Round 10 Review – NPL NSW Women’s
The competition is heating up in the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s, even as the state enters the colder months of the year.
Round 10 left an indelible imprint on fans not just because of how significant the surprise results felt to the overall title race, but because of the magical goals that were scored across the entire weekend.
Read on for the full breakdown of the week that was in the NPL NSW Women’s competition.
Match of the Round – Blacktown Spartans 0-2 Northern Tigers at Blacktown Football Park
The Northern Tigers snapped a three-match winless run on Sunday night when they defeated the Blacktown Spartans 2-0 in round 10 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition at Blacktown Football Park.
A goal less than 40 seconds in and another halfway through the first half, both going the way of Claudia Cholakian, had Jake Stephenson’s side on the road to victory.
Click here to read the full match report!
NWS Spirit 2-1 Manly United at Christie Park
Saturday’s derby matchup between two northern Sydney sides, NWS Spirit and Manly United, ended 2-1 in favour of the home side.
It was Spirit who got off to an exceptional start when Rachel Perrins unlocked the run of Morgan Roberts with an excellent over-the-top ball that allowed time and space for the Spirit forward to take advantage and unleash a splintering half-volley beyond Nicola Simmons in the Manly goal. 1-0 to Spirit in the 5th minute.
Roberts nearly had her second of the day when she collected the ball from new signing Rola Badawiya – the 2022 NPL NSW Women’s Player of the Year – and struck a beautiful shot that was saved by Simmons.
Sarah Morgan was at the heart of Spirit’s second goal in the 35th minute when she won the ball in midfield, dribbled beyond Manly defender Nicole Stuart and proceeded to deliver an excellent cross that befuddled Simmons and led to Roberts officially securing her brace with an easy tap-in. 2-0 to Spirit.
Manly found a way back into the game through Caitlin Jarvie’s corner kick that was turned in unintentionally by Spirit defender Kaiya Buchanan after goalkeeper Mio Nemoto was unable to clear the ball.
Manly struggled to contest with Spirit’s cohesiveness as a team, which was further amplified by how effectively the home side were able to transition between a 3-4-3 shape in possession and a 4-3-3 formation in defence.
The match would finish 2-1 to the home side.
Bulls FC Academy 2-3 Football NSW Institute at Northbridge Oval
Northbridge Oval played host as Bulls FC Academy had their run of five games without defeat ended by Football NSW Institute in a 2-3 loss.
FNSW Institute showed no signs of being overawed by their high-flying opposition from the outset of the match, with their opening goal arriving off the back of superb and confident linkup play in midfield. Daniella Naeimi was the goal scorer for FNSW Institute with an uncanny finish that was brought on by Caley Tallon-Henniker’s driving run down the right wing and pinpoint cross to the far post.
FNSW Institute continued to be fearless in their desire to be proactive with the ball and press to win the ball back high up the field, leading to the second of the afternoon when Sienna Saveska lined up a scorching strike from outside the box that bested Bulls goalkeeper Trudy Simmons. 2-0 to FNSW Institute.
The Bulls had to wait for the second half to get back into the match through Peta Trimis’ play down the right edge with Erica Di Sciascio, Di Sciascio’s resulting through ball deflecting into the path of No. 10 Tamires Souza who was put through hell after hitting the post and seeing the ball deflected in front of the goal line, however she was able to reach the ball just in time for a subsequent tap in.
FNSW Institute wasted little time extending their lead with a peach of a goal from Tallon-Henniker. The winger collected the ball inside the Bulls box, cut in with a heavy enough touch to establish momentum and curl the ball over Simmons. 3-1, FNSW Institute lead in the 68th minute.
Souza was again involved for the Bulls’ second goal when her low free-kick tested FNSW Institute goalkeeper Tahlia Franco and allowed Trimis to take advantage of the parried shot and reduce the scoreline for the home team.
The match concluded 3-2 in favour of FNSW Institute, who sprung a surprise result on a strong Bulls outfit.
Sydney Olympic 2-2 Macarthur Rams at Peter Moore Field
An exhilarating 2-all contest played out between Sydney Olympic and Macarthur Rams at Peter Moore Field on Sunday.
Olympic were fortunate to find an opener so quickly in the 4th minute when Allira Toby’s deep cross was unluckily punched into a Rams defender by goalkeeper Shamiran Khamis, Ashley Irwin the lucky candidate receiving the ball in front of an open net.
