At the conclusion of Round 13 on Sunday night we may have ourselves a new leader at the top of the #NPLWNSW competition. There is a top of the table clash in the inner-west and a few more interesting fixtures with a lot on the line.
Sydney Olympic vs Manly United MATCH DEFERRED
Manly United will travel to Belmore Sports Ground for an early, 1:30pm Sunday afternoon kick off against Sydney Olympic.
United added another draw on the weekend, taking their season tally to seven draws. They are the draw specialists but it seems as those draws could cost them a finals place unless they add more victories to the win column.
Last week they led for the majority of the game but could not consolidate and take all three points. The Northern Beaches team was lethal last week from set pieces and will look to create Sydney Olympic the same problems this week.
The under-strength Sydney Olympic have now gone two matches without a win, dropping down to fourth place on the ladder. With the AFF Championships kicking off next week, they will be without their stars for a further two weeks.
It makes this match all the tougher for Olympic but also important not to drop any further points to stay within that Top 4. Claudia Cholakian and Sarah Yatim need to be the difference in the front third with no Mackenzie Hawkesby and Cortnee Vine come Sunday.
When these two met early on in the season, it was Manly United who took the points in what was a shock 3-0 victory at Cromer Park. Can they do the double?
Emerging Jets v Sydney University
The Emerging Jets will host Sydney University on Sunday afternoon at Lake Macquarie.
It was a sorry Sunday for the Jets last week as the Northern Tigers put away seven without reply at North Turramurra.
Five straight losses for the Jets and a bag of goals conceded do not make for good reading but there were signs of life in some of the clashes.
Travelling north, Sydney Uni is in a great place at the moment. Nine games without defeat and sitting pretty in second place on the competition ladder.
It was a confident performance last time out against the Spartans (the only team to beat Uni this season) and they will look to build on that this weekend. Goal scoring has not been their best attribute so far this season but encouraging signs for their attackers Rola Badawiya (4 goals) and Holly Caspers (6 goals) who both found the back of the net on Sunday.
Uni defeated the Jets 2-0 in round 2.
Illawarra Stingrays vs Bankstown City
The Illawarra Stingrays will once more return to their home for only the second time this season as they host Bankstown City at JJ Kelly Park.
Illawarra thought they had taken all three points last week but were foiled by the assistant referee’s flag. A victory here is imperative, especially when they still have two games in hand on many teams above them on the ladder.
The last time the Stingrays were at JJ Kelly it was the Chloe Middleton show with two spectacular goals and Anthony Guido will be hoping for more of the same from her.
This is Bankstown’s chance to quash the ‘inconsistent’ claims thrown their way. A fantastic win last week against the Rams will mean nothing if Bankstown can’t take the three points here.
Matt Costantini’s team has shown how good they can be but have also shown how quickly they can capitulate and fall. If they want to give themselves a chance of finals football, victory is imperative here.
It was a tight 2-1 victory for Bankstown when these two met earlier in the season.
Football NSW Institute v Blacktown Spartans
On Sunday at Valentine Sports Park, the Football NSW Institute will host the Blacktown Spartans.
Similar to Manly, the Institute do not mind a draw, racking up five so far this campaign. They added another on Sunday with Sienna Saveska scoring a worldie to round up her hat-trick and secure a point.
The young side has not one in their last four games, tasting victory for the last time almost a month ago. It will be extremely difficult for them to make a run for the finals but don’t expect them to roll over either, they’ve made it extremely difficult against everyone they have come across and this will be no different.
Only one win in their last six matches, and you can say the Blacktown Spartans definitely out of form. It has been tough for Brad Attard with so many of his players in the Young Matildas program, unable to conduct training sessions with a full squad at his disposal.
They will be desperate for points in this one having had a tough last week, playing three games in seven days. The Spartans come into this one on the back of two straight defeats, losing midweek to Spirit and on Sunday to Uni.
When they met in mid-April, it was a late Rachael Goldstein goal which proved to be the difference as the Spartans triumphed 1-0.
NWS Spirit v Macarthur Rams
When NWS Spirit and the Macarthur Rams met last year at Christie Park, the game was abandoned due to one of the craziest storms ever witnessed, let’s hope this Sunday’s game is played in good weather!
There looked to be a change on the horizon at Christie Park following two straight wins but Spirit was brought right back down to earth on the weekend.
A win two weekends ago against the Jets and a fine performance and three points mid-week against the Spartans, it looked as though Spirit turned a corner. They could not repeat the feat against APIA though, going down 3-1.
Tahlia Macri has picked up her form in front of goal, notching up five goals for the season and placing her as Spirit’s most dangerous attacking threat.
Things seem to work in threes at the Rams. They go undefeated in three, then winless in the same amount of games, turn it around for three games again and are currently on, you guessed it, a three match winless run.
This inconsistent form has seen Stephen Peters’ side drop to fifth on the ladder, just outside finals football. It’s almost that point in the season when these games are ‘must wins’ for the Rams.
When they met earlier in the season it was a catastrophe for Spirit, losing 6-1 in one of the Rams’ best showings this season. There will be revenge on the cards for Spirit no doubt.
APIA Leichhardt v Northern Tigers
Last, but by no means least, the match of the round kicks off at 7:15pm at Lambert Park as APIA Leichhardt host the Northern Tigers in a top of the table clash.
APIA have quickly become one of the form teams of the competition. It was a perfect week for Spencer Prior’s team, winning all three games they played. In order fell the Rams, Institute and Spirit, with only one of those three games played at home.
Currently on a four match winning run, Prior’s team enter this one full of confidence with the league’s top scorer Shea Connors sewing fear in opposition defences.
Prior’s team have come a long way in the recent times, having been as low as eighth only three weeks ago with the opportunity to go top with a win here on Sunday.
The Tigers enjoy another week at the top of the table. You definitely feel a loss of form since the injury to Aideen Keane but still, they remain at the head of the pack.
Still with only one defeat to their name this season, coming two weeks ago, the Tigers found their goalscoring boots on Sunday against the Jets, smacking seven passed them.
Ash Brodigan (9), Hannah McNulty (5) and Maddie Bart (5) have 19 of their 26 goals this season and have been in fantastic form. It is obvious where the biggest danger to the APIA goal will come from.
The Tigers took the points when they met earlier in the season after a five-goal thriller, winning 3-2. Interestingly, it was 3-0 for the Northern Tigers within the hour in that one before APIA came to life.
What result do we expect on Sunday we don’t know but we can definitely count on a spectacle.