Sydney Olympic lead the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition after three rounds with a top of the table clash headlining round four action.
Let’s get to the Round 4 preview.
NWS Spirit v APIA Leichhardt
Round Four action kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Christie Park as NWS Spirit host APIA Leichhardt in an intriguing clash.
After their first-round loss, Tiana Gauci’s team have started their rise up the competition ladder with two consecutive wins.
The Spirit side defeated 2022 Champions Macarthur Rams at home, before doing enough to record another three points against Blacktown Spartans.
They face arguably their biggest test on Saturday when APIA come to town and the Spirit team will need to be on high alert.
Spencer Prior’s team is still undefeated, recording a victory and two draws in their first three games. The fixture list has not been kind to them and presented them with gruelling matches to open their campaign.
So far, APIA has reacted well and has looked good. They will feel pleased with the point they picked up on Sunday on a difficult away trip to Jensen Park against Bankstown, but know they should have gotten more the week before against Bulls FC Academy.
It’s their second straight away game and a win here is important to stay within striking distance of first place.
Bulls FC Academy v Gladesville Ravens
The NPL NSW Women’s competition returns to Northbridge Oval as Bulls FC Academy host the Gladesville Ravens in the first game on Sunday at 4:30pm.
Jaime Gomez’s team comes into this clash following three straight away games to kick off their 2023 campaign.
Peta Trimis was outstanding and scored one of the goals of the season last weekend and the same will be expected of her again with this match against the newly promoted side.
The Ravens will be happy with their start to life in NSW’s top tier women’s competition despite not recording a win yet.
Two consecutive draws against two fantastic teams will give the Ravens confidence moving forward this season.
Romina Parraguirre has been excellent in goals, along with the three defenders who play in front of her.
Coach Andrew Galbraith and his troops will look towards springing an upset against a side they know too well thanks to their duels during their League One Women’s days.
Sydney Olympic v Northern Tigers
The top two positioned clubs clash on Sunday afternoon at Peter Moore Field as Sydney Olympic take on the Northern Tigers.
It’s been a fantastic start to the year for George Beltsos and Sydney Olympic. Three games, three wins and the only team in the competition with a 100% record.
NWS Spirit, Blacktown Spartans and the Football NSW Institute have all fallen victim to Olympic so far.
Sarah Yatim has been in excellent form at the pointy end, while Courtney Newbon and Ash Irwin have led well from the back.
They will need to be at their very best as they face their toughest test of the campaign yet without influential leader Teresa Polias who was shown a red card in last week’s match.
It’s been a similar start for the Tigers but not quite as perfect, two wins and a draw to get their season on track.
Their only dropped points has came at the hands of last season’s Premiers, Sydney University in an entertaining draw.
Jake Stephenson will look to former Olympic star Claudia Cholakian to get one over her old team and continue her brilliant form in front of goal.
Manly United v Football NSW Institute
Manly United will welcome the Football NSW Institute on Sunday evening to Cromer Park.
For the first time this season, Manly United will be playing in front of their home fans after being on the road for the first three games of the season.
It comes at a great time as the club will be hosting its annual ‘Back to Manly Day’, which will see the facility packed to the brim with stars past and present from the Northern Beaches present.
Sienna Dale announced herself as a fresh talent and name from the Beaches and and one to watch this weekend.
The Institute lost their first game of the season last weekend but were much better value than what the scoreline at full-time suggested.
They will take confidence into this week knowing that with a bit more luck in front of goal, the score could have been different.
Mikayla Duong attempted to repeat the heroics from round one but was just off but underestimate her at your peril as she looms as the go to player come Sunday.
Macarthur Rams v Blacktown Spartans
Two winless teams clash at Lynwood Park on Sunday night as the Macarthur Rams take on the Blacktown Spartans.
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for the 2022 Champions taking only one point in their first three games.
Despite last week’s ‘convincing’ defeat, the Rams in fact looked good, playing some nice football, but not being able to take advantage of their chances created.
A reaction is expected and Stephen Peters will demand that from his team come Sunday.
We always knew the Spartans would improve as the season progressed with so many personnel changes.
They have lost three from three to start the season but have remained in the fight in all three matches so far.
Philippine internationals Eva Madarang and Carleigh Frilles seem to be finding their feet in the competition and will be important for the Spartans if they are to achieve any points.
Illawarra Stingrays v Bankstown City Lions
Bankstown City Lions make the trip south to take on the Illawarra Stingrays at Macedonia Park on Sunday evening.
The Stingrays recorded their first win of 2023 with a tough 3-1 victory over the Emerging Jets on the road.
They lost their first two games against the Northern Tigers and Manly United and will look towards putting that behind them in recording back-to-back wins.
Caitlin Cooper has been in good form and her experience will be telling for the Stingrays here.
For the travelling Bankstown squad, they will feel they should be on more than five points after the first three games.
The Lions created some good chances last weekend against APIA Leichhardt but were unable to take all three points.
Victory will be imperative here for Matt Costantini’s team on Sunday as they look towards staying within striking distance of the leading teams.
Emerging Jets v Sydney University
The Emerging Jets are at home again this week as they take on Sydney University at Lake Macquarie on Sunday.
Having played two games this year, they have lost both, but they were right in the mix in both fixtures, perhaps deserving of more.
Last week they created a number of chances but struggled to find the back of the net against the Illawarra Stingrays and were punished accordingly.
This week will be a true test of their character against one of the competitions best teams.
2022 Premiers Sydney University are still without a victory in their first three games. Now that was unexpected!
When you do look at their first three rounds though, you see their start to the season was anything but easy.
Coach Emily Husband would have been disappointed they let leads slip in both of their last two games but will be confident her team can get the job done this Sunday.
By – Nikola Pozder