Round 15 Review – NPL Women’s NSW
Round 15 of the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition provided plenty of shocks and entertainment to shake up the ladder heading into next weekend.
Read on for our full breakdown of the weekend that was.
Match of the Round – APIA Leichhardt v Gladesville Ravens at Lambert Park
In one of the games of the season in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition, at the newly refurbished Lambert Park, APIA Leichhardt were held to a 2-2 draw by the Gladesville Ravens.
Click here to view the full match report!
NWS Spirit 1-0 Blacktown Spartans at Christie Park
NWS Spirit held on to win 1-0 over the Blacktown Spartans in a tight contest at Christie Park.
Spirit entered this matchup buoyed by recent results and looking closer to the side that finished 3rd in 2023. Comparatively, the Spartans have remained a strong attacking side in spite of lacklustre results, but will need to begin picking up the wins to push them away from the lower end of the ladder.
The sole Saturday fixture of the weekend was certainly an entertaining watch for fans at Christie Park, with both teams carving out plenty of attacking opportunities of their own throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Blacktown would go close to opening the scoring in the 34th minute when Charlotte Wilford Carroll stepped up and fired a free kick that was headed for the top right corner, only to see it denied by a fantastic save from Katie Offer who was able to touch the ball onto the crossbar and out for a corner.
Just a few minutes later and Spirit would take the lead through Ella Buchanan, who rose to meet a sensational cross from Ella Abdul Massih and fire her side ahead with a thumping header into the far corner. 1-0 to Spirit in the 37th minute.
Offer was called to deny yet another excellent strike from Carroll in the second half when the No. 12 launched a thunderous hit from way out that forced the Spirit goalkeeper into an urgent diving save to maintain her side’s lead. Her efforts would not be in vain however as her side were able to see out the match to secure the three points.
Northern Tigers 2-4 Sydney Olympic at North Turramurra Recreation Area
Goals galore in the fixture between the Northern Tigers and Sydney Olympic saw the away side prevail 4-2 over the home side at North Turramurra Recreational Area.
Despite losing to a resurgent NWS Spirit last weekend, the Tigers have been one of the stronger sides in the NPL Women of late. A matchup with an Olympic side – who were shocked last week against the Emerging Jets – will have left fans excited for an entertaining and even contest.
The determination of both sides to gain an early foothold on the match led to back-to-back quickfire goals in the 3rd and 4th minute respectively, with the Tigers opening the scoring through Josie Wilson’s easy finish after being squared at the back post and Olympic finding an equaliser through Maxine Peak’s superb lobbed finish one-on-one with the keeper.
Tiana Jaber then stepped up in the 36th minute to give her side the lead, rolling a penalty into the bottom left corner after an Olympic player was knocked down in the box.
Olympic would extend their lead in the 42nd minute following some lovely interplay through midfield, that ended in Peak picking up the ball and firing a precise finish into the bottom left corner from distance to earn herself a brace.
The Tigers were able to claw one back ahead of half time after a ball was looped in on the half turn by Alexandra Huynh and Nicola Dominikovich was there to meet it for a sliding finish underneath Sarah Willacy in the Olympic goal.
The away side would see out the second half as the victors however, with Gabrielle Peak doing well to place a lovely chipped finish beyond the Aimee Hall after receiving a through ball from defence, giving her side a 4-2 win.
Football NSW Institute 0-3 Bulls FC Academy at Valentine Sports Park
Bulls FC Academy proved to be too strong for Football NSW Institute as they delivered a 3-0 win away at Valentine Sports Park.
Institute will have been determined to earn a result against Bulls FC, particularly following a strong away win against UNSW in Round 14. Comparatively, the Bulls will have wanted to maintain their unbeaten run and to back up from their huge 7-0 win over the Blacktown Spartans.
The Bulls were dominant over the opposition from the outset, and would soon find a route toward goal after Daniella Naeimi touched on a cross into the path of Amber Luchtmeijer, who made no mistake in smashing the ball into the back of the net on the volley. 1-0 to the Bulls in the 22nd minute.
Alice Thompson then took the whole of the Valentine Sports Park precinct by surprise after a seemingly innocuous marauding run into the midfield led to her unleashing a wonder strike out of nowhere, which rose over Sofia Fante and landed into the back of the net to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead at half time.
The Bulls worked quickly to consolidate their victory after coming out of the sheds at halftime, with an unmarked Avaani Prakash leaping to plant a sensational header from a corner over the Institute defence and in for 3-0.
