The Ibises scored a timely win against the higher-ranked La Trobe University in round nine, drawing within two points of the top five and exacting some revenge for last season’s elimination final exit.
Ibises coach Cayla Ruijters led the way with a first-half brace at Howley Oval, scoring in the 31st minute and again two minutes later to send Tatura into half-time 2-0 to the good.
It wasn’t long after half-time that Pippa Grabham extended that buffer to 3-0 and the Ibises kept a clean sheet from that point to secure their third win of the season.
Tatura welcomes fifth-placed Colts United to Howley Oval on Saturday and a win could pull the host into the top five for the first time this season.
Elsewhere, Shepparton United and Castlemaine-Goldfields ground out a tough 90-minute encounter at Memorial Park.
Violet Higgins broke the deadlock on the eve of half-time and the needle did not shift from the 1-0 scoreline, the Blues rolling through to round 10 undefeated with six wins and a pair of draws.
United remains two points shy of ladder-leader Spring Gully, with the Blues hosting La Trobe University at McEwen Reserve this weekend.
Colts United rounded out the winners’ list with a 4-3 win against Kyneton.
In the men’s top division, chaos reigned as only two of the five games scheduled to be played in round nine went ahead.
Bendigo-based League 1 clubs Golden City and La Trobe University each handed in forfeits, while Shepparton also sat out the round’s proceedings.
Each club’s reserves side also forfeited, with all affected teams from Shepparton South, Tatura and Epsom receiving three points as a result.
Of the games to go ahead, Shepparton United was a 4-1 winner over Strathdale after a Marcus Thomas brace and goals apiece to Rumesh Bartaula and Thomas Raditsas kept the Blues perched atop the League 1 standings on goal difference.
At Truscott Reserve, Spring Gully executed a stoppage time heist, with Ewan Dawson’s 94th-minute equaliser stealing a late point in a terse exchange.
Both teams were reduced to 10 men after red cards to Eaglehawk’s Jesse Matthews and Gully’s William Harding.
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