Ugle Fabrications La Fiamma women stun metro side Woodvale FC opening up pathway to join league

The La Fiamma women won their first match against a Perth metro division team on Saturday, potentially opening the pathway for them to join the division. Currently, the La Fiamma men represent in amateur football division 3 and locally the women only play in the local Midwest Soccer Association. However, they got a taste of league football against Woodvale FC, who currently sit third in the women metro north division 1. La Fiamma women’s coach Meg Heller said the players were nervous before their clash. “Everyone looks to Perth as that higher league and a higher level of football and it took them a good 20 minutes to settle into the match,” she said. “But after that they dominated the whole game.” It was nil-all at halftime but early in the second half Olivia Bidwell secured the lead for La Fiamma with a beautifully executed header off a corner ball. Woodvale proved no match as La Fiamma ramped up the offence with a few near misses in the second half, including one in the back of the net (later declared offside) to take a 1-0 win. Heller said it was a big moment for the team and could open the door for future exhibition matches or possibly joining the metro league. “A lot of the players do look to compete externally and I think it’s important to be exposed to a higher level of play,” she said. “Coming from the US having played at a high level I’d love to see soccer grow in the region.” A challenge for both the men’s team currently and any future women’s team looking to join the metro division is the travel required. It is not uncommon for some players in the men’s side to play both the reserves and league clash which can lead to some pretty tired legs by the end of the day. Heller suggested one solution could be to have a Geraldton combined team rather than one necessarily associated with La Fiamma to open up the player base. “If there is support for the idea in the community I think it is something we could definitely look at,” she said. “But whether it’s a combined team or a La Fiamma team just to get that higher level exposure I important and is something we will continue to work towards.” In the men’s clashes over the weekend La Fiamma’s men’s reserves had an easy 2-0 win against Woodvale. Bradley Davis secured La Fiamma’s first goal within minutes of kick-off and later secured his second goal of the game, leading the team to a 2-0 victory. The league team brought home a 1-0 win against Woodvale’s league team in a fast-paced, fiery match. William Cable secured the first and only goal of the game early in the first half as the Red weathered some late Woodvale assaults to get an important victory.