Round 13 Review – NPL NSW Women’s
Round 13 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition brought with it a dazzling array of entertaining football as plenty of teams have begun to hit scintillating form at a critical point in the season.
Check out our full wrap-up of the weekend’s events below.
Match of the Round – NWS Spirit 3-1 Bulls FC Academy at Christie Park
A convincing 3-1 victory has seen NWS Spirit extend their unbeaten run to nine matches after disposing of Bulls FC Academy at Christie Park.
Sarah Morgan got the ball rolling with two goals in two minutes for the home team before Rola Badawiya scored a goal of the season contender in the second half.
The Bulls managed to score a stoppage time consolation through Avaani Prakash, but it was Spirit’s day.
You can check out the full report here.
Sydney Olympic 1-3 Illawarra Stingrays at Peter Moore Field
Sydney Olympic were defeated 3-1 by a lethal Illawarra Stingrays side at Peter Moore Field on Sunday evening.
After overcoming an injury-ravaged Northern Tigers side 2-1 in a midweek rescheduled fixture, Olympic entered this match full of ambition with attackers Angelique Hristodoulou and Sarah Yatim raring to maintain their good form after goals against the Tigers.
In Sunday’s matchup with the Stingrays though, Olympic found it tough to defend against the Stingrays’ trickery and inventiveness in attack.
The Stingrays opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Chloe Middleton miraculously found herself the recipient of an Olympic goal kick and spotted Sakura Nojima, who proceeded to turn and play through Tara Cannon for a beautiful curved finish beyond goalkeeper Courtney Newbon.
Nojima again showed her class with a pinpoint cross that left the Olympic defence in strife and struggling to clear, leading to Meg Roden standing firm to take on the loose ball and fire a scorching shot that deflected wildly off of the Olympic defence and into the back of the net for 2-0.
Goal no. 3 for the Stingrays was initially spurred by a strong tackle from Alex McKenzie that then led to a ruthless counterattack where Michelle Carney skillfully beat her defender and crossed for Sarina Bolden to plant a strong header beyond the extended arm of Newbon.
Olympic secured a consolation goal in the 85th minute when the dangerous pairing of Hristodoulou and Yatim linked up again, this time Hristodoulou the provider with an excellent cross-field ball and Yatim the scorer of what was easily the strike of the day – a blistering long shot from the far right which evaded goalkeeper Aimee Hall and rattled the roof of the net.
The 3-1 away win would have reaffirmed the ambitions of a Stingrays side looking to quickly recapture their form prior to losing against Macarthur Rams last week.
By contrast, Olympic had their unbeaten run (being without a loss since May 7th) undone by the result. Although, Olympic Coach George Beltsos would have been delighted to see Taylor Ray return to the fold after suffering an unfortunate ACL injury in camp with the Matildas last year.
Macarthur Rams 3-0 Sydney University at Lynwood Park
Macarthur Rams played host to Sydney University at Lynwood Park on Sunday evening and went on to win 3-0.
With the Rams finally hitting an overdue patch of good form and on a seemingly unstoppable streak of late, a win against the side leading the goalscoring charts would prove to be too difficult a task for Sydney Uni to overcome.
The Rams got off to an outstanding start on behalf of Kelli Brown, who lined up a free-kick from a difficult range and floated the ball superbly over the wall to then beat the outstretched arm of Uni goalkeeper Sophia Varley with an effort from the top drawer. 1-0 to the Rams.
Sydney Uni struggled to deal with the Rams’ pressing and found themselves 2-0 down when their difficulties playing the ball out from the back led to the home side efficiently dismantling them with some fluid one-touch passes and a splendid finish by Bethany Gordon. Utterly merciless from the Rams.
Kelli Brown would go on to notch her brace in the second half after Tegan Bertolissio somehow traversed her way through a sea of Uni defenders and, as a result of some lucky deflections, eventually created a chance for Brown and Gordon to link up for an easy finish into the bottom corner. A tough one to cop for Sydney Uni who have had their winless run extended to six as a result of the loss.
Emerging Jets 2-6 APIA Leichardt at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
The goals were flowing in APIA Leichardt’s 6-2 away win over the Emerging Jets at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
APIA’s first goal of the day was very clearly the work of a side currently at the top of their game. After playing the ball patiently out from the back, APIA cut through the Jets midfield seamlessly in an instant and created space for Holly McNamara to cut back to an open Ashlie Crofts who graciously slid the ball home. 1-0.
