Round 7 Preview – NPL NSW Women’s
Four points separate the top six teams in the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition after six rounds of action.
It will be another week of enticing clashes this week with the ‘Festival of Football’ battle between APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic headlining round 7.
APIA Leichhardt v Sydney Olympic – Match of the Round
Round action kicks of with the Match of the Round at the ‘Festival of Football’ at Lambert Park as APIA Leichhardt host Sydney Olympic in a titanic battle between two historic clubs at 3:30pm.
APIA have started the 2023 campaign on fire and Spencer Prior will be pleased with what he has seen in the opening six rounds of football.
They have been menacing at home and their 3-0 victory over a high flying Manly two week’s ago will still be fresh in their memory.
Ash Crofts has started the season well and already has five goals to her name, while Bella Habuda is also finding her feet and becoming more comfortable in the New South Wales competition.
Olympic started the season with three straight wins before going down to the Bulls FC Academy in round 5.
George Beltsos’ team rebounded with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Emerging Jets with a Kiara De Domizio brace.
Sarah Yatim has been one of Olympic’s best along with Ash Irwin who will need to be at her best against this potent APIA attack.
Football NSW Institute v Macarthur Rams
At 4:40pm on Sunday, the Football NSW Institute host the Macarthur Rams at Valentine Sports Park.
The Institute had a mixed bag of results, recording an incredible late win against the Emerging Jets mid-week before going down somewhat unfortunately to league leaders APIA Leichhardt on Sunday.
Lisa Warrener will be looking for consistency from her team, but with another mid-week clash this week, they will need to recover for what will no doubt be a testing fixture on Sunday.
It took a few rounds but the 2022 Champions Macarthur Rams are in form and on a roll, recording three straight victories.
They’ve tightened the defensive screw, keeping two clean sheets from their last three games while at the other end, Leena Khamis has been prolific in front of goals, with five to the veteran’s name already this campaign.
Emerging Jets v Manly United
The Emerging Jets are back at Lake Macquarie this week as they host the visiting Manly United at 5pm.
It was a disappointing collapse last Wednesday by the Jets as they looked set to claim all three points against the Football NSW Institute, before heading home empty handed.
They suffered their biggest defeat of the campaign on Sunday going down 5-1 to Sydney Olympic. Brinley Gentle didn’t score on Sunday but it the current competition top scorer with six goals.
Tom Hopley’s team have somewhat dropped off the pace after a fast start to the campaign, losing two consecutive games against APIA Leichhardt and the Northern Tigers.
They will need to bounce back here to stay in touch with the leading pack or potentially face being left further behind.
Sydney University v Illawarra Stingrays
At 5pm on Sunday, Sydney University face the Illawarra Stingrays at Sydney Uni Football Ground.
At the start of the season, if someone told you Sydney University would be 11th after six games, no one would believe you.
Emily Husband has had to deal with a number of injuries, some long term as well, which have really set Uni back.
They need a win at home or risk that gap increasing and being left behind the top half of the competition.
It’s been a tough start to the season for the Stingrays with just one win and a draw which sees them one place behind the Students.
The Stingrays have been struggling in front of goal with their four goals coming in two games, being kept scoreless in the other four.
Gladesville Ravens v Blacktown Spartans
On Sunday afternoon at Christie Park, the Gladesville Ravens welcome the Blacktown Spartans.
The Ravens suffered their first loss last Sunday since round one after succumbing to the Macarthur Rams.
The newly promoted outfit have been extremely tough to break down this season, their back five along with goalkeeper Romina Parraguirre have been fantastic in the first six rounds.
Goals win games so they will need to become more prolific at the other end.
It has taken six rounds but the Blacktown Spartans finally registered their first win of the season against 2022 Premiers Sydney University.
Philippine international Eva Madarang has been important for the Spartans and her leadership will be key here on Sunday for the visitors to take something home.
Northern Tigers v NWS Spirit
It’s derby day at North Turramurra as the Northern Tigers host NWS Spirit on Sunday with kick off set for 5:30pm.
By the time this game comes along, the Northern Tigers could be top of the table with their mid-week clash against Sydney Olympic.
Jake Stephenson’s team has started the season very well, they have eight different scorers and are currently the most prolific team in the competition.
Spirit will feel they should be in the top four after Saturday’s game against Bankstown City Lions but had t settle for just a point.
Tiana Gauci’s team is well drilled and improving week in week out and will only get better moving forward as the season progresses.
A win here would definitely be a statement victory for the rest of the season.
Bankstown City Lions v Bulls FC Academy
The round 7 action finishes up at 7pm on Sunday evening as Bankstown City Lions host Bulls FC Academy.
Bankstown dug deep to secure another draw, already their fourth this season, against NWS Spirit on Saturday afternoon.
Matt Costantini’s team have had to come from behind in five of their six matches this year, the only one they didn’t go behind in, they won which was way back in round one.
Siobhan Edwards has three for the season but finding the back of the net has definitely been a problem across the squad, something that needs to be addressed.
Consistency has been an issue for the Bulls but Jaime Gomez’s team will be aiming to make it three wins in a row come Sunday night.
Half of the team’s goals have come from star Peta Trimis this season, the Bulls are another team struggling to find their scoring boots so far this campaign.
Will it be a tactical battle between these two experienced coaches or will we see an explosion of goals from the attackers? All will be revealed on Sunday.
-By Nikola Pozder
