Unfortunately, our opposition had clearly received the same message. We found ourselves camped inside our defensive 50 for much of the opening quarter. One of our greatest strengths continues to be winning the football at the source, and despite coming up against several Academy players we continued to compete hard around the contest. Eventually, however, the experience and polish of our opposition began to show, holding us scoreless while they finished the quarter strongly.
Penno 0.0 (0) to USYD1 2.4 (16)

Q2 – Time to keep learning
Playing against a side boasting more than 1,500 games of combined experience was always going to test us. While our own group is beginning to build experience together, USYD demonstrated just how valuable those extra games can be. We spoke about containing momentum before forcing the opposition to defend us instead. Although USYD continued to capitalise on their opportunities with another four goals, our girls never stopped competing. Our ball movement by hand improved noticeably and we began to link together some really promising passages of play. Every forward entry reinforced what this group is capable of when composure takes over. Unfortunately, reward on the scoreboard still escaped us.
Penno 0.0 (0) to USYD1 6.5 (41)

Half Time – We are not that far away
Sometimes the scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story. Eight of our twenty players have played fewer than 25 games of football, while only three have reached the 100-game milestone. Despite that inexperience, many of the things we were doing reflected a maturity well beyond our years. The message was simple. Stay calm. Find that word again... composure. (It's becoming a regular feature in these reports, and that's probably no coincidence.) Take back our day.

Q3 – Make them defend
And that's exactly what we did. Our increased forward-half pressure finally brought reward with our first score of the day.
USYD still generated plenty of opportunities, but their accuracy deserted them. They recorded more scoring shots in this quarter than any other, yet our defenders refused to make life easy. Remy Ally was outstanding across half back, continually repelling attacks and refusing to let the contest become one-sided.
Penno 0.1 (1) to USYD1 8.10 (58)

Q4 – We don't lose. We learn.
Every time we walk onto the field we are presented with a choice. We can let the scoreboard define our day. Or we can define success by how much better we become than when the siren first sounded. USYD were stronger, quicker and more established, keeping us under pressure for much of the afternoon. Yet what stood out wasn't the scoreboard. It was the determination of every Penno player to keep competing.

Amber "Beamish" Reveley once again showed her versatility by stepping into the ruck. Tessa "Connor" McLeod continued another outstanding performance, sharing the ruck before moving behind the football where her marking repeatedly halted opposition attacks. Through the midfield, Sierra Timms, Mollie "Dusty" Faehrmann and Scarlett "Ed" Castles worked tirelessly from first bounce until the final siren, each showing another layer of football that continues to emerge week after week.

Final Score
Pennant Hills 0.1 (1)
USYD1 11.13 (79)

Final Words
Every week this group continues to grow. Because many of our players only come together on game day, so much of our learning happens in real time. That makes the challenge greater, but it also makes the progress even more rewarding. The improvement in this group has been remarkable.

As an inaugural Under 20s program, we remain in finals contention while building a list made up of Lightning Pathways players, girls completely new to football (and yes... we're still hoping they'll give up all their other sports next season!), alongside a handful of experienced leaders who continue to guide the next generation. That combination is creating something special.

Not just a team for this year. A program for years to come.

Top Six
• Amber "Beamish" Reveley
• Sierra Timms
• Mollie "Dusty" Faehrmann
• Scarlett "Ed" Castles
• Tessa "Connor" McLeod
• Remy Ally

Train together. Play together. Have fun together. This is just the beginning.