Similar to their first goal, APIA’s second spawned from the Jets’ struggles to restrain the away side in midfield. This time however, it was Sophie Hoban playing provider for Crofts, who proceeded to show her class with a curling finish from just outside the box.
McNamara would quickly add a third goal for her side after playing a one-two with Gisella Pipino and beating the Jets defence for pace, delivering a well-taken finish underneath onrushing Jets goalkeeper Xanthe Parsons to compliment her work in the build-up.
Despite their efforts to muster a foray towards goal, the Jets were punished by McNamara pouncing on a loose ball in her own half and charging forward on the left wing, eventually cutting back to curl a magnificent pearler of a finish into far side of the net. Back-to-back-to-back goals in the 35th and 38th minutes from McNamara was worth the price of admission alone. Simply astounding work from the forward.
The Jets, clearly looking to rectify some of the 4-0 drubbing they’d been handed in the first half, began the second stanza proactively pressing APIA. This desire from the home side led to APIA making a mistake with an errant pass out of their own box and into the grateful path of Josie Allan, who unflinchingly bested APIA keeper Morgan Aquino with a wicked chip.
Allan would bring her side closer to reducing the deficit when she won a penalty after being pulled down in the box and opted to take it herself for 4-2, the goal arriving after a solid penalty save by Aquino that APIA could not clear.
As the second half went on APIA began to reassert their dominance in the game, leading to their fifth and sixth goals courtesy of Crofts slipping in to finish off the back of a Parsons save and heading home from a corner. Four goals on the night secured for the no. 11.
The result will undoubtedly leave APIA confident in their ability to continue their impressive run, particularly with the talent at their disposal and the fact they’ve now successfully matched Sydney Uni’s 10-match winning streak set in 2022.
For the Jets, this match served as a recurrence of the overriding theme of their season. The fact is, this team can score goals, but preventing them is a separate challenge entirely.
Blacktown Spartans 2-1 Manly United at Blacktown Football Park
Blacktown Spartans faced Manly United in a match where both sides were desperate for a win, however the Spartans from the West would eventually topple the side from Sydney’s Northern Suburbs 2-1 at Blacktown Football Park.
With the Spartans leaving their best football for the second half, Manly would largely dominate the first period of the match.
The away side took the lead in the 37th minute through some forward-thinking play by Emily Minett on the right wing that opened up space for Laura Hughes to dribble through the Spartans defence and smartly find a brief gap to setup Mia Bales, who turned expertly and delightfully buried the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to Manly.
Blacktown had to be switched on in the second half to spark a comeback, and they proved to be up for the challenge when Abbey Lemon lunged onto a misjudged Manly back pass and took the chance to fire a lethal shot at goal, with the crossbar ultimately denying her. However, Carleigh Frilles was on the scene and able to volley past Manly goalkeeper Nicole Simonsen for the equaliser.
Lemon was the catalyst for Blacktown’s dramatic late winner when she picked out Frilles’ run through the lines and the winger confidently finished for 2-1. Incredible scenes at Blacktown Football Park as the Spartans secure a vital win after a challenging period of fixtures.
Northern Tigers 2-1 Gladesville Ravens at North Turramurra Recreational Arena
The Northern Tigers were able to ensure a much sought after victory in their 2-1 defeat of the Gladesville Ravens on Sunday.
The Tigers looked to establish a foothold on the match from early on by attempting to catch out the Ravens defence with balls in behind.
And their early effort would be rewarded when Claudia Cholakian – backing up her consolation goal in the Tigers’ 2-1 loss to Sydney Olympic midweek – followed suit from Rebecca Lake rising highest at the back post to in her own attempt at goal to pick up the scraps and tuck the ball away. 1-0 to the Tigers.
Fresh from a second half drinks break a minute earlier, the Tigers instantly put the Ravens on the back foot in the 72nd minute when Shadeene Evans shimmied her way through the opposition defenders and found space to send a low cross to the far post where Ashlee Brodigan was there to just get her foot in to prevent a Ravens clearance and earn herself a scrappy goal. 2-0 and two plucky goals from a determined Tigers team.
The Tigers were resolute in their defensive work as the match came to a close, but the ever-so competitive Ravens refused to go home without some consolation as Siobhan Evans maneuvered herself into a perfect position to spot Jess Wootton and excellently cross for the No. 10 to briefly bring her side back into the match with a finish at the far post. However, it would prove to be too little, too late for the side donning their away blue.
Football NSW Institute v Bankstown City Lions – POSTPONED
