A SLOW start was costly for Warrnambool Rangers’ division one women’s side as it went down to Sebastopol Vikings 5-0 in the Ballarat and District Soccer Association grand final on Saturday.
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With captain Raya Rantall and preliminary final two-goal star Chloe Paredes unavailable for the first half, the Rangers found themselves in all sorts of trouble, trailing 4-0 at half-time.
Rantall said she urged her teammates to not give up in the second half, and while they lifted, the deficit proved too much to recover from.
“I said, ‘Ignore that it’s 4-0, let’s just go out there and get one or two goals’,” she said.
“In the half that I played, it felt close – it didn’t feel like that was the score.”
While the Rangers were unable to defend their championship crown, Rantall said they were pleased to have made the decider for the third year running.
“We were excited to at least come second,” she said. “We just feel so happy to have made it. We had a really good season this year. We all had so much fun every game.”
Rantall thanked coach Jim Gray and his wife, team manager Robin, for their hard work over the season.
Susie Giese
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
