Round 12 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
A weekend of spectacular goals and shocking results would characterise Round 12 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition, with the Macarthur Rams closing in on league leaders Manly United heading into Round 13.
Have a read of our full wrap-up of the weekend’s events.
Sydney Olympic 1-1 Gladesville Ravens – Match of the Round
Sydney Olympic and Gladesville Ravens played out a hard fought 1-1 draw at Peter Moore Field as both teams shared the points.
The visitors took the lead via the spot following a foul in the box that saw Claudia Cholakian fall to the ground following a push. Up stepped experienced campaigner Lexi Moreno who made it 1-0 in the 17th minute.
Gladesville took the lead into the break and thought they had done enough to secure the points but up stepped Olympic star striker Demi Koulizakis who scored from well over 40 yards to gift the Blues a point.
NWS Spirit 1-2 Illawarra Stingrays at Christie Park
A clinical second half from the Illawarra Stingrays saw them overturn a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 over NWS Spirit at Christie Park on Saturday.
Spirit have hit a solid patch of form in recent weeks, having held APIA Leichhardt to a draw two weeks ago before pulling off a huge win over the Emerging Jets last time out. The Stingrays will have travelled to Christie Park gunning for a win over Spirit after back-to-back losses pushed them out of the top four ahead of this round.
A resilient run from Morgan Roberts would lead to Spirit opening the scoring in the 37th minute, with the wily No. 13 showcasing plenty of quality to hold off the Stingrays defence and stride toward goal before tucking the ball home for 1-0.
The second half began brilliantly for the Stingrays as Sienna Saveska delivered a miraculous strike from distance that beautifully floated toward goal and bested the outstretched Katie Offer who, despite getting a hand to the ball, was unable to prevent the exceptional finish. 1-1 in the 49th minute.
Siobhan Edwards would then deliver a late winner for the Stingrays after stepping up to take a penalty in the 86th minute that she assuredly smashed into the roof of the net. 2-1 the final score.
Bulls FC Academy 1-1 Macarthur Rams at Northbridge Oval
A tightly-fought contest saw Bulls FC Academy share the spoils in a 1-1 draw with the Macarthur Rams at Northbridge Oval.
In spite of their choppy form this season, the Bulls will have entered this fixture buoyed by the prospect of several A-League Women’s talents returning to the team. The Rams by comparison will have been focused on muscling their way back to the top of the ladder.
The opening goal of the match would not take long to be scored, with Bethany Gordon intercepting the ball strongly in midfield before playing a sublime pass through to Kelli Brown, who showed off her striking instincts to setup a shot for herself in the box to fire home a low finish into the bottom left corner for 1-0 in the 9th minute.
The Bulls, buoyed by the returns of Peta Trimis and Avaani Prakash following positive stints with the Central Coast Mariners and Western United in the A-League Women’s, would find an equaliser in the 71st minute off the back of fantastic work in the build-up by Prakash and Trimis, with the latter planting the ball into the back of the net from distance with a reflex finish to earn a point for her side at the end of the match.
Manly United 1-1 Sydney University at Cromer Park
Despite sitting close to the bottom of the ladder, Sydney University arrived to Cromer Park with plenty to prove and successfully secured a 1-1 draw with league leaders Manly United.
A loss in Round 11 will have undoubtedly left Manly with plenty to reflect on as they looked to consolidate their lead at the top of the ladder against Sydney Uni. The away side will not have looked to take a backwards step in this fixture however, and would have been focused on making life difficult for Manly.
And that they did, as they took the lead in the 16th minute through Talia Kapetanellis, who picked up a clearance from a corner in her own half and drove toward the Manly goal to eventually plant a sensational swerving finish from the left wing past the backtracking Nicole Simonsen, who was unable to prevent the goal despite getting a hand to the ball.
A major opportunity to equalise presented itself for Manly in the 75th minute after a defensive header backwards was latched onto by Kahli Johnson, with the substitute electing to chip the onrushing Baylee Broomhead with a finish that just crossed the line despite the goalkeeper’s best efforts to save it.
A late red card from Amelia Feeney – taking out a Manly attacker likely through on goal in the 94th minute – saved a point for Sydney Uni, leaving Manly with the Macarthur Rams hot on their trail heading into Round 13.
