Who will secure their place in the #NPLWNSW playoffs?
Only three rounds to go in the competition and some teams can secure their spot this weekend.
Emerging Jets v Illawarra Stingrays
The Illawarra Stingrays will make the long trip north on Sunday afternoon when they travel to take on the Emerging Jets.
Three games without a victory for the Stingrays have made their hopes of finals football very slim. One draw and two losses in a row mean that tonight’s match against Bankstown City and Sunday’s clash with the Jets are must wins.
Had it not been for a slow start last weekend though, we could have had the biggest surprise of the season to date. The Stingrays fought back valiantly having been three goals down against the league leaders after 20 minutes, only to rally back and almost pinch a point, maybe even three.
The Jets worked hard last week, pushed the Institute till the final 15 minutes before they collapsed and eventually lost the game.
Still in search of their first win of the season, the Jets will leave their all on the pitch to pick up whatever points they can.
Macarthur Rams v Blacktown Spartans
The Macarthur Rams welcome the Blacktown Spartans on Sunday evening at Lynwood Park.
Stephen Peters welcomes his former team with his current in some good form. The Rams have only lost once since July when they didn’t seem themselves against Sydney Olympic.
This form has put them into fourth place on the ladder and potentially only one win away from securing their finals place. Not only is the team as a whole playing well but Leena Khamis has started to find the back of the net, at the perfect time many would say.
With a full squad at his disposal, Peters will be quietly confident his team will secure their finals place but also, make some noise one getting there.
After securing their first win of the second half of the season two weeks ago, the Spartans were brought right back down to earth by APIA on Sunday.
Brad Attard’s team was hit for six and aside from that Jets game, conceded 10 in their last two outings against both APIA and the Northern Tigers. They will need to stay tight and disciplined here with the Rams definitely talented enough in the front third to cause the Spartans problems.
The Rams came away with a tight 2-1 victory last time they met.
Northern Tigers v Sydney Olympic
A big game at North Turramurra on Sunday night sees the Northern Tigers hosting Sydney Olympic.
Tigers sit in second place on the ladder, unable to catch the first placed Sydney University but would love chance to secure a potential home semi-final.
Undefeated in six, the Tigers rescued a point last week against Bankstown with a late equaliser. Of that six-match run, they have only won two games with four draws. Ash Brodigan is back and alongside the experienced Maddie Bart and Hannah McNulty, the Tigers will feel they can cause some damage in the front third.
Olympic have a tough run home, they will be playing Sunday-Thursday-Sunday until the end of the season to catch up on a host of fixtures.
They looked good last weekend against Spirit with both Cortnee Vine and Claudia Cholakian finding the back of the net. They have a tough clash against the league leader’s tomorrow night before this game but any points in these two fixtures would be welcome.
These two split the points last time they met, 1-1 the score.
Sydney University v Manly United
By this time next week there is a high chance we’ll be calling Sydney University the Premiers but they need to get through their game Sunday against Manly United at Sydney Uni Football Ground.
Rola Badawiya and Holly Caspers have scored more than half of Uni’s goals this season (18 of 30), the two have created a fantastic partnership between them and are a tough duo to defend. With the Premiership all but sewn up, they will be sorting their form for finals football and securing the double.
After a fantastic first half on Sunday, Uni almost threw it all away in the second 45 against the Stingrays but managed to hold out and secure another win in this phenomenal 16-game undefeated run.
Manly would have been disappointed with the points they dropped against the Rams and are now really chasing the top four. They can’t afford to drop any more points and must go for all three in this one if they are to have any chance of finals football.
Emily Minett needs to lead from the front as she has for the majority of the season and try and secure her team a major three points in the fight for finals.
Manly are only one of four teams to have taken points off Uni this year when they drew 0-0 earlier in the season.
NWS Spirit v Football NSW Institute
On Sunday evening North West Sydney Spirit will host the Football NSW Institute at Christie Park.
Spirit were without two veterans in Rachael Patterson and Nat Tobin last week and you feel had those two been available, they may have got more from their match against Olympic.
Spirit play good football and will be looking to finish above the Institute on the competition ladder with a win here.
The Institute have a tough week with a mid-week game following their win against the Jets. They will feel as though they should have gotten more from their Tuesday night clash against APIA where they played an excellent second half.
Sienna Saveska has been in good form and will look to put her shooting boots back on after missing a few good chances against APIA.
The Institute won the first clash between these two by the odd goal.
APIA Leichhardt v Bankstown City
What a game we have at Lambert Park on Sunday evening as APIA Leichhardt host Bankstown City in a must win for both teams.
To be fair, for APIA, a draw may do to hold the distance with their rival team, a win though would all but extinguish Bankstown’s finals hopes who need all three points.
APIA rested key players Claudia Cicco and Leah Davidson mid-week, saving them for the big one on Sunday. Once Spencer Prior’s team secured the points on Tuesday night, the APIA coach decided to rest a host of his team’s leaders.
After three straight defeats, it’s two wins in a row for APIA and a whopping nine goals scored, Princess Ibini, Shea Connors, Sophie Hoban and Rhianna Pollicina all scoring at least two goals in their last two games. Their forwards form is at the right place at the right time.
In the other dugout, Matt Costatini returns to his former employers. A game which Bankstown must win, in particular if they can get the job done Wednesday night against the Illawarra Stingrays.
The Lions would have been disappointed they didn’t take the points last week having led up until the final minutes of the game. It has been a fine season for Bankstown and could still get better with three rounds remaining.
Bankstown won the last fixture between these two, Daisy Arrowsmith’s goal the difference in a 1-0 victory.
-By NPL NSW Women’s Chief Writer and Commentator Nikola Pozder