Barbettis move Strikers to top

It was the Barbetti’s day at the Busselton Hockey Stadium on Saturday.

Former South West Strikers star player and now manager, Allana Barbetti would have been a proud mum on Mother’s Day on Sunday as she cracked open the bottle of Churchview wine presented to her after the State League match on Saturday which the Strikers won 1-0.

However, the bottle of sponsors tipple was not for her performance against Rockingham on the turf but courtesy of “little girl” Ashleigh Barbetti, 15, who was named best-on-ground in the hard fought victory that knocked Rockingham off the top of the Promotion One State League points table.

It did not end there.

Midway through the first half Barbetti number three got in on the act, 17-year-old Tenielle turning in a cross from a ball that squirted out of a scramble in the circle for the Strikers winning goal.

That 23-minute conversion was the only score of the day in a very tight match.

With the Barbetti sisters building up a mountain of midfield work together with Courtney Barton, Tahnee Buchanan, Anna Roberts and ageless Anita Scott the Strikers controlled matters from the third minute when their first real chance to score came.

But with Rockingham imports Kate Reynolds and Josi Rixon along with goalkeeper Rona Craig foiling a series of raids throughout, the Strikers, blunted by the absence of Australian Country goalsneak Jemma Gmeiner, struggled to score and were forced to settle for the solitary goal.

The win vaults the South West Strikers into joint first on the ladder alongside Whitford while Rockingham drops to fifth.