APIA Leichhardt 3-2 Emerging Jets at Valentine Sports Park
APIA Leichhardt were forced to come back twice to earn a 3-2 win over a competitive Emerging Jets outfit at Valentine Sports Back.
Although APIA are yet to play a match at their home ground of Lambert Park this season, they have remained competitive outside of the fortress that brought them plenty of success last season. However, the visiting Jets – who have shown quality as an attack-minded side this season – will have arrived at Valentine Sports Park wanting to put APIA on the back foot.
A brilliantly worked short corner from the Jets would cause strife for the APIA defence in the 23rd minute, leading to Sophie Magus unfortunately palming the ball into her own net and giving the away side the opener.
With her side needing a reply, Charlotte Lancaster stepped up in the 30th minute to fire a sensational finish into the top left corner of the goal from outside the 18-yard box. 1-1.
The Jets continue to mount pressure on APIA, particularly on the counter, and would take the lead again in the 42nd minute after Milan Hammond saw her initial finish rattling the crossbar and causing chaos for the Leichhardt defenders, leaving room for the No. 4 to earn a deserved goal with a blistering finish. 2-1 to the Jets.
However APIA continued to showcase their immense strengths in attack and would equalise again just before half time through Ashlie Crofts, who unleashed a piledriver of a finish from similar distance to Lancaster to give her side a reprieve heading into the sheds at halftime. 2-2 to end the first stanza.
APIA returned to the field intent on securing the three points and would take the lead in the 48th minute when touch back to their goalkeeper by a Jets defender fell short and was capitalised on by Kira De Domizio, who fired a blistering strike past Lily-Rose Dunbar. 3-2 the final score.
Blacktown Spartans 2-4 Football NSW Institute at Blacktown Football Park
A stellar second half performance saw Football NSW Institute triumph 4-2 over the Blacktown Spartans at Blacktown Football Park.
With the Spartans in search of a result heading into this fixture, and FNSW Institute playing for the first time in a few weeks, fans will have been expecting plenty of goals to be shared between the two sides.
A fantastic opening goal from Allyssa Ng Saad in the 26th minute would give the Spartans the lead, with Blacktown’s top goal scorer showing excellent composure to send a lofted finish over the goalkeeper from just outside of the box.
An equaliser would be found by FNSW Institute just on the stroke of half time following a fantastic mazy run by Tiana Fuller from the left edge, which setup Adelaide Wyrzynski in the middle of the box for a sure finish to make it 1-1.
The game exploded to life in the second half when Anita Zordan’s in-swinging corner in the 59th minute eluded the goalkeeper to nestle itself into the back of the net. 2-1 to Institute.
However, Blacktown would not take long to respond after substitute Christa Oliva fashioned a chance on the edge of the box that was palmed away unwittingly into the path of Roukayah Al Fararjeh, who tucked the ball home at the back post. 2-2 in the 61st minute.
Institute began to take a hold of the game and would eventually run out 4-2 to winners following Zordan’s second of the match – a first-time outside-of-the-foot shot in the 67th minute that was just enough to best the goalkeeper after their previous save had fallen toward Zordan – and Amelia Bennett’s spectacular, skilful finish one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 76th minute.
The result now means that FNSW Institute sit above the Spartans on the ladder because of goal difference.
UNSW 1-2 Northern Tigers at The Village Green
UNSW fell to the Northern Tigers 2-1 in a closely-fought matchup on Sunday evening at The Village Green.
A string of draws has seen UNSW go from strength to strength in their effort to establish themselves in the top tier of the NPL Women’s. However, a visit from the in-form Tigers will no doubt have left UNSW conscious of the need to be strong defensively against a team on a seemingly unstoppable run at the moment.
Fans would have to wait until the second half to see a goal from either side, with the Tigers the ones to open the scoring in the 49th minute via Isabel Gomez’s well-taken, quick-footed finish into the back of the net.
UNSW then fashioned in equaliser in the 68th minute through Sarah Moore, who did well to take down a fantastic ball in behind from Marcella Santos and confidently chip Tigers goalkeeper Aimee Hall.
As they have done several times throughout this season, the Tigers resiliently found a winner in the 80th minute, with captain Lily McMahon showcasing some exquisite skill to comfortably take down a deflected cross and turn to fire a low, near post finish through a crowded box to give her side the lead.
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Words by Matthew Badrov