After finding herself under pressure as the last defender, Rams defender Alexandra Huynh was forced to desperately bring down Toby in the box, leading to Olympic earning a penalty late in the first half. Angelique Hristodoulou dispatched the resulting penalty with ease, ensuring she has scored in back-to-back games for Olympic. 2-0 to the home team.
The Rams fought back in the second half and earned a penalty of their own when Melissa Caceres was tackled by Maya Fernandez just inside the 18-yard box. Bethany Gordon proceeded to channel the calm and composed energy of Hristodoulou for the Rams’ penalty at the same end of the ground and drive the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.
There was still time for some drama however when Rams attacker Leena Khamis found fellow substitute Miku Sunaga with a classy aerial through ball that was collected with assurance and slid past Courtney Newbon in the Olympic goal, giving the Rams an equaliser in the 94th minute.
Sydney University 1-2 Gladesville Ravens at Sydney University Football Ground
The Gladesville Ravens have continued to impress in this season’s NPL NSW Women’s competition, this time taking down Sydney University 2-1 away from home.
Sydney Uni began the match in the ascendancy and evidently determined to notch the 3 points at home after a loss in their previous match.
The game’s opener would arrive after a lethal Sydney Uni free-kick from the right wing went uncleared and fell to Holly Duncan, who reacted instinctively and sumptuously chipped Ravens goalkeeper Romina Parraguirre with a well-taken volley.
One of the Ravens’ heroes for this season, Georgia Vlangos, would give her side a route towards taking home the 3 points when she drove the ball towards goal from the left wing and found a gap at the near post to bury the ball (via a keeper deflection) into the back of the net past Sydney Uni goalkeeper Sophia Varley.
As the rain began to bucket down at Sydney University Football Ground, the Ravens sought to put the match to bed as soon as possible, leading to substitute Renee Pountney chasing down a long-range Lexie Moreno pass and spotting an opportune moment to put her side ahead when Varley struggled to deal with Moreno’s pass in adverse conditions, ultimately leaving Pountney wide open to curl the ball into the net.
The Ravens would go on to see out the match after coming back to defeat Sydney Uni 2-1.
APIA Leichardt 1-0 Illawarra Stingrays at Lambert Park
APIA Leichardt have maintained their seemingly unstoppable run this season after defeating the Illawarra Stingrays 1-0 at Lambert Park on Sunday.
After winning their Round 9 clash against the Blacktown Spartans last weekend, the Illawarra Stingrays were looking to ride the winning momentum coming into this clash. As a result, the Stingrays dominated the early period of the match and unfortunately saw several close opportunities fail to come to fruition, including a header from veteran Michelle Carney that was saved by APIA keeper Morgan Aquino.
New Stingrays signing, Sakura Nojima, would nearly find the opener in the 37th minute after a marauding run from left-back and ruthless strike from her right foot that was prevented by Aquino yet again.
With the Stingrays tiring following their commendable efforts to stay in the game, APIA proved exactly why they are sitting at the top of the ladder with a barrage of attacks that resulted in the game’s lone goal. The goal was earned when Shelby Milton spotted Gisella Pipino in midfield, who tapped it on to the always-impressive Isabella Habuda. Habuda’s pass to Rhianna Pollicina was equal parts effortless and spectacular, and led to Pollicina chipping Aimee Hall for 1-0.
With a seemingly unlimited storage of energy and resilience in their side, APIA were able to hold on and defeat the Stingrays in a tense match. The result keeps APIA sitting in first place with 26 points earned out of a possible 30 points, 8 points ahead of 2nd place Northern Tigers.
Bankstown City Lions 3-0 Emerging Jets at Jensen Park
The Bankstown City Lions may have put their rough form this season behind them after a convincing 3-0 win over the Emerging Jets.
After tallying up the most draws in the 2023 season so far and losing 2-1 in midweek to Sydney Olympic, the Lions were looking for a chance to click into gear and get their season on track against a hapless Jets side who have found this season challenging.
The opening goal for the Lions would arrive when forward Rasamee Phonsongkham was set through on the left wing and somehow spotted a gap in the Jets goal above the goalkeeper to place the ball with finesse into the net. What a special way to go ahead 1-0.
Alexia Karrys-Stahl would notch the Lions’ second goal of the evening, paving the way for Phonsongkham to earn her second the night when she strode into the box and attempted to shimmy through the Jets defenders and earn a penalty for her efforts. Phonsongkham would take responsibility for the penalty she earned and score confidently from the spot.
Having downed the Emerging Jets 3-0, perhaps it was the result the Lions needed to start building form for the rest of the season.
-By Matthew Badrov
