Round 18 Review – NPL NSW Women’s
It’s a three-way battle for the premiership in the NPL NSW Women’s competition with only four games remaining.
Blacktown Spartans 1-0 NWS Koalas
The Blacktown Spartans took a huge step toward finals football on Sunday with a tight 1-0 victory over the North West Sydney Koalas.
It was obvious whichever team scored first would take the spoils and it would be the home side late on, as Beth Gordon found the back of the net.
For Jaime Gomez’s side, it means dreams of making the five are all but over now.
Gordon had the first attempt of the game but Romina Parraguirre saved.
The first chance of the game for the away side fell the way of Sophie Harding but she couldn’t get enough from her volley to beat Casey Dumont.
Again the Koalas pushed and Deborah De La Harpe’s cross found Amy Sayer but the silky midfielder couldn’t score.
That was all the first half offered as the teams went locked at 0-0 into half time.
In the second 45, the Koalas came out to play and Emma Stanbury replaced Erin Pridmore.
Morgan Roberts looked in and set to score but for Tanya Borazzio who made a great block.
They continued to push forward and this time Roberts crossed but Ibini couldn’t send the away side into the lead.
Sophie Harding was having a real battle against Alix Roberts and as she got beyond her, she crossed to the near post as Stanbury flicked a shot toward goal, only for Dumont to save again.
Gomez welcomed back Nat Tobin into the squad and she almost scored direct from the corner had it not been for Hannah Bourke’s goal line clearance.
Then, against the run of play, the home side hit the lead.
Olivia Prica and Linda Dudek combined well with some neat combination play.
Price broke through and moved onto Parraguirre only for the keeper to make a fantastic save.
The rebound came the way of Beth Gordon who chipped her shot from the edge of the area over a defender and into the back of the net.
Stanbury had a chance to equalise late on but she couldn’t score.
Sydney Olympic 2-1 Bankstown City
Sydney Olympic kept up their premiership hopes with a 2-1 win over Bankstown City at VSP.
Georgia Plessas had the home team in front with a scrappy goal just before the break.
Early on in the second period, Vesna Milivojevic took advantage and scored a fine volley to put the sides level.
As the game was moving toward a draw, Rochelle Borromeo scored a fantastic goal, capping off great build up play.
That goal was enough to secure all three points for Olympic.
Illawarra Stingrays 0-0 Manly United
The Illawarra Stingrays couldn’t afford to drop points against Manly United on Sunday.
Having already put a shot through the Koalas finals hopes, United looked to disrupt the Stingrays’ premiership dreams.
So they did, holding out for a 0-0 draw against Scott Chipperfield’s team.
Northern Tigers 2-1 Emerging Jets
At NTRA the second placed Northern Tigers needed to take all three points to keep the pressure on Sydney University.
Daisy Arrowsmith got them off to a great start as they went into half time leading 1-0.
The Jets though have showed vast improvements over the last few weeks and pushed the home team to the edge.
It’d be Arrowsmith who picked up another as the Tigers recorded a tight 2-1 victory.
North Shore Mariners 1-2 Football NSW Institute
Two struggling sides were desperate for points at Northbridge Oval on Sunday as the North Shore Mariners hosted the Football NSW Institute.
The bottom-placed Mariners would take a first half lead as Hannah Brewer put them in front and on their way.
But the tide would change in the second 45 as the Institute came out a different side.
First Jayme Millard had them on level terms before Charlie Rule turned the score around and brought the Institute a great come back victory.
Macarthur Rams 0-2 Sydney University
A loss would put the Macarthur Rams in a bad position in terms of finals football while Sydney Uni needed the points to remain on top of the competition ladder.
Holly Caspers had the away side in front, reacting best inside the six-yard box following a corner 10 minutes from the break.
The points were sealed with just over 15 minutes remaining as Cortnee Vine played a perfect ball through for Rachel Soutar who made no mistake with a calm and controlled finish.
By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer
