BATHURST'S top footballers had the opportunity to showcase the city's talent and they seized that chance by producing an entertaining contest at Carrington Park.
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Friday's clash between the All Stars Red and White teams - a curtain raiser for the A-League Women's game between the Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets - finished in a 1-all draw.
Both goals arrived inside the last two minutes, while the woodwork was struck no less than five times during an entertaining 40 minute game on a hot Bathurst afternoon.
Jasmine Christie-Johnson produced a well placed shot to the far post to put the Red side ahead before a great solo goal from White's Lucy Field levelled the scores four minutes out from full-time.
![The Bathurst all stars game was a precursor to the A-League Women's clash. Picture by Phil Blatch. The Bathurst all stars game was a precursor to the A-League Women's clash. Picture by Phil Blatch.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YpbCWLfGAstDHC22gJwdbm/8b5f0940-483c-4d6a-bb10-bbe80e12473f.jpg/r0_219_5472_3308_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The All Stars concept brought together players from different teams together to see how well they could gel in a short space of time.
The Red squad featured players from Panorama and Bathurst 75, the White side had Eglinton and Abercrombie players, while CSU players were spread over both sides.
A constant threat
Christie-Johnson's goal felt like it was coming for a while.
The Panorama striker had put a shot just wide in the first half and put another into the bar just a few minutes before striking gold.
Christie-Johnson was delighted to not only come away with a goal but she the city's players throw their support behind the concept.
"That wasn't a bad effort with half a knee. I'll take a goal," she said.
"It's exciting to play out here on a class field, you can't complain about that. You got to see the girls put on a great performance, and it's fun playing alongside girls you normally play against.
"You're out there with girls who have a good understanding of formations and roles and how the game should be played, so anyone could easily slot into any position.
"It was great that it was a 1-all draw as well. It was hard fought all across the field."
Quite the way to strike back
The result might not have been of utmost importance to both teams but the White squad threw everything they had at trying to find a late equaliser.
Field found it in impressive fashion.
The White squad moved the ball forward quickly on a counterattack through the middle of the park.
Field dribbled towards the Red penalty area and avoided the tackles of two defenders to put away a long range shot that sailed above the goalkeeper.
Field said it was exciting to put such a goal away to the cheers of a stadium crowd.
"We had heaps of fun. It was so good to have so many first grade women's players involved, and I've never played with half of the girls on this team before," she said.
"That was quite a nice experience, scoring a goal in front of that crowd. I haven't had that happen before. Normally we'd get five people to watch our games.
"I thought this was a great idea. We haven't done something like this before. It's great supporting women in sport and nice for the younger generation to see us running around out there."
ALL STARS RED 1 (Jasmine Christie-Johnson 31') drew ALL STARS WHITE 1 (Lucy Field 37')