Emerging Jets 3-2 UNSW at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
Sunday night’s matchup between the Emerging Jets and UNSW ended with the home side backing up their significant win from last week to triumph 3-2 in dramatic fashion at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
Back at home after their sensational first win of the season over Sydney Olympic last round, the Jets will have earmarked this fixture as a must-win. Having lost at the Village Green in Round 14, UNSW will have been hoping for a better performance in their trip up north to visit the Jets.
It was the Jets who took the early lead in the first half however, after Laura Knipe played a through ball in behind the UNSW defence for Claire Adams who remained composed to slot the ball in for 1-0 in the 9th minute.
UNSW would then respond in the second half, finding an equaliser via Sarah Moore after Allira Toby was played through onside behind the high line of the Jets and raced toward goal before squaring up Moore for the finish into an open net. 1-1 in the 55th minute.
A 65th minute goal for UNSW courtesy of a Talia Backhouse tap-in at the back post was earned after Abbey Lemon’s initial shot was saved by Lily-Rose Dunbar and the ball rolled into the path of the well-positioned Backhouse to give her side the lead.
Adams was again at the heart of her side’s equaliser as she showed good skill to keep a hold of a superb Josie Allan ball in behind the UNSW defence and head the ball back toward the goal mouth for a Jess Mullins to unwittingly turn the ball into her own net. 2-2 in the 75th minute.
With the Jets showing plenty of resilience to shift the momentum of the match in their favour, a winner would arrive when Adams received the ball and with time (and an outrushed goalkeeper) on her side she proceeded to bury a calm strike into the open net to secure a massive 3-2 win for her team.
Sydney University 0-1 Macarthur Rams at Sydney Uni Football Ground
The Macarthur Rams arrived at Sydney Uni Football Ground and came away with a 1-0 win over Sydney University in the process, bringing an end to their recent 3-match winless run.
Sydney Uni have begun to find form at a crucial point in the season, and will have wanted to add to their 3-1 win over the Gladesville Ravens last weekend up against the Rams. Three losses in a row for the Rams will have left them wanting to rediscover the winning form that they began the year with in a challenging visit to Sydney Uni Football Ground.
There were several chances for both sides in the first half, with neither team wanting to take a backward step in an effort to gain the ascendancy early on.
The opener for the Rams was secured in the 41st minute after Bethany Gordon did well to beat her defender and play a ball out to Bronte Trew on the right wing, which the No. 11 confidently took in her stride to then play a cross to an unmarked Kelli Brown who was able to get her foot to the ball for a strike that was just prevented by Tahlia Franco before Miku Sunaga smashed the ball in for 1-0.
The Rams would then hold onto their 1-0 lead in the second half, keeping Sydney Uni at bay to run out the victors.
Illawarra Stingrays 4-1 Manly United at Macedonia Park
The Illawarra Stingrays delivered an onslaught on Monday’s sole fixture as they defeated Manly United 4-1 at Macedonia Park.
Despite their choppy form, the Stingrays have proven themselves to be a strong side this year and are determined to play finals football. In comparison, Manly have arrived at a crux moment where results need to start coming or they will found themselves further and further away from the top of the ladder.
And it was the Stingrays who got on the scoresheet first in the 27th minute, with Siobhan Edwards wrangling an opportunity for herself after a free-kick was partially interfered with by a Manly defender before the No. 14 found space to tuck the ball home for 1-0.
With Manly needing an equaliser before half time, Alexia Karrys-Stahl stepped up to deliver what was certainly the goal of the round after winning the ball from a Stingrays midfielder on the halfway line and spotting Brianna Edwards outside of her penalty area, the No. 10 guiding a rocket of a strike over Edwards and in for 1-1.
Though, following the half time break, Illawarra’s Hayley Taylor-Young sought to match Karrys-Stahl’s effort with a fine strike of her own, hitting a first-time volley following a goalkeeper clearance and guiding the ball in underneath the crossbar. 2-1 to the Stingrays in the 53rd minute.
A brilliant solo run and finish from Sakura Nojima in the 75th minute would extend Illawarra’s lead, as the skilful No. 8 won the ball from a defender in the 18-yard box and strode through the Manly defence before confidently finishing from a tight angle.
Taylor-Young would then end the day with a brace after again being well-positioned following a corner to smash home a deflection and give her side a 4-1 victory.
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Words by Matthew Badrov.
