The big one is upon us in round 19 as we could be a step closer to realising who the Premiers will be for the 2019 season in the NPL NSW Women’s competition.
Sydney University v Northern Tigers
It’s the big one and the one we’ve been waiting for over the last few months as the first placed Sydney University host the Northern Tigers.
It’s become a two horse race for the premiership with both Uni and the Tigers slugging it out.
When they played back in round eight, they couldn’t be separated with a 0-0 draw and we are expecting very much the same, a tight fight until the end.
Alex Epakis’ team is on an incredible run, stretching from round four where they last tasted defeat, making it 14 games without a loss.
The Tigers are on a fairly good run themselves, losing just once in their last nine games and know the importance of victory here or at least, remaining unbeaten at the end of the 90.
Should Uni win, they’ll have one hand on the prize, should they lose and Sydney Olympic win, we will have an exciting three-team battle for the premiership with three games remaining.
The match kicks off at 4:30pm at Sydney University Football Ground.
Emerging Jets v Football NSW Institute
The Emerging Jets and Football NSW Institute clash at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility in the early 1pm kick off on Sunday.
An enticing fixture between the two academies with both hungry for three points.
The Jets have significantly improved in recent weeks and their results show that, should they win, they’ll be only two points behind the Institute.
After a strong start to the season, the Institute has fallen back somewhat but managed to pick up a morale boosting come from behind victory last week against the Mariners.
Manly United v Sydney Olympic
At 3pm at Cromer Park, Manly United host Sydney Olympic.
Manly is getting good at messing with the plans of those teams vying for the premiership and finals football.
With eyes still on a potential first place finish, United would love to spoil the party.
Olympic know that a win, could put them within touching distance of Sydney Uni.
Dropped points will spell the end of their top place hopes.
Illawarra Stingrays v Blacktown Spartans
At JJ Kelly Park it’s fourth v Fifth as the Illawarra Stingrays face off against the Blacktown Spartans.
Only two wins from their last six games has thrown the Stingrays out of the premiership race.
Still, a potential ‘home’ final looms for the Stingrays if they can pull three points here.
The Spartans pulled a hard fought 1-0 win from last week’s ‘six-pointer’ against the Koalas and more or less booked their finals spot.
A win here will almost definitely cement their place in the playoffs and see them jump above the Stingrays on the ladder.
NWS Koalas v North Shore Mariners
The North West Sydney Koalas welcome the North Shore Mariners in the local derby at 6pm Sunday night.
It’s a hard pill to swallow for Jaime Gomez with his side dropping points in their last two games despite dominating their opponents.
A draw and a loss mean their finals hopes are all but over with just a mathematical chance remaining.
The Mariners were on their way to victory last week but succumbed to yet another defeat, taking their tally to 17 losses for the season.
Bankstown City v Macarthur Rams
The Macarthur Rams travel to Jensen Park to take on Bankstown City in the final match of round 19.
Two straight losses mean the Rams are on the verge of missing out on finals football, something that no one is used to.
The experienced heads in the squad won’t stop pushing while there’s still a chance and need to win on Sunday to keep their dreams alive.
The young Bankstown side has had a good season, uch improved from their last campaign.
They’ll look to use the remaining games as a springboard into next season and build on their results from 2019.
By – Nikola Pozder, NPL NSW Women’s